CUR - The Council on Undergraduate Research

Designing a Robotic Arm for a DBD Plasma Wound Healing Probe Maneuvering

Ahmad Anees, Yogesh Baloda, Sohail Zaidi, Department of Mechanical Engineering, San Jose State University, 1 Washington Square, San Jose CA 95192. Anura Ghodke, Mukund Nair, Gautum Nair, IntelliScience Training Institute, S 10th Street, San Jose CA 95112.

A robotic arm was designed and built at San Jose State University to scan the wound surface and expose it to a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma device. The plasma exposure to the wound surface helps accelerate healing via rapid blood coagulation. In addition, the plasma
becomes a source of UV light that along with its radicals can sterilize the wound surface (NCUR 2019, Shivam et al). The design of the robotic arm was based on two separate Nema 23 motors that moved the arm to the required location in XY-plane. For this purpose, a 2D traversing mechanism/robotic arm was designed that held the plasma device and was able to scan the surface (12х12 in² ) at the desired speed using linear guides. The plasma probe holder was designed and attached at the end of the robotic arm. SolidWorks was used to build the 3D model for the robotic arm. Torque and other design-related calculations were performed using MATLAB. Arduino, an open-source microcontroller was used to achieve automation for this robotic arm. Artificial intelligence was employed by incorporating an ultrasound proximity sensor that estimated the traveling distance by looking at the target. The measured distance was then further subdivided into desired equal intervals to stop the plasma probe for the required period of time at these stations. This was achieved by developing a software program for the robotic arm. This presentation will highlight the design, full operating calculations, and the prototype system development with its hardware and software.
Keywords: MATLAB, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotic Arm, Arduino Microcontroller

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