Executive Summary

The project is an instant prototyping device for the recreation of physical profiles from virtual data. Current rapid prototyping systems require hours to fabricate components from virtual models. In certain situations, such as testing a vehicle in a wind tunnel, this can significantly slow down the design process as multiple iterations need to be fabricated. As a result, there is a need for technologies which can provide real-time physical representations of virtual objects and this is referred to as instant prototyping.

The proposed solution is a series of rigid links connected together, each with a point of rotation controlled by a custom shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator. Up to 5 links are connected to an Arduino Duemilanove microcontroller which runs a closed loop feedback system for angle control. Essentially, the user draws a line on the tablet host computer, the angles are distributed to the individual controllers, and the line forms in real time directly in front of the user.

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