​STANFORD CS225A - Autonomous Goal Keeper Robot (2013)

The objective of this project was to design an autonomous system that enabled a robot (Kuka Youbot) to stop and intercept balls kicked by players (i.e., the assigned functions for the robot were similar to a goal keeper). 

The main challenges that we faced were to understand the integration of the vision system / ball detection (utilizing OpenCV) and also the dynamics / control of the robot.

​STANFORD ME210 - $uperpac Monday Robotics Competition (2012)

​The task of ME210 $uper PAC Monday was to design an autonomous machine that would campaign against an opponent in a mechatronic version of the United States presidential primary elections. Two robotic candidates would compete head-to-head as they seeked to become the Presidential Nominee of the newly formed but already formidable Robots Instead of People (RIP) Party. The candidates’ efforts to secure votes were supported at a symbolic level by direct political donations from individuals, and (to a far greater extent) by two newly formed and mysterious Super PACs: Robots for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow (RoBTT) and the Committee with Cash for Ridiculous Unsupportable Distortions (C-CRUD).

​Both Super PACs had limitless resources to further the interests of the candidates they supported (indirectly, and certainly without any coordination whatsoever, of course). In each 2-minute round of primary elections, the candidate that executed most effectively and parlayed their base of support into the most votes advances to the next round of single elimination primaries until the RIP Party’s Presidential Nominee was named.
​
This project's site can be found here:
https://me210newt.weebly.com/

CALTECH ME72: Revenge of the Hindenburg (2009-2010)
The challenge of the competition was to design, build, and deploy a team of vehicles that would:
  • Release ping pong balls from receptacles at different heights.
  • Gather and deliver the released ping pong balls to different scoring zones
  • Pass a team vehicle through an 8 foot diameter hoop located 15 feet above the ground.
  • Position your vehicles within a "finishing area" by the end of each heat.
The contest was a double-elimination tournament where teams competed in 3-minute head-to-head heats. 

​Our team won the 3rd Place in the ME72 Competition.

CALTECH TEAM - Robo-Magellan (2008-2009)

​Robo-Magellan is a robotics competition emphasizing on autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance over varied, outdoor terrain. 

The Caltech Team competed in 2008 Robogames with Beaver 1 Robot and in 2009 Robogames with Beaver 2 Robot. The Robots were allowed to have three chances to navigate from a starting point to an ending point. Their performances were scored based on the time taken to complete the course (with possibilities to lower the score based on contacting intermediate points).

Our Beaver 2 Robot won the 2nd Place in 2009 Robogames.