A simulation-first robotics design team at Michigan State. Through Project Wonder we are building an autonomous robot platform for search and rescue in unstructured terrain, validated in simulation before it touches hardware.
PROJECT WONDER
IN SIMULATION
SEARCH & RESCUE
Every behaviour is broken cheaply in simulation before it is trusted to a machine that costs a semester to rebuild.
Kinematics derived straight from the CAD assembly, so the simulated robot and the printed one are the same robot.
Gaits, joint limits and power draw tested against physics before anything is asked of real hardware.
Bench bring-up with documented run logs. What worked, what didn't, and the number that proved it.
Recorded straight out of MuJoCo. The overlay is the simulator's own live readout, not a caption written afterwards.
Field guides our members wrote while building Project Wonder. Real trade-offs, real numbers, written so the next member does not start from zero.
Brushed DC, brushless, stepper, servo. How the four classes differ on torque, speed, control and cost, and how that choice shapes the whole robot.
READ →A decision guide to six robotics simulators, Gazebo, Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, Webots and more. Which trade-off each stack is actually asking you to make.
READ →A gait tuned against physics, held on real hardware at first bring-up. What transferred, what did not, and which numbers predicted it.
READ →Five divisions, one agenda. Nobody arrived knowing how to do this.
Sets direction and owns delivery across all five divisions, plus simulation and research.
LINKEDIN →Leads the software and controls stack behind the robot.
LINKEDIN →Owns the robot's mechanical design, CAD, and fabrication.
Owns power, wiring and electrical bring-up.
Works the power, wiring and bring-up alongside the electrical lead.
Works the harness, sensors and electrical testing.
Builds and validates the simulation stack the robot is tuned in.
Owns how the robot reads and crosses real ground.
Runs logistics, procurement, and day-to-day team operations.
Keeps records, runs recruitment, and holds the team to MSU compliance.
Runs the budget and sponsor development.
LINKEDIN →Mechanical, electrical, software, design, comms, the team is built so someone who has never touched a robot has somewhere useful to start in week one.
