2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

BYOE: McKibben Creature - A Low-Cost Robotic Simulation of A Biological Environment

Presented at ELOS Technical Session 6: Bring Your Own Experiment!

Developed by undergraduate mechanical engineering students, this BYOE paper presents a simple to construct, low-cost robot entirely actuated through the use of McKibben muscles. McKibben muscles are a type of pneumatic actuator commonly used in soft robot designs. As soft robotic designs and applications continue to grow in industry settings, this activity seeks to introduce students to soft robotics concepts early in their academic careers. With the primary construction materials being from readily available components and craft supplies, the project can easily be implemented in both college and high school learning environments with limited resources. The completed robot design involves three main functional challenges; maneuverability, ability to pick up small objects, and storage of the objects. Students’ robots will then compete in a simulated biological environment, with small objects that can be placed at differing heights to vary the task difficulty and represent food sources at multiple elevations. Each team of students would be tasked to strategically design their robot to optimize performance in a competition for points. To optimize their robots, teams would have to make changes to their designs to specialize in different ‘environmental niches’ in order to outcompete others. As desired, the instructor can introduce several other gameplay mechanics that would increase the complexity of the students’ design task and emulate other elements of the food web. This project can incorporate several key learning objectives, including implementing parametric design phases, enhancing an entrepreneurial mindset, optimizing product design, and applying knowledge of balancing forces to create motion. In this paper, the curricular context and classroom activity are thoroughly explained, as well as logistical aspects of implementation such as requirements, game ruleset, and set up environment. Additionally, the students who designed this project also developed a prototype McKibben Creature that adhered to the project scope. General manufacturing and design methodologies for that robot are provided.

Authors

Joseph Richard Midiri Rowan University
Kathy Trieu Rowan University [biography]

Kathy Trieu is an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering student at Rowan University.
Wei Xue http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6550-5366 Rowan University [biography]

Dr. Wei Xue is currently an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rowan University. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Shandong University, China, and his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. His research focuses on functional materials, soft robotics, and engineering education.
Dr. Mitja Trkov Rowan University [biography]

Dr. Mitja Trkov is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rowan University, NJ. His research interests include soft robotics, human-machine interactions, wearable system, ergonomics, and biomechanics. He received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Rutgers University, New Brunswick in 2016 and his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2007. Before joining Rowan, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT.
Dr. Cassandra Sue Ellen Jamison http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0253-1636 Rowan University [biography]

Cassandra (Cassie) Jamison is an Assistant Professor in the Experiential Engineering Education Department at Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ). Her research interests focus on understanding and improving the learning that occurs in experiential, out-of-class activities for engineering students. Cassie previously received a B.A. in Engineering Sciences at Wartburg College (Waverly, IA) and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in BME from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI).
Dr. Smitesh Bakrania http://orcid.org/https://0000-0003-0663-0241 Rowan University [biography]

Dr. Smitesh Bakrania is an associate professor in Mechanical Engineering at Rowan University. He received his Ph.D. from University of Michigan in 2008 and his B.S. from Union College in 2003. His research interests include combustion synthesis of nanoparticles and combustion catalysis using nanopar- ticles. He is also involved in developing educational apps for instructional and research purposes.

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