13. Applications and implications¶

The Final project proposal¶

I am planning to make a ‘robotic chair’ which turns to 2d surface on wall when not in use and unfolds into a chair when required.

What will it do?¶

The chair, using sensors will detect the presence of someone nearby who is wanting to use the chair and open itself for use. Once the person stands up, and it remains unused for specific amount of time it will close itself after.

What’s done beforehand?¶

http://fabacademy.org/archives/2014/students/prete.davide/final_project.htm https://www.fablabs.io/labs/fablabifurniture https://selfassemblylab.mit.edu/programmable-table https://oriliving.com/ https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/7/18/12212290/robotic-furniture-ori-yves-behar

What will you design?¶

-All the parts of the chair, including frame, seat and the backrest will be designed using CAD modelling softwares. -The wall mount box which will also be the casing for all the electronic and mechanical parts.

• Electronics design- The chair will be controlled using 3 sensors, the touch sensor, the ultrasonic sensor and the pressure sensor for which the board will be designed, produced and improvements and modifications will be made over time.

Where will parts come from?¶

• All the parts of the chair will be made using CNC machine for which 12mm plywood will be used. It is available at the local wood market.
• The enlosure for the electronic parts will be made in laser machine in 5mm MDF. It is available at CEPT stationery shop.
• The gears needed for the rotary motion will be bought from Ahmedabad Old City Market.
• Most of the electronic parts that will be required are available in the Lab. Parts like the motor(still need to figure which), Motor Driver(L293d) will have to be bought which I will get from a local electronics store.

How much will they cost?¶

• 1 x 12mmply wood sheet : 1700rs(25 dollars)
• 1 x 5mm MDF : 320 rs (4.5 dollars)
• Most of the electronic parts are available at the FabLab. The parts which I will have to buy should cost around 500 rs(8-10 dollars)

What parts and systems will be made?¶

• All the parts of the chair, the moving frame, the part fixed to the wall will be all made using CNC and Laser cutting techniques.
• Parts of the mechanical assembly will be made in the lab, while parts like bearing and gears need to be bought from local stores.

What processes will be used?¶

• CNC
• Laser Cutting
• Electronics production

What questions need to be answered?¶

• The main question here would be lifting the whole chair as it is expected to be aroung 6-8 kgs.
• Since the chair transforms into a flat surface, the placement and working of the machine parts will be challenging.
• Being from a design background, there are still issues with the electronics part and the wiring of the circuit. How will the pressure sensor on the chair send signal to themain circuit

How will it be evaluated?¶

• One primary thing here is the mechanism and how well is it integrated with the design.
• The chair should become as compact as possible when folded.
• The packaging of the electronics is important since a furniture is more about aesthetics.

Future Scope¶

• Furniture like these can be used in compact spaces and hence be integrated in tight spaces, more in big cities where the homes are small.
• I might also plan to develop more such automated furniture designs and start a furniture design firm.