RDF Lab @ FIU

Overview

This post is to show what I did in my internship and show other other high schoolers the type of things the can do with some technical proficiency in a field.

I did a 6-week summer internship at the Robotics & Digital Fabrication (RDF) Lab at FIU. I got this “internship” by cold-emailing lab directors. I worked on a few projects, all concerning the use of collaborative (xArm) & industrial (Kuka) robots. Below is info regarding each of the projects I worked on and my contributions:

• xArm Typewriter
• KUKA - 3D Printing Sandwich Structures
• Research on Emerging Technologies for Teaching and Learning (RETTL, NSF-Sponsored)
• Flexible Gripper
• 3D Printing & Modeling w/ Prusa (Pen Plotter, grippers, hobby items)

Schedule & Daily Activities in the Lab:

I went for 5 weeks from 10am - 6pm Monday - Friday plus a few extra days. I spent a large amount of my time on a laptop 3D-Modeling in Rhino3D. I used GitHub and documented the 3D-Modeling & Printing process for use with Prusa Printers, PrusaSlicer, Rhino, and Grasshopper. I spent a little bit of time organizing the laboratory, mainly sorting electronic components. I got the opportunity to use a few micro controllers as well (Arduino & Adafruit Feather ESP32) and learned to solder.

Software & Languages Used

• Rhinoceros 3D
• Grasshopper
• Java
• Processing (processing.org, Java add-on)
• xArm software (placeholder)
• GitHub
• Prusa Slicer