 |
Pranav
A. Bhounsule (CV) (dead link)
Office: AET 2.338 (may not be in my office, best contact is through e-mail) Mailing Address: 3.04.02 Engineering Building, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249 Phone: 210-458-6570 Email: pranav.bhounsule AT utsa DOT edu Calendar: <Click here> |
Experience:
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas San Antonio, TX, USA Aug. 2014 - present
Postdoctoral Researcher, Disney Research Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Jan. 2012 - July 2014.
Visiting Researcher, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Jan. 2012 - Dec. 2013.
Education:
Ph.D. (Mechanical), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA, Aug. 2006 - May 2012.
M.Tech. (Applied Mechanics), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India, Aug. 2004 - May 2006.
B.E. (Mechanical), Goa Engineering College, Goa, India, July 2000 - May 2004.
Publications: (click here)
Videos: (click here)
Miscellaneous:
| 1. |
My review on Goa College of Engineering, Farmagudi, Goa, India. (my under-grad institute, written in 2005) (web-link) (cached) |
| 2. |
In the Summer of 2009, I digitized Human
Power Lab's (Andy Ruina's Cornell Lab) 18 year old (1991-2008) tape collection. This
amounted to 100 hrs of video. (web-link) |
| 3. |
My race results on athlinks. (web-link)
Personal Records: Runs 6.2mi (10kms) 46min 33sec at Pittsburgh, PA in 2012 13.1miles (21.1 kms), half marathon: 1h 38m 04s at Pittsburgh, PA in 2013 26.2miles (42.2 kms), marathon: 3h 34m 28 s at Corning, NY in 2010 Triathlon 1.2mi(1.9 km) swim - 56 mi(90 km) bike - 13.1mi(21.1km) run: 6 hr 54m 13sec at Syracuse, NY in 2013. My experiments with training (pdf) |
Current Lab Members:
PhD students (date joined):
Ali Zamani, Fall 2015.
Salvador Echeveste, Fall 2018
Jeremy Krause, Spring 2019
MS students (date joined):
Andrew Waterreus, Fall 2017
Justin Ernst, Summer 2018
BS students:
Drishya Dahal
Joseph Galloway
Alumni (arranged by projects):
Graduate Students (By project):
 |
Eric Sanchez (MS, ME UTSA) Aug 2016 - Dec 2018 MS Thesis: Rowdy Runner II: An Independently Actuated Rimless Wheel Robot (thesis) (video) Robotics Engineering, Boardwalk Robotics (spin-off from IHMC), Pensacola, Florida. |
 |
Robert Brothers (MS, ME UTSA) Jan 2016 - Dec 2018 MS Thesis: Dynamic Programming Of A Torso Actuated Rimless Wheel Robot (thesis) |
 |
Ezra Ameperosa (MS, ME UTSA) Sep 2015 - Aug 2018 MS Thesis: Bolt Detection and Position Estimation using Domain Randomization (thesis) (video) Mechanical Engineer, Air Force Research Lab, Dayton, Ohio |
 |
Christian Trevino (MS, ME UTSA) Sep 2015 - Dec 2017 MS Thesis: A Miniature Size 3d Printed Linear Pneumatic Actuator For Robotic Applications (thesis) (video) Design Engineer at Intel, Portland, Oregon. |
| (not pictured) |
Geoffrey Chiou (MS, ME UTSA) Sep 2016 - Dec 2017 MS Thesis: Reducing The Variance Of Intrinsic Camera Calibration Results In The ROS Camera_Calibration Package (thesis, 1.4 MB) Robotics Engineer at PlusOne Robotics, San Antonio, Texas |
 |
Matthew Piper (MS, ME UTSA) June 2016 - May 2017 MS Thesis: How to Beat Flappy Bird: A mixed-integer model predictive control approach (thesis, paper) (click for video) Systems Engineer at Raytheon, Tucson, Arizona |
 |
Abhishek Bapat (MS, AMIE-UTSA) Jan 2015 - Dec 2016. MS Thesis: Design, prototyping and testing of an autonomous robot with C shaped compliant legs: AbhisHex (thesis, 4.5 MB) (cad files) (photos) (YouTube video) |
 |
Daniel Bray (MS,
ME-UTSA) Jan 2015 - July 2015. MS Special Project: Locating position and orientation of objects using RGB-D camera. (report) (code) |
Undergraduate/High School Students (By project):
    |
Senior Design Project: Lil’Bro: An inexpensive open-source quadrupedal robot (click for video) Aug 2018 -- May 2019 (Top Row L to R) Steven Farra, Emiliano Rodriguez (Bottom Row L to R) Mario Navarro, John Carroll All ME Seniors Project Report (3.3 MB) Construction details on GitHub |
    |
Senior Design Project: Sky Transportation Attachment System Jan 2018 -- Dec 2018 (Top Row L to R) Daniel Jiwani, Chad Parker (Bottom Row L to R) Cristian Morales, William Hinojosa All ME Seniors Project Report (5.8 MB), YouTube Video |
 |
1) Summer Project: Rowdy wear: a gadget to help you make quick decisions (click for
video) May 2016 - Aug 2016, As an ME Sophomore 2) Independent Project: Simplest walker simulation using direct collocation MATLAB code. Aug 2018 - Dec 2018, As an ME Senior Panchajanya Karasani |
 |
Independent Project: Auto sunglass June -- Aug 2018 Victor Guzman (High School Student) (i) Project Report, (ii) (click for video) |
 |
Independent Projects: (1) DIY: Robobug, a vibration motor actuated robot (click for video) Tutorial (3.1 MB) and a detailed step-by-step video Video (6 min 22 sec) (2) Tutorials: 3D scanning using Artec EVA A one-page file and an accompanying YouTube video link (4 min 12 sec). A jpg file that shows a 3Dprinted produced by the scan is here. May 2018 -- Dec 2018 Sierra Baumbusch (ME Senior) |
 |
Undergraduate Research: Darwin humanoid dancing to UTSA and other songs (click for video) May 2018 -- Aug 2018 Emiliano Rodriguez (ME Senior) |
 |
Independent Project: Tic-Tac-Toe Robot (click for video) Aug 2017 -- May 2018 Drishya Dahal (ME Junior) |
