Multilegged Robots and Animal Motion (MuRoAM) MDP Team
The Bio-Inspired Robotics and Dynamical Systems (BIRDS) lab focuses on understanding core principles of animal locomotion, distilling their mathematical principles, and applying them to advance robot technology.
The MuRoAM student team will work on design and fabrication of robots using these novel approaches, on computer vision and machine learning automation of the animal experiments, and on core mechanical and electronic technologies that will be folded into future robot designs.
To facilitate this work, the student team will be split into four groups: Operations, Mechanics, Electronics, and Biology. Each group will be coordinated by a current BIRDS lab PhD student. Currently, I am a member of the Mechanics team, and the team leader of the Quadcopter (Our quadcopter aims to study how we can determine mechanical design parameters through iteration. In relation to the quadcopter, we will be studying motor position. Each iteration will consist of flying the quadcopter, recording data on how it flies, and then producing a new chassis with modified motor positions.)
Mechanics group: will focus on mechanical design of robot parts, robot assemblies, and specialty equipment for robot and animal experiments. Our robots use unusual materials and novel design families that go far outside the norm of typical mechanical engineering. They will work with the Operations group on fabrication, assembly and repair of robots, and with the Biology group on construction and maintenance of animal experimental systems and equipment. Open to students from ME, CivE, AERO, MSE, Architecture, Applied Physics; advantage having experience with AutoDesk tools, 3D printing, composites, soft materials. Goal size: 3 for 2020, to 6 long term.
Robot Demo Video Download Link
Lab Supervisor
Shai Revzen is an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the College of Engineering, and holds a courtesy faculty appointment in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts.
He received his PhD in Integrative Biology doing research in the PolyPEDAL Lab at the University of California at Berkeley, and did his postdoctoral work in the GRASP Laboratory of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to his academic work, Shai was Chief Architect R&D of the convergent systems division of Harmonic Lightwaves (HLIT), and a co-founder of Bio-Systems Analysis, a biomedical technology start-up.
For more information about BIRDS lab and our robots: www.birds.eecs.umich.edu