Top 20 Robotics Projects for Engineering Students

Summary:

Robotics is a multidisciplinary technology which combines mechanical, electrical, computer science and many other fields together. Basically, as programming and innovation improve, robots discover their way into various fields which are excessively risky, dull or unimaginable for humans to accomplish. Obviously, robotics has advanced drastically in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Because of this, job opportunities in this field had also increased rapidly. Doing projects on robotics will help you in getting started in robotics. In this article, you will get knowledge about robotics and how to develop robotics projects.

Note:

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1. Robotics (Career Building Course)

2. Animatronic Hand

3. Surveillance Robot

4. 7 Robots (Combo Course)

5. Robotic Arm

6. Biped Walking Robot

7. Sensor Guided Robotics

8. Hexapod

9. Swarm Robotics

10. Mobile Robotics

11. Sixth Sense Robot

12. 2 Mechatronics Projects

13. Gesture Based Robotics

14. Voice Controlled Robot

15. WiFi Controlled Robot

16. Maze Solver Robot

17. Bluetooth Robotics

18. Fire Fighting Robot

19. Robotics Training & Internship

As we discussed above, by doing these projects you will get hands-on experience and learn about robotics technology, which will give a boost to your career in robotics.

First things first.

What is robotics?

Issac Asimov a Sci-Fi author and futurist first used the word “Robotics” in his short story and predicted the rise of the robotics industry. He also proposed three “Laws of Robotics”.

Law One 
        A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Law Two 
        A robot must obey the orders given by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

Law Three 
        A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

In the mid-1900s Engleberger, who is known as the father of robotics developed the first industrial robot to work on the assembly line for welding auto parts.

Robotics is an inter-related technology which deals with robots. It is a combined technology of mechanical, electrical, computer science and many other fields. Robots are machines that can be programmed to perform certain functions autonomously or semi-autonomously. Robots can interact with the physical world with the help of sensors and actuators.

So, what is the scope of Robotics?

Let’s accept it.

The whole thought of having another person to perform difficult and routine jobs, while relaxing is an interesting thing.

Robots can be implemented in various fields like automotive industries, medical and military. Anyway, with the advancement of innovation and broad research and tests on robots, increases the opportunities in robotics. There will be an increase in the demand for skilled engineers in the coming years because of the broad utilization of robots.

And what are the various applications of Robots?

Robots are used in different fields to perform tasks that are difficult and risky for people. Below are some of the major applications of robots:

• Robots are used in space exploration in the search of extraterrestrial life. For example, Mars rover which roams over the surface of Mars to detect the presence of water or any other source of life. Robotic arms are used by astronauts to perform tasks like docking and undocking spacecraft from the Space station, which is very difficult to do manually.

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• Surgical robots are used in the medical field to perform complex surgeries
• Residential robots which are used to perform domestic tasks. For example, robotic vacuum cleaners, surveillance robots and robotic sweepers.
• Robots are used in the military to attack enemy targets remotely, spying and collecting data over enemy territories.

How to start building a robotics project?

When you start building a project, you may get these questions, what are all the things needed to build the project, how to start building a project and where I should buy kits?

In this article we will discuss these points and assist you to get moving.

Make a reasonable and realistic goal. Your first robot ought to be extremely basic. Learn how to program it, this will be very helpful when you develop advanced projects.

Choose the hardware and sensors carefully, which are required for building your robot. For robotics project, you can use Arduino and Raspberry Pi, by using this you can perform different tasks. Next is sensors, by using different sensors in your robot, you can collect real-time data from the outside world, which will make your robot to accomplish the desired work.

Robotic projects using Arduino

Arduino is a microcontroller board used by students, hobbyists, enthusiasts, and programmers to build and test prototype models. Arduino is a perfect tinkering instrument for beginners to start building robotics projects. You can program the Arduino board using Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment) software. It is a cross-platform software that runs on Windows, Linux and Mac Operation systems. Arduino software is easy to use for beginners, yet it is adaptable enough for advanced users as well.

Since Arduino is an open source, there are various online communities which support in developing projects and the layout of the boards also available online for free. So anyone can make use of it and can develop their own custom board.

Robotic projects using Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi is small but possess all the options available on a computer. If you want to make robots without spending lots of money then Raspberry Pi board is the smart choice. It is a small credit card sized computer which can connect easily to the internet and interface with more sensors. Since Raspberry Pi is open-source, there is a huge community which gives support in developing projects.

Everybody can use a Raspberry Pi board. You simply need to download the operating system, upload it to your micro SD card, interface your Raspberry Pi to a screen, and voila! You can begin with zero programming knowledge.

Raspberry Pi board consists of 40 General-Purpose Input Output pins with that you can associate with a ton of actuators and sensors.

Scope of Robotics?