    |
Senior Design Project: Inchworm Robot (click for video) Jan 2017 -- Dec 2017 (Top Row L to R) Anthony Abundis, Michael Aguirre (Bottom Row L to R) Justin Castillo, Flavio Moreira All ME Seniors Project Report (7.5 MB) |
  |
Independent Project: Pumping a swing -- simulation and experiments (click for video) Sep 2017 -- Dec 2017 (L to R) Joseph Galloway, Gerardo (Aaron) Rios (ME Juniors) Project report (1.2 MB) |
 |
Independent Project: 3D printing of rolling cylinders for demonstration of energy principles June -- Aug 2017 Nour K. El-Ghori (High School Student) (i) Project Report, (ii) CAD files, (iii) (click for video) |
| |
Independent Project: Trashbot - a trash collecting robot January 2017 -- May 2017 (L to R) Drishya Dahal, Joseph Galloway (ME Sophomores) Project Report (0.2 MB) (click for video) |
 |
Independent Study: Drop Off Detection Sensor for Blind Persons Jan 2017 - May 2017 Kyle Lamoureux (ME Senior) Project Report (1 MB) |
    |
Senior Design Project: Multi-link Robotic Manipulator Jan 2016 - Dec 2016 (Top Row L to R) Sergio Molina, Paul Alabi, (Bottom Row L to R) Omar Castro, Jonathan Sacket. All ME Seniors Project Report (3.7 MB) |
    |
Senior Design Project: The Roadrunner Robot 2: The Rimless Wheeled Robot Jan 2016 - Dec 2016 (Top Row L to R) Aspen Meineke, Bianca Dumlao, (Bottom Row L to R) Noel Cantu, James Crisler. All ME Seniors Project Report (3.7 MB) |
 |
Independent Project: 1) Hopping tutorial 2) Walking simulation and optimization. May 2016 - Dec 2016 Chelsea Moussouni (ME Senior) |
    |
Senior Design Project: Pneumatic shoes for jumping height augmentation (click for video) Aug 2015 -- May 16 (Top Row L to R) Ivelisse Negroni, Noah Trent (Bottom Row L to R) Cesar Sifuentes, Michael Turasz All ME Seniors. Project Report (3.4 MB). |
  |
Independent Study Project: Balancing a ball on a beam January 2016 -- May 2016 (L to R) Andy Plascencia, Tyler Rowe, Geoffrey Chiou (not pictured) (ME Seniors) (i) Project Report (1 MB) (ii) Files for 3D printing (0.1 MB) (iii) Arduino code (0.1 MB) |
  |
Independent Study Project: Animatronics Face -- RomoBot (click for video) Entry to the Spring 2016, Center for Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (CITE) $100 K Business Competition at UTSA. Finalist in the Instructables Robotic Contest 2016 (only 19 finalists out of 222 entries) (link) (cached) January 2016 -- May 2016 (L to R) Geoffrey Toombs and James Schopfer (ME Seniors) Project Report (4.7 MB) |
 |
Independent Project: Vibration-based robots for the Children's museum, San Antonio. Aug 2015 - Dec 2015 Christopher von Brecht (ME Senior) i) Write-up. (0.1MB) ii) Files for 3D printing. (0.5 MB) iii) YouTube Link. |
 |
Senior Design Project: Development of a Robotic Leg. 2nd place among all ME Senior Design Projects for Spring 2015 semester. (click for video) Aug 2014 -- May 15 (Top Row L to R) Raquel De La Garza, Christian Trevino, (Bottom Row L to R) Robert Brothers, Eric Sanchez All ME Seniors. Project Report (9.3 MB). |
   |
Senior
Design Project: Design and Construction of Rimless Wheeled robot. 3rd place among all ME Senior Design
Projects for Spring 2015 semester. (click
for video) Aug 2014 -- May 15 (Top Row L to R) Rico Jovanni Ulep, Kyle Seay, (Bottom Row L to R) Ezra Ameperosa, Scott Miller All ME Seniors. Project Report. (2 MB) |
   |
Senior Design Project: Mobile Automated Directory: UTSA guide robot. (click for video) Aug 2014 -- May 15 (Top Row L to R) Cory Royal, Curtis Odle, (Bottom Row) William Morris All EE Seniors. Project Report. (1 MB) |
    |
Senior Design
Project: Smart Humanoid Used for Silencing Humans (in the
library): SHUSHBot (click for video) Aug 2014 -- May 15 (Top L to R) Javier Gonzalez (McNair Scholar), Roberto Mexquitic (McNair Scholar), (Bottom Row L to R) Stacy Alexander, Thilo Janssen All EE Seniors. Project Report. (3 MB) |
|
1. Independent
Project: Simple
pendulum physics for SA Children's Museum (click for
video) UTSA newsarticle (link) (cached) Jan 2015 - February 2015 2. Honors Thesis: Passive Dynamic Toys (click for video) BS Thesis: Modern Day Advanced Manufacturing of Antique Toy Walkers (thesis, paper) Aug 2014 - July 2015 3. Paper walker for the Inventors Workshop at the Children's Museum. (click for video) COE Innovations Magazine back cover (cached) Aug 2015 - Nov 2015 Christian Trevino (ME Senior/ME MS) |
 |
Independent Project: T-maze for
neural experiments on mice. (for Prof.
Alfonso Apicella, Dept of Biology, UTSA) Jan 2015 - May 2015 Gerardo Ramos (ME Junior) |
| What we do |
We are interested in developing robotic prototypes and practical control algorithms that would push the state-of-the-art of current systems. We use prototyping tools such as 3D printers and simulations and tools in system identification, optimization, feedback control, and learning. Please see videos for a sampling of the systems we work on.
| Joining
the
Lab |
There are no openings currently.
| Lab
Location |
The Lab is located in Biotechnology, Sciences and Engineering Building (BSE) 2.216. The nearest parking garage is Ximenes Ave. Garage. GPS address: Ximenes Ave. Garage, Ransom Road, San Antonio, Texas 78249. (google map link)
Campus map, html: https://www.utsa.edu/visit/main-campus.html.
