NATHA SINGHASANEH
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Quadrupedal Robot Mobility on Mountainous Terrain

5/9/2018

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This is my project for the CIT Honors Research Program.  From my work on this project, I was awarded the "Excellence in Undergraduate Research" Award at Commencement.

I was part of the CMU Robomechanics Lab ( https://www.cmu.edu/me/robomechanicslab/ ) during the 2017-2018 Academic Year.  I worked with my professor, Aaron Johnson, and lab-mate, Praxis Bayes.

We were 
inspired by mountain goats and their great maneuverability on mountainous terrain.  We focused on studying the mechanics of their lower limb, specifically of their hooves.  We worked on designing mechanical hooves that conform to steep and uneven surfaces, and experimented with material, geometry, and fabrication methods

The Big Question:

How can we improve the mobility of legged robots on steep and rocky surfaces?

Research Goal:
To understand the principles underlying improved mobility on steep and rocky terrain.
Focus: Mechanics of the Feet.

The "Minitaur," a 4-legged robot developed by Ghost Robotics was used as a testing platform.
Executive Summary:
NS_ExecSum.pdf
File Size: 79 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Research: Anatomy of Goat Hooves
Hoof Design
The Hoof body was printed using the Form 2 3D Printer, and the sole was cast.

Ankle Design
Fabricated from bending spring steel rods.
Assembly
Testing
​This new design replaces the Minitaur's original Rubber Stub Feet.
We can see here that the ankle and hoof allows the feet to conform to irregularities in the surface by improving surface compliance and grip.

MISC.
Picture
Rhex and Ellie
Picture
Demoing at the Carnegie Science Center
Picture
Robomechanics Lab Field Trip to Pittsburgh Zoo
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Mechatronic Anti-Tremor System (MATS)

5/7/2018

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This project was for 24-671: Electromechanical Systems Design with Professor Mark Bedillion
For our Senior Design Capstone Project, we set out to design a device that will enhance the quality of life of Parkinson's Disease (PD) Patients, specifically by addressing micrographia (difficulty of writing due to hand tremors).  In the ideation stage, we converged on the idea of a pen grip that will be able to sense and counteract tremors.  Within our team of 5, we split into subgroups to work on enclosure design and controls.

We designed and fabricated a series of prototypes:
  • Tremor Generator: Because we did not have the opportunity to work directly with PD patients, we created our own generator that simulates tremors of different characteristic frequencies between 4-6.4 Hz.
  • Tremor Sensor: We built a sensing system to test that we can pick up tremors accurately and at a sufficient sampling rate.  Later, it was integrated into the Anti-Tremor Generator.
  • Anti-Tremor Generator: A device that can sense tremors and produce torques to stabilize the hand.
Poster :
mats_poster.pdf
File Size: 4318 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

My main focus for this project was working on the control system.  The goals for designing the controller were stability and minimal error.  We decided to implement the Repetitive Controller based on the Internal Model Principle.  Matlab was used for the controller design: Simulink and Root Locus Plots.  The FFT Plot illustrates that the controller is able to send out signals to cancel out tremors at peak frequency.
Testing
Unfortunately, the device did not work as we had planned. The issue was our incorrect assumption of the system dynamics. We presumed that the rotation in the wrist and hand can be mostly dampened by a single rotating motor. This idea was proven to be achievable in a computer simulation, as presented by the results of the Simulink Model. However, we ran into problems during system integration, where we were getting unwanted vibrations in other degrees of freedom. Although the motor behaved as wanted (as commanded by the IMP Controller), and moved in the general direction in an attempt to counteract the tremors, it unfortunately introduced torques in other axes.
However, along the way, we learned about many things! :
  • The Design Process, from concept generation and selection to system integration
  • Project Planning
  • Selecting and Purchasing parts
  • Custom Part Design/Manufacturing/Assembly
  • Discovering & Resolving Unexpected Challenges
  • Team-Working !
At the end of the semester, we presented our project at the Senior Capstone Design Expo.
View photos of the Expo here :

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156370558994438.1073741846.610249437&type=1&l=8dcfdcb5a5
Picture

Team Members ( L -> R ) : 
Rinko Maeshima
Jason Seepaul
Ben Warwick
Natha Singhasaneh
Camilla Xu
Lastly, we would like to thank the course staff for their tremendous help and support!
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    Projects

    These are some projects that I have worked on, as well as ongoing ones!
    ENJOY!

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