Smart Machines: Students’ Robots Take Center Stage

A bionic arm created by three seniors was among the robots on display in the Friend Center in May as seniors in the mechanical and aerospace engineering department demonstrated their independent projects. “Our goal was to make an untethered but powerful bionic arm,” said Sam Ezratty, who worked on the project with Jeremy Cheehan and Forrest Hull. Ezratty said that bionic arms on the market require a large air tank and a connection to a computer at all times, making them unwieldy. By using a pneumatic cylinder and a control system that fit into a 15-pound, backpack-size box, the team created a device that provides strength assistance in response to arm-muscle contractions. 

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Adorabot, a swinging robot

Mary Hui ’17

Also demonstrated was a robot (named Adorabot) by seniors Lena Henke and Rosa Ciummo that was designed to mimic the motion of a human swinging on a swing set. An automated foosball system was too unwieldy to display, but visitors were able to view a video of its operation (available here). Professor Robert Stengel said about 35 students in the MAE, electrical engineering, computer science, and astrophysics departments received certificates in robotics and intelligent systems this year.