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!

Defend Yourself Against Aliens!

Your mission: Learn the basics of martial arts (karate) to defend yourself against simple attacks and, in case of emergency, …

ESA_astronaut_Thomas_Pesquet_training_for_the_Alpha_mission_at_JSC

Astro Aqua

Votre mission: Effectuer un parcours immergé dans l’eau pour préparer pour votre future sortie extravéhiculaire. This resource was created by …

What’s your Space Height?

Your Mission: Measure different body parts and explore how these measurements might change in space. How tall are you? Are …

Space Debris

Your mission: Just like astronauts who sometimes have to avoid space debris, you will become aware of human-caused pollution in …

Astro Farmer

Your Mission: Investigate which factors affect plant growth, and relate these factors to growing plants in space. All the things …

Explore and Discover

Your Mission: Carry weighted objects from the Exploration Area back to your Base Station to improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness. …

Mission: Control!

Your Mission: Perform throwing and catching techniques on one foot to improve balance and spatial awareness. On Earth, we use …

Astro Food

Your Mission: Identify which plants are suitable for growing in space as a good source of nutrition for astronauts. Food …

Do a Spacewalk

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

L’escrime fauteuil

Votre mission: Résistez à la gravité pour marquer le plus de points possible. This resource was created by CNES, ESERO …

Activity