Campus map, pdf: http://www.utsa.edu/maps/pdf/MainCampusMaps.pdf (M7)
|
Publications |
* indicates graduate student
^ indicates under-graduate student
All Papers:
| 2019 |
|
| 3. |
Ezra Ameperosa*, Pranav A.
Bhounsule, Domain randomization for detection and position estimation
of multiples of a single object with applications to localizing bolts
on structures, ASME-International Design Engineering \& Technical
Conference, Anaheim, CA, USA, Aug 18--21, 2019. |
| 2. |
Wankun Sirichotiyakul,
Aykut C. Satici, Sebastian Sanchez*, Pranav A. Bhounsule,
Energetically-optimal Discrete And Continuous Stabilization Of The
Rimless Wheel With Torso, ASME-International Design Engineering &
Technical Conference, Anaheim, CA, USA, Aug 18--21, 2019. |
| 1. |
A. Zamani* and J. Galloway II^, P. A. Bhounsule, Feedback motion planning of legged robots by composing orbital Lyapunov functions using rapidly-exploring random trees, IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation, Montreal, Canada, May 20-24, 2019 (YouTube video link) |
2018 |
|
| 8. |
A. Zamani*, P. A. Bhounsule, Control Synergies for Rapid Stabilization and Enlarged Region of Attraction for a Model of Hopping, Biomimetics 2018, 3(3), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics3030025. |
| 7. |
C. Lima, L. Claeys, and P. A. Bhounsule, Academy for Teacher Excellence: Promoting STEM Education and STEM Careers among Latinos Service Learning
(Under) Represented Latins in STEM: Increasing Participation Throughout
Education and the Work- place, Editors: Timothy T. Yuen, Emily P.
Bonner, Maria G. Arreguin-Anderson. Publisher: Peter Lang Inc, 2018,
ISBN. 978-1-4331-5176-7, DOI https://doi.org/10.3726/b13022. |
| 6. |
F. Moreira^, A. Abundis^ M. Aguirre^, J. Castillo^, P. A. Bhounsule, An Inchworm-inspired Robot Based on Modular Body, Electronics and Passive Friction Pads Performing the Two-anchor Crawl Gait, Journal of Bionic Engineering, Volume 15, Issue 5, 2018, DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-018-0069-x (click for video) |
| 5. |
C. L. Trevino*, J. D. Galloway II^, P. A. Bhounsule, A Three-Dimensional Printed, Non-Assembly, Passive Dynamic Walking Toy: Design and Analysis, Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics, doi:10.1115/1.4040634 2018 (appendix) (click for video) (simulation validation video on YouTube), (code on GitHub) |
| 4. |
J. Krause*, P A. Bhounsule, A 3D Printed Linear Pneumatic Actuator for Position, Force and Impedance Control, Actuators 7(2), 24, 2018, doi:10.3390/act7020024 |
| 3. |
J. D. Galloway II ^, G. A. Rios^, Pranav A. Bhounsule, Mechanics And Control Of Pumping A Playground Swing And Robotic Implementation, UTSA Journal Of Undergraduate And Scholarly Works, Volume 3, 2018 (click for video) |
| 2. |
P. A. Bhounsule, A. Zamani*, and J. Pusey, Switching between Limit Cycles in a Model of Running Using Exponentially Stabilizing Discrete Control Lyapunov Function, American Controls Conference (ACC), Milwaukee, WI, USA June 27 - 29, 2018 (YouTube video link) |
| 1. |
P. A. Bhounsule, A. Taha, and S. Nugruho, Control Systems and Robotics Outreach to Middle-school Girls: Approach, Results, and Suggestions,
Proceedings of the 2018 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Section Annual Conference
The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA April 4-6, 2018. (Paper award, 2nd place) (YouTube video link) (files on GitHub) |
2017 |
|
| 9 |
P. A. Bhounsule, Control based on passive dynamic walking,
Bioinspired Legged Locomotion: Models, Concepts, Control and
Applications, 1st edition, Editors: Maziar Sharbafi and Andre Seyfarth.
Publisher: Elsevier, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2017, ISBN.
9780128037744 (Book chapter) |
| 8 |
P. A. Bhounsule and A Zamani*, A Discrete Control Lyapunov Function for Exponential Orbital Stabilization of the Simplest Walker, ASME Journal of Mechanism and Robotics Vol 9, No 5, 2017 doi:10.1115/1.4037440. |
| 7 |
P. A. Bhounsule, Two benchmarks for optimization of legged robots – hybrid systems with impulse effects, Dynamics of Continuous, Discrete and Impulsive Systems Series B: Applications and Algorithms, 24 (2017) 269-282 |
| 6 |
P.
