Making CIDeR: The Design and Fabrication of a One-Inch Robot

Abstract

The purpose of the project is to construct a robot with volume no larger than one cubic inch that will utilize sensors and actuators to manipulate objects in a workspace. An example of this would be moving a small box or a pen from one place to another. The resulting design is a two-part system consisting of a mobile robot, CIDeR: Cubic Inch Desktop Robot and CUPS: Camera Unit Processing System. CIDeR is a desk pet and will be able to move any object around a desktop with the aid of CUPS. CUPS gives directions to CIDeR and also identifies new objects on the workspace and sends an appropriate response for CIDeR to follow. When a new object is identified in the workspace, CUPS will instruct CIDeR to push it off the workspace. The final design of CIDeR has volume 0.879 cubic inches and identifies new objects using colour recognition.