Robotic System Lab Internship

Over the last nine weeks, I had the exciting opportunity to intern at the Robotic System Lab (RSL) at Santa Clara University. Coming into this role with a limited knowledge of robotics, my primary goal was to explore the field, collaborate with others on diverse projects, and expand my engineering skillset.

When I first joined the lab, I didn't have any particular assignment so I spent my first days asking questions and learning about projects. I participated in a Robotic Operating System (ROS) workshop, which was essential for much of my later work. That led to working with a team on a feedback delay system to simulate the lag in teleoperation of robots. To achieve this, I learned about computer vision through OpenCV to create a delayed video feed and used ROS introduce a desired delay to the controller input.

I also had the unique opportunity to participate in several field deployments. I got to pilot an underwater ROV off a boat in Monterey Bay to explore coral and marine life (top). We also tested our ROVs in the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) 375,000 gallon saltwater tank (middle). Lastly, I planned my own deployment and got SCU's approval to fly drones in the lobby of our $300 million Engineering facility (bottom)!

These deployments were invaluable for improving the performance of our robots in different environments. (plus, who wouldn't want to go on fun fields trips for work!?)

One of the most challenging and fun projects I worked on was developing an autonomous drone flying system using tiny drones (called CrazyFlie's) and an OptiTrack motion capture system (like what they use for CGI in movies!). I worked closely with two colleagues on this project; each of us with a different area of expertise but none of us knew how to tackle this challenge. A crucial part of our approach was to break down objectives into more manageable tasks and take those step by step. We continued this gradual progress and, after around a month and many setbacks, we had achieved a system that autonomously flies a drone to any desired position in the room using live feedback from the OptiTrack system and PID controllers for each axis of motion!

(left: a test flight that went surprisingly well! right: resourceful prototyping for our drones)

A fulfilling part of my internship was seeing how the engineering skills I've learned through personal projects and college courses can be applied to solve real-world problems. I've often felt that academic curriculums are too abstract and the material we are told to learn lack connection to their practical benefits for our careers. It was motivating to see how concepts from classes like differential equations and linear algebra were necessary for our projects, such as programming PID controllers for drones or mapping kinematics for robotic arms!

(left: testing drone stability with disturbances, right: the corresponding graphs of the flight)

Throughout my time in the lab, I learned that collaboration is crucial for any project-based work. For the autonomous drone project, I was taught how to set up and use the motion capture system from a Ph.D. candidate using the system for his thesis and reading his documentation. By the end of my internship, I found myself writing my own documentation for the autonomous drone system and giving him a walkthrough so he could apply it to his Ph.D work—a full-circle moment that made me realize the importance of that exchange of knowledge between coworkers.

Whether it is implementing computer vision models for a robot to see its environment or programming PID controllers for a drone to fly autonomously, this internship solidified my passion for working with exciting technology that directly interacts with the physical world. I also discovered that I thrive in smaller, collaborative environments where creativity and continuous learning is encouraged. Overall, the RSL has been such a rewarding experience to explore the field of robotics, work with talented people and get a clearer vision of my career ambitions.