Today at Intuitive, Rohen and I worked on creating and analyzing linear actuators, programming them using Python from our computers. The actuator was programmed to oscillate 24 times, carrying a certain load. Sensors were used to find the voltage, the current, and the temperature used by the motor to do work upon the weights. The data was then graphed and written into data files for analysis.
Our fourth day at Intuitive, we began to work on more complex projects. Tymur and I implemented a servo motor—a finely and precisely controllable motor—starting only with a basic DC motor, potentiometer, and rubber band. We used a PID loop to set the position and added additional code to deal with complications like hysteresis of the rubber band.
This morning was a continuation of of the work I was doing yesterday, finalizing the second design of the cantilever beam and 3D printing all of the designs. In the afternoon, the designs were able to be tested by putting them in a instron machine- a device that can apply extreamly high pressures, while being able to very accurately measure the force it was applying. After testing the breaking point of all four 3D prints, it was found that the second design to was significantly stronger, able to resist 160-180 pounds of force while the first design broke after only about 20 pounds of force.
Today Rohen and Tymur continued their work with electronics, while I worked on my CAD designs for the build challenge. As a reminder the build challenge is to design a cantilever beam that can withstand 50 pounds of force, while being as light as possible. The first CAD design was finished and 3D printed in the morning. The second CAD design was first created by running a computer simulation to evaluate the most efficient and lightweight design to withstand the 50 pounds of force. From this simulation, the second CAD design was modeled and 3D printed for tomorrow morning.
Results of computer simulation:
Working on cleaning up 3D print:
Today at first we experimented with circuit designs with capacitors, resistors, and diodes and used the oscilloscope, the white box on the left, to measure what the resultant voltage would be if passed voltage as a sine function. We then built the same circuits in a circuit simulation software and compared the results. Afterwards we did activities with Arduino programming, making programs to write text or show images on a screen or to read inputs from a joystick. Additionally, some designs were 3D printed with the goal of being able to withstand 50 pounds of force applied on a cantilever beam, upon which testing will commence later.
Our second day at Intuitive Surgical was filled with background knowledge, from electrical engineering concepts like electronic components, circuits, and logic gates to mechanical engineering concepts like experimental design. We also took a look at some of the tools engineers make use of, including soldering and CAD tools.
Today at Intuitive Tymur, Rohen, and I spent the morning learning more about electrical engineering. We had a crash course in electrical engineering and electronics- learning about circuits, voltage, resistors, and more. We then worked on our soldering skills as we assembled a simple circuit that functioned as a power supply that read the voltage output. In the afternoon Tymur and Rohen continued their work with electronics while I was introduced with a build design challenge. The challenge is to design a cantilever beam (think of a diving board) that can withstand 50 pounds of force from a 1/2 inch rod, 2.5 inches away from it’s mounting point. I then spent the rest of today working in CAD on coming up with my first design for this challenge. Something that fascinated me today was the power of circuit diagrams in being able to convey information about a circuit.
Today we began with a tour of the office, starting with their workshops and testing spaces for mechanical and electrical engineers. We saw how their surgery robots worked and the designs they had used, including the evolution of their technology since the 90s. We learned how to control the robots and we were able to use on to perform tasks that are used for testing, such as tying a wire. 
The robots are extremely simple to use, it only took a few minutes to get used to the controls and start doing more complex functions. Afterwards we toured their refurbishing facility where they take older generations and turn them into the new robots.
Today at Intuitive, Rohen, Tymur, and I worked together and spent our day working with Intuitive’s Da Vinci surgical robot. In the morning we spent our time learning about the functions of the Da Vinci robot, then we spent time operating the machine. I was amazed in the precision of the machine and how it could be used to complete complex tasks with easy. The robot was surprisingly not that complex to operate as well. With only 20 minutes of practice I was able to tie knots in rope, using the machine. In the afternoon we visited Intuitive’s building in RTP where they take old model Da Vinci robots from hospitals, and upgrade them to newest models with the latest technology.
I am very excited to be able to work with Intuitive these coming two weeks!