Prototyped a cost-effective instrument tester for the Intuitive Surgical (ISI) da Vinci robot as part of Stanford's ME 218D: Mechatronics capstone course in collaboration with team of 4 students and ISI's Automation, Equipment, and Test team.
Project solution utilized:
~ Custom PCB layout (in Altium Designer), fabrication, and assembly
~ Closed-loop control of the da Vinci instrument's motors using Copley Motion Controllers and a Tiva Microcontroller
~ CANopen & RS-232 communications
~ Serves as a significantly cheaper alternative to the current method of testing ISI instruments as they come off the production line
~ Provides access points to power the ISI instrument and perform closed-loop control using relevant sensor signals and motor connections
~ The top row of the block diagram outlines our strategy to control the brushless DC motors on the carriage and measure rotation positions and torques.
~The bottom row of the diagram outlines our strategy to detect when the instrument is properly engaged with the motor carriage.
Solution Setup
Videos of our Solution Controlling an ISI Instrument
