Hello there!
I am a research and development engineer at Robinson Research Institute developing bleeding-edge tech. My mission is to solve real-world problems with Physical AI and Robotics.
I obtained an honours degree in electronics and computer systems at Victoria University of Wellington in 2022. I received first-class honours, earned a place on the Dean's List, and was the only student in my cohort selected to present their honours project to industry.
At Robinson Research, I developed a novel electrical gas heater. I took the technology from concept (TRL 1) to a commercially ready prototype (TRL 5). The project was successful and we filed two provisional patents supporting our design.
I have developed a (Capable of detecting solar panel faults autonomously), (unofficially the fastest guitar picking robot in the world), (Communication using visible light), (Autonomously navigating robot), (AI to help researchers find material properties), (Robotics simulation contest). I am currently working on a NVIDIA Isaac Sim/Lab and LeRobot project using the .
Projects
SO-101 Robot Arm
I'm currently working with the open-source SO-101 robot arm. I fine-tuned an open-source machine learning model to perform some simple tasks autonomously. To train the model, I teleoperated the arm to generate the dataset. In the future, I plan to move the training process into simulation.
RubbishBot
I competed in a robotics simulation competition and was invited to present my work on an NVIDIA Robotics live stream. For the project, I designed a robot and its environment in CAD, imported them into NVIDIA Isaac Sim, and used MoveIt to program the robot to pick up and place rubbish into the back of a truck.
Low Cost Inspection Drone
A low-cost autonomous drone capable of detecting solar panel faults using a thermal camera. Custom computer vision software to detect hotspots (faults). Autonomous navigation and programmable route planning.
SSPICK
Unofficially the fastest guitar picking robot in the world. Playable via a keyboard.
VLC (Visible Light Communication)
Communication system enabling high-speed data transmission over a 1 meter range using visible light.
AVC (Autonomous Vehicle Control)
An autonomously navigating robot capable of real-time path planning, obstacle avoidance.
Material Base
An AI tool to help researchers quickly find and analyze material properties. Uses machine learning to scrape literature containing material information.
Experience
Research and Development Engineer
Robinson Research Institute
Feb 2023 – Present
- Conducting bleeding edge research on electric gas heating.
- Developed a wide range of skills from prototype design and simulations to machining and assembly.
- Advanced and scaled up cutting-edge tech from TRL 1 to TRL 5.
- Filed two provisional patents.
- Set up a lab to build and test prototypes.
Technical Assistant
Eyemagnet
Aug 2021 – March 2022
- Technical work included building high end computers, debugging hardware and software, testing and monitoring hardware performance.
- Independently developed software for automating tasks.
- Liaising with clients, contracted companies, and users.