For ME72, Caltech’s flagship engineering design competition, our team was tasked with creating fully operational robots capable of navigating the arena, handling game pieces, and executing a shooting mechanism. My role spanned across mechanical design, fabrication, electrical integration, and system troubleshooting. I worked on the drivetrain, machining precision gussets and transmission components using the mill, drill press, and waterjet, and redesigned structural elements to improve assembly tolerances and belt alignment. I also helped prototype multiple shooter concepts, including vertical and horizontal flywheel configurations, optimizing feed geometry and mounting strategies as failures emerged during testing.
On the controls side, I helped configure the ESP32 and RoboClaw motor controller. Throughout the build cycle, I helped resolve critical issues such as chassis misalignment, HDPE baseplate drag, inconsistent pulley spacing, and electrical noise between subsystems. This required rapid debugging, CAD revisions, and hands-on testing to maintain progress toward mobility and shooting milestones. Overall, my contributions supported the creation of three competitive robots built under tight deadlines, integrating mechanical robustness with functional control systems. Final report of our project can be found here and my personal engineering notebook can be found here.