Robots & Design

Design plays a fundamental role in engineering and how well its solutions can be implemented in the real world. Pablo Valdivia y Alvarado Ph.D.

  • Whisker-like velocity sensors
  • Whisker-like velocity sensors
  • Whisker-like velocity sensors

Whisker-like velocity sensors

Exploiting the geometry and dynamic behavior of pinniped (sea lions, seals, etc) whisker shafts and follicles to fabricate scalable whisker-like velocity sensors that can be used in vectors and arrays to provide near-field flow velocity feedback. The unique whisker geometry minimizes vortex induced vibrations (VIV) and the follicle structure enables the amplification of target signals and damping of known noise sources.

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I design simple and elegant mechanisms that exploit natural phenomena to achieve their function by drawing inspiration from nature and a deep understanding of the physics of a problem.