Robotics is one of the trending technologies that fascinates and amazes all the people from kids to engineers to hobbyists. Industry has drastically benefitted from the expansion of robots. Robots have taken over duties of most dangerous and mundane jobs from humans which now paves way to greater productivity and less operational costs for industries. Robots can be integrated into almost all the industries as they work on a set of instructions that can be programmed by the user.

The demand for such engineers who has robotics skills is increasing among the top industries and very soon all the industries will be adapting them onto their operations. To help you in acquiring skills on robotics, in this article I’m suggesting some of the robotics project topics for you which you can take up and improve your skills & job prospects.

Now let’s look at the best robotics projects for engineering students.

Latest Robotics Projects for Engineering Students

1. Surveillance robot

Surveillance is the process of monitoring a person or particular area. This happens in a military situation where observation of borders and enemy territories is necessary for the nation’s wellbeing. There is also the danger of losing troops in case of getting captured by the enemy. With advances in innovation throughout the years, it is now possible to remotely observe zones of significance by utilizing robots instead of people.

In this robotics project, you will develop a robot which captures and transmits live video footage over the internet that can be observed from any part of the world. Raspberry Pi is used to control and program the robot. A camera is interfaced with the Raspberry Pi board to observe the area.

2. Biped Walking Robot

A Robot which mimics the human body can perform tasks similar to humans and it is a great advantage. In this robotics project, you will develop a robot with two legs which walks like humans. Servo motors used as actuators helps in the movement of the robot. Arduino UNO Board is used to program the robot and also interfaces all the components together.

By doing this project you will learn about the locomotion of robots and Arduino programming.

3. Robotic Arm

A Robotic arm is used for various mechanical applications that are hazardous for humans. Robotic arms are widely used in automobile assembly lines putting vehicles together. Robots can complete a great deal of work more effectively than people since they are so quick and exact. They have altogether diminished laborer wounds, repetitive stress injuries and huge accidents.

In this robotics project, you will develop a robotic arm that can be associated with your smart phone through Bluetooth and can be controlled by an Android App. Arduino Uno board is used to program the robotic arm. Servo motors are used as actuators that make the robot to achieve movements in three degrees of freedom. HC-05 Bluetooth module is used to connect the robotic arm to the mobile.

4. Swarm Robotics

Swarm robotics is the process of involving numerous robots to perform a task. These robots can coordinate themselves autonomously. Multi-robot systems have higher flexibility, efficiency and reliability than single robots, a team of collaborative robots can do a single task much faster, execute tasks beyond the limits of a single robot.

In this robotics project, you will develop an autonomous swarm robot. With master-slave communication, the master robot controls the slave robot while playing out its very own assignment and the slave robot works based on the signals received from the master robot autonomously.

Following are the components used for building the robot: Arduino Uno board is used for programming the robots. Transmitter and receiver module is used to achieve communication between the robots and L293D motor driver is used for controlling the motors.

5. Hexapod Bluetooth controlled robot

Hexapod robot is a six-legged robot and is the most well known in multi-legged robots’ category. Hexapod robots are truly steady when compared to least two leg robots. Hexapods can step over obstacles and uneven terrains easily.

In this robotics project, you will build a hexapod robot which can be controlled using mobile through Bluetooth. Arduino Uno board is used to program the robot and servo motors are used for actuation of the robot. HC-05 Bluetooth module is used for communication. All these components are interfaced with Arduino to perform the desired task.

6. Sensor Guided Robot

Sensor Guided robots are autonomous robots which work based on the input from sensors and are controlled with the help of a microcontroller board.

In this robotics project, you will develop a sensor guided robot using IR (Infra-Red) Sensors. You can program the robot either to follow the obstacle or to avoid the obstacle.

By building this project you will learn about working of sensors, DC motors, and Motor drivers.

7. Mobile Robotics

Mobile robots have the benefit of range as the coverage area is more for mobiles. As part of this robotics project, you will build a robot that can be controlled by a mobile that makes a call to another mobile associated with the robot. Following are the major components used for building this robotics project:

DTMF (Dual Tone Multiple Frequency) is a technology which is widely used in mobile communication. DTMF decoder detects the sequence of DTMF tones produced by the mobile phone and converts it into digital signals that can be processed by the microcontroller. Pressing keys on the user mobile will send a signal to the robot by means of DTMF. The robot is programmed to decode these signal and move accordingly.

By doing this project you will learn about working of DTMF, Arduino Uno board, Motor drivers, etc.

8. Gesture-based robotics

Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous. Autonomous robots act on their own choice by detecting their conditions without any human interaction. Semi-autonomous robots are partly controlled by humans.

Gesture controlled robot is a semi-autonomous robot which is controlled by hand gestures. Accelerometer sensor is used to detect the movement of the hand. The Robot takes inputs from the sensor and moves accordingly.

