A cutaway engine cylinder shows the piston, valves and spark through the four strokes of the cycle. Students change engine speed and spark advance and watch the stroke, cycle angle, cylinder pressure and valve states update.
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Robot Arm IK
About this simulation
This simulation shows a robot arm with a turning base and three bending joints chasing a target. It uses inverse kinematics, working backward from where the hand must be to the angle of each joint. Students can change the upper arm, forearm and wrist lengths, the approach angle and the size of the target path, and can show the limit of the arm reach. Readouts list the joint angles, target distance against maximum reach, hand error and status. It introduces robotics and applied trigonometry in an engaging way.
What students can explore
- Keep Moving target on and watch the Joint angles readout change as the arm follows.
- Increase Target path size until the Status shows the target is out of reach.
- Turn on Reach limit to see the dome the hand can reach.
- Change Upper arm L1 and Forearm L2 and compare the Target distance / max reach readout.
- Alter Approach angle and see how the gripper direction and joint angles change.
Learning objectives
- 1Explain the difference between forward and inverse kinematics.
- 2Describe how arm segment lengths set the maximum reach.
- 3Interpret joint angles as the answer to where must the hand go.
- 4Connect the law of cosines to finding joint angles in a two-link arm.
Questions teachers ask
Is it free to use?
Yes. It is free and runs in any modern browser, including whiteboards and tablets. You do not need to sign up.
What is inverse kinematics?
Forward kinematics finds the hand position from the joint angles. Inverse kinematics does the reverse: given a target position, it works out the joint angles that put the hand there.
Why can the arm not reach every target?
An arm can stretch at most as far as its segments added together. If the target is farther than that maximum reach, the arm extends as far as it can and the Status and Hand error readouts show it.
How do I use the robot arm simulation?
Drag the length, Target path size and Approach angle sliders, and turn Moving target and Reach limit on or off. Read the joint angles and hand error as the arm moves.
Embed this simulation
Drop it into your LMS, blog, or class site — free.
<iframe src="https://kiwibee.io/en/simulations/robot-arm-ik-3d-simulation/embed" title="Robot Arm IK | KiwiBee" loading="lazy" allowfullscreen style="width:100%;height:min(70vh,620px);min-height:420px;border:0;border-radius:16px"></iframe>Continue exploring
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