VR Robotic Arm Controller

A closeup to our Interbotix robot arm with the nice HackDavis background
A 45 angle down close up to our Interbotix robot arm after the connectionn
A photo of team members with our Interbotix robot arm

Inspiration

As society trends towards greater efficiency, cost-saving measures, and productivity, there arises a need for innovative tools. Our robot arm, controlled through Meta Quest 2, offers intuitive control, surpassing traditional button-based interfaces. This achievement enables a user-friendly interface, significantly reducing training costs and time. Moreover, the rapid development of internet networks instills confidence in achieving true remote capabilities, regardless of distance. We expect it to integrate with trending fast internet technology to achieve low-to-none latency.

What it does

Precisely and responsively interact with a robotic arm using the Meta Quest 2. The robotic arm and the Meta Quest 2 can be paired over the Internet through computers across the ocean!

How we built it

We utilized HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for our full-stack application with Firebase for server side hosting. To achieve the peer-to-peer telecommunication, we use WebRTC to establish connection in between computers. We used Interbotix and Ros to control the movements of the robotic arm.

Challenges we ran into

WebRTC Integration
Programming robotic arm movements
Creating JavaScript sockets
Lack of design

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Amazing supportive teamwork
Using WebRTC for the first time
Overcoming road blocks with programming the robotic arm movements

What we learned

WebRTC Integration
Learned design principles and how to set up backend with Firebase

What's next for VR Robotic Arm Controller

Introduce some sorts of threshold to filter out "noisy" hand actions. More specifically, the robot arm would act more stable to shaky hand.
More robotic arm movements, more joints, more human-like grabbing.
Seamless integration with other VR headsets, better to be adaptable for cheaper VR gears.
Bridge with faster internet agreement such as 5G or futuristic 6G.