Move a robot arm with linkages.
Work like a mechanisms engineer. Set joint angles and link lengths on a two-joint arm, reach a target, then save poses and play them as a routine.
Use the sliders to set the shoulder and elbow angles and the lengths of the two links. Read the gripper position and maximum reach, touch the target, then save poses and play them back as a pick-and-place routine.
This is a flat model with no weight, motors or friction. Real arms must also handle load and accuracy.
Build a sequence of moves on a timeline or steer the robot live, and see how joints and constraints turn instructions into movement in 3D.
What you will learn
- Explain how joint angles and link lengths set where a mechanism can reach.
- Use a sequence of saved positions to control a system.
- Test a mechanism against a goal and improve it.
Design challenge
- Touch the target using only the two angle sliders. Record the angles.
- Change a link length so the target is out of reach, then explain why.
- Find the shortest total reach that still touches the target.
- Save three poses (start, pick, place) and play the routine.
- Write one thing this model does well and one thing a real robot arm would find harder.
Reflect
Write it down before you move on. Your answers stay in this browser.
Curriculum links
KS3 National Curriculum, Design and technology
- Technical knowledge “understand how more advanced mechanical systems used in their products enable changes in movement and force”
- Technical knowledge “apply computing and use electronics to embed intelligence in products that respond to inputs and control outputs”
GCSE Design and technology subject content
- Mechanisms “the functions of mechanical devices, to produce different sorts of movement, changing the magnitude and direction of forces”
Statements are quoted from the Department for Education documents linked above. Exam boards word the GCSE content in their own specifications, so check yours before using this page for assessment evidence.