CSbots
The CSbots program aims to develop a robot for use in introductory and intermediate computer science education. I believe that robots can be used in this context to make the class more interesting to many students becaus they provide pathways to create programs that are much more interactive than is possible without the robot. I have been working on this program for three years, and so far we have developed an alpha and beta robot platform, tested these platforms with high school and college educators, and have evaluated the impact of the alpha platform. We are currently in the process of testing our beta platform, the Finch, at over 10 educational institutions. Check out the Multimedia page for video of the Finch in action.
Robot Diaries
Most current out of school robotics activities for K-12 students are competitive in nature - they generally culminate in a competition in which robots directly compete with one another in performance on competition-defined metrics. Robot Diaries aims to develop an alternative activity to attract students who may be interested in building robots but are turned off by competition. The current program revolves around designing robots to express and communicate emotions. Robots are built with servos, motors, sensors, LEDs, and the Hummingbird, a microcontroller specially design for the Robot Diaries program. The robots are programmed with an iconic scripting language. I developed the Hummingbird and aided with development and piloting of the curriculum.
Braille Writing Tutor
The Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor aims to create a tutor to teach Braille writing to blind children in developing countries. I have been involved with the project since early 2006, and developed version one and two of the hardware input device used by the tutor. Fellow RI Grad Nidhi Kalra was responsible for initiating the project, developing the software tutor, and conducting the first pilot of the project. Since then, with the support of the Techbridgeworld program at CMU the program has grown significantly, both in number of students involved here at CMU and students using the tutors in the developing world.
Canary
The Canary is a sensing device used to allow novices to create robotic sculptures that react to sensor inputs like light, temperature, humidity, air pressure, or air pollutants. I developed the hardware behind the Canary in early 2007, and it was then used by participants in the Neighborhood Nets and Robot 250 projects to create cool robotic artwork.
Gigapan
Gigapan is a system to allow people to easily create and share gigapixel panoramic images; the system consists of a robotic platform for taking the pictures, a software stitcher to stitch together the images, and a website for uploading and sharing the resulting panoramas. I work in the lab that developed and maintains the gigapan website, and while not officially a member of the project, have helped out both by beta testing the gigapan robot's firmware and by training educators and scientists on how to use the Gigapan. I've also had the opportunity to take many of my own Gigapans, a couple of which are embedded in the Multimedia page.
Gadgetry 101
Gadgetry is a course I co-teach with Brian Kirby. We used to teach it through the CMU Student College, but have lately turned the course into a regular full-semester course. Together Brian and I have amassed a fair amount of experience designing simple electronic gadgets, and we hope with this course to pass on basic gadget designing skills like circuit board design and how to interface sensors and actuators. Incarnations of the course have taught over 100 students over six semesters.
Fun with Robots
Fun with Robots is a class I co-taught with Brian Kirby through the Student College. We had 30-60 students per semester, teaching the course for three semesters. Each student builds a small robot that uses a microcontroller to control the robot to follow light, avoid obstacles, etc. The course was perpetuated by several enthusiastic members of the robotics club, who have taken it much farther than Brian and I - the course now uses a revamped microcontroller with a full color LED, beeper, and a better, faster robot base. Fun with Robots is also the subject of an ICRA'06 conference paper written entirely by the undergraduate instructors.
Ballbot
The Ballbot is a dynamically stable robot that balances on a single point of contact with the floor. It's similar to a Segway, in that it keeps upright by sensing in which direction it is falling, and then driving to stop that fall. Except instead of two wheels, this robot balances on a rubber-coated ball about the size of a bowling ball. From 2003-2005 I worked on the controller, and was able to make the robot balance in place and move from point to point.
Cordless Courier
Cordless courier is part of the minifactory project at the Microdynamic Systems Lab at the CMU Robotics Instititute. I worked on this project from August 2002-July 2003. Couriers are small robots that roam about on a magnetic surface. Corded couriers are controlled by a box the size of a PC which does all the motor control and processing. I miniaturized the processing and power aspects so that it all fits on top of the courier, eliminating the cord.
Botrics
Botrics is a company that a couple of friends of mine and I started to develop robots and robotics-related electronics for hobbyists, educators, and researchers. The company spun off of the CMU Robotics Club, and is currently and perhaps perpetually in its infancy. Botrics is always in search of the next big thing, mostly because the last big thing was smaller than expected... Botrics used to sell the Cerebellum microcontroller, and supports the Fun with Robots class with a custom microcontroller dubbed the Firefly.
Robotics Club
I joined the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Club as a freshman in 1999 and became co-president in 2001. I learned as much at the club as I did in my classes, mostly about how to design robots, microcontrollers, and circuit boards, but also about how to work in and lead teams. I credit the club with providing me with the bulk of skills I've used in graduate school and would recommend the experience to any aspiring engineer.