PROJECT DESCRIPTION
I worked on two projects with Steelcase.
The first is essentially a custom hand-truck used to move heavy tabletops which I worked on independently.
The second is a robot which would be used to unload/unload stacked boxes from trucks. This project was worked on with my FIRST robotics team and I designed the manipulation features while they made the drive-base & programming.
When loading and unloading heavy boxes from trucks, it is often hard to access any face other than the front.
This device punctures the box through any saran wrap and leverages it up a small amount to allow a wedge to fit in underneath the box. Once that is secured, another device lowers down on the top of the box and uses a similar pucture method to bring the box flush with the robot and provides a mechanical hold on the box.
The puncture method is possible here because all of the boxes are packaged with a substantial amount of padding between the outside and the item being shipped.