3- DOF Robot Arm with Voice Control from Alexa

This project involves developing a voice-controlled robotic arm that can receive commands via Alexa and execute them through precise trajectory planning and control. Using ROS 2 as the framework for communication, Gazebo for realistic physics simulation, and MoveIt for trajectory planning and execution, this project creates a fully functional digital twin of the robotic arm compatible with real-world scenarios.

The code is designed to be adaptable, allowing the robotic arm to perform actions through both keyboard inputs and a RVIZ (GUI) (for now), with future updates planned to incorporate these features and expand control options.

Installation

Prequisites

• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

• ROS2 humble

• Gazebo

Step 1: Install ROS 2 Humble

Follow the ROS 2 Humble installation instructions for your operating system if ROS 2 is not already installed.

Step 2: Install Required ROS 2 Packages

Install the necessary ROS 2 packages.

sudo apt-get install ros-humble-ros2-control
sudo apt-get install ros-humble-ros2-controllers
sudo apt-get install ros-humble-xacro
sudo apt-get install ros-humble-ros-gz-*
sudo apt-get install ros-humble-*-ros2-control
sudo apt-get install ros-humble-joint-state-publisher-gui
sudo apt-get install ros-humble-tf-transformations
sudo apt-get install ros-humble-moveit*

Step 3: Install Python Packages for Alexa Integration

Install Python and additional packages to create the Alexa voice interface:

sudo apt-get install python3-pip python3-transforms3d python3-flask
pip3 install pyserial --break-system-packages
pip3 install flask-ask-sdk --break-system-packages
pip3 install ask-sdk --break-system-packages

Step 4: Additional Packages for Hardware Communication

To enable communication between the Arduino and ROS 2 using the Serial protocol:

sudo apt-get install libserial-dev

Run Locally

Clone the project

  git clone git@github.com:shivasamkumar/3_Dof_Robot_Arm_Controller.git

Go to the project directory

  cd 3_Dof_Robot_Arm_Controller-main

build the project

  colcon build 

Launch the project

  ros2 launch robot_arm_bringup final_robot_arm.launch.py

Demo

Video This demo shows the Pick and Place Operation with Alexa voice control

Future versions

Web-Based GUI

Integrating a web-based control interface for remote access and operation, enabling users to control the robotic arm from any device with internet access.