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Find an RBE Project

Below are a list of projects currently available for students in order to fill IQP or MQP requirements.  Contact listed advisors for more information.

IQP

Why Do Humans Imagine Robots?

Description: From earliest times humans have imagined robots. This IQP will answer the question in the title by gathering data from stories about robots over the centuries.
Dates: Available any term(s); team of 3-4; students selected by Prof. Schachterle after interview. 

Advisor(s): Professor Lance Schachterle

 

MQP

Grounding in Human-Robot Communication

Description: In natural human conversation and collaboration, certain verbal and nonverbal behaviors, such as saying "uh-huh", nodding, or raising the eyebrows, are used to indicate to the conversational partner that a particular communication was or was not heard, was or was not understood, and will or will not be acted upon.  This phenomenon is called "grounding".  Recent research suggests that human-robot collaboration can be improved if the robot produces similar grounding behaviors to let its human partner know what it is thinking and whether it intends to act upon what the human has said.

The MQP team will study relevant theoretical models of grounding in human conversation.  It will then design and implement an algorithm for producing grounding behaviors with a tabletop humanoid robot.  Finally, the team will conduct a small pilot study to test whether the implemented behaviors improve the performance of the human-robot team in a collaborative task.
Available for the following majors: RBE (pref) or CS
Dates: A-C Term 2009-10
Advisor(s): Professor Charles Rich

 

Intelligent Ground Vehicle Design

Description:  The Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC) organized by Oakland University offers a hands-on design experience for engineering students. The competition requires project teams to design a small outdoor vehicle that will autonomously travel from a starting point to a number of target destinations and return to home base. The entries are judged based on a number of criteria including overall design, a written report, oral presentation, and performance during the competition. 2009 marks the 17^th year of the IGVC. Competition rules, design reports from previous years and more information can be found at http://www.igvc.org/.

The MQP team will design (mechanical, electrical, software), build, and test WPI’s first entry to IGVC in 2010. One major requirement of this project is the product realization. Teamwork and communication skills as well as commitment to the project are essential. As part of a multidisciplinary team, you will be a key player in a theory-based, hands-on and outcome assessed project.
Available for the following majors: 3 RBE, 2 CS, 2 ECE, 2 ME, 1 MIS or MGE
Dates: TBD
Advisor(s): Professor Taskin Padir and Professor Bill Michalson

 

Pneumatic Actuator Development for MRI Robots

Description: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an ideal interventional guidance modality: it provides near real-time high-resolution images at arbitrary orientations and is able to monitor therapeutic agents, surgical tools, biomechanical tissue properties, and physiological function. At the same time, MRI poses formidable engineering challenges by severely limited access to the patient and high magnetic field that prevents the use of conventional materials and electronic equipment. Traditional actuators are often contraindicated by the strong magnetic and electric fields present in the MRI scanner bore. Further, it is critical that the devices not introduce noise or distortion into the acquired images.

Pneumatic actuators are ideal in that they can be completely compatible; however, they are notoriously difficult to control precisely. The focus of this project is to develop a pneumatic linear stepping motor with integrated position sensing that provides high-precision motion with high reliability. Components of this project include: surveying existing technologies, modeling and designing the actuator, constructing the hardware, and developing a self contained controller circuit. The endpoint will be evaluating the actuator in the MRI scanner at UMass med.
Available for the following majors: 3-4 ME or RBE
Dates: A-term or summer
Advisor(s): Greg Fischer

 

Robot Modeling and Controller Development

Description: We have a pair of 4-axis high-speed industrial robots that were recently acquired. The robots have integrated position sensing and are powered by DC servo motors. This project is focused on a full system development of a controller for these robots from scratch. Components of the project will include: 1) modeling the kinematics and dynamics of the robots, 2) developing custom hardware to interface with the robot connections, 3) developing the controller electronics, 4) implementing low-level controllers that allow for joint level and Cartesian position control, velocity control, and force control, and 5) developing an interface to the robot. The endpoint of the project is a robot controller suitable for use as an active research platform. Other related projects include development of end effectors and control algorithms (specifically ones taking advantage of a pair of identical robots working together on a common task).
Available for the following majors: 3-4 RBE
Dates: A-term or summer
Advisor(s): Greg Fischer

 

Roof Robot Phase 3

Description:  The nationally known WPI Roof Robot was developed by an MQP group in ’07.  It was intended to be a robust robot capable of safely traversing commercial and residential roofs of varying materials pitched as steeply as 45 degrees.  Additional work remains to build a minivan-portable ascender device to get the robot from ground level to a third story roof.  Additional work also is required on the operator controls and feedback system (WiFi camera/laptop based).  Finally, a more advanced sensor suite capable of assessing roof damage is desired by the external sponsor.
The MQP team will design (mechanical, electrical, software), build, and test one or more of these product improvements.
Available for the following majors: RBE, ECE, ME
Dates: AY ’09-‘10
Advisor: Professor Ken Stafford

 

Sand-Swimming Snake Robot

Description:  This multi-segment robot was designed and built by an interdisciplinary MQP group in ’09 as a research vehicle to investigate snake-like swimming behavior in granular material (sand stimulant).  Follow-on work will be to develop improved performance in navigation and multidimensional control.  Additional DOF segments may be necessary to better control pitch and roll.  Genetic algorithms may need to be employed to optimize the robot’s performance.  Further work could also include improved power management (especially as it concerns battery life and waste heat dissipation).
Available for the following majors: RBE, CS, ECE, PH
Dates: AY ’09-‘10
Advisor(s): Professor Ken Stafford and Professor Stephan Kohler

 

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Last modified: March 17, 2009 15:07:56