Robotic Arm

Your Mission: Design and build a robotic arm to perform some simple tasks.

To help out in space, scientists have designed and used robotic arms for years. On Earth, scientists have designed robotic arms for everything from moving heavy equipment to performing delicate surgery. Robotic arms are important machines that help people work on Earth as well as in space.

In this activity, teams will design and build a robotic arm to perform some simple tasks.

Skills

Engineering, Design and Teamwork

Learning Objectives:

discover relationships between the length of a robotic arm and the level of difficulty to grab objects
investigate importance of hinges in arm function
collaborate in designing an arm
test various materials for grippers end effectors
compare and modify designs based on how well they meet performance criteria and constraints

Equipment

Robotic Arm:
- 96 popsicle sticks
- 24 erasers or sponge pieces
- 12 sets of chopsticks
- 12 pairs of tweezers
- 12 storage bins
- 12 ping-pong balls
- scissors
- cotter pins
- hole punch or awl (leather punch)
End effector:
- styrofoam or paper cups (2 per end effector)
- 12-cm pieces of string (3 per end effector)
- cellophane tape
- plastic picnic knives (serrated)
- straw or lollipop (1 per end effector)

Time

1 hour

Resource available in:

English, French, Spanish

Explore more Mission X activities!

Liftoff Languages

Astronauts need brains and brawn! Using your coordination, endurance and quick thinking, perform five jumping jacks, with a star-jump finish, …

Do a Spacewalk

Your Mission: Perform the “bear crawl” and “crab walk” to increase muscular strength and improve upper and lower body coordination. …

26.2 with Tim

Your MissionAccumulate a total of 42 km (26.2 mi) as a team, an individual or as a family… it is …

Let’s Climb a Martian Mountain

Your Mission: Perform a climb training activity on wall bars or a rock wall to improve balance and coordination, and …

Astronaut Logbook: A week in the life of an astronaut with Samantha Cristoforetti

Your Mission: Follow Samantha’s routine on the ISS for one week and compare her daily tasks to yours. Observe your …

Yoga in Space

Join ESA astronaut, Samantha Cristoforetti and Jaime from Cosmic Kids on a brand new adventure… Yoga in Space! Follow along …

Para-swimming

Your mission: Perform a course immersed in water using only your arms to prepare for your future extravehicular activity! This …

Living Bones, Strong Bones

Your Mission: Observe and compare bones, and design bone models to investigate ways to keep bones healthy. Explorers need strong …

Wheelchair para sports

Votre mission: Effectuer un parcours d’obstacle en fauteuil roulant pour développer votre coordination et votre endurance. This resource was created …

Astro Crops

Your Mission: Follow the development of three plants for 12 weeks to explore germination and plant growth. If astronauts are …

Activity