A. Bhounsule,
K.Yamane. Accurate Task-Space Tracking for Humanoids with Modeling
Errors using Iterative Learning Control. Intl. Journal of Humanoid
Robots, Vol. 14, No. 3 (2017) 1750015 DOI: 10.1142/S0219843617500153 Multimedia including video: https://www.disneyresearch.com/publication/accurate-task-space-tracking/ |
| 5 |
P. A. Bhounsule and A. Zamani*. Stable Bipedal Walking Motions with a Swing-Leg Protraction Strategy, Journal of Biomechanics, vol. 51, pp. 123 -- 127, 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2016.11.063 |
| 4 |
A. Zamani* and P. A. Bhounsule. Foot Placement and Ankle Push-off Control for the Orbital Stabilization of Bipedal Robots IEEE/RSJ Intl. Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Vancouver, BC, Canada, September 24-28, 2017. |
| 3 |
M. Piper*, P. A. Bhounsule and K. K. Castillo-Villar, How to beat Flappy Bird: A Mixed-integer Model Predictive Control Approach, ASME-Dynamics Systems and Controls Conference, October 11-13, 2017, Tysons Corner, Virginia, USA. (click for video) (code on github) |
| 2 |
J. Krause* and P. A. Bhounsule, Variable Position and Force Control of a Pneumatically Actuated Knee Joint, ASME-International
Design Engineering & Technical Conference, August 6-9, 2017, Cleveland, Ohio. |
| 1 |
P.A. Bhounsule, D. Chaney, L. Claeys and R.D. Manteufel. Robotics service learning for improving learning outcomes and increasing community engagement, American Society of Engineering Education Gulf-South West Section, Dallas, Texas, USA, March 13-14, 2017. |
2016 |
|
| 7. |
P. A. Bhounsule, J. Pusey, C. Moussouni^, A comparative study of leg geometry for energy-efficient locomotion,
IEEE International Conference on Simulation, Modeling, and
Programming for Autonomous Robots (SIMPAR), San Francisco, USA Dec 13-16, 2016 |
| 6. |
P. A. Bhounsule, K. Yamane, A. Bapat, A
task-level iterative learning control algorithm for accurate tracking
in manipulators with modeling errors and stringent joint limits, ASME-Dynamics Systems and Controls Conference, Minneapolis, MN, USA Oct 12-14, 2016 |
| 5. |
P. A. Bhounsule, E. Ameperosa^, S. Miller^, K. Seay^, R. Ulep^, Dead-beat
control of walking for a torso-actuated rimless wheel using an
event-based, discrete, linear controller, ASME-International
Design Engineering & Technical Conference, Charlotte, NC, USA Aug
21–25, 2016. |
| 4. |
A. Zamani*, P. A. Bhounsule and J. Hurst. Energy-efficient planning for dynamic legged robots on patterned terrain, Dynamic Walking 2016, Holly, Michigan, USA, June 4 - 7, 2016. |
| 3. |
C. von Brecht^, B. Kramer^, P. A. Bhounsule, A. Jafari. An impulse actuator for high speed & high torque applications, Dynamic Walking 2016, Holly, Michigan, USA, June 4 - 7, 2016 |
| 2 |
A. Zamani*, P. A. Bhounsule, A. Taha. Planning energy-efficient bipedal locomotion on patterned terrain. In Proc. SPIE 9837, Unmanned Systems Technology XVIII, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, April 20-21, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2223447 |
| 1 |
P.A.
Bhounsule and R.D. Manteufel. Short video clips to increase student engagement in mechatronics, American Society of Engineering Education Gulf-South West Section, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, March 6-8, 2016. |
2015 |
|
| 4 |
P. A. Bhounsule, A. Ruina, G. Steissberg. Discrete Decision Continuous Actuation control: balance of an inverted pendulum and pumping a pendulum swing. ASME J. Dyn. Sys., Meas., Control 137(5), 051012 (2015) (9 pages) (click for video) |
| 3 |
P. A. Bhounsule and K.Yamane. Iterative Learning Control for Accurate Task-Space Tracking with Humanoid Robots. IEEE-International Conference on Humanoid Robots, Seoul, South Korea, Nov 3-5, 2015. |
| 2 |
R. Brothers^, R. De La Garza^, E. Sanchez^, C. Trevino^, P. A. Bhounsule, "Ein: A Modular Robotic Leg" Dynamic Walking 2015, Columbus, Ohio, USA. |
| 1 |
S. Miller^, E. Ameperosa^, K. Seay^, R. Jovanni Ulep^, P. A. Bhounsule, "The Roadrunner: A 2-D Powered Rimless Wheel Robot for Energy-efficient and Rough Terrain Locomotion" Dynamic Walking 2015, Columbus, Ohio, USA. |
2014 |
|
| 4 |
P. A. Bhounsule. Foot placement in the simplest slope walker reveals a wide range of walking solutions. IEEE-Transactions on Robotics, Vol 30, Issue 5, June 2014. |
| 3 |
P. A. Bhounsule. Numerical accuracy of two benchmark models of walking: the rimless wheel and the simplest walker. Dynamics of Continuous, Discrete and Impulsive Systems Series B: Applications and Algorithms, vol. 21, pp 137--148, 2014. MATLAB file: rimlesswheel.m and simplestwalker.m. |
| 2 |
P. A. Bhounsule. Control of a compass gait walker based on energy regulation using ankle push-off and foot placement. Robotica, pp. 1--11, June 2014. |
| 1 |
P. A. Bhounsule, J. Cortell, A.Grewal, B. Hendriksen, J.G.D. Karssen, C. Paul, A. Ruina. Low-bandwidth reflex-based control for lower power walking: 65 km on a single battery charge. International Journal of Robotics Research, vol.33 no.10, 1305-1321, 2014. Extended appendix. Link to webpage. (click for video) |
2008 -- 2013 |
|
| 6 |
P. A. Bhounsule, K.Yamane. Iterative Learning Control for High-Fidelity Tracking of Fast Motions on Entertainment Humanoid Robots. IEEE-International Conference on Humanoid Robots, Georgia, USA Oct 15- 17, 2013. |
| 5 |
P. A. Bhounsule, J. Cortell, A. Ruina, How one might realize practical, energy-efficient legged robots: 19 thoughts/ideas from the Cornell Ranger project, Dynamic Walking 2012. (presentation slides) (youtube link) |
| 4 |
P. A. Bhounsule, J. Cortell, A. Ruina, “Design and control of Ranger: an energy-efficient, dynamics walking robot”, Climbing and Walking Robots, 441--448, CLAWAR 2012, Maryland, USA. (Best paper in Biologically Inspired Robotics) |
| 3 |
P. A. Bhounsule, A. Ruina, "Smooth discrete control of walking robots: An intermediate between fully passive and high bandwidth feedback control", Word Congress of Biomechanics 2010, Singapore (presentation slides) |
| 2 |
P. A. Bhounsule, "Cornell ranger: Energy optimal control", Proceedings of Dynamic Walking 2009, Vancouver, Canada. |
| 1 |
P. A. Bhounsule, "Cornell ranger: computer simulation and experimental fits", Proceeding of Dynamic Walking 2008, Delft, Netherland. (Video) |
Theses:
| T7. |
Ezra Ameperosa, Bolt Detection
and Position Estimation using Domain Randomization, MS Thesis,
Mechanical Engineering, August 2018. |
| T6. |
Christian Trevino, A Miniature
Size 3d Printed Linear Pneumatic Actuator For Robotic Applications. MS
Thesis, Mechanical Engineering, December 2017. |
| T5. |
Geoffrey
Chiou, Reducing The Variance Of Intrinsic Camera Calibration Results
In The ROS Camera_Calibration Package, Mechanical Engineering, December
2017. (thesis, 1.4 MB) |
| T4. |
Matthew Piper, How to beat Flappy Bird: A Mixed-Integer model predictive control apporach. MS Thesis, Mechanical Engineering, May 2017. (click for
video) |
| T3. |
Abhishek A. Bapat, "Design, prototyping and testing of an autonomous robot with
C shaped compliant legs: AbhisHex", MS Thesis, Advanced Manufacturing and Enterprise Engineering, December 2016. (cad files) (photos) (YouTube video) |
| T2. |
Christian L.
