For now doing educational things
Starting for programing some special moves.
This
This
an AR4 robotic arm into a precision soldering system using an MK8 extruder with pneumatic coupler for consistent solder feeding. The wrist-mounted design maintains TCP accuracy during material changes, achieving professional-grade solder joints at 2mm/s linear speed with 1 arc/s rotation.
This AR4-based “HandyBot” understands voice commands to autonomously pick/place tabletop objects using cutting-edge AI vision (Grounding DINO, Segment Anything) and OpenAI Whisper speech recognition. The $2300 system combines an AR4 arm, RealSense D435 camera, and custom ROS 2 pipeline for real-world object interaction.
🔗 Build it yourself: GitHub Repo
💬 Discuss the ROS driver: Community Thread
The AR4 robotic arm system received significant motion control upgrades. The core innovation involves a split-axis homing sequence that prevents potential self-collision during initialization by separating the homing process into two distinct phases.
Motion control improvements center around advanced acceleration algorithms implementing S-curve profiles, replacing the previous linear motion approach. This upgrade enables smooth transitions between waypoints while maintaining positioning accuracy. The Raspberry Pi-based control system executes these motion profiles while managing real-time position feedback.
Operational Workflow
System initialization with split homing sequence
Automatic centering procedure completion
Waypoint execution with dynamic speed adjustment
Continuous collision monitoring during operation
Graceful error recovery protocols
Performance Outcomes
72% reduction in motion-induced vibration
100% prevention of homing collisions
Sub-millimeter positioning repeatability
The complete motion control solution demonstrates how firmware and control logic enhancements can significantly upgrade robotic system capabilities without mechanical modifications. Video documentation showcases the dramatic improvement in motion quality and operational safety.
Grinding with custom gripper and pick and place
i was inspired by the project and i wanted to build an robot to implement in the factory where i work, but the new manager was not so convinced and i kept working on robot. at first was 3d printed and after i was able to manufacture the robot from aluminium.
So I started this journey about 8 months ago. My objective is to have a robot to place books into a box ready for shipment. I first got a little robot off of Amazon for 1000 bucks, it was maybe worth 100. I was able to get it to move a piece of paper from one location to another, so I knew I was onto something. After looking for something more stable, I happened upon Annin Robotics and the marvelous AR4. I spoke with my partner and ordered the kit and motor kit about 5 months ago.
It took a couple of weeks working in the evenings and 3d printing parts and the robot was built. I then watched the programing videos and went to work. I did run into several programming issues, I don’t know if these are limitations of the Annin software or not, but I can’t get past a couple of them. I have found workarounds for most, though draws out programming and now operation.
The bookstacker is now working it’s happy little claw off.
