Amrita’s HuT Labs Develops Indigenous Low-Cost Motion Controller for 6-DOF Robotic Manipulators

Researchers from the HuT Labs at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham have made a breakthrough in developing and testing motion controllers for 6 degree of freedom (6-DOF) robotic manipulators. This is an important landmark that has been accomplished in the realm of low cost robotics engineering.
The initiative was conceived by Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, who identified several challenges associated with the commercial motion controllers currently being used for 6 DoF robotic manipulators, such as the Daincube motion controller from South Korea and the Inexbot motion controller from China. He recognized certain shortcomings related to motion controllers that have been commercially available till now for use in robotic manipulators. These controllers have been expensive to acquire and customize. They also provide very little flexibility when it comes to modifying the functionalities of the device.
To overcome the difficulties involved in the acquisition of such devices, Dr. Rajesh Kannan suggested designing a home-grown motion controller using the microcontroller platforms available from Texas Instruments and STMicroelectronics. This project was carried out by Mr. Jezil Mario P. S.
Under the supervision of Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam and Dr. Sakthiprasad K. M., the researchers have successfully designed a controller that can replace commercial controllers with only minor changes made to the robotic device. The new controller provides the same functionality as other commercial controllers, but with increased flexibility, independence, and customization.
One of the most remarkable successes that the project has achieved is low cost. The cost of similar commercial controllers exceeds ₹2 lakhs, whereas the cost of our indigenous controller that was designed at HuT Labs does not exceed ₹50,000. Thus, the cost of using the controller is reduced by about 75%. In addition, we were able to develop efficient robots that can be adapted to different requirements.
The controller has been implemented on the 6-DOF robotic manipulator that has been developed in Kerambot, an unmanned robotic coconut tree climber and harvester at Amrita University.
The success of this project can be attributed to the collaborative work of all members of the research and development team. Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Mr. Jezil Mario P. S., and Dr. Sakthiprasad K. M., Mr. Justin V. Antony along with the rest of the team contributed tremendously to the integration, testing, and validation of the controller in the robotic manipulator system.

This accomplishment clearly demonstrates the efforts put forth by HuT Labs in terms of innovation, technical brilliance, and indigenous technology. The reduced dependence on costly proprietary systems and increased control over robotic designs through the use of this motion controller should enable many upcoming robotics projects in the coming future without much expense involved.

The development of this indigenous motion controller has once again proven that the objective of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham to make breakthroughs in research and technological innovations has been fulfilled effectively.