Trevino, "Modern Day Advanced Manufacturing of Antique Toy
Walkers", BS Thesis, Honors College, August 2015. |
| T1. |
P. A. Bhounsule, "A
controller design framework for bipedal robots: Trajectory optimization
and event-based stabilization", PhD Thesis, Cornell
University, Ithaca, NY, USA, May 2012. The thesis led to two world records on legged robots in 2011 which have both been broken in 2015 (see below): 1) The robot walked non-stop for 40.5 miles or 65 kms on a single charge without being touched or recharged (Click for video) This record has been surpassed by Chinese robot Xingzhe No.1 in 2015 walking a distance of 83 miles (~ 134 km) in 54 hrs. 2) The same robot (in a seperate trial) walked with Total Cost of Transport (TCOT = Energy used per unit weight per unit distance travelled) of 0.19 and marginally better then 0.2 achieved by Collins walker. Note that humans have a TCOT of 0.32. (Click for video) This record has been surpassed by robot Cargo (Fumiya IIda) in 2015. Robot Cargo achieved a TCOT of 0.1. |
| Teaching |
| I4 |
EGR2513 Dynamics: About kinematics and dynamics of particles and rigid bodies - Spring 2017 (first time taught): Instructor Eval = 4.15/5.0, Course Eval = 3.7/5.0. (89 student reviews) - Fall 2017 Instructor Eval 3.97/5.0, Course Eval = 3.76/5.0 (37 student reviews) - Spring 2018 Instructor Eval 4.22/5.0, Course evaluation 4.47/5.0 (60 student reviews) - Fall 2018 Instructor Eval = 3.46/5.0, Course Eval = 3.29/5.0. (63 student reviews) |
| I3. |
ME3543 Dynamic Systems and Control: About single input, single output linear controls. - Spring 2016 (first time taught): Instructor Eval = 4.63/5.0, Course Eval = 4.52/5.0. (71 student reviews) |
| I2. |
ME4543 Mechatronics: About Sensors, Microcontrollers, and
Actuators - Iron Man comes to class (Spring '15), click for video - Mechatronics Final Project Sumobot (Spring '15). Battling Rowdy Bots, click for video - Mechatronics Final Project Robo Professor click for video and reports/instructions on github - Spring 2015 (first time taught): Instructor Eval = 4.73/5.0, Course Eval = 4.59/5.0. (49 student reviews) - Fall 2015: Instructor Eval = 4.59/5.0, Course Eval = 4.41/5.0. (118 student reviews) - Fall 2018: Instructor Eval = 3.46/5.0, Course Eval = 3.42/5.0 (121 student reviews) |
| I1. |
ME4773/5493 Fundamentals of Robotics: About modeling, dynamics, and
control of manipulators and mobile robots - Christian Trevino's pendulum prototype for the DoSeum (Fall '14). (click for video) News (link) (cached) - LEGO Labs to accompany lectures (Fall '15) (click for video) - Animated Face, HW (Fall '16) YouTube link - Manipulator Curves, HW (Fall '16) YouTube link - Webpage featuring projects in the class <webpage> - Introduction to ROS and URDF <webpage> - Project: Single player poing on <GitHub> with instructions and code. - Project: LARPA Robotics Challenge (LARPA = LEGO, Automated, Reliable, Powered, Agents) (click for video) - Fall 2014 (first time taught): Instructor Eval = 4.77/5.0, Course Eval = 4.73/5.0 (22 student reviews) - Fall 2015: Instructor Eval = 4.73/5.0, Course Eval = 4.65/5.0 (37 student reviews) - Fall 2016: Instructor Eval = 4.42/5.0 Course Eval = 4.40/5.0 (48 student reviews). - Fall 2017: Instructor Eval = 4.9/5.0 Course Eval = 4.8/5.0 (10 student reviews). - Spring 2019: Instructor Eval = 4.7/5.0 Course Eval = 4.63/5.0 (27 student reviews). |
| Tutorials |
| D17. |
Open source quadrupedal robots. Cost is ~$2000 Instructions with files and codeo on GitHub A video is here: YouTube video link |
| D16. |
MATLAB code to simulate the spring-loaded inverted pendulum model of hopping with controlled foot placement MATLAB code. Includes code to find the limit cycle, find linearized stability, and animation. |
| D15. |
MATLAB code to simulate the simplest walker using direct collocation method MATLAB code. See The Simplest Walker by Garcia et al. J. of Biomechanics |
| D14. |
Tips for 3D scanning using Artec Eva scanner. A one-page file and an accompanying YouTube video link (4 min 12 sec). A jpeg file that shows a 3Dprinted produced by the scan is here. |
| D13. |
Robobug, a vibration motor actuated robot. Suitable as a weekend project for elementary- and middle-school kids. No programming needed. A pdf handout (3.1 MB) and a detailed step-by-step video, YouTube video link (6 min 22 sec) |
| D12. |
Course material for 2 day LEGO robotics camp:
Suitable for high schoolers with little or no experience with LEGO
Mindstorms. Student learn by watching videos and then work through
progressively difficult projects: (1) Car racing, (2) Line-following,
and (3) Parallel Parking. All material is on github (free download). YouTube video link |
| D11. |
Introduction to ROS and URDF for robot modeling (assumes minimal knowledge of Ubuntu, ROS, and C++) Webpage |
| D10. |
Demonstration of energy principles in rigid body dynamics Two cylinders identical in all respects (same mass, radius, length) except that one is filled with water and other with honey are made to roll down an incline. The one filled with water rolls down first. Why? Watch the video (link here) for the answer. By Nour K. El-Ghori (High School Student) (i) Project Report, (ii) CAD files |
| D9. |
Templates for report writing A template for writing ASME style reports by Kyle Lamoureux (includes Tables, Figures, Equations, Page Layout, Headings, Nomenclature, Flowchart, Appendix) A template for writing reports in the RAM lab by Pranav Bhounsule (short version of above) |
| D8. |
