Flying insect robots (FIRs), owing to their minuscule weight and size, offer unparalleled advantages in terms of material cost and scalability. However, their size introduces control hurdles, notably high-speed dynamics, restricted power, and payload capacities. While there have been notable advancements in developing lightweight sensors, often drawing inspiration from biological systems, the challenge remains in executing controlled flight without external feedback. We introduce Tiny Sense, a novel avionics system tailored for FIRs, encompassing an integrated sensor package — an inertial measurement unit, a pressure sensor, and an optical flow sensor. Coupled with a Kalman Filter (KF), this system weighs a mere 78.4 mg, drawing 15 mW of power. This is lighter and more power-efficient than previous sensor suites of the same capabilities. Our system uses a global-shutter camera as an optical flow sensor to collect pixel intensities for accurate optical flow calculations at 100 Hz. We collected raw data from the Tiny Sense by attaching it to a Crazyflie quadcopter and tested the KF by comparing its results to the measurements from the Crazyflie. We will continue to integrate the Tiny Sense with sub-gram FIRs and are currently working on mounting it to a 74-mg RoboFly. Our sensor suite allows even smaller FIRs to be able to achieve autonomous control.

Viscous Thread Printing (VTP) is a novel manufacturing technique that allows foam production using traditional Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printers. This printing technique takes advantage of an everyday phenomenon called Viscous Thread Instability (VTI), which can be observed when honey is drizzled onto pancakes. Similarly, molten filament buckles onto itself and creates a coiling pattern when extruded from enough height. These coils create cellular structures that have shown potential improved durability and expanded applications such as in medical scaffoldings. However, as a relatively new technique, VTP has been limited to producing single-stiffness (uniform density) foams in previous works, and it remained unproven whether we can produce VTP foams containing multiple densities. Drawing inspiration from biological structures with variable porosity such as bones and balsa woods, we hypothesized that we could create multi-density VTP foams by manipulating predominant VTP parameters that affected the size of the coils. This way, we can vary the pore sizes, and thus the density and stiffness, of a single cellular structure while preserving high structural integrity. Such structures would have many applications such as in robotics and prosthetics, such as customizable orthotics and limbs for soft robots. Beyond enabling this technique, we further investigate a novel methodology to simulate the printing process of variable density VTP foams and measure the foam's material properties. This allows for an easier and more sustainable exploration of the design of VTP foams without wasting any filament, which would make VTP foams more accessible in industry and research settings.

Collision avoidance studies find important applications for motion planning of mobile robots for deployment in outer space, nuclear waste management, mobiles used for process automation, etc. Here, we integrate mobile robot simulations with mathematical modeling using Python to understand collision avoidance for mobile robotics. We used the open-source Pioneer code on the Webots platform for simulations of mobile robots which employ Kinect-based optical and IR sensors and cameras for live-tracking of objects in the environment variable and have motion controller Matlab software that provides the kinematic variables like position, velocity, and acceleration of various objects in real-time. We wrote a Python code to digitize the image matrices obtained from simulations and identified the pixels having objects that the mobile robot must avoid for collision avoidance. We calculated the instantaneous distances between the mobile robot and various objects to interpret and analyze the simulated trajectories. We used jump collision avoidance models to estimate the mobile robot trajectories in the vicinity of objects. The calculated object avoidance jump trajectory of the robot was smoothened using Gaussian data convolution methods to obtain smooth trajectories. The simulations provide attractive visualization and are useful for machine learning and testing algorithms for collision avoidance and motion planning.

When creating video games, developers incorporate auditory components like music and sound effects which influence users’ gameplay experience. A game’s music is often designed with respect to the game’s context or plot, containing melodic and harmonic ideas that are continually developed. Existing research in ludomusicology and human-computer interaction have explored the role of music in these games, but few have considered what musical factors are the most easily perceived or most effective for conveying information. My work investigates specific elements of a game’s music, how they are perceived by a user, and how they impact the user’s decision-making. Participants complete a digital maze in which the music progressively adapts in response to their selected path but the adaptation method is not explicitly revealed to the user. Actions that bring a user closer or further to finishing the maze have opposing adaptations, though it is left to the user to observe and interpret these adaptations correctly. The adaptation methods include tempo, dynamic, pitch, and layering or texture. Through analyzing quantitative data tracked during gameplay as well as interviewing with participants about their experience, I seek out which of the aforementioned auditory changes are most easily perceived by and influential to players. I also discuss emotional responses associated with changes in certain auditory factors. Findings from this work may inform the development of software with effective and meaningful auditory elements for users.

6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ), a transformation product of an anti-oxidant used in tire manufacturing, was recently identified as the causal agent of acute mortality in coho salmon. Abrasion on tires by road surfaces create tire wear particles (TWPs). Both TWPs and the accumulation of waste tires pose risks of leaching 6PPDQ into stormwater runoff. Crumb rubbers, which are manufactured to reduce landfill tire waste and applied in turf infills, may also leach 6PPDQ. My research aims to determine the conditions at which crumb rubber can be pyrolyzed to prevent 6PPDQ leaching from tire recycling options. If pyrolysis successfully removes 6PPDQ from crumb rubber, then the resulting material can be applied as an absorbent tire char to remove contaminants from water. Waste tire crumb rubber samples were pyrolyzed in a tube furnace under nitrogen flow for 90 minutes at a range of different temperatures. Methanol-based solvent extraction was used to extract the remaining 6PPDQ from the pyrolyzed samples and diluted until suitable for liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) analysis. It is observed that as the pyrolysis temperature increases, the mass of 6PPDQ leached from pyrolyzed crumb rubber decreases. The results of this study allow us to understand the limitations of pyrolyzing tire rubber to develop activated carbon. To further investigate the feasibility of waste tire activated carbon, a chemical activation step will be added in pyrolysis to better replicate the creation of activated carbon.

Currently, over 6.6 million Americans use walking canes, rollators, and forearm crutches. However, little work has been done to improve the practicality of mobility aids for users. Prior work on modifying these mobility devices has centered around sensing and monitoring user interactions with their mobility device, without changes to the core structure of the devices. Our project aims to explore a set of mobility aid modifications including aesthetics, comfort, and ergonomics. We conducted over 15 qualitative interviews with mobility aid users using phenomenological interviewing strategies to understand user preferences and experiences better and gain feedback on possible adjustments to mobility devices. After qualitative analysis and creating codes based on patterns observed in the interviews analyzed, we identified and compiled unique experiences amongst mobility aid users into a codebook. We then sought to address these observations using fabrication methods such as 3D printing, laser-cutting, and soldering to modify existing mobility devices and develop prototyping materials. Subsequently, we conducted a follow-up design workshop to have users develop modifications and accessory ideas using the tools and templates we provided. Some modifications considered included interactivity stickers, physical feedback mechanisms, and improved mobility aid tip designs. Ultimately, we gained feedback for modifications in future mobility aids research and produced guidelines from our experiences working with mobility devices that can improve community input in accessibility aid research. This work also contributed valuable insights into approaching mobility aid improvements from a Human-Computer Interaction perspective.