Developing a Watershed Council for the Rio Espiritu Santo Watershed in Puerto Rico

The goal of this project was to assist the U.S. Forest Service in the creation of the Río Espiritu Santo Watershed Council to promote the conservation and restoration of the area. We used background research to provide support and inform our research. We collected data through surveys and interviews of watershed council officials and the community of the watershed. Using these data, we created seven deliverables that will serve as recommendations for the council including a Rapid Watershed Assessment, a Restoration and Community Development Assessment, a Google blog, a charter draft, a project poster, a discussion of the “ideal” watershed council, and a final presentation. These deliverables will serve to assist the initial stakeholders in founding the Río Espiritu Santo Watershed Council

Indoor Navigation and Manipulation using a Segway RMP

This project dealt with a Segway RMP, utilizing it in an assistive-technology manner, encompassing navigation and manipulation aspects of robotics. First, background research was conducted to develop a blueprint for the robot. The hardware, software, and configuration of the RMP was updated, and a robotic arm was designed to extend the RMP’s capabilities. The robot was programmed to accomplish autonomous multi-floor navigation through the use of the navigation stack in ROS, image detection, and a GUI. The robot can navigate through the hallways of the building utilizing the elevator. The robotic arm was designed to accomplish tasks such as pressing a button and picking an object up off of a table. The Segway RMP is designed to be utilized and expanded upon as a robotics research platform