SPASM a student built robot

The authors describe recent developments on SPASM (Student Programmable Arm for Synchronous Movements), the student built robot at the Speed Scientific School of the University of Louisville. Movement of the robot is provided by five stepper motors one each for the X, Y, and Z axes, one for rotation of the vertical member, and one for the opening and closing the gripper. A Motorola 6800 provides the logic for controlling the system. Descriptions are given of such further refinements as the serial interface, the load cell interface, the improved gripper, the ability to control the motors through an off-the-shelf controller, and the addition of vision capability to the system