Mechanical Design, Failure Analysis, CAD (Solidworks), Conceptualization, Parametric Design, Underactuated Mechanisms, Complex Motion, Precision Motion, Machining, Additive Manufacturing, Vendor Communication, Low-Impedance Systems, Teleoperation, Robotic Manipulation, System Controls, Optimization, BLDC Motors, Frameless Motors, Precision Sensing, Technical Writing, Technical Communication

This project was my master's thesis project, which was my primary research effort for the duration of my master's degree. This was a project suggested by Professor Peter Whitney as an effort to develop the most versatile and best planar underactuated gripper. The design was inspired by a number of existing products and research projects, but it was designed from first principles with a new linkage featuring remotized springs, deep caging abilities, and improved grasping range. The goal was to develop a high-fidelity prototype gripper suitible for teleoperation, which required some precise and advanced low impedence design work.

Mechanical Design, System Integration, Conceptualization, CAD (Fusion 360), Industrial Design, Testing, Machining, Sheet Metal, Rapid Prototyping, Technical Communication, Mobile Robotic Systems, Autonomous Vehicles, Suspension, Soft End-Effector Manipulation, Robot Mapping and Sensing, Multi-axis systems, Stepper Motors, BLDC Motors, Technical Writing, Teamwork

This project was my undergraduate capstone project, the culminating practical engineering effort of my undergraduate education. It was conceptualized by a combined group of electrical and mechanical engineering students including myself. The goal was to produce a mobile robot that could autonomously wander sidewalks and hardscapes and mechanically uproot any weeds and invasive species growing in cracks or inbetween bricks or pavers.

Mechanical Design, CAD (Onshape), User Interaction, Product Design, Selective Laser Sintering, High Volume Manufacturing, Snap Fits, Surfacing, Complex Geometry, Aesthetic Parts, Tolerance/Batch Analysis

This was one of my primary projects while working at Formlabs. The goal was to create a way to store the tools required for maintenance and repair of the Form 4 inside the body of the machine, while creating a seamless and pleasing user experience. In time, the design became focused on producing a caddy that nested into the shell of the Form 4 featuring satisfying snap-fits to hold two hex keys, and a hinged compartment to hold other important tools. The part was also intended to be a showcase of the abilities of another Formlabs printer, the Fuse 1+, so it was to be manufactured using SLS technology at scale.

Mechanical Design, CAD (Onshape), Injection Molding, Die Casting, High Volume Manufacturing, Product Design, Snap Fits, Selective Laser Sintering, Conceptualization, Low-Cost Design, Appliance Design, Lifetime Testing Fixtures, Manufacturing Fixtures, Inspection Fixtures, Mechanical Property Testing

This encompasses a number of projects I worked on at Formlabs, including several parts for the Form 4. I also worked on a number of fixtures and jigs related to the Form 4, including fixtures for lifetime testing and optical inspection. I was also part of a small team working on a first prototype for a future product. Much of this work involved information that is not yet publicly available, hence the vagueness of this entry.

Mechanical Design, CAD (Solidworks), Spatial Mechanisms, Spherical Linkages, Compact Design, Hyperspectral Sensing, Electronics, Servo Motors, Kinematic Analysis, Technical Writing, Academic Research

This was an academic research project associated with the RIVeR Lab. As part of an effort to use hyperspectral sensing in robotics, we set out to develop a precision robotic system that could take a hyperspectral measurement at a number of points on a desired inspection object and create a 4-dimensional map of an object and its material composition or properties. This involved the development of a custom end of arm tool that could adjust a hyperspectral probe to be normal to and appropriately offset from an object's surface.

Mechanical Design, CAD (Solidworks), Optical Design, Waterproof Design, Precision Location, Optical Calibration, Rapid Prototyping, Technical Communication

This academic project was a mobile robotic data collection platform that used hyperspectral imaging to make inferences and construct a hyperspectral outdoor navigation dataset. This required a number of mechanical systems to protect the expensive and sensative cameras, and allow for automatic and continuous calibration to adapt to changing lighting conditions.

Mechanical Design, CAD (Solidworks), Modular Design, Compliant Mechanisms, Compact Design, Conceptualization, Robotic Manipulation, Seafood Manipulation

This academic project sought to develop an omni-direction table and worksurface to adaptively assist in the manipulation of compliant objects such as large fish. The goal was to create a table that could provide omnidirectional assistance when needed but would maintain a flat surface otherwise. This required the development of a new kind of omni-directional table that used the edges of rotating cubes to interact with objects only when needed.

