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Giraffe

A cost-effective, ROS2-compatible 5-DoF robotic manipulator with a leader-follower teleoperation setup, designed to lower the barrier to entry for Embodied AI.

  • Robot arm
  • Open source
  • ROS 2
  • 3D model (URDF)
  • 3D printable

Suggested by Robotheca, created by @carpit680 (opens in a new tab), from github.com/carpit680/giraffe (opens in a new tab). Pinned to commit 5a037ec (opens in a new tab).

Fork on GitHub (opens in a new tab)Download the files at this commit (.zip)
Hardware license
Apache-2.0 (opens in a new tab)
Software license
Apache-2.0 (opens in a new tab)
Commercial use
Allowed

Photo and 3D model

Giraffe, photo from its repository
Photo:@carpit680 (opens in a new tab)Apache-2.0source file (opens in a new tab)
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3D preview converted from github.com/carpit680/giraffe at 5a037ec, under Apache-2.0. View the original files from GitHub (7.6 MB) (opens in a new tab)

Degrees of freedom
5

What it can do

Written by Robotheca from the project's documents.

  • Robotic manipulator arm with five degrees of freedom plus a gripper, designed as a low-cost Koch v1.1 inspired arm compatible with ROS2.
  • Leader-follower teleoperation: a leader arm with AS5600 encoders drives a follower arm, and the leader may teleoperate wirelessly.
  • Simulation and visualization in ROS2 Humble with Gazebo Ignition Fortress, RViz and MoveIt 2 motion planning.
  • Real hardware control through a ros2_control hardware interface that exchanges joint commands and feedback over ROS topics.
  • Alternative teleoperation via Teleop Tongs, a 3D-printed tongs assembly with fiducial markers used as a stand-in end effector.

Bill of materials

This repository has no parts list Robotheca can read yet.

Build guide

The creator's steps, each with its instructions.

  1. 1Select a 3D printer that meets the recommended specifications
  2. 2Prepare the printer bed with glue stick and calibrate
  3. 3Print the common and follower or leader arm parts from the STL files
  4. 4Remove parts from the print bed and strip support material
  5. 5Assemble the leader and follower arms following the OpenBot docs guide
  6. 6Clone the repository and install Python dependencies
  7. 7Set user permissions for serial port access
  8. 8Set servo IDs using the configurator script
  9. 9Install ROS2 Humble, Gazebo Fortress, and MoveIt 2
  10. 10Build and source the giraffe_ws ROS2 workspace

The guide appears here as you scroll.

Guide by @carpit680 (README.md), under Apache-2.0.

Wiring and electronics

Notes written by Robotheca from the project's documents.

Main parts

  • Waveshare 30KG serial bus servos, six per follower arm, with encoders.
  • Serial bus servo driver board supplying servo power and control.
  • 12V 5A power supply with a 5.5mm DC plug for the follower arm.
  • Wemos D1 Mini v2 (ESP8266/ESP32-based microcontroller) in the leader arm.
  • AS5600 12-bit magnetic angle encoders, six per leader arm.
  • TCA9548A I2C multiplexer in the leader arm.
  • Custom two-layer PCB replacing the leader arm servo driver, with schematic and Gerber files in CAD/PCB.

Connections

  • Follower servos are daisy-chained on a serial bus driven by the servo driver board.
  • Servo driver board is powered by the 12V supply and connected to the computer by Type C USB cable.
  • Leader arm AS5600 encoders connect to the Wemos D1 Mini through the TCA9548A I2C multiplexer.
  • Leader arm Wemos D1 Mini is connected to the computer by Micro USB B cable.
  • Schematic for the leader arm PCB is provided as an image in CAD/PCB.