Independent Controls Engineer and Software Developer

Kurious Design, Denver, CO

• Motor Control for Automatic Bicycle Transmission

  PID Control of BLDC motor with absolute (single-turn) encoder feedback for use in automatic gear shifting. Code written in C++. Additionally developed a UI for demonstration purposes. Nodejs/ROS2/Reactjs

• Interactive Putt Putt Golf Course

  Course robotics design and development as well as multi-sensor/actuator system integration for interactive putt putt golf course. Designed animatronic shark with 2DOF (jaw and torso) that uses computer vision to trigger the shark from rest to animation. Additionally developed a console-style game that has 5+ custom mechanisms and is like 3D pinball with a golf ball, mixing projection mapping with physical motion as well. Light, sound and kinetic show that is all apart of a 60 sec race to complete the hole. Five holes in total had robotic elements for which I wrote the controls logic. Additionally, developed a real-time webapp for maintenance personnel to check on the status of the robotic elements of each hole, as well as perform setup tasks (like homing and zeroing motors).

• BoombleBee Art Installation

  Creative Prototype Design of Interactive Mechatronic Art project in 3 weeks from start to delivery. Custom designed mechanical and controls components for a electro-magnetically-actuated “BoombleBee” for use in an Spectra Art Space immersive art gallery in Denver, CO. The magic of the bee’s is that the buzzing of their wings is triggered acoustically by the beat of a specific tongue drum note (digital signal analysis using microphone and FFT). Developed version two with stinging thorax and internal lighting, proximity reactive. This was one of the toughest things to design because the thorax was a series of concentric spheres that had to slide together and also be assembly-friendly. HIdden tensioner inside the spine of the thorax for maintainability.

Contract Project Manager and Controls Engineer and Webapp Developer

5th Axis Inc, San Diego, CA

• Fanuc Robotic Workcell for Cnc Machine Tending

  Controls Engineer and Project Manager for 9-month Fanuc Robotic Workcell for Doosan Cnc Machine tending, Managed group of engineers for mechanical design and overhauled project management system, performed electrical system design, managed BOM and procurement and scheduling, developed firmware control of cell in CoDeSys, designed UI and project managed off-shore team to develop UI in React/NodeJS and co-developed as well, commissioned the system.

Contract Controls Engineer and Software Developer

Aerospec Inc, Gilbert, AZ

• Paper Bowl Laser Cutting Machine

  Write PLC (Allen-Bradley) process logic, debug and commission custom machine to use C02 laser to cut paper bowls. Troubleshoot wiring issues and work with German-based laser company to solve controls issues with laser. Developed custom HMI and UI for creating bowl-cutting recipes in C#.

Robotic Systems Engineer

Stratom Inc, Boulder, CO

• Self-Driving Part Delivery Robot

  Project experience with self-driving on-demand part delivery robot and cargo hauling vehicles entailing diesel-hydraulic propulsion and lidar-based feedback.

Automation Design Engineer

Concept Systems Inc, Albany, OR (Worked remotely from Denver, CO)

• Three-Robot Cell Integration

  Fanuc programming of three-robot cell. Mechanical design of custom tooling in SolidWorks; electrical design and component selection, BOM management, safety analysis and design.

Mechatronics Design Engineer

Adaptive Innovations Corp, Lakewood, Colorado

• Multi-Station Assembly Robotic Cells

  Mechanical, electrical and controls system design of multi-station assembly robotic cells. Develop control architecture for multi-station sequencers: manual/auto/diagnostic modes, collision avoidance, diagnostics and troubleshooting assistance, error management and E-Stop recovery.

Application Engineer

Vicon Motion Systems, Centennial, Colorado

• 3D Motion Capturing Systems

  Provided technical support to customer for 3D motion capturing systems used for life sciences, entertainment, and university research. Developed and wrote MATLAB race car game for demo which integrated real-time Vicon software output of car positions from toy race track.

Automation Development Engineer

Monsanto, Ankeny, Iowa

• Prototype Machines for Agricultural Research

  Responsible for design, development, assembly, testing, debugging, implementation, support and enhancement of prototype machines for agricultural research. Design parts and create technical drawings in SolidWorks; Perform design evaluations and redesign of prototype machines for mass production.

Research in Science and Engineering Intern

German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), UDE, Duisburg, Germany

• Ground-force Sensors for Autonomous Robot

  Participated in a summer internship abroad developing ground-force sensors for an autonomous, static-walking robot. Modeled system behavior in MATLAB/ Simulink; Designed and built functioning prototype with signal amplification.

Manufacturing and Development Engineer Intern

Club Car Inc., Augusta, GA

• 4x4 Utility Vehicle Launch

  Launch team member of new 4x4 utility vehicle; Prepared existing assembly line for integration of new vehicle by modifying previous manufacturing assembly sequence and designed and created technical drawings for new assembly fixtures for the assembly line using SolidWorks.

Development Engineer Intern

Tyco Electronics, Winston-Salem, NC

• Automotive Seat Position Sensor

  Developed automotive seat position sensor concepts in Pro-E; Performed product verification tests on prototype brake position sensors results analysis. Designed and prepared technical drawings for sensor mounting brackets and its testing apparatus in Pro-E.

Master Thesis

UDE Department of Mechanics and Robotics, Duisburg, Germany

January 2012 - October 2012

"Determination and Analysis of Kinematic Throwing Parameters for Varying Target Position for 2-DOF Overhead Throwing". Independently conceived, designed, and managed project with minimal guidance from adviser; Acquired data using motion capturing system then converted and processed data in self-written MATLAB program which utilized pattern recognition techniques to detect phase transition times for each throw. Built simulation models to resolve kinematics and dynamics of the throw using MATLAB/Simulink, verified accuracy using ADAMS and SolidWorks. Investigated adaptive control to be used on a robot arm including iterative learning to facilitate an investigation of human motor control mechanisms.

Miscellaneous Projects during Master’s Program

UDE, Duisburg, Germany

August 2010 - May 2012

Designed and simulated predictive controller for an automated meat smoker in MATLAB/Simulink and identified suitable heat source and sensors. Designed controller for automatic cocktail machine in MATLAB/Simulink/Stateflow as well as an GUI for simulation of machine. Worked on vehicle dynamics simulator project; adapted button-dependent output from steering wheel for controls to be used with xPC Target system.

Capstone Design Project

OSU/Rockwell Automation (RA),

September 2009 - June 2010

Team designed and constructed Rube-Goldberg machine to demonstrate capabilities of automation components from Allen-Bradley/RA. Served as team leader: managed progress between interdisciplinary team members, orchestrated completion of deadlines, and organized communication.