About me

kai asher green

Currently, I am a senior Mechatronics Engineering student graduating in May of 2026. As I continue my studies, I’m constantly exploring new ways to leverage the power of control theory, additive manufacturing, compliant mechanisms, systems integration, and electrical analysis in modern engineering challenges. Whether it’s optimizing performance or integrating components, I thrive on solving technical challenges with creativity and precision.

Research Interests

My research interests focus on how additive manufacturing can enable new classes of bioinspired robotic systems that integrate structural, compliant, and functional materials into a single fabricated device. Advances in multi-material printing and flexible polymers allow engineers to fabricate mechanisms that combine actuation, sensing, and structural support directly within a printed structure. I am particularly interested in how bioinspired geometries, such as octopus-inspired gripping mechanisms, can inform the design of compliant robotic systems capable of interacting safely with irregular or delicate objects.

Through rapid prototyping and experimental testing, this work explores how fabrication parameters, material selection, and structural geometry influence the mechanical performance of soft robotic devices. By combining additive manufacturing, compliant mechanism design, and embedded sensing strategies, the goal is to develop robotic systems that are adaptable, lightweight, and capable of interacting with complex environments. This research sits at the intersection of robotics, advanced manufacturing, and bioinspired engineering, and has potential applications in biomedical devices, adaptive manipulation systems, and flexible robotic platforms.

Plans for Future Research

Tendon-Driven Robotic Arm

Bioinspired Soft Robotic Grippers

This project explores the development of compliant robotic grippers inspired by the gripping behavior of octopus tentacles. Using flexible materials such as TPU and hybrid rigid–flexible prints, the goal is to design grippers capable of conforming to objects of varying shapes while maintaining reliable grasping force. Additive manufacturing enables rapid iteration of internal geometries, tendon routing paths, and surface textures that influence grip performance, allowing designs to be refined through repeated prototyping and testing.

My team's current prototype uses a tendon-driven actuation system in which fishing line runs through the gripper structure and is tensioned by a servo motor rotating in both directions. Increasing tension causes the flexible arms to curl inward around the object, while releasing tension returns the gripper to its relaxed position. Initial testing revealed that TPU 95A provides ample flexibility but has a relatively low coefficient of friction, reducing grip reliability on smooth surfaces. To address this, additional high-friction material (electrical tape) was applied to the contact surfaces to improve object retention during grasping.

Compliant Mechanisms for Robotic Manipulation

This project focuses on using additive manufacturing to design compliant mechanisms that replace traditional mechanical joints with flexible structures. By exploiting the anisotropic mechanical properties of FDM printing, complex motion can be achieved through carefully designed flexures and living hinges.

Research will examine how geometry, layer orientation, and material selection influence fatigue life, stiffness, and repeatability of compliant mechanisms. Additional research using the Instron 5544 Tensile Tester will be performed to gather information about elastic behavior of each material.