A mathematical equation for the UTSA mascot, The Rowdy by Ryan Kinsey, Jose Perez, and Bradley Hammond 1. Picture (jpeg) 2. MATLAB file 3. Report etc. |
| D7. |
Spring mass hopper with Raibert-style decoupled controller. MATLAB file raibert_hopper.m by Chelsea Moussouni |
| D6. |
Animatronics Face. Tutorial created by Geoffrey Toombs and hosted on instructables. (click for
video) http://www.instructables.com/id/RomoBOT-Animatronic-Face-Robot/ |
| D5. |
Make a paper walker. Created by Christian Trevino for the Inventors Workshop at the Children's Museum, San Antonio. Instruction (1.7 MB). Print page 3 on letter size paper and follow the instructions in the pdf. (click for video) The paper toy walker was inspired by the book, Walking Automata: A Collection of Self-Moving Models to Cut Out and Make by Magdalen Bear. |
| D4. |
Make a vibration powered legged robot. Created by Christopher von Brecht for the Inventors Workshop at the Children's Museum, San Antonio. i) Write-up. (0.1MB) ii) Files for 3D printing. (0.5 MB) iii) YouTube Link. These robots were first created by Fumiya Iida's at ETH, Zurich. |
| D3. |
Want to get started with Passive Dynamic
Walking Simulations? MATLAB file passivewalker.m
to simulate a round foot passive walker. |
| D2. |
Want to simulate the rimless wheel and
simplest walker? MATLAB files: rimlesswheel.m
and simplestwalker.m. See the paper Numerical accuracy of two benchmark models of
walking:
the rimless wheel and the simplest walker for more details. |
| D1. |
Want to get started in robotics? Instructions
on assembling and programming a simple wheeled robot (video). Cost is
around $110. |
| Outreach |
We have done STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) related outreach at local schools and the children's museum in San Antonio. We typically do 2-3 such events every year. Here are some example outreach events.
1. Workshop on creating paper-based walking toys at the San Antonio Children's Museum. (Photo link).
2. Demonstration of various robots created in the Robotics and Motion Lab. (Photo link).
3. Kids tele-operating LEGO robots. (Video link)
4. LEGO Robotics outreach at UTSA. (Video link)
| Sponsors |
| Funding |
| G10. |
PI: Pranav Bhounsule (34%) Co
PI: Lorena Claeys (33%), Belinda Harmon (33%), Code camp for girls to
increase STEM awareness in low-income neighborhood in San Antonio,
Texas Workforce Commission, 2018-2019, $99,997. |
| G9. |
PI Pranav Bhounsule (100%), RI: Small: Agile legged robots: composing periodic gaits for aperiodic locomotion, $351,007, NSF-IIS, RI 2018 -- 2021. |
| G8. |
PI Pranav Bhounsule (100%), 2 Baxter robots (donation), Continental Automative, Seguin, $60,000 (approximate total value), 2018. |
| G7. |
PI: David Akopian (33.33%), co-PIs Yongcan
Cao (33.33%), Pranav Bhounsule (33.33%), Boeing Go-Fly contest Phase I, Private
Donation, Jan 1, 2018 to May, 2018, Total $38,000. |
| G6. |
PI: Pranav Bhounsule (100%),
Collaborative Research: Engineering Identity, its Predictors, and its
Impact on Retention across Educational Stages, NSF Engineering
Education, Subcontract University of Texas at Austin, 2018 - 2019,
Total 7,000. |
| G5. |
PI: Ahmad Taha (34%), coPIs
Chunjian Qian (33%) and Pranav Bhounsule (33%) Control Systems
Education and Outreach to Low-Income High-School Students in San
Antonio, IEEE Control Systems Society, 2017-2018, Total $10,000. |
| G4. |
PI: Pranav Bhounsule,
Accelerated path teaching for robotic routing using ROS Industrial
framework, 2016-2017, Southwest Research Institute (contract), $47,097. |
| G3. |
PI: Pranav Bhounsule, coPI Amir
Jafari, Highly customizable, light weight artificial legs based on
embedding actuators and sensors in 3D printed parts. Grants for
Research Advancements and Transformation (GREAT), Office of Vice
President of Research, the University of Texas at San Antoino,
2016-2017, $20,000. (link) (cached) |
| G2. |
PI: Pranav Bhounsule, Tackling
high D/F/W rates in Engineering Dynamics through a games-based
pedagogy. Sawtelle Financial Teaching Innovation Grant 2016-2017,
$3,000. (link) (cached) |
| G1. |
PI: Pranav Bhounsule, NSF-CRII:
Energy effective and versatile bipedal robots using event-based
switching between parameterized steady-state controllers. NSF-IIS-CRII,
2016-2018, $167,024 (link) (cached) |
| Awards |
| A9. |
Drishya Dahal, 3 “Best in Show” at the 2018 Undergraduate Research & Creative
Inquiry Showcase in the College of Engineering for tic-tac-toe robot. |
| A8. |
Joseph Galloway and Gerardo
Aaron Rios, 3 “Best in Show” at the 2018 Undergraduate Research &
Creative Inquiry Showcase in the College of Engineering for pumping
swing pendulum robot |
| A7. |
Joseph Galloway, UTSA Office of Undergraduate Research Scholarship, Fall 2017. |
| A6. |
Drishya Dahal and Shicheng Zhou, UTSA Office of Undergraduate Research Scholarship, Spring 2017 (link) (cached) |
| A5. |
Geoffrey Toombs and James Schopfer, Finalist in the Instructables Robotic Contest 2016 (only 19 finalists out of 222 entries) (link) (cached) |
| A4. |
Christian Trevino, Most Exceptional Graduate Student, 2015-2016, College of Engineering, UTSA. (pdf) For outstanding dedication and effort. |
| A3. |
Christian Trevino, Valero VIP MS Research Scholarship Outstanding Awards 2015, College of Engineering, UTSA. For incoming graduate student with outstanding research credentials. |
| A2. |
Raquel De La Garza, Christian Trevino, Robert Brothers, and Eric
Sanchez. Best Mechanical Engineering Design, 2nd Place UTSA Technology Symposium, 2015. |
| A1. |
Rico Jovanni Ulep, Kyle Seay, Ezra Ameperosa, and Scott Miller. Best Mechanical Engineering Design, 3rd Place UTSA Technology Symposium, 2015. |