Mechanical Design, CAD (Solidworks), Complex Assembly, Sheet Metal, Laser Safety, System Integration, Vendor Communication, Tolerance Analysis, Aesthetic Design, Coatings, Technical Drawing

This was a project to create the enclosure for a novel industrial additive manufacturing machine that involved laser-cutting and stacking thin layers of carefully prepared aluminum sheets. As a machine with a powerful laser, the enclosure for the system had numerous additional requirements to ensure safety and appropriate sealing. I was tasked with finalizing the design for the enclosure, which involved a large number of sheet metal panels and bent support posts. This design involved many components, and as such involved tolerance analysis and design for assembly considerations. The enclosure also housed and supported numerous auxilliary systems for the machine, which I had some involvement in designing and integrating.

Mechanical Design, CAD (Solidworks), Pneumatics, Industrial Automation, Additive Manufacturing, Machine Design, High-Cycle Design, Machining, Laser Cutting, Prototyping, Testing, Cam-follower Motion, Dynamic Systems

This was a project to create the enclosure for a novel industrial additive manufacturing machine that involved laser-cutting and stacking thin layers of carefully prepared aluminum sheets. The laser cutting portion of the system produced fine sintered aluminum debris and small offcuts that would stay on the laser bed after cutting. If left in place, this debris would impair the accuracy and precision of succeeding layers, so it is vital to include a system to remove this debris between layers. This was one of the last systems designed for the machine, so there were stringent volume and operating space constraints that added a fun challenge to the project. The system needed to tuck below the height of the cutting bed when not in use, so it needed to hop over the side of the cutting bed and run across the bed when cleaning.

Mechanical Design, CAD (Solidworks), Complex Assembly, Machining, Sheet Metal, Funding Proposal, Technical Communication, Commercial Communication, Mobile Robotic Systems, Environmental Engineering, Full System Design, Integration, Rapid Prototyping, Custom Gearboxes, Treads, Belts, Fluid Transport, Aesthetic Design, Electrical Integration, BLDC Motors

This project was Northeastern University's submission for the Department of Energy's E-ROBOT challenge, a competition to encourage the development of technologies that would improve the energy efficiency of US civilian infrastructure. Our team, a collaboration between Professor Taskin Padir's RIVeR Lab (with which I am affiliated), and several other academic labs aimed to develop a mobile robot capable of applying spray foam to attics and crawlspaces to retrofit aging homes to improve their energy efficiency. My PI came to me and another undergrad with this problem statement, and we developed a concept CAD model with renders for a flipper-treaded mobile robot with an arm to apply spray foam. This concept turned into a funding proposal which won a $200,000 DoE grant which allowed for the development of a physical prototype and simulated attic test bed. I was tasked with leading the design for a fully custom mobile base for commercial development, while another team used an OTS mobile base to start developing the spray system and software platform.

Mechanical Design, CAD (Solidworks), Compliant Mechanisms, Rolling Contact Joints, Contact-aided motion, Rapid Prototyping, Simulation, Analysis, High Strain Systems, Complex Geometry, Technical Communication, Technical Writing

This was a solo passion project associated with my RIVeR Lab position. I was interested in compliant mechanisms and rolling contact joints, and I wanted to develop a spatial version of the mechanism for use in precision robotic wrists and other zero-backlash systems. I was interested in the way that compound rolling contact interfaces could produce complex motion in human wrists. I eventually developed a prototype for a miter-gear version of rolling contact joints that could transmit rotation 90 degrees for small angles while supporting itself using compliant tensile straps.

Mechanical Design, Sheet Metal, Industrial Automation, Mobile Robotics, Electrical Design, Design for Maintenance, High Volume Manufacturing, Technical Drawing, Sheet Metal Inserts, Fitment, Vendor Communication

This was one of the main projects I owned while co-oping at fulfil solutions, a small grocery automation company that was in stealth mode at the time. Due to their small size I was lucky to recieve outsized responsibility and ownership for a 18-year-old co-op. They developed a system where a vertically stacked industrial vending machine-like system would drop grocery items into a number of mobile robots carrying shopping bags. I was responsible for developing the charging station for these mobile robots. The charging station needed to be inexpensive, extremely low profile, easy to maintain and integrate with the pre-designed charging sockets on the mobile robots.