9. Voice controlled robot

Voice recognition or Speech recognition is the technology through which a machine can identify the words from a spoken language. It is being extensively used in mobile application like Maps, Smart Assistants etc. This project uses the voice recognition technology to give instructions to a robot and control the movement. Bluetooth communication is used to establish a connection between the robot and user.

To build this project you will need 4 major components,

1. Microcontroller - It acts as the brain of the robot and controls the voltage given to the motors
2. Bluetooth Module - It will be embedded in the robot & will be used to establish a communication channel between the robot and user
3. DC Motors - It will be used to operate the robotic vehicle based on the output from the microcontroller
4. Android App - It should be integrated with the speech recognition software to make the system recognize the words spoken

10. Sixth-sense robot

Sixth sense technology is a progressive method to magnify the physical world around us and allows the users to control robots using image processing algorithms.

In this robotics project, you will develop a robot using Arduino and image processing algorithms to control the robot.

11. Wi-Fi controlled robot

Wi-Fi has turned into an integral part of our lives today and there is a number of gadgets which we control through Wi-Fi. In this robotics project, you will develop a robot which can be controlled remotely through your laptop using Wi-Fi. The Robot is connected to the internet with the help of the Wi-Fi module and can be controlled through commands given through laptop.

12. Fire-fighting robot

Fire-fighting is a very dangerous job because of that now robots can be used to perform this task which will reduce the risk of injury to humans. As part of this robotics project, you will develop a robot which detects the fire with the help of IR (Infra-Red) sensors and extinguishes it using a fan powered by a DC motor. The robot is programmed using Arduino microcontroller to accomplish the desired task.

13. Maze solver robot

In this robotics project, you will develop a robot that can discover its way out from a maze of puzzling lines. IR sensors will be utilized to recognize the maze lines and send information to the microcontroller. The robot will travel through the maze field utilizing the infrared optical sensors. When the robot detects a junction, it cleverly chooses the path using a special algorithm.

14. Edge detection robot

As part of this robotics project, you will develop a robot which is capable of detecting the edges and not fall off. This can be done with the help of IR sensors. IR sensor detects the heat and motion of objects from the surrounding environment. Collected data is then processed by the robot and actuates the motors accordingly to avoid falling.

15. Bluetooth robotics

In this robotics project, you will build a robot which can be remotely controlled via Bluetooth. An Android application is used to give instructions to the robot. The robot is programmed to decode these signals and move accordingly. As part of this project you will learn about: Bluetooth communication, robotic systems and working of motors.

16. Raspberry Pi robot

Raspberry Pi board has unique features like inbuilt Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, microSD card slot, USB port, HDMI port and so on. Thus, developing a robot using Raspberry Pi have greater advantages. As part of this robotics project, you will develop a robot using Raspberry Pi that can be controlled through Wi-Fi using a Laptop.

17. Mine detecting robot

Mine detecting robot finds great application in the defense sector to avoid damage and casualties of soldiers. In this robotics project, you will develop a mine detecting robot that detects the mine. The robot system is installed with a metal detector suitable for detecting the landmine and a buzzer to give warning. The movement of the robot is achieved by the DC motor. Arduino microcontroller is employed in this robot. You can also interface Global Positioning System (GPS) with the robot for navigation.

18. Window cleaning robot

Cleaning windows manually is a time-consuming process and risk is also more. To overcome that we can use robots to do that task. The aim of this robotics project is to develop a robot to clean the windows. Window cleaning robot contains a motor to create a suction which gives grip to the robot. And the sensors detect the corner of the windows and actuates accordingly.

You can program the robot to clean the window in the desired pattern with the help of microcontroller.

19. Autonomous Robot using Arduino

Autonomous robots can act on their own, independent of any controller. The basic idea is to program the robot to respond to the external stimuli. For the robot to move along a defined path a programmed Arduino board is used. This will act as the robot’s brain and process the data coming from the IR sensors. Arduino is an embedded system which acts as a brain for thousands of projects, from everyday object to complex scientific instruments can be used to understand the Arduino Architecture and its programming.

You will need the following components to complete the project,

1. Arduino Uno – It acts as the brain of the robot and process the signal coming from IR sensors
2. IR sensors – It will be embedded in the robot & will be used to detect the objects in the path and send signals to the Arduino Uno
3. DC Motors – It will be used to operate the robotic vehicle based on the output from the microcontroller

Hope you got good information about Robotics and various innovative projects that you can build on Robotics.

If you are very interested in Robotics and want to develop the skills on it, we at Skyfi Labs are there to help you. We have developed some amazing online project-based courses using which you can learn and build innovative robots right from your home. The components needed will be shipped to your doorstep and you can use the kit & the online tutorials to complete the project with 100% output. You can interact with our experts 1-1 and clear all your doubts while building the project.

If you want to explore more about robotics, checkout this blog on Educational Robotics

We hope you will develop the skills on Robotics and build a successful career in Robotics.

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Top 20 Robotics Projects for Engineering Students