| Robots (click the name below the photo for streaming video) |
 Shush-Bot |
 Rowdy Walker |
 Romo-bot |
 Roadrunner 1 |
 Paper Walker |
 Guide-Bot |
 Ein, Modular Legs |
 Dancing Pendulum |
 Inchworm |
 Luxo Jr. Hopping Lamp |
 Pumping a swing robot |
 UTSA Darwin |
 Roadrunner 2 |
 Open source quadruped |
| Media Coverage |
| M15. |
UTSA Mechatronics Final Project - Hall of Engineering Professors KABB Fox News 29, Dec 1, 2018, (videolink) San Antonio Express News, December 1, 2018, Attack of the cyborgs (link) (cached) |
| M14. |
Robotics and Motion Lab promoting the Doseum's new exhibit Science Fiction Science Now Kens 5 TV San Antonio: October 12, 2017. Andrew Waterreus, ME UTSA graduate student features from 2:30 to 3:30 with UTSA Darwin OP2 (link) (cached) San Antonio Express News: October 9, 2017. Kids can explore science possibilities in DoSeum exhibit (link) (cached) |
| M13. |
Service Learning in under-graduate Robotics class. ATE brings service learning opportunities to COE, Sep 8, 2016 (link) (cached) Education + Engineering = Success, ATE brings service learning opportunities to COE, Winter 2016 (link) (cached) |
| M12. |
Meet a Roadrunner, Christian Trevinio,
UTSA Today, June 15, 2016 (link)
(cached) |
| M11. |
Animatronics Face: RomoBot Adafruit Blog: The RomoBOT, an Arduino Powered Animatronic Face, May 16, 2016 (link) (cached) Arduino Blog: Two College Students Build A Hilarious Animatronics Face, May 13, 2016 (link) (cached) Hackaday: Robo Face Speaks, May 12, 2016 (link) (cached) |
| M10. |
Rowdy Walker: UTSA Press release: Re-engineering an antique walking toy allows it to practically walk out of the 3D printer (link) 3Ders.org: Texas researchers re-engineer vintage toy to walk right out of 3D printer, May 11, 2016 (link) (cached) UTSA Engineering: Recreating Antique Toys with Modern Technology, May 9, 2016 (link) (cached) and Innovations Magazine Spring 2016 (link) (cached) UTSA photo of the day: Strutting Rowdy, April 28, 2016 (link) (cached) |
| M9. |
UTSA professor receives grant to create more versatile legged robots, May 2, 2016 (link) (cached) |
| M8. |
Paper Walker: COE students volunteer at the DoSeum, UTSA Innovations magazine, Jan 29, 2016 (back cover) (link) (cached) Engineering students team up with The DoSeum for STEM outreach, UTSA Community Connect, Fall 2016, (link) (cached) UTSA photo of the day: Rowdy on the run, Jan 5, 2016 (link) (cached) |
| M7. |
Robotics Frontiers, Students are
taking engineering skills to new levels, including bots that interact
with humans, UTSA Sombrilla Magazine, July 6, 2015 (link)
(cached) UTSA photo of the day: Innovative Robots, June 14, 2016 (link) (cached) |
| M6. |
Dancing Pendulums: UTSA student’s dancing pendulums find home in The DoSeum, June 23, 2015 (link) (cached) |
| M5. |
Mechatronics Class final project Mechatronics Rowdy Bots contest on UTSA College of Engineering Innovations Magazine, from Spring 2015 issue (cached) UTSA photo of the day: Battling Robots, Dec 10, 2015 (link) (cached) |
| M4. |
Are walking,
talking, feeling robots like Chappie in our future? March 5, 2015 (link) (Cached) |
| M3. |
Meet a Roadrunner, Pranav Bhounsule, UTSA Today, Nov 19, 2014 (link)
(cached) |
| M2. |
Cornell Ranger
Ultra-Marathon Walking TV NTDTV - Cornell Students' Walking Robot Sets World Record 1 min 31 sec (link) (youtube) (youtube_cached) Reuters - Walking robot sets record 1min 12 sec (link) Web Dailymail - Marathon robot: 'Ranger' sets a world record by walking 40.5 miles non-stop on a single battery charge (link) (cached) MSNBC - Robot walks 40.5 miles non-stop (link) (cached) Engadget - Cornell's Ranger robot walks 40.5 miles on a single charge, doesn't even break a sweat (link) (cached) Cornell Chronicle - Robot walks a 40.5-mile ultramarathon without recharge (link) (cached) Gizmag - Ranger robot breaks its own endurance record (link) (cached) Popsci - Ranger robot sets a new distance record, walking 40 miles on a single charge (link) (cached) Ubergizmo - Robot Ranger walks 40.5 miles on solitary battery charge, setting a new world record in the process (link) (cached) Tecca - Ranger robot trots 40 miles straight on 5 cents worth of electricity (link) (cached) |
| M1 | Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University (Fall 2011 newsletter) (Cached) |
| Videos |
| Mini project in the robotics class -- LEGO robots for simulated Nuclear Disaster site relief LARPA Robotics Challenge LARPA = LEGO, Automated, Reliable, Powered, Agents Instructions are on github: |
|
| An inexpensive open-source quadrupedal robot Senior Design Project By Steven Farra, Emiliano Rodriguez, Mario Navarro, John Carroll All ME Seniors Project Report (3.3 MB) |
|
| UTSA Mechatronics final project Fall2018 - Hall of engineering professors The students had to visit an assigned professor record his/her voice, take a photo and then create a robotic face that incorporated the face, voice. The robotic face had to have two moving parts, one of which was the mouth and the other was left to their choice. There had to be two sensors on board that would allow interaction between the user and the robotics face (e.g., on waving to the animatronics the face would talk). The entire playlist of 40 profs is to the left but you can select videos to play by clicking this shortened link: http://tiny.cc/roboprof |
|
| Auto sunglass Independent Project June -- Aug 2018 Victor Guzman (High School Student) Project Report |
|
