MS Student
Mechanical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Love Manufacturing Building, room 218
Hometown – Guayaquil, Ecuador
About
My current project is part of a joint effort between the Biorobotics and Human Modeling Lab and the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (www.catea.org) that involves the design and control of an automated system for manual wheelchairs. The main objective is to measure and compare the energy efficiency across different wheelchair models, by studying the vehicle-user system and running several experiments for data analysis. Due to the inherent problems of repeatability when testing with human beings, an Anatomical Model Propulsion System (AMPS) – mechatronic system- is being developed to propel the wheelchair instead of a person. The challenges of this project include robotic vehicle trajectory planning, system modeling, data acquisition and motion control.
Personally I am most excited about the possibilities of Mechanical Design that include Automatic Control. I have previously worked mainly in the design and manufacturing of machines prototypes for the civil construction industry. While studying at Georgia Tech I am learning the principles of mechatronic systems, something that will allow me to improve my designs by using sensors, microcontrollers and data acquisition devices. Being the son of two MD’s it comes naturally to me the desire of helping others through my work in medical applications.
Education
- Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral (ESPOL), BS in Mechanical Engineering, 2004-2009
- Georgia Institute of Technology, MS in Mechanical Engineering, 2013 – present
Work
Ingenieria de la Tierra S.A. INTISA (Civil construction and manufacturing)
2009-2011
Awards
Ecuadorian Government National Scholarship – PROGRAMA DE BECAS CONVOCATORIA ABIERTA (2012)
Publications
Computer Aided Design of a Hammer Grab (Spanish)
http://www.dspace.espol.edu.ec/bitstream/123456789/20836/2/Tesis%20Completa.pdf
Videos
Vibratory Pile Driver and Extractor Design (2012)
http://youtu.be/jCBsRJ1sbg8
Hammer Grab design with Autodesk Inventor (2010)
http://youtu.be/CK07Pw2wSMc