I'm a mechanical engineer with a passion for building robots that can operate reliably in the real world.

I love working on projects that let me build systems from the ground up, spanning everything from mechanical and electrical design to software. I've spent the past several years designing and researching systems that combine physical hardware with perception, estimation, and control, from developing sensor fusion methods for small autonomous vehicles at Penn State to working on off-road autonomy at Carnegie Mellon University's AirLab.

At CMU, I've worked on problems ranging from terrain-aware motion planning and LiDAR-based terrain estimation to learning-based models for off-road vehicle dynamics. I've also designed and built hardware, including a thermal camera payload for an autonomous vehicle platform. Beyond robotics, I've worked on precision manufacturing systems, instrumentation, 3D-printed hardware, embedded electronics, and other hands-on engineering projects. As president of Penn State's Robotics Club, I also had the opportunity to help other students turn their ideas into working robots.

I'm particularly interested in autonomous vehicles, robotics, controls, and intelligent physical systems, and in the challenge of taking an idea from a simulation or CAD model and making it work in the real world.

This website is a collection of the projects, research, and things I've built along the way!

Isaiah Adu's Portfolio