A team of final-year MEng students from Queen Mary University of London has been awarded the travel prize at the 2024 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Student Mechanism and Robot Design Competition in Washington DC.

The team was made up of six Robotics Engineering and Mechanical Engineering students from the School of Engineering and Materials Science: Qemal Gjashi, Faizan Khan, Mostafa Mohamed Ghonemi, Shayek Uddin Ahmed, Janeban Selvamohan, and Lendrit Bycmeti, supervised by Dr Ketao Zhang and Dr Xinwei Wang.

Their project, titled Design and Control of a Quadruped Robot with 5R Linkage Leg Mechanisms, was selected out of 24 participating teams to win the 'travel award' of $1500.

The winning project drew inspiration from nature’s agile runners. By utilising a closed-loop five-bar linkage mechanism, the robot is capable of highly versatile motion and can swiftly adapt its leg configuration to suit different conditions. The team employed computer-aided design to develop customised robot feet, which were then 3D printed using compliant materials. This approach not only enhanced grip on a variety of substrates but also improved the robot’s ability to absorb impact shocks during locomotion.

Team leader Qemal Gjashi commented, “It is an incredible achievement to win the travel award. The journey of developing the legged robot and participating in the student competition at such an international conference is a special experience that the team will remember for the rest of our lives. We would also like to thank the School for supporting the project and facilitating our travel to the conference.”

This accolade not only highlights the innovative capabilities of Queen Mary’s engineering students but also underscores the university’s commitment to fostering cutting-edge research and design in the field of robotics.

Since 1952, the ASME Mechanisms and Robotics conference has provided an international forum for the exchange of technical and scientific insights on mechanical and robotic systems. Students are offered a unique opportunity to demonstrate their prowess in designing and building advanced mechanisms and robots.