Robot Projects

Sophisticated designs elementary fabrication

Innovative Car Door Linkage

Austin Suh has designed this innovative car door linkage. He built a prototype that demonstrates this movement next to his Honda Civic for comparison. The 3D printed PLA linkage sits in one corner and lifts the door up and over the car. It is driven by a DC gear motor through a crank-rocker, which provides […]

Spherical Linkage Opening a Jewelry Box

Austin Suh has designed a variety of spherical linkages that provide a unique movement to open a jewelry box. Here are some examples, one of which has a linear actuator to open the box at the touch of a switch.

Six-Oar TrimaranMDA Press

Swimming Robot

Jiaji Li has completed the design, fabrication and testing of…
Oar-Driven Unmanned Surface Vehicle

Oar-Driven Unmanned Surface Vehicle

This trimaran designed by Jiaji Li has three oars supported by…
Stegosaurus walkerMDA Press

Eight Legs, Two Motors and a Lot of Personality

Please take a look at the videos demonstrating these Robot Walkers. Our…
Jiaji Li's robotic rowboatMDA Press

Jiaji Li’s Robotic Rowboat

Jiaji Li has succeeded in building a prototype Robotic Rowboat.…
BYU Zoom LectureMDA Press

Quaternions in Kinematics: BYU Lecture

Students at BYU formed a study group advised by Prof. Denise…

The Bored Robot

Tutorials on electronics and controls

Arduino-USB-CableMDA Press

Getting to Know the Arduino IDE

By Brandon Tsuge, In this post, we will see how to…
Motor Control HardwareMDA Press

Remote Control of a Brushed DC Motor

By Brandon Tsuge, Introduction In this post, we’ll…
Arduino Nano UnoMDA Press

How To Get Started With Robotics At Home

By Brandon Tsuge, If you’ve ever wanted to get started…

Creative Works

New ideas come from storytellers

Red Lines, Part 6

By Chris McCarthy The conclusion finds Leo facing decisions good and bad… The Suburban speeds on the tarmac. Private jets line the runway to the left of the vehicle. To the right, a fifteen foot concrete wall reaches into the sky.  Leo looks behind him then ducks, just as a man fires a gun out […]

Red Lines part 5MDA Press
Red Lines, Part 4MDA Press
Exponential Threat, Part 4MDA Press
Exponential Threat, Part 3MDA Press

Racecar Engineering

Big projects need a team

Solar Car PanelsMDA Press

ZotSun: UCI Entry in the Formula Sun Grand Prix

Design of the 2025 Formul Sun Competition Vehicle: The…
Baja SubsystemsMDA Press

UCI Anteater Baja Racing: Five Months to the Competition

Design of the 2025 Baja Competition Vehicle: The UCI…
California Shootout 2024MDA Press

UCI Anteater Electric Racing: Six Months to the 2025 Competition

Design of the 2025 EV Competition Vehicle: The UCI Anteater…
UCI Vehicle Performance Engineering LabMDA Press

UCI Ready for Racecar Engineering Season

The Vehicle Performance Engineering Lab is clean and ready for…

Linkage Designs

Interesting linkages and articulated systems

Wing Mechanisms

Wing Mechanisms

Repurposing Jansen's Leg Mechanism: Innovative mechanical…
Removing Redundant ConstraintsMDA Press

How to Fix SW Motion Analysis Error: Too Many Redundant Constraints

Kevin Chen,  J. Michael McCarthy,  Shaun Bentley The…
Six-Legged Mechanical Walkers:  Spring 2020 Highlights

Six-Legged Mechanical Walkers: Spring 2020 Highlights

The leg mechanisms of these six-legged walkers use two coordinated…
Four-Legged Mechanical Walkers: Spring 2020 Highlights

Four-Legged Mechanical Walkers: Spring 2020 Highlights

The design of these four-legged walkers relies on Curvature theory…
Walker Teams 2, 4 and 5MDA

Four-legged Mechanical Walkers: Teams 2, 4 and 5

Here are videos of the designs for the four legged mechanical…
Mechanical Walker designed by Team 6MDA

Four Legged Mechanical Walker: Teams 1, 3 and 6

Here are videos of the designs for the four legged mechanical…
Leg MechanismJMM

Construction of a Leg Mechanism

This is a series of four videos that show how to: Specify…
Rectilinear Six-bar

Rectilinear Six-Bar (Candy Coating Linkage)

Jeff Glabe designed this six-bar linkage to move through six…
Hummingbird Spatial Six-bar

Hummingbird Spatial Six-bar Linkage

This spatial six-bar linkage provides a compact flapping wing…
Flapping Wing Prototype

Flapping Wing Prototype

This is the manufacturing prototype for the flapping wing mechanism…

All Blog Posts

Innovative car door linkageMDA Press

Innovative Car Door Linkage

Austin Suh has designed this innovative car door linkage. He…
Jewelry BoxesMDA Press

Spherical Linkage Opening a Jewelry Box

Austin Suh has designed a variety of spherical linkages that…
Red Lines part 6 viewMDA Press

Red Lines, Part 6

By Chris McCarthy The conclusion finds Leo facing decisions…
Red Lines part 5MDA Press

Red Lines, Part 5

By Chris McCarthy Leo finds himself at gunpoint in the back…
Red Lines, Part 4MDA Press

Red Lines, Part 4

By Chris McCarthy Leo gets the girls to what seems to be…
Exponential Threat, Part 4MDA Press

Exponential Threat, Part 4

By Chris McCarthy The conclusion of our story finds our heroes…
Exponential Threat, Part 3MDA Press

Exponential Threat, Part 3

By Chris McCarthy Things go from bad to worse as Trong and…
Red Lines Knife ep 3MDA Press

Red Lines, Part 3

By Chris McCarthy Leo is in anaphylactic shock. The cop…
Solar Car PanelsMDA Press

ZotSun: UCI Entry in the Formula Sun Grand Prix

Design of the 2025 Formul Sun Competition Vehicle: The…
Baja SubsystemsMDA Press

UCI Anteater Baja Racing: Five Months to the Competition

Design of the 2025 Baja Competition Vehicle: The UCI…