MOTUS | Alex Latorre
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Detailed Description
MOTUS: a fully 3D printed robotic arm that has a reach of 600 mm and a payload of 0.5 kg, conceptualised and designed for use in academic settings. This is an affordable and flexible solution that can be enjoyed out by anyone interested in the field of robotics, as it has been designed to give access to the academic and educational aspects robotics can support, fostering a creative environment in which users can learn-by-doing.
Project Details
- Does your design take social and cultural challenges and human wellbeing into consideration?
I believe that value goes hand-in-hand with the idea of Open-Source, as once we had committed and released a version of MOTUS, we received continuous suggestions and re-design ideas from students, professionals, and mentors. For example, I am currently collaborating with Ximena, a 20-year-old Mechanical Engineering student from rural Mexico. Ximena had some very interesting ideas relating to changing some of the mechanics, which would make sourcing some components easier for her.
- Does your design support sustainable production, embodying circular or regenerative design practices?
Education is an integral part of the formation of a society, so adding robotics to an already existing curriculum seems like a good way to get newer generations in touch with emerging technologies. By bringing MOTUS to a classroom environment, both educators and students have access to all the aspects of robotics that can be applied to education: calculus, physics, electronics, programming etc.
- Does your design use principles of distribution and open source?
The project itself started off with the conceptual idea of: how can we bring robotics to an educational environment in a way that is open for anyone to play around with, and in essence learn by doing? The Open-Source mentality is a fundamental part of the base DNA of this project, and it is very exciting to see people from all over the world take the design and make it their own, whilst learning about robotics or even using it as a tool for other projects.
- Does your design promote awareness of responsible design and consumption?
This is likely the value that least adopts to this project. However, the goal of MOTUS is and was to democratise the access to tools that normally have been reserved to more exclusive and select collectives and individuals.
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