DIY: Robobug, a vibration motor actuated robot Independent project Sierra Baumbusch (ME Senior) Tutorial slides (3.1 MB) Detailed video is to the left (6 min 22 sec) |
|
Humanoid robot dancing to UTSA song and others Undergraduate research Emiliano Rodriguez (ME Senior) |
|
Tic-Tac-Toe Robot Independent Project Drishya Dahal (ME Junior) |
|
An Inchworm Robot Senior Design Project By Anthony Abundis, Michael Aguirre, Justin Castillo, and Flavio Moreira All ME Seniors Project Report (7.5 MB) |
|
Pumping a playground swing in the standing position Independent Project By Gerardo (Aaron) Rios and Joseph Galloway ME Juniors Project report (1.2 MB) |
|
3D printing of rolling cylinders for demonstration of energy principles Two cylinders identical in all respects (same mass, radius, length) except that one is filled with water and other with honey are made to roll down an incline. The one filled with water rolls down first. Why? Watch the video for the answer. By Nour K. El-Ghori (High School Student) (i) Project Report, (ii) CAD files |
|
Trashbot: A trash collecting robot Independent Project By Drishya Dahal and Joseph Galloway ME Sophomores Project Report (0.2 MB) |
|
How to Beat Flappy Bird: A mixed-integer model predictive control approach Matthew Piper, Pranav A. Bhounsule and Krystel K. Castillo-Villar, How to beat Flappy Bird: A Mixed-integer Model Predictive Control Approach, ASME-Dynamics Systems and Controls Conference, October 11-13, 2017, Tysons Corner, Virginia, USA. |
|
| Rowdy Wear: a gadget that helps you make swift decisions Summer Project By Panchajanya Karasani ME Sophomore Total cost is about $5.00: 1 ATtiny85 controller, $1.25 1 Prototyping board, $1.25 1 Push Button $ 1.0 2 LED, $0.50 1 Coin cell CR2032, $0.50 1 Socket, $0.50 1 VELCRO strip (optional) |
|
Pneumatic Shoes For Jump Height Augmentation Senior Design Project By Ivelisse Negroni, Noah Trent, Cesar Sifuentes, Michael Turasz All ME Seniors Project Report (3.4 MB) |
|
Rowdy walker: A 3D printed downhill walking toy BS Thesis, Honors College By Christian Trevino, ME Senior (currently ME Grad. Student) BS Thesis. (coming soon) |
|
| Animatronics Face Independent Study Project, Entry to the Spring 2016, Center for Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (CITE) $100 K Business Competition at UTSA, Finalist in the Instructables Robotic Contest 2016 (only 19 finalists out of 222 entries) (link) (cached) By Geoffrey Toombs and James Schopfer ME Seniors Project Report (4.7 MB) |
|
Paper walker for the Inventors Workshop at the Children's Museum, San Antonio. By Christian Trevino, ME Graduate Student, UTSA. COE Innovations Magazine back cover (cached) |
|
ME 4773: Fundamentals of Robotics, Technical Elective for ME Juniors/Seniors at UTSA. Robotics Labs 1. Line following robots. 2. Can picking robot. 3. Face drawing robot. |
|
| |
Physics demonstration: Dancing pendulums for San Antonio Children's Museum (Prototype) By Christian Trevino, ME Senior, UTSA. UTSA news (link) (cached) |
UTSA commercial 2015. Our robots were featured in the UTSA commercial. At 6 sec: Christian Trevino, Raquel De La Garza, and Eric Sanchez with Ein At 10 sec: Roarunner rolling around with Rico Ulep, Scott Miller, Ezra Ameperosa, Robert Brothers, Raquel De La Garza and Eric Sanchez in the background |
|
| |
Ein: A modular robotic leg. Senior Design Project By Christian Trevino, Eric Sanchez, Robert Brothers, and Raquel De La Garza, All ME Seniors Project Report (9.3 MB) |
| |
Roadrunner: A rimless wheel based locomotion robot. Senior Design Project By Rico Ulep, Scott Miller, Ezra Ameperosa, and Kyle Seay, All ME Seniors Project Report. (7 MB) |
| |
Smart Humanoid Used for Silencing Humans (SHUSH) Bot: A robot for silencing noisy students in the library Senior Design Project By Javi Gonzalez, Stacy Alexander, Thilo Janssen, Roberto Mexquitic, All ECE Seniors. Project Report. (3 MB) |
| |
Mobile Automatd Directory (MAD "Max): A guide robot for UTSA. Senior Design Project By Cory Royal, William Morris, Dylan Odle, All ECE Seniors. Project Report. (1 MB) |
| |
Cornell Ranger walks a 40.5 mile (65 km) ultra-marathon P. A. Bhounsule, J.
Cortell, A. Grewal, B. Hendriksen, J.G.D. Karssen,
C. Paul, A. Ruina. Low-bandwidth
reflex-based control for lower power
walking: 65 km on a single battery charge. International
Journal of
Robotics Research, vol 33. no. 10. 1305-1321.
|
| |
Cornell Ranger's most energy-efficient walk with a Total Cost of Transport (Energy used per unit weight per unit distance moved) of 0.19. This is the lowest TCOT ever achieved on a legged robot. P. A. Bhounsule and A. Ruina. Controller design for a bipedal walking robot using simple approximations to energy-optimal solution. To be submitted to ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics (paper coming) |
| |
Controlling a system with time delays larger than the characteristic time constant of the system. P. A. Bhounsule and A. Ruina. Discrete Decision Continuous Actuation control: balance of an inverted pendulum and pumping a pendulum swing. J. Dyn. Sys., Meas., Control 137(5), 051012 (2015) |
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ME 4543: Mechatronics Course Core Course for ME Juniors/Seniors at UTSA. Final Hardware Project: Battling Rowdy Bots |
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When Iron Man came to the Mechatronics Class at UTSA. Starring: Albert Lee. Read more about him over here: http://www.utsa.edu/today/2015/02/lee.html |
Last updated May 20, 2019.
(webpage template from http://webdesign.about.com)
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