Robot Control and Mechanism Design Projects

Apr 21, 2021
3-finger gripper mechanism with centralized actuation.

This page contains a collection of projects on robot control and mechanism design that I have worked on throughout my graduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin. The first project is a 3-finger gripper mechanism with centralized actuation designed to be a lightweight end-effector for robotic arms or drone payload.

gripper.gif
Design and simulation of a 3-finger gripper mechanism with centralized actuation. Note that the third finger is hidden. Work done in collaboration with my undergraduate student Nicholas Franken.

The second project shows control implementations for a planar 3-link robotic arm and a 6-DOF Stanford arm. The first animation shows the result of a PD controller tracking a desired setpoint. The second animation shows the result of inverse kinematics control to achieve the same setpoint. The third animation shows a simulation of the Stanford Arm following a rectangular trajectory.

pd_control.gif
PD control implementation for a 3-link planar robotic arm to achieve a desired setpoint. Units are in meters.
inverse_control.gif
Inverse kinematics control of a 3-link robotic manipulator to achieve the same setpoint as the PD controller. Units are in meters.
stanford.gif
Simulation of the Stanford Arm, a 6-DOF robotic manipulator with prismatic and revolute joints. Units are in meters.

The final project is a rehabilitation prototype that was part of the Robot Mechanism Course taught by Dr. Ashish Deshpande at the University of Texas at Austin.

table_prototype.jpg
Rehabilitation prototype that was designed to automatically fold the table into a compact storage position to minimize obstruction for the patient.
Projects Robotics Controls
Alexander Nettekoven
Alexander Nettekoven
Roboticist, Entrepreneur

I have a broad interest in robotics, artificial intelligence, and systems engineering. Reach out if you have any questions, thoughts, or just want to say hi.

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