Mechanical Engineering Portfolio
Jonathan Tagoe
Soft Robots
Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP - Summer18)
MIT Computer Science and Artificial IntelligenceÂ
Distributed Robotics Lab
Auxetic Actuators
Supervisor: Lilian Chin
My first project dealt with the creation and application of auxetic materials - materials that expanded when forced in one direction and contract when forced in another. A specific pattern would be laser cut into teflon tubes, allowing for changes in length & diameter when rotated.
Using an Instron testing machine, I documented the differences in material properties of a linear actuator made of these tubes in an extended and non-extended state. Afterwards, I worked on improving the precision of the laser cutting process, by testing new laser settings and redesigning adapters for the fixture typically used for engraving glasses and jars. I also began experimenting with using different plastics to make the tubes, - ike UHMW and polypropelene - & analyzing their material properties.
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These tubes were later applied in a gripper used to carry and organize items into a shopping cart.
Rubber Trunk
Supervisor: Robert Katzschmann
My second project looked at a different facet of soft robotics - rubber. By using liquid rubber, molds and the lost wax casting method, rubber segments with internal cavities can be made and connected. Then, by using pneumatic pumps, each cavity could be inflated and bend the total trunk in a certain direction.
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I redesigned the segment and the corresponding molds in CAD, adding an additional cavity to allow for a greater degree of directional control. I then produced 4-5 segments using 3D- printed molds, liquid rubber, and pieces molded out of wax that would later be melted out in the lost-wax casting method. I assembled the segments & presented my findings to CSAIL researchers at the end of the summer.