ARIEL: Autonomous Robotic Intelligence for Educational Learning

Abstract

This article presents the design and development of ARIEL (Autonomous Robotic Intelligence for Educational Learning), a low-cost robotic arm conceived as a didactic platform for teaching robotics and mechatronics. The system utilizes a hybrid structure of aluminum and 3D-printed components, featuring an actuator (motor) configuration at the base to minimize the robot’s moving mass. Control is managed via a microcontroller and a computer graphical interface, facilitating the practical study of advanced robotics topics such as forward and inverse kinematics (mathematical description of the robot). Through simulations and testing on a physical prototype, the developed control equations were validated. The ARIEL robot is considered a sophisticated and economically accessible tool for experimental learning in university environments. This is the outcome of a student project at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology.