Fall of my junior year I began work on logic gates made out K'NEX using a system of balls. Two members of my Computer Architecture class joined me and we set out to create an entire 4-bit computer. The picture above is of a 4-bit adder.
There are more photos and updates at knexcomputer.blogspot.com
Labels:
building toys,
computers,
design
While working in the Olin Robotics Lab, Jeff DeCew and I decided to make a flexible wheel robot that would deform its shape in order to roll. After we successfully created a 10-minute feasibility prototype, I began work on a simulation. I modeled the flexible plastic rim with masses and hinge springs, comparing my model's deformation to compression data we took with an Instron machine.
From there I created a control system that changed the shape of the wheel based on which section was touching the ground. I tried this on 3 different robot designs.
The simulation was written in Python using the VPython 3D library. All physics were hand coded by me.
Labels:
control,
design,
simulation
