FUSION Engineering Project: Mobile Gesture-Controlled Robotic Arm

Background:

The FUSION Engineering Project, as an integral component of FUSION, offers extensive learning opportunities that extend beyond the confines of traditional classroom education. This project fosters professional growth, catering to students at various stages of their educational journey—be it novices learning software applications like SolidWorks or TinkerCAD, or more seasoned engineering students seeking to grow their leadership capabilities through team management and mentorship. The FUSION Engineering Project (FEP) represents an intermediate-level project designed to impart crucial engineering skills to students at various stages of their academic journey.

Goals and Objectives:

The project's structure includes the mechanical component, responsible for design and prototyping of the chassis; the software component, dictating the robot's movement and task execution; and the hardware component, managing the seamless integration of mechanical elements with software through Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). The objective of the teams is to develop a fully functional Mobile Gesture-Controlled Robotic Arm by FUSIONCon - a yearly conference where all team's projects are showcased, subject to evaluation by a panel of judges assessing its operational efficacy.

As of February 16, teams have completed their first Design Reviews where they received feedback on their designs and progress from our Project Mentors. Currently, they have completed their initial designs of the chassis, claw, and arm and are in the process of receiving the parts from their first purchase orders. By Week 7, teams will begin to test their initial code and designs through hands on prototyping and development. 

Cultural Significance/Explanation of Names:

Team 1: Klawbabayan

Our team name Klawbabayan is a play on the Tagalog word “kababayan” and the English word “claw.” The word “kababayan” means countryman or townsman and is an homage to our team’s Filipino roots which “claw” refers to the main robotic arm component of this project. Klawbabayan represents our team’s heritage as well as our academic endeavors.

Team 2: Kamayan Tayo

“Kamayan Tayo” is a Filipino phrase that we have chosen for our team name. “Kamayan” is typically used to describe a communal feast where food is served on banana leaves and is eaten with bare hands, and “tayo” means “us.” Therefore, our team name loosely translates to “let’s eat”! We are all part of FUSION at UCI (Filipinx Undergraduate Scientist-Engineers In An Organized Network) and wanted to have a team name that reflects the Filipino culture.

Team 3: Mano Po

Our Fusion Engineering Project Team’s main goal this year is to create a robotic hand. Since we are a Filipinx organization, we want to highlight our culture within our project. We decided on the name Mano Po, because it is a traditional way of showing respect to elders by asking for their hand to lay on your forehead. The direct translation of “mano po” is “hand please (respectful tone).”

Team 4: Kamay Guys

Kamay Guys was inspired by the company name, “Halal Guys” and the Filipino word, “kamay” which means “hand” in Tagalog. Our organization is FUSION (Filipinx Undergraduate Scientist-Engineers in an Organized Network) which explains the use of Filipino words, and since our project is the creation of a mobile gestured robotic hand, “kamay” felt like an appropriate word to name our group.

Team 5: Too Mainit To Handle

Our team name is Too Mainit to Handle, which is inspired by wordplay, Filipino culture, and the project itself. To begin, the base phrase originated from the common saying “Too Hot to Handle,” which insinuates feelings of confidence and also refers to the popular reality TV show. Additionally, we replaced the word “Hot” with the Tagalog translation. The word substitution alludes to the organization we represent, FUSION (Filipinx Undergraduate Scientist-Engineers in an Organized Network). Another clever wordplay we incorporated into our team name was the inclusion of the word “Handle”. As our project focuses on the construction of a mobile-gesture-controlled robotic arm/hand, we wanted to reference it indirectly in our team name.

Team Contacts:

Team 1: Klawbabayan

Co-Team Lead: Enzo Casanada - ecasanad@uci.edu

Co-Team Lead: Brandon Huynh - brandobh@uci.edu

Team 2: Kamayan Tayo

Team Lead: John Patrick Ramos - ramosjp1@uci.edu

Team 3: Mano Po

Team Lead: David Dela Cruz - dedelac2@uci.edu

Team 4: Kamay Guys

Team Lead: Aaron Petelo - peteloa@uci.edu

Team 5: Too Mainit to Handle

Co-Team Lead: Ariel Charles Mercado - arielcm@uci.edu

Co-Team Lead: Mariam Al Moubasher - malmouba@uci.edu

Team 6: DIR-ectors

Project Manager: Justine Obedencio - jobedenc@uci.edu

Project Manager: Daniel Ian Reyes - danieir1@uci.edu

Project Mentor: Daniel Solis - solisdl@uci.edu

Project Mentor: John David Libramonte - jlibramo@uci.edu

Project Mentor: Elijah Grayda - egrayda@uci.edu

Project Mentor: Devang Taneja - tanejad@uci.edu

Sponsor/Advisor:

David Copp - dcopp@uci.edu