Projects that I have undertaken
After I completed my PhD, I started self-learning various new skills with the goal of becoming marketable to industry. One of those skills is robotics. After reading a very helpful book on the topic called Practical Robotics in C++ by Lloyd Brombach, I started building my own robot. The idea was to have a robot that could be controlled wirelessly, provide a camera feed, and has the ability to drive over obstacles.
I decided to go with a Rocker-Bogie suspension, similar to the type used on NASA rovers, however I have yet to include a differential bar/gears. It is still a work in progress, and I am still trying to figure out how to get it to turn properly. The current version uses differential steering (i.e., left set of wheels drive in one direction while the right set of wheels drive in the opposite), which is not ideal for a 6-wheel robot. I plan on switching to Ackerman steering.
So far, I've learned a lot from this project, including programming with the Robot Operating System (ROS), gaining familiarity with Linux, electronic power distribution, hardware design and fabrication. The skills I gained helped me become a valuable contributor to the robotics startup, Machine Complex (https://mplex.io), that I currently work for as a cofounder.
The components include: