Azzam Shaikh

Talent Show

The first project was focused on getting everyone acquainted with the RedBot platform and some of their unique parts. The talent we programmed onto the RedBot was inspired by the upcoming release of the final Game of Thrones season. We programmed our robot to 'sit' in the Iron Throne and play the famous soundtrack from the series. Onboard, we had a mechanical bumper attached onto the lower frame of the RedBot. This sensor was going to be used in order to inform the robot on when to 'sit down'. Once the bumper came into contact with the chair, the RedBot would reverse, make a 180 degree turn, and then reverse into the chair. Once in position, the Game of Thrones theme song would play from the onboard buzzer.

Obstacle Course

The second project required us to develop a remote controller to maneuver our robot around an obstacle course and automatically stop after crossing the finish line. This project was our first introduction to transceivers. We used two RedBot microcontrollers each equipped with an XBee antenna module. One microcontroller would act as the remote control with potentiometers controlling the direction and speed inputs. The other microcontroller was attached to the RedBot and would apply the inputs received to the wheels. In addition, the RedBot had an IR sensor onboard and when the robot came close to the end of the track (a cardboard wall), the brakes (shorting the motors) would be applied.

Wall Following Robot

The final lab involved creating a wall following robot. The focus of this project was to develop a simple feedback control loop that the RedBot would use to move along a wall. The feedback would be used to adjust for any obstacles that come along the path of the wall (indentation, door stopper, etc.). Onboard the RedBot, there was an IR sensor that would function as the feedback sensor. Based on the distance that we wanted the robot to stay from the wall and the feedback from the IR sensor, the RedBot would adjust the speed of its left and right wheel accordingly to maintain that distance. The feedback was modified by a simple proportional gain.

The purpose of this image is to show the scale of the biological samples that the Szczesny Lab investigates and analyzes. A system was required by the lab to get accurate measurements of the major and minor diameter of the tendon. The light blue block and the metal holders were custom built pieces developed by a PhD student in the lab. These grips were a major component that had to be incorporated into our design.

After researching different solutions toward obtaining the diameters of a tendon, we had an onsite demo of a Keyence product that we were considering as the main component for our system. The onsite demo provided valuable information regarding the accuracy and precision of measurements it can acquire. Based on this and analyzing other solutions, our team and sponsor agreed to purchase this system.

After ordering the system, there was a significant lead time in shipping the product. Therefore, we decided to use the system's design specifications and a 3D printed version of the system to aid the development of the other components that would hold the Keyence device and the custom grips.

A majority of our components were purchased through ThorLabs. Their high quality opto-mechanical products made it easy to assemble and provide the flexibility to test different setups.

After the arrival of our system, we finalized the rest of the design to hold the system and tendon and presented our project at the Penn State Design Showcase. This was the final working product the Szczesny Lab was able to use.

Wind Turbine Project

Our junior class 'mini capstone' project revolved around the development of a wind turbine that could produce power. We placed 1st in our section and 3rd overall in the class.

The two documents attached are the class presentation and final report.