GESTURE BASED CONTROL OF A SIMULATED ROBOT MANIPULATOR

The number of industrial and household robots is fast increasing. A simpler human-robot interaction is preferred in household robotic applications as well as in hazardous environments. Gesture based control of robots is a step in this direction. In this work, a virtual model of a 3-DOF robotic manipulator is developed using V-Realm Builder in MATLAB and the mathematical models of forward and inverse kinematics of the manipulator are coded in MATLAB/Simulink software. Human hand gestures are captured using a smartphone with accelerometer and orientation sensors. A wireless interface is provided for transferring smartphone sensory data to a laptop running MATLAB/Simulink software. The hand gestures are used as reference signal for moving the wrist of the robot. A user interface shows the instantaneous joint angles of robot manipulator and spatial coordinates of robot wrist. This simple yet effective tool aids in learning a number of aspects of robotics and mechatronics. The animated graphical model of the manipulator provides a better understanding of forward and inverse kinematics of robot manipulator. The robot control using hand gestures generates curiosity in student about interfacing of hardware with computer. It may also stimulate new ideas in students to develop virtual learning tools.