Inspiration
We wanted to combine multiple different facets of tech into one project. We decided a fulfillment center would let us manufacture physical parts, employ a general purpose robotic arm, write web-based software, and leverage voice AI as well.
What it does
It takes orders over the phone, and fulfills them with a robotic arm, calling you when it's done
How we built it
Lots of blood sweat and tears. We leveraged Claude to help us write robot control software, UI, and most software parts of this project. CAD was done in OnShape, and 3D printers were used to fabricate part fixtures and order boxes.
Challenges we ran into
Robot arm sloppy -- had to find good enough parameters to run the arm at. Was really the root of all of our problems and problems we have today.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
It works! End to end. 65% of the time, it works, 100% of the time.
What we learned
Deterministic code is not necessarily bad in today's word, but precise reliable automation is no good if actuators and physical systems are poorly designed
What's next for Autonomous Fulfillment Center
A new better robot arm with more DOF and higher repeatability and accuracy
Built With
- claude
- raspberry-pi
