Study of robotics singularities using LEGO Mindstorms kit

One of the major challenges of the modern educator is to teach the theoretical lessons with practical examples that can motivate students and help them understand the theory. The application of these examples will address a major problem for students in engineering the difficulty of understanding and seeing how a mechanical and/or mechatronic device functions in everyday life. This requires the use of tools that enable the construction of different prototypes of low cost to assist in student learning. Within this context this paper presents a pedagogic proposition based on the use of LEGO Mindstorms kits as a laboratorial tool in robotics lessons. In this paper is focused the use of LEGO Mindstorms kits for the understanding of singularities in parallel robotic structures. In this way are presented the parallel structure 5R and 3-RRR with the analysis of motion and singularity positions. The development of these prototypes allows a complete visualization of singularities problems, settings in which the structure loses control, facilitate the understanding, visualization and motivate the students.