I am a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering at the Robotics and Spatial Systems Laboratory (RASSL), Florida Institute of Technology. My mentor is Dr. Pierre Larochelle. I am also a member of the POD's Research group a collaborative research initiative between the Florida Institute of Technology and the University of Dayton. My current research is on adjustable spatial mechanisms for rigid body guidance.
My research interests are in design of mechanical systems and spatial mechanisms. My current work focuses on development of methodologies for designing low degree-of-freedom mechanisms for performing part orientation tasks. The benefit of the current research is to provide mechanisms with lower complexity and thus resulting in a reduction in cost and maintenance providing an attractive alternative to the traditional robots currently being used in the industry. I am currently working on synthesis and analysis of planar and spherical mechanisms for rigid body guidance. My research also includes defining and implementing distance metrics for rigid body displacements.
Abstract: This paper presents the definition of a coordinate frame, entitled the principal frame (PF), that is useful for metric calculations on spatial and planar rigid-body displacements. Given a set of displacements and using a point mass model for the moving rigid-body, the PF is determined from the associated centroid and principal axes. It is shown that the PF is invariant with respect to the choice of fixed coordinate frame as well as the system of units used. Hence, the PF is useful for left invariant metric computations. Three examples are presented to demonstrate the utility of the PF.
Abstract: There are various useful metrics for finding the distance between two points in Euclidean space. Metrics for finding the distance between two rigid body locations in Euclidean space depend on both the coordinate frame and units used. A metric independent of these choices is desirable. This paper presents a metric for a finite set of rigid body displacements. The methodology uses the principal frame (PF) associated with the finite set of displacements and the polar decomposition to map the homogenous transform representation of elements of the special Euclidean group SE(N-1) onto the special orthogonal group SO(N). Once the elements are mapped to SO(N) a bi-invariant metric can then be used. The metric obtained is thus independent of the choice of fixed coordinate frame i.e. it is left invariant. This metric has potential applications in motion synthesis, motion generation and interpolation. Three examples are presented to illustrate the usefulness of this methodology.
Abstract: In this paper we present a novel dimensional synthesis technique for approximate motion synthesis of spherical kinematic chains. The methodology uses an analytic representation of the spherical RR dyad's workspace that is parameterized by its dimensional synthesis variables. A two loop nonlinear optimization technique is then employed to minimize the distance from the dyad's workspace to a finite number of desired orientations of the workpiece. The result is an approximate motion dimensional synthesis technique that is applicable to spherical open and closed kinematic chains. Here, we specifically address the spherical RR open and 4R closed chains however the methodology is applicable to all spherical kinematic chains. Finally, we present two examples that demonstrate the utility of the synthesis technique.
Abstract: Panther Peer is a novel web based tool for peer evaluation.
It has been developed at Florida Tech to enable students
(specifically those involved in capstone design projects)
to give one another anonymous feedback on their team
performance. Panther Peer is simple to implement and
completely automated. Panther Peer automates the process
of peer evaluation and minimizes the workload for both
instructors and students. With the benefits of automation
students can gain feedback more quickly. Moreover, the
reduction in workload on the part of the course instructors
enables them to encourage peer evaluations. The primary
advantage of this system is the feedback students receive
from their peers which helps them identify their weaknesses
and focus on their strengths. The automated process means
that the collection and dissemination of information is highly
efficient. From the peer evaluations by students, instructors
can have a fair idea about the teams progress and intervene
where deemed necessary.
