Maryland Robotics Center 10th Anniversary Time Capsule

1. Big Bird (2010)

Big Bird was the original prototype of the RoboRaven series of flapping-wing aerial vehicles. This robot used a motor and reciprocal gear system for flapping and was designed to study and understand the mechanics and aerodynamics of flapping-wing flight.

Research Area: Bio-Inspired Robotics

Principal Investigator: Hugh Bruck & S.K.Gupta

Department: Mechanical Engineering

2. TinyTeRP (2011)

TinyTeRP is an inch-scale, open-source wheeled robotic platform with modular sensing capabilities that is designed for researchers of the swarm and distributed robotics.

Research Area: Miniature Robotics

Principal Investigator: Sarah Bergbreiter

Department: Mechanical Engineering

3. Jumping Microrobot (2011)

This tiny jumping robot was manufactured using micro-scale technologies with embedded silicone springs.

Research Area: Miniature Robotics

Principal Investigator: Sarah Bergbreiter

Department: Mechanical Engineering

4. Magnetic Hexapod (2014)

This magnetically actuated hexapedal walking robot was fabricated using a combination of laser cutting and elastomer molding.

Research Area: Miniature Robotics

Principal Investigator: Sarah Bergbreiter

Department: Mechanical Engineering

5. R2G2 Snake Robot (2014)

R2G2 was designed for search and rescue operations and camouflage applications. Its linear (rather than sinusoidal) movements allow it to slide into narrow pipes and passageways that would impede other snake-inspired robots.

Research Area: Bio-Inspired Robotics

Principal Investigator: S.K.Gupta

Department: Mechanical Engineering

6. Acoustic Sensor (2014)

This artifact is an enhanced acoustic sensor that uses metamaterials to improve acoustic detection by increasing the compression and pressure of a sound wave.

Research Area: Bio-Inspired Robotics

Principal Investigator: Miao Yu

Department: Mechanical Engineering

7. Quadrupedal Microbot (2015)

This magnetically actuated 3D-printed miniature robot was used to study the locomotion of microrobots.

Research Area: Miniature Robotics

Principal Investigator: Sarah Bergbreiter

Department: Mechanical Engineering

8. UAS wind probes (2015)

This quadrotor drone features an onboard wind sensor that it uses to improve stability and control in gusty conditions.

Research Area: Autonomous Systems

Principal Investigator: Derek Paley

Department: Aerospace Engineering

9. Quadrotor Swarm (2015)

These small quadcopters were used to demonstrate multi-robot swarming behavior inspired by the mating dance of mosquitos.

Research Area: Multirobot Systems

Principal Investigator: Derek Paley

Department: Aerospace Engineering

10. RoboTerp 3 (2016)

RoboTerp is a turtle-inspired amphibious robot capable of autonomous and remote-control behavior.

Research Area: Bio-Inspired Robotics

Principal Investigator: S.K.Gupta & Hugh Bruck

Department: Mechanical Engineering

11. HippoBot (2017)

The HippoBot mobile robot was the final project of students in a bio-inspired robotics class.

Research Area: Bio-Inspired Robotics

Principal Investigator: Hugh Bruck

Department: Mechanical Engineering

12. Robotic Fish (2017)

This fish-inspired robot uses an internal motor and rubbery body to generate flapping-tail propulsion. It was built to investigate underwater sensing and control in multi-robot systems.

Research Area: Bio-Inspired Robotics

Principal Investigator: Derek Paley

Department: Aerospace Engineering

13. Soft Robotic Actuator (2018)

This pneumatic actuator will bend when pressurized by air. It was used to study the sensing and control of soft robotic manipulators.

Research Area: Bio-Inspired Robotics

Principal Investigator: Nikhil Chopra

Department: Mechanical Engineering

14. Soft Robotic Hand (2019)

This 3D printed robotic hand contains an embedded fluidic control system that was able to complete the first level of the original Super Mario Bros. video game.

Research Area: Bio-Inspired Robotics

Principal Investigator: Ryan Sochol

Department: Mechanical Engineering

15. Aerial Robotics Class Kit (2019)

This kit was used by students in an aerospace engineering class to build an aerial robot capable of traversing an obstacle course using onboard perception and control.

Research Area: Autonomous Systems

Principal Investigator: Yiannis Aloimonos

Department: Computer Science

 

16. Robotic Sea Sponge (2019)

Inspired by the sea sponge, these 3D-printed shapes are designed to undergo large deformations when submerged.

Research Area: Bio-Inspired Robotics

Principal Investigator: Eleonora Tubaldi

Department: Mechanical Engineering

17. Rocket Flight Controller (2020)

This flight controller was part of an hardware platform that students entered in a rocket launch competition.

Research Area:  Extreme Robotics

Principal Investigator: David Akin

Department: Aerospace Engineering


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