Mechanical engineering undergraduate researcher, Paul DiTomas.
°Õ³ó±ðÌýME SPUR Program, modeled after CU Summer Program for Undergraduate Research,Ìýenabled undergraduate students to work with mechanical engineering faculty during summer 2020 on research that could be conducted remotely.ÌýAs a participant, Paul DiTomas worked withÌýResearch Professor John PellegrinoÌýto perform analysis for scenarios of the minimum energy requirement for robotic missions that will be used in a review article about portable power devices for next-gen robots. HisÌýsummer research project was titled,ÌýMinimum Energy Requirement for Robotic Missions.Ìý
To improve the design of robots, energy and power requirements are two of the most crucial factors affecting the a robot's capabilities. For robots carrying their own power supply, the additional weight could cause a major increase in these requirements. Different batteries have different energy and power densities, so one may be more appropriate than another depending on the mission. This project analyzes these requirements for several exampleÌýmissions and selects batteries accordingly. For example, how much more energy does it require to inspect the entire bottom of Â鶹ӰԺ Reservoir than it does to inspect a GE90 commercial jet engine?
DiTomas is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying mechanical engineering at CU Â鶹ӰԺ. HeÌýloves learning about all aspects of the world and engineering, from design and manufacturing to energy conservation and physics.ÌýHis video below provides a window into hisÌýresearch experience with ME SPUR.Ìý
Video Presentation of Research
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