For my final year Capstone Design course, my team worked with Attabotics which is a local robotics company specializing in AS/RS automation systems. We designed a prototype actuator for their robots to store and retrieve bins within their storage system. The aim of this capstone was to develop a proof of concept actuator that could handle high loads, fit within the tight form factor of the robot, effectively requiring it to "telescope". Their current mechanism was based on a different mechanism and they wanted to explore different alternatives to increase load capacity

We explored a spool-based actuator inspired by surgical robotics but had to modify it to handle the intense loads for the use-case. With various engineering constraints such as space and load of being able to retrieve bins of >120lbs, this was an interesting engineering challenge that me and my team addressed. Additionally, we were able to also investigate the potential use of a 8x8 ToF sensor to detect bins and additionally explore a prototype of a closed-loop retrieval system with our design.

For this project, we were able to develop multiple prototypes, with our final prototype shown below which consisted of custom sheet metal parts, electronics integration, carbon-fiber 3d printed parts, and various other hardware to complete the 100 part assembly. Additionally, we were able to incorporate our prototype ToF sensor in the assembly.

Capstone Fair Poster

Manufactured Prototype

I have designed a few starter robot arms in the past but I really wanted to reflect on my improvement in rapid prototype and develop a hobbyist robot arm that could be easily 3d printed in order to get more experience with machine component design, as well as dive into more advanced programming for robot arms. The concept robot design has 3 NEMA-17 stepper motors and 3 servo motors to achieve the 6 degrees of freedom. The 3 linkages are supported with belts and gearing to achieve a 6:1 gearing ratio which was calculated as the torque requirement. 

This project is currently paused but future improvements could be a custom driver board for the arm to control the motors, a proper URDF model so that this arm can be used in conjunction with ROS and and ROS2 packages such as Moveit2

I recently purchased an iRobot Create3 which is currently the lowest cost professional platform with various ROS2 interface supports. This is a project that is currently work in progress and I am currently working on testing the provided samples and ROS2 interfaces, as well as planning to develop more custom interfaces, topics, actions, and services for the robot. I hope to also implement a Raspberry Pi 4 with a RPi Lidar to hopefully get Nav2 and other ROS2 packages running on the iCreate3.

Currently the iRobot Create 3 supports ROS2 Galactic but I predict that a Humble build will come soon. I hope to work on some navigation, waypoint, path-planning projects for this robot. The custom services and actions provided specifically for the Create3 is quite interesting and am looking forward to utilizing these built in custom interfaces such as auto-dock.

I was approached by a classmate who needed some assistance with a proof of concept for their additive manufacturing lab. The goal was to develop a prototype for a device that would dispense liquid samples into test tube vials. The design had to be repeatable and accurate for the delivery of liquid samples, as well as being able to handle moderate volumes of samples. The CAD model, electrical schematic, and programming were self-designed and the proof of concept has been delivered. Further improvements could be implementation with G-code, exploration of a cylindrical indexing system, and more robust code.

This project was a small challenge in conjunction with my other project in "Hardware Section" where I created my "Pelican" general robot controller board. My hardware was intended for 2-4 DC motors with quadrature encoders so I decided to whip up a quick test platform to demonstrate the usage of my board. I decided it would also be fun to design/CAD a "as-simple" as possible robot platform in the shorted amount of time and easy to manufacturer and assemble with standard parts or easy to 3d print.

My "15 minute bot" consists of 5 printed plastic parts, 2 motors with quadrature encoders, a USB power bank, and my custom Pelican hardware board. The robot featured a castor wheel that was simple and easy to manufacture where you slot a marble in as the castor wheel to provide support for the robot to pivot.

Hoping to revise my 15 minute robot and potentially utilize it's application as a cheap, open-source, and basic "Turtle-Bot" for education and STEM purposes.

CAD Model Stage

3D Printed Prototype

For my third-year mechatronics class and amidst the pandemic, we were given generic robot car kits for our remote class. We were given various tasks to do basic control structure and logic for the robot car including driving, utilizing the ultrasonic sensor for obstacle detection, and demonstrating other introductory Arduino skills.

For a bonus task, we were challenged to attempt a PID loop to follow a wall utilizing just the ultrasonic sensor. These sensors are typically inaccurate and usually provide noisy feedback on the distance it detects. Because of this, it was quite a challenge to tune the PID loop and write robust code to have the robot follow the wall at a certain distance. This required understanding of the course content regarding control loops, but also a knowledge of real-life variances and practicality regarding choosing the feedback and effector of a control system and developing a robust loop based on the properties of the components.

Robot in 3 Days (Ri3D) is a national competition where post-secondary students across North America attempt to build a robot in only 3 days for the FIRST Robotics Challenge. In 2019 I was the Project Lead for Ri3D and organized the event for over 50 students. I was also in charge of designing the intake mechanism which utilized a 775 motor and pneumatic actuators. As Project Lead, I was also in charge of the project management and ensuring that the robot was finished in only 3 days. 

Team Photo

In 2018 I participated in the FIRST Robotics Competition on my high school team. I was in charge of sponsorship as well as certain mechanical aspects of the robot such as intake. We were very fortunate to be on the winning alliance for the Canadian Rockies Regional and qualified to participate in the world championships in Houston, Texas. We were able to represent Canada as a Canadian team at Worlds which saw over 400 teams across the world.