Personal Projects

Here are a few of the projects that I have worked on outside of research that have contributed to my developing knowledge about design and robotics.

MIVINCI- Robotic Arm

MIVINCI is an educational robotic arm kit that I developed. This robotic kit is a tool designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of robotics by teaching about mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering. Step-by-step instructions walk students through building each part of the robot. The robotic arm from the kit can be controlled from anywhere in the world through a web interface with it live video feedback or can also be controlled manually using a Wii Nunchuck. The goal was to help kids learn about robotics and have fun while doing it.


To learn more, you can visit our webpage at http://www.dylandrotman.com/mivinci


Trends Journal: Spring Edition 05-2014 Page 39

Microalignment Device

I worked with a team to develop a 4x scale working prototype of a microalignment device for the company Delta Design. The stage was designed to move within a ± 2 mm range in the x, y, and theta direction. This was my senior design project while I was an undergraduate student.

Pass it Carefully Robotic Contest 2013

Our goal was to autonomously transfer balls from the top of dark and light colored tubes to tubes in another location. Both sets of tubes were placed on turntables. The goal was to transfer the balls onto tubes of the same color on the other table We had to transfer all of the balls in under five minutes without any balls falling off. Our team accomplished the task by moving all six balls in 23 seconds finishing in 4th place out of around 200 students.

Junkyard Derby 2013

The Junkyard Derby is an event held by UCSD where each team is given two days to build a vehicle from scrap found at a junkyard. Each vehicle is then raced down a steep hill with obstacles.

The Beast

For this robotic competition, four bouncy balls were placed on top of acrylic buildings with each building representing a different amount of points. Our goal was to move the balls to different bins within a designated time frame. The team who collected the most points by the end was the winner. It was a great experience and it taught me a valuable lesson: simple is always better.

Mini Dynamometer

This Mini Dyno was one of the research projects I worked on in the UCSD Coordinated Robotics Lab. The Mini Dyno was used to characterize small DC motors by measuring and recording voltage, current, speed and temperature. I worked on the mechanical design, wiring, and circuit diagram for this project. This project is now used as an educational tool in the MAE undergraduate course used for robotics. It is also being used by National Instruments as a tool for showing the performance of their DAQ.

Hovercraft

This was a project I worked on in highschool. Our goal was to design and manufacture a working hovercraft. Not only did mine run, but it could carry three people standing on it. Steering it was a bit difficult, but it was a lot of fun.

Photovore Robot

I built a photovore robot which is just a robot that's afraid of the dark. It uses light as the input and and depending on the intensity of the light the robot approaches, it adjusts the output voltage. The varying voltage changes the direction of two modified continuously rotating servos. From the video, you can see that as the robot approaches the shadows, the robot changes direction. This allows the robot to be object-avoidant as well. I also adjusted the coding so the robot was afraid of the light. I learned a lot from this project relating to wiring and circuit design.

Hexapod

I built a low-cost walking hexapod robot out of simple everyday materials. The robot uses a tripod gait similar to other six-legged creatures.

Mechanical Clapper

This is a device I created to turn off the light in my room. Normally, a clapper activates a switch when somebody claps creating a closed or open connection. However, I wanted to create a mechanical clapper. So rather than opening and closing a circuit, I used a sound sensor to pick up the clap which then rotates a motor, turning an axle that is connected to a pulley that physically rotates the knob that turns the light on and off.

Zip It

In my entrepreneurship class, we were instructed to develop a product that would prevent cell phones from disrupting other passengers while they were riding on an airplane. I decided to create a prototype that prevents passengers from talking above a certain decibel level. If someone does talk above that limit ,an LED light will turn on, a buzzer will go off, and the device will shock the passenger. I modeled the shocking element after Tickle Me Elmo™ by using a modified continuous rotating servo with a weight on one end.

boardHitch

Bike locks are a common way to secure your bike, but what about skateboards? boardHitch is a company we developed to provide skateboarders with the option to lock their board. This is the product we developed in my classmates and I developed in out entreprenurship class. We developed a simple, low profile design that attaches directly to one of the skateboard trucks. It provides a loop large enough to allow any bike lock to fit through giving riders the option to lock their board to any post. The loop is secured to the board using standard longboard hardware. Our first prototype can be seen on our company facebook page.

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/boardHitch


If you would like to learn more about the projects I worked on, you can either refer to my resume, LinkedIn account at the top of the page, or shoot me an email.