Here are a few examples of projects and hobbies I like to work on when I have free time. I’ve always had a passion for building and creating. When I was a child, I would scavenge the alleyways for discarded electronic and mechanical devices that I would later use for parts to build new contraptions from. While I don’t trash dig anymore, I still like to take on miscellaneous projects.

Mini engines design and build

V4 solenoid engine and 2-stroke steam engine

Motion Simulator prototype

My latest project is the development of a 3 degree of freedom (3DOF) motion simulator. With the advancement of virtual reality (VR) and its recent success in the video game industry, I see potential for growth in products related to this technology. The purpose of this 3DOF motion simulator is intended for the development of an integrated VR-motion platform not only for video games, but other applications such as RC car racing, drone racing, flight simulation, and other training environments with live feed accelerometer data. The goal is to develop as small scale prototype with hobby servo motors and Arduino programming that can later be easily scaled into a life size prototype. Challenges revolve around the ever dreaded latency.

Animations in Blender

Here are some projects I’ve done in Blender. This is a new software I’m learning and would like to apply it to several applications. One such application is to support the VR aspect of the motion simulator as shown above. Imagine an immersive experience: flying through space or a sci-fi world where you are free to look around, control the speed and direction of your ship/vehicle, all the while being subjected to the physical acceleration (via the 3DOF simulator). Note that while I made these animations, they were learned through tutorials (see links below each video to credit the instructor).

Learned through tutorial provided by YouTube channel Ducky 3D

Re-fabricating A Golf Cart

One on-going project is the re-fabrication of a golf cart. I’m converting it from electric to gas power so that it will be more suitable for off-road conditions where more torque is needed than the original motor could provide. This also eliminates the heavy load of batteries. The golf cart is currently drivable, and I’m am working to improve the brake system. The final stage of this project is to build a roll-bar and redesign the body. I’m often asked why I’m doing this: it just seemed like a fun project.

This conversion was accomplished by removing the armature and field magnets from the motor, then utilizing the remaining motor housing and drive shaft to install a sprocket—it is now chain driven. The engine is connected to a centrifugal clutch torque converter which is connected to a forward/reverse gear box, and finally the gear box is connected to the drive shaft which connects to the differential.

Small Home-Made Projects and DIYs

The soup can light has three settings: still color, strobe, and fade transition. For still color, a potentiometer is used to select a single color. For strobe or fade transition, the potentiometer is used to adjust speed of the transitions. The LEDs are powered by a 9V battery and transistors which are controlled by an Arduino.

Battle Bots I Built and Designed

“The Chef” was my battle bot I built and crafted from aircraft grade aluminum and a 99 cent store spatula. The spatula flipper is driven by two metal-geared servo motors. I competed in battle bot competitions while in community college.

I contributed to the design of this group’s robot by developing a cam-driven flipper for them. The flipper was powered by a torsion spring and had a cam follower that slid along the rotating cam, winding up the spring until it reached a V-shaped notch in the cam, releasing the spring powered flipper.

My Artwork

I began painting in 2016 while attending UC Santa Cruz for undergrad. What inspired me most was the shared appreciation for art and music amongst the other physics students. It seemed like everyone I met was an artist or a musician. I learned that even my research advisor took a year between his undergrad and PhD to study music. This was a remarkable thing to me, that people of this technical and scientific field placed such a heavy emphasis on art in their lives. Inspired by the diverse talents of my peers, I decided to try painting. (click arrows to scroll left or right to see more paintings)

My Music

Here I used Garage Band software on an iPhone 3GS to record my guitar playing and layer it with drums, base, and piano sampling. My guitar of choice is a Schecter C-1 Plus that I purchased after working a summer at my first job in a warehouse at the age of 15.