A New Arm for a New Year

Successful roboticists often have broad skills in computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, and mathematics. While that fundamental knowledge is important, so too is hands-on experience with different robotic devices.

Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Robotics (MSR) program is designed to provide involved training using state-of-the-art devices to help students understand how the lessons learned in the classroom can be applied to current and future technologies. One recent addition to the MSR robotic collection is the HDT Adroit A24, a robotic manipulator arm donated to the program by HDT Global, maker of innovative solutions for military, government, industrial, and commercial market customers around the world.   

"Our students benefit from the fact that we are invested in them using current technology as it evolves," said Todd Murphey, MSR program director. "We are grateful that we have industry collaborators who also are invested in our students and support that goal." 

The MSR program received the HDT Adroit A24 at the end of 2020, and what makes the arm such a powerful device is it has a high strength-to-weight ratio for a robot, and that opens up different avenues for what it can do. The manipulator and end-effector of the arm weigh just 3.7 pounds but have a load capacity of 20 pounds. That ratio is roughly equivalent to a person holding up a horse with one hand. 

MSR assistant professor Matthew Elwin explained the new arm can lift bricks, cinder blocks, or large pieces of wood. There are other robotic arms that can pick those things up, but they tend to be larger industrial arms that weigh hundreds of pounds and are challenging to transport. The HDT Adroit A24 can fit on someone's desk or be packed in a carry-on suitcase. With those other arms, users would need to bring the object being lifted to the robot, but the new arm can be taken out "into the wild," Elwin said. 

The light weight of the HDT Adroit A24 means it can be mounted on virtually any type of robot, including an unmanned ground vehicle, for example. Beyond the arm's weight and strength, it has six degrees of freedom and no joint limits, allowing it to access objects and areas other robots would find inaccessible. It has the ability to both hold and use a drill, for example, because it can withstand the force needed to both hold the drill and push down on a screw. The arm is also water resistant.

"That flexibility is super important," Elwin said, "because it opens up a wide range of projects people can do, and it allows students to have the robot really affect things in the world."

HDT Global is one of a number of companies that works with the MSR program and has a history of hosting MSR interns and hiring alumni of the program.