Travis Mitchell, who developed a badminton service robot, repurposed a small Denso VS050 industrial robot arm for this purpose. The robot places the shuttlecock it picks up from the hopper with a pneumatic gripper between rotating wheels and launches it. In the prototype, the metal parts were produced with a 3D printer, and ATmega AVR was used instead of Raspberry Pi Pico because of the input-output requirements for control.
Tests showed that the high-speed discs gripping the shuttlecock needed to be balanced and not flex excessively. In the end, 3D-printed plastic discs with a silicone strip on the gripping surface were found to perform the task.
Why it matters
The project shows that an industrial robot arm can be reconfigured not only for manufacturing processes but also to perform a specific sports movement. The main technical challenge here is not just launching the shuttlecock, but ensuring that the components enabling it collectively meet the requirements for balance, flexibility and control; this directly links the mechanical design to the choice of electronics. Rather than offering a ready-made product for developers building similar robotic setups, this approach provides an example of how different components can be eliminated through trial and error. However, it remains unclear how consistently the prototype performs serves, how precisely the launch speed and direction are controlled, and how well the parts withstand long-term use.