Paper Robot Design
2012
Engineering, Design
The idea was to build a robot entirely out of newspaper (except for motors and electronics) without using adhesive. This was a creative exercise, just to see if it could be done.
- Paper Robot Design
- An ongoing project to build a robot entirely out of newspaper, except for motors and electronics, without using adhesive. This is a creative exercise, just to see if it can be done.
It was motivated by the need to give mechanical engineering students a greater challenge during collaborative projects like SMU's Freshman Design course, where M.E., C.S. and E.E. majors must work together on teams to build robots that complete pre-defined tasks. 
The design spec for "Rosebud." See Paper Robot Development for the latest prototype and how to make a paper wheel.
The robot is comprised entirely of identical pieces of semi-rigid newspaper like the above drawing. These "modular units" are made by folding newspaper into the desired shape, dampening it, and then rapidly drying it with a blowdryer or microwave. Do NOT leave unattended, it can burn quickly in both cases.
The "modular units" are then interlocked together, starting with the above configuration.
Four pieces interlock to form the upper and lower frame of the paper robot.
The lower frame of the paper robot, shown from the side. Made from three identical pieces of semi-rigid newspaper. The resulting cavities will hold the motors and batteries.
The lower frame of the robot, shown again from the side with motors and batteries in place.
The full frame, shown first from the side (with motors and batteries covered by wraparound panels), and then as a cutaway of the front or rear (revealing the motors and batteries in place).
The front of "Rosebud" will be equipped with a bump sensor, made by applying pencil lead (graphite) to a strip of newspaper in the above pattern, passing electrical current through it (the graphite) and then detecting the change in resistance that occurs when it flexes (i.e. bumps into something).
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The idea was to build a robot entirely out of newspaper (except for motors and electronics) without using adhesive. This was a creative exercise, just to see if it could be done.Engineering, Design2012 -
Over spring break (2011) I participated in an Immersion Design Experience (IDE) through the Innovation Gymnasium at SMU. The goal was to program a handful of robots to coordinate their actions using swarm algorithms and GPS data.Engineering, Design2012 -
An ongoing personal project to create a wrist-based sensor that captures fine-grained gestural movements of a person's hand and fingers (think "Minority Report"). The goal is to keep the sensor simple and inexpensive by making up the difference in the software. Everything will ultimately be open-sourced. The sensor is mounted on a Slap Bracelet, an Arduino microcontroller board translates the analog tendon-pressure signals into digital output, and the output is visualized on a Mac using a library developed by "Plusea" from the High-Low Tech group at MIT Media Lab.Engineering, Design2012 -
The evolution of the leaderboard I designed for the Challenge App. The Photoshop comps (color images) were created by Jacob Morse. Alas, we never had time to complete the "leaderbot" mascot, shown at the end.Design2012 -
A lesson in how to ruin a plasma cutter. Made during some down time at the Innovation Gymnasium at SMU. The mustang is SMU's mascot; it's supposed to look like he's running through water... or something like that...Design2012 -
These are some questions I've asked myself while reading the research of others.Engineering2012
