REU in Miniature Robotics holds final project symposium

The class of 2013 REU students, with their UMD mentors.

The 2013 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) in Miniature Robotics closing symposium was held on Friday, Aug. 9.

The 10-week program offers exciting research opportunities for undergraduate students across the country in miniature robotics. These small robots, with overall sizes between 1 mm and 100 mm, have the potential to significantly enable and enhance capabilities in manufacturing, medicine, reconnaissance, exploration, food safety, and search and rescue. Because of their size, miniature robotics offer a truly interdisciplinary systems research challenge that encompasses mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, materials science, and computer science among other topics.

Students develop research projects, attend technical tutorial seminars, visit local government labs involved in miniature robotics research, attend professional and academic development seminars, and tour Maryland’s top-notch facilities supporting robotics research including the UMD FabLab and Neutral Buoyancy Research Facility. Coffee talk discussions provide an informal setting for students and mentors to discuss technical and non-technical topics. The program is headed by Assistant Professor Sarah Bergbreiter (ME/ISR).

The closing symposium program gives each student the chance to prepare and present a presentation on their summer research. In 2013 the following projects were presented at the symposium:

Developing new Wing Structures for the Robo Raven Platform
Deepak Lingam
Huch Bruck, faculty mentor
Luke Roberts, graduate student mentor

Developing an Autonomous Modular Miniature Robot for Dynamic Air-Ground Robotic Networks
Joey Ni
Nuno Martins, faculty mentor
Yonatan Gefen, graduate student mentor

TeRPinator 4.0: Swarmation
Esther Jang and Roberto Villalba
Derek Paley, faculty mentor
Frank Lagor, graduate student mentor

COC-CB Composites, Fabrication and Electrical Characterization
Andrew Wilson
Don DeVoe, faculty mentor
Eric Kendall, postdoctoral mentor

Integrating Flexible Solar Cells into Flapping Wing Miniature Air Vehicles
Savannah Nolen
Hugh Bruck, faculty mentor
Ariel Perez-Rosado, graduate student mentor

Development of a Lightweight and Small Underactuated Hand for Use on Quadrotors
Emma Capman
Nuno Martins, faculty mentor
Nitay Ravin, graduate student mentor

Examining Vision Sensors for Small Robots
Max Frantz
Sarah Bergbreiter, faculty mentor
Ivan Penskiy, graduate student mentor

Multi-material legs for 3D-Printed Millibots
Asa Eckert-Erdheim
Sarah Bergbreiter, faculty mentor
Dana Vogtmann, graduate student mentor

Fly Ear-Inspired Sensing: Virtual Coupling
John Rattray
Miau Yu, faculty mentor
Haijun Liu, postdoctoral mentor

Published August 14, 2013