York College's Robot
Posted April 19, 2004FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Four mechanical engineering students at York College of Pennsylvania are putting the finishing touches on a new robot. The project is part of the Walking Machine Challenge, which promotes the field of robotics to students around the world. YCP's robot and students will soon be competing against other colleges from across the country at a national contest. It's taking place April 29-30 at Union College in Schenectady, New York.
The York College engineers designed and fabricated a completely new two-legged robot to fulfill their Senior Design project requirements. Each leg has three single degree-of-freedom joints (ankle, knee, and hip) that are set into motion by two pneumatic cylinders and one electric motor. On each leg, the ankle rotates and the knee moves on a common vertical axis. Each hip joint enables horizontal movement along parallel linear slides relative to a common frame. Overall, the robot is capable of two modes of walking (one translational and one rotational) that are governed by a programmable logic controller.
The students and Dr. James Kearns, Associate Professor of Physical Science, are leaving April 28 for the competition and will return May 1. For more information, please contact Dr. Kearns at (717) 815-1522, or you may call the York College PR office at 815-1309.
