{"id":26578,"date":"2015-08-21T07:00:28","date_gmt":"2015-08-21T11:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/?p=26578"},"modified":"2015-08-20T11:32:44","modified_gmt":"2015-08-20T15:32:44","slug":"cads-role-in-engineering-next-gen-robotics-and-battlebots-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/2015\/08\/cads-role-in-engineering-next-gen-robotics-and-battlebots-champions.html","title":{"rendered":"CAD’s Role in Engineering Next Gen Robotics and BattleBots Champions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note: this is final post in a two-part interview series with robotics engineer and visionary Donald Hutson. Read part one<\/a><\/strong> to learn how programs such as BattleBots and FIRST Robotics are introducing students to the exciting side of engineering.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you feel like Donald Hutson has been in your living room before, he has. Donald\u2019s Mutant Robots<\/strong><\/a> team designed and piloted both the reining two-time Super Heavyweight champion \u201cDiesector and the newly created Lock-Jaw Robot. Donald feels that SOLIDWORKS is a valuable weapon to have in the complex mechanical design world that is BattleBots. \u201cSOLIDWORKS is going to thrive in this type of mechanical competition,\u201d Donald said. \u201cIt helps me build the most complex machine I possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n

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While his team fell short of a third championship in the 2015 robotic combat tournament, chalk it up to using a cast bracket instead of a machined piece. Donald and Mutant Robots are already designing a new set of jaws with shock absorption and custom sprockets to solve the problem. This update will include running an FEA to make sure the same problem doesn\u2019t fail Lock-Jaw again. The champ is on the comeback trail \u2013 hey, even Rocky lost a few fights.<\/p>\n

Lock-Jaw is just one robot Donald designed in SOLIDWORKS. He actually completes all of his personal and professional projects in the software. Donald starting using SOLIDWORKS in 2000 and now his daily work always begins by firing it up. \u201cI used to think it wasn\u2019t possible to use a design tool to think through the process, but now I can\u2019t do without it,\u201d Donald explained. \u201cIt helps me quickly iterate on designs, thinking \u2018that looks cool, how about his other concept?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Amazingly, Donald regularly lays out five or six different concepts in SOLIDWORKS at a time<\/strong> to evaluate the positives and negatives in very complex assemblies. \u201cThis helps me see if I\u2019m headed down the right road and interface with other departments around my projects,\u201d Donald said. The ability to intertwine different disciplines into projects has been a real enabler for Donald. In the past, engineers, drafters, and machinist were all very different people. Donald has experienced a change in the last decade. \u201cNow SOLIDWORKS and CAMworks are providing enabling technology, allowing designers to also be machinist,\u201d Donald explained. \u201cThe result is better engineers and designers because it gets them to think about how other elements fit and work together.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Qualcomm<\/a><\/strong>, Donald works as a robotics engineer, where he\u2019s designed the Snapdragon Cargo, a flying and driving drone that picks up objects and can drive over rough terrain. complete with an integrated Snapdragon flight controller. The Snapdragon does some amazing maneuvers \u2013 including driving up and down stairs and even driving on ceilings. Why be a fly on the ceiling when you can be a Snapdragon? Previously he worked at the Neurosciences Institute where he focused on brain-based robotic platforms. Here, he was most interested in building robots that simulate the inner workings of a brain to better understand how our minds work.<\/p>\n

To date, Donald\u2019s work has been approaching two key elements that will drive the next generation of robotics: perception and communication<\/strong>. \u201cThese factors are part of a big push to add more sophistication to make drones safer and smarter,\u201d Donald said. Essentially, next-gen drones will need to visualize and understand their environments, then effective relay this information to a pilot in order to have a human in the loop if the robot has a level of autonomy. As you can see in the below video, the Snapdragon Cargo is a great example of this approach.<\/p>\n

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