Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 17
Description
In this article we present a low-cost force-sensing quadrupedal laminate robot platform. The robot has two degrees of freedom on each of four independent legs, allowing for a variety of motion trajectories to be created at each leg, thus creating a rich control space to explore on a relatively low-cost robot. This platform allows a user to research complex motion and gait analysis control questions, and use different concepts in computer science and control theory methods to permit it to walk. The motion trajectory of each leg has been modeled in Python. Critical design considerations are: the complexity of the laminate design, the rigidity of the materials of which the laminate is constructed, the accuracy of the transmission to control each leg, and the design of the force sensing legs.
ContributorsShuch, Benjamin David (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Sodemann, Angela (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This project is investigating the impact curvature, buckling, and anisotropy play when used passively to enhance jumping capability. In this paper we employ a curved structure to allow a rigid link to collapse preferentially in one direction when it encounters aerodynamic drag forces. A joint of this nature could be used for passively actuated jump gliding, where wings would collapse immediately on takeoff and passively redeploy during descent, allowing the jumping robot to extend its horizontal range via gliding. A passively actuated joint is simpler and more lightweight than active solutions, allowing for a lighter glider and higher jumps. To test this, several prototype collapsing gliding wings of different diameters were tested by dropping them from a consistent height above the ground and by launching them upwards and recording their initial velocity. A model was constructed in Python using the data gathered through the experiments and was tuned so that its outputs were as close as possible to the experimental results. As expected, increasing the wing diameter increased the total fall time, and increasing the payload mass decreased the total fall time. Orientation of the wings around the vertical axis of the glider relative to the direction of horizontal motion was also found to have an effect on the length of time between when the gliding platform was launched and when it made contact with the ground, with a configuration where the axis between the wings was parallel to the direction of motion granting added stability.
ContributorsLighthouse, Guston Heqian (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Sodemann, Angela (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
In this paper, we discuss the methods and requirements to simulate a soft bodied beam using traditional rigid body kinematics to produce motion inspired by eels. Eels produce a form of undulatory locomotion called anguilliform locomotion that propagates waves throughout the entire body. The system that we are analyzing is a flexible 3D printed beam being actively driven by a servo motor. Using the simulation, we also analyze different parameters for these spines to maximize the linear speed of the system.
ContributorsKwan, Anson (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Marvi, Hamidreza (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Engineering Programs (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
This paper describes the attempt of designing and building a two wheeled platform that is inherently unstable and discovering what tail design is suitable for stabilizing the platform. The platform is a 3D printed box that carries an Arduino, breadboard, MPU6050, a battery and a servo. This box is connected to two continuous servo motors (one on each side) that are attached to wheels, the breadboard and Arduino are mounted on the inside and the MPU6050 is mounted on the back of the base. The MPU6050 collects the data. In the program, that data will be the position of the accelerometer’s x-axis and that data will be sent to the servo motor with the tail for the controls aspect.
ContributorsOnonye, Frank Nwachukwu (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Zhang, Wenlong (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This thesis presents a kit of materials intended to present students with a glimpse of what engineering entails by guiding them through building engineering projects similar to what is in the real world. The objective of this project is to pique the interest of children by introducing them to lesser known engineering related topics, and increasing their literacy of terms and methods engineers use to solve problems. The effectiveness of the kit’s content and teaching methods was tested in a classroom of 6th graders and was measured using the responses from surveys handed out. I found that kit did in fact positively lead to a change in the way the students perceived engineering, and it taught students about new engineering related topics. Students were capable of completing difficult tasks of wiring and coding successfully through the use of detailed instruction. However, the instructions were seen in two opposing views of either being too overwhelming or more guidance was necessary.
ContributorsQuezada, Hebellyn Arleth (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Kellam, Nadia (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Multi-material manufacturing combines multiple fabrication processes to produce individual parts that can be made up of several different materials. These processes can include both additive and subtractive manufacturing methods as well as embedding other components during manufacturing. This yields opportunities for creating single parts that can take the place of an assembly of parts produced using conventional techniques. Some example applications of multi-material manufacturing include parts that are produced using one process then machined to tolerance using another, parts with integrated flexible joints, or parts that contain discrete embedded components such as reinforcing materials or electronics.
Multi-material manufacturing has applications in robotics because, with it, mechanisms can be built into a design without adding additional moving parts. This allows for robot designs that are both robust and low cost, making it a particularly attractive method for education or research. 3D printing is of particular interest in this area because it is low cost, readily available, and capable of easily producing complicated part geometries. Some machines are also capable of depositing multiple materials during a single process. However, up to this point, planning the steps to create a part using multi-material manufacturing has been done manually, requiring specialized knowledge of the tools used. The difficulty of this planning procedure can prevent many students and researchers from using multi-material manufacturing.
