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NASA Langley Summer 2018
Virginia Tech Fall 2019 - Fall 2020
Assemblers is a NASA Langley Project focused on a reconfigurable robotic system for in- space assembly. It features Stewart Platforms that can be stacked on top of one another to increase the manipulation space accessible. Through this it is able to perform critical tasks while remaining modular to suit a wide array of applications.
Personal Contribution
Personal Contribution
Starting during my NASA Langley 2017 Summer internship, I aided in testing out the original "two stack" of what would go on to be the Assemblers project. When returning in the Summer of 2018 the project was in full swing and I spent most of the Summer supporting its efforts.
One major feature of the Assemblers architecture is its modularity. Due to that fact that you can operate with a varying number of Stewart Platform stacks the ability to connect and disconnect these units is critical. So to solve this issue I worked to create the genderless gripper design detailed below. This process involved multiple rounds of design and fabrication to converge on the design as it exists now.
Over both summers I aided in supplementary tasks including editing the ball joint housing design, soldering circuit boards, wiring, repairing broken components, and testing its motion.
Upon starting at Virginia Tech, I continued to be a part of the team working on this project. The original Stewart Platforms featured in this work continue to be an integral part in current research effort.
Genderless Gripper
Genderless Gripper
The genderless gripper design featured a tri-radially symmetric design with tabs and slide locking plates. In this two plates would be interlocked by rotating one 60 degrees to align alternating table and capture mechanisms. With the capture fully retracted the tabs would slide into place where they could then be locked by extending the plate into place.
These plates would be actuated through the use of a revolutionary gear-driven cam design. By rotating the cam, the linkages would slide along the radially changing slot to extend or retract the arm. At the edge of this cam is a toothed bevel gear with three smaller gears attached to the side walls.
These would allow one side to manually rotate the opposing side in case of a loss of power in the other Assembler unit.
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