Constructing Reconfigurable and Affordable Robotic Arm Platform to Teach Robotics and Automation

Since its announcement in 2011, the concepts of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) have moved from theory to real-world applications, and the need for skilled engineers has grown. Therefore, many colleges and universities are strategizing ways to provide students with hands-on experiences to develop the needed practical skills in industry. One of the pillars of I4.0 is human-machine interaction which includes robotics and automation. Undergraduate degrees need to provide applied knowledge of robots that use modern controllers and other integrated hardware rather than the classic robotic design. The curriculum should provide the students with real-world experiences with real hardware. This paper presents the steps of designing and constructing a reconfigurable and affordable industrial robotic arm platform that can be used to teach robotics and automation concepts to many engineering fields. This work presents a step-by-step construction procedure, mechanical and electrical setup, and hardware resources used to build the platform. The cost of the platform was less than $10K, which makes it affordable. Several majors in engineering and engineering technology can use the reconfigurable platform to teach many concepts of the I4.0. For example, Industrial Engineering students can use it to teach manufacturing systems concepts, and Computer Science and Engineering students can use it to teach robotics and automation concepts. We used the platforms in an operating systems and systems programming course in the Fall 2023 semester. The results of the system usability score showed a high usability score (A+) for these platforms.