This project studied methods of automating the planning of multi-material manufacturing processes through the development of a computational framework for processing 3D models and automatically generating viable manufacturing sequences. This framework includes solid operations and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing steps for multi-material models. This research is informing the development of a software planning tool which will simplify the planning needed by multi-material fabrication, making it more accessible for use in education or research.
In our paper, Voxel-Based Cad Framework for Planning Functionally Graded and Multi-Step Rapid Fabrication Processes, we present a new framework for representing and computing functionally-graded materials for use in rapid prototyping applications. We introduce the material description itself, low-level operations which can be used to combine one or more geometries together, and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing-compatible sequences. We then apply these techniques to several example scenarios. First, we demonstrate the use of a Gaussian blur to add graded material transitions to a model which can then be produced using a multi-material 3D printing process. Our second example highlights our solution to the problem of inserting a discrete, off-the-shelf part into a 3D printed model during the printing sequence. Finally, we implement this second example and manufacture two example components.
Multi-material manufacturing has applications in robotics because, with it, mechanisms can be built into a design without adding additional moving parts. This allows for robot designs that are both robust and low cost, making it a particularly attractive method for education or research. 3D printing is of particular interest in this area because it is low cost, readily available, and capable of easily producing complicated part geometries. Some machines are also capable of depositing multiple materials during a single process. However, up to this point, planning the steps to create a part using multi-material manufacturing has been done manually, requiring specialized knowledge of the tools used. The difficulty of this planning procedure can prevent many students and researchers from using multi-material manufacturing.
This project studied methods of automating the planning of multi-material manufacturing processes through the development of a computational framework for processing 3D models and automatically generating viable manufacturing sequences. This framework includes solid operations and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing steps for multi-material models. This research is informing the development of a software planning tool which will simplify the planning needed by multi-material fabrication, making it more accessible for use in education or research.
In our paper, Voxel-Based Cad Framework for Planning Functionally Graded and Multi-Step Rapid Fabrication Processes, we present a new framework for representing and computing functionally-graded materials for use in rapid prototyping applications. We introduce the material description itself, low-level operations which can be used to combine one or more geometries together, and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing-compatible sequences. We then apply these techniques to several example scenarios. First, we demonstrate the use of a Gaussian blur to add graded material transitions to a model which can then be produced using a multi-material 3D printing process. Our second example highlights our solution to the problem of inserting a discrete, off-the-shelf part into a 3D printed model during the printing sequence. Finally, we implement this second example and manufacture two example components.
ContributorsBrauer, Cole D (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Sodemann, Angela (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Laminate devices have the potential to lower the cost and complexity of robots. Taking advantage of laminate materials' flexibility, a high-performance jumping platform has been developed with the goal of optimizing jump ground clearance. Four simulations are compared in order to understand which dynamic model elements (leg flexibility, motor dynamics, contact, joint damping, etc.) must be included to accurately model jumping performance. The resulting simulations have been validated with experimental data gathered from a small set of physical leg prototypes spanning design considerations such as gear ratio and leg length, and one in particular was selected for the fidelity of performance trends against experimental results. This simulation has subsequently been used to predict the performance of new leg designs outside the initial design set. The design predicted to achieve the highest jump ground clearance was then built and tested as a demonstration of the usefulness of this simulation.
ContributorsKnaup, Jacob W (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Sugar, Thomas (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The creative project was to create a working prototype kit that can teach multiple lessons of the curriculum that the schools or individual families could purchase. The curriculum would be centered on the engineering and science curriculum that is introduced from fourth to sixth grade classes. By creating an interactive kit with curriculum that the students could individualize and use for multiple lessons, the goal is to get them more engaged in the material. The project would consist of a week-long project kit that will introduce different engineering topics for three to four days of the week with mini projects and a final project that pieces together the topics they learned. The biggest take away from the project was how to best get user feedback and fast track the IRB process. The IRB process for a project focusing on minors and teachers will cause some catches in the process. Included is a discussion on the IRB process for a project like this and how to best go through or avoid IRB to ensure the project can progress, while still gathering valuable information.
ContributorsHeun, Jade (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Sugar, Thomas (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Engineering Programs (Contributor)
Created2022-05
ContributorsHeun, Jade (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Sugar, Thomas (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Engineering Programs (Contributor)
Created2022-05
ContributorsHeun, Jade (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Sugar, Thomas (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Engineering Programs (Contributor)
Created2022-05