Other Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Nitinol Robotic Arm, Brandon Cousino, Connor Sweatt

Thinking Matters Symposium

The goal of our project is to create a remotely controlled robotic arm using a nickel-titanium alloy (Nitinol) that exhibits “shape memory” tendencies and a 9-lumen tube. The arm must be able to move in all for directions (forward, left, right, backwards) with the control of a joystick and return to an upright position upon halting user input (thus requiring a two-way shape memory ability). The final product must operate without any unwanted twisting of the arm, crosstalk between the different nitinol wires due to heating, and be easily manufacturable. Easy replacement of the arm from the main mechanism is …