Task 4: Introducing Robbie the Robotic Arm
The task is to use the virtual controller to manipulate Robbie such that the wooden block is moved from its initial position to a final position on top of the far platform.To use the controller, position the mouse pointer over the relevent 'button' and 'depress' it wth the LMB. To avoid overshooting desired positions of the robotic arm, I have found that very quick clicks are best for fine control. Careful placing of the grippers is neccessary to avoid accidental collisions.The servomotor sound adds to the realism, so ensure your sound system is active.
Entirely physics based........the various components comprising the arm are jointed and moved via their respective joint 'motors'
The model of Robbie was supplied from Google 3DWarehouse with the kind permission of its builder John Coyne. I used an external modelling app. to seperate the component parts, then re-assembled them in 3DRad's Virtual Editor as dynamic rigid bodies. Thanks also to Fernando (3D Rad developer) for assisting me with a problem I had in performing relative rotations.
Robbie is going to play further roles in future developments that I have planned. I would like to add a 'Teach' mode, whereby the user can set a sequence of steps for playback purposes. At present, Forward Kinematics are used to manipulate Robbie (i.e. move a parent component and the child components move with it). I want to later (hopefully) add Inverse Kinematics (i.e. move the final child end component to the desired target position and all attached components follow)
Although the task might test your frustration level a bit, it is entirely possible........just requires a little patience and a few tries!
Entirely physics based........the various components comprising the arm are jointed and moved via their respective joint 'motors'
The model of Robbie was supplied from Google 3DWarehouse with the kind permission of its builder John Coyne. I used an external modelling app. to seperate the component parts, then re-assembled them in 3DRad's Virtual Editor as dynamic rigid bodies. Thanks also to Fernando (3D Rad developer) for assisting me with a problem I had in performing relative rotations.
Robbie is going to play further roles in future developments that I have planned. I would like to add a 'Teach' mode, whereby the user can set a sequence of steps for playback purposes. At present, Forward Kinematics are used to manipulate Robbie (i.e. move a parent component and the child components move with it). I want to later (hopefully) add Inverse Kinematics (i.e. move the final child end component to the desired target position and all attached components follow)
Although the task might test your frustration level a bit, it is entirely possible........just requires a little patience and a few tries!
| virtualworkbench_task4_install.zip |
Go to The Virtual Workbench Goto Task 3