(to be updated...)

ROBOTIC STRAP

* Full project website to go live soon. Temporary webpage: darbelofflab.mit.edu/robotic-straps.

* In the meantime, please email me at kbarhydt@mit.edu for inquiries and fabrication files/instructions from this project.

* Project paper: ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10048528

ASSISTIVE ROBOTICS PLATFORM DESIGN FOR USER AGENCY, PERSONALIZATION, AND ACCESSIBILITY

 
- (left to right) Cylindrical Manipulator, Cartbot Prototype

I worked as a research assistant with Dr. William Messner on the design and development of an assistive robotic platform for people with physical disabilities during my first year at Tufts University. I developed a teleoperated assistive mobile manipulator based on a minimal-DOF design approach I formulated. This approach allows direct-manipulation control to maximize the user’s agency over its behavior while maintaining sufficient functionality. With the goal of developing a practical platform that could be accepted into people’s everyday lives, I developed the project by formulating a direction that addressed the relationship between the system’s DOF and the user’s control agency. I collaborated with the Tufts Occupational Therapy department to conduct multiple user studies with participants with tetraplegia to evaluate the performance and usability of the platform.

WIRELESS VIBRATING TENSEGRITY ROBOT

- Showcase video for first prototype of wireless vibrating tensegrity robot

 
- (left to right) Wireless tensegrity strut module in resonance testing apparatus, Assembled 6-bar tensegrity robot (3 active struts)

I designed and developed a wireless vibrating tensegrity robot during my junior and senior years of my undergraduate at Union College as a part of Dr. John Rieffel’s research on evolutionary robotics and morphological communication. The strut modules were designed to excite the resonant frequencies of the robot.

• Designed, modeled, fabricated, and tested a wireless vibrating tensegrity strut to complete the world’s first wireless vibrating tensegrity robot, which serves as a reliable and modular test subject for genetic algorithm experiments.
• Designed for rapid manufacturing (only necessary fabrication processes are: laser cutting, waterjet cutting, and soldering)
• Developed a resonance model of a single strut to validate the FEA model for the resonant modes of the robot.
• Designed a custom vibration motor to match the resonant frequency range and maximize amplitude.
• Implemented onboard IMU and data collection for motion tracking of individual struts during locomotion.

VR & AR APPLICATIONS FOR DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING (GE Global Research, R&D Internship)

• Researched and tested a diverse range of current virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies for innovative applications in engineering design and manufacturing
• Developed interactive VR simulations using Unity3D to create virtual environments and program behavior components for the purpose of establishing proof-of-concept for use cases relevant to the project