Advanced7-day build

Vision-Guided Robotic Arm

The full stack: mechanism, electronics, code, and computer vision.

Over seven days, build a multi-jointed arm that finds an object with a camera and picks it up. You'll size and design the linkage in Onshape, drive it with servos, solve the inverse-kinematics math, and write the computer vision that ties perception to motion. This is a real mechatronics project that touches every discipline at once.

day streak

Mechanical Design & CADElectronics & WiringFirmware & CodeComputer Vision

Arm ChannelPivot BracketsHigh-Torque ServosServo DriverGripper KitCamera Module

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Define the task and workspace
Pin down exactly what the arm does: pick up what kind of object, from where, and place it where? Sketch the area it must reach — its 'workspace.' Everything downstream (link lengths, motor torque, camera placement) flows from this. An advanced project lives or dies on a clear spec, so spend real time here.
Understand degrees of freedom
Each joint adds a 'degree of freedom.' A base rotation plus two or three vertical joints and a gripper is enough to reach a point in 3D space and grab it. More joints mean more flexibility but more to control. Sketch your joint layout and count them — this defines both the mechanics and the math you'll write on day 6.
Set up Onshape and gather references
Open a fresh Onshape document and import the ProtoHouse arm parts. Find a reference image of a similar arm to keep your proportions sane. Decide your link lengths from the workspace you sketched — reach is roughly the sum of your arm segments, so size them to comfortably cover your target area.

Vision-Guided Robotic Arm

Day 1 — Plan, scope, and kinematics

Define the task and workspace

Understand degrees of freedom

Set up Onshape and gather references

Day 2 — Size the joints and pick servos

Day 3 — Design the linkage in Onshape

Day 4 — Gripper, camera, and electronics

Day 5 — Firmware: drive the joints

Day 6 — Inverse kinematics

Day 7 — Computer vision and the pick