Mechanical Design, CAD (Solidworks), Complex Design, Machining, Sheet Metal, Multi-Axis Design, Rack and Pinion, Chain Drive, Industrial Automation, Gearing, Motors, Belts, Wheel/Track Motion, High Speed Motion, Technical Drawing, Object Manipulation

This was one of the main projects I owned while co-oping at fulfil solutions, a small grocery automation company that was in stealth mode at the time. Due to their small size I was lucky to recieve outsized responsibility and ownership for a 19-year-old co-op. The iteration of their system at the time included vertical stacks of custom shelves with trays. The system could retrieve trays from the stacks and dispense items from them, but they could not yet exchange trays between stacks. A senior engineer and I were tasked with developing the system to exchange trays between stacks, which involved multiple interesting custom axes to interact with the tray systems and travel between vertical stacks. This project was dubbed "tray shuttle".

Mechanical Design, CAD (Solidworks), Sheet Metal, Mobile Robots, Fitment, Coatings, Machining, Aesthetic Design, Sensorization, Electrical Distribution, Control Cabinet, Electrical Documentation

While working at Fulfil solutions, I also worked on a number of smaller but impactful projects. I was tasked with redesigning the shields for our mobile robots to accomadate a load sensing upgrade that required the shields to be removed from the grocery to base load path by splitting them into upper and lower sections. I also helped construct several control cabinets and created a huge amount of electrical documentation to outsource cable creation and harnessing.

Mechanical Design, Team Leadership, Mentorship, Education, Project Management, Budget Management, Timeline Management, CAD (Fusion 360), Testing, System Integration, Mechanical Design, Heated Systems, Fluid Transport Systems, Drilling Systems, High Vibration Systems, Stepper Motors, Linear Axes, Uncontrolled Environment, Waterproof Design, Complex Design, Compact Design, Sensing, System Controls, Data Collection, Extraterrestrial Engineering, Multi-Axis Systems, Novel Design, Technical Writing, Technical Communication, Competition

This project was the second year working on my first major engineering project. I joined our school's chapter of SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) as a freshman during a leadership vacuum, which gave me the opportunity to serve as team lead for one of their flagship engineering projects despite my limited experience at the time. The project was sponsored by NASA as part of their Moon to Mars Ice and Prospecting Challenge. This competition challenged teams of university students to buid a prototype robotic system that could extract water from subsurface Martian ice while determining the composition and properties of the layers they drilled through to reach the ice. This robot was built from the groundwork of our entry in the previous year's competition, PRISMM.

Mechanical Design, Team Leadership, Mentorship, Education, Project Management, Budget Management, Timeline Management, CAD (Fusion 360), Testing, System Integration, Mechanical Design, Heated Systems, Fluid Transport Systems, Drilling Systems, High Vibration Systems, Stepper Motors, Linear Axes, Uncontrolled Environment, Waterproof Design, Complex Design, Compact Design, Sensing, System Controls, Data Collection, Extraterrestrial Engineering, Multi-Axis Systems, Novel Design, Technical Writing, Technical Communication, Competition

This project was the first year working on my first major engineering project. I joined our school's chapter of SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) as a freshman during a leadership vacuum, which gave me the opportunity to serve as team lead for one of their flagship engineering projects despite my limited experience at the time. The project was sponsored by NASA as part of their Moon to Mars Ice and Prospecting Challenge. This competition challenged teams of university students to buid a prototype robotic system that could extract water from subsurface Martian ice while determining the composition and properties of the layers they drilled through to reach the ice. This competition was unfortunately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but our team managed to work while spread across the country to finish building and demonstrating our system while laying the groundwork for the next year's competition

Vector Design (Illustrator), Logo Design, Branding, Rendering (Fusion 360, Solidworks, Blender), Textures, Lighting

While working at the RIVeR lab, my PI noticed I had an eye for aesthetics and graphic design, and asked me to design a new logo to reflect the lab's mission to create symbiotic robotic systems for collaboration with humans. I sketched a number of ideas and got feedback, and then used adobe illustrator to produce a final logo. I also included some other related materials for lab branding. During my tenure at the RIVeR Lab I was also asked to create a number of renders and concept models for different projects, which helped me develop a new set of skills useful for technical and marketing communication.