Rakshith BK

Role

Rakshith is currently a Research Assistant on an industrial project in collaboration with food and beverage partner, PepsiCo. His primary responsibilities include developing a robotic cell and physics ready simulation environments.

In addition, he conducts the research focused on the advancement and deployment of humanoid robotics in manufacturing settings. He collaborates with industrial partners to explore strategies for the deployment of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) and humanoid robotics, as well as crisis management strategies.

Career overview

Rakshith graduated with an MEng Mechanical Engineering from Nottingham Trent University. During his studies, he engaged in several impactful projects that enhanced his skills and knowledge in engineering.

One notable project involved the collaborative design and development of an aircraft cabin simulator, where he was responsible for creating wiring and ventilation plans, designing a secure structure to mount screens outside the windows, and  installation of studio speakers, a subwoofer, and bass shakers under the aircraft seats. As an extension of this work, he participated in the Comfdemo project, traveling to the Netherlands to participate in experiments focused on human comfort in turboprop aircrafts. The visuals and acoustics recorded during these experiments were subsequently replicated in the university’s aircraft cabin simulator for validation studies.

In addition, Rakshith developed an open loop control system using digital signal processing to process raw data collected during the Comfdemo aircraft charter, compensating for acoustic effects in the simulator. He also led a team in developing the next generation of laparoscopic surgery trainers, focusing on designing the actuation robotic systems and providing support across all stages of the project. For his final year project, Rakshith created the next generation of mobile manipulators for PepsiCo International, integrating a Universal Robots UR10 collaborative robot onto an Omron LD250 autonomous mobile robot. This project featured an intelligent tool changer and a 7th axis, enabling the robot to perform a variety of tasks throughout the day. Additionally, Rakshith gained hands-on technical experience during a three-month internship as a technician, where he quickly learned to operate milling machines, lathes, CNC routers, vacuum formers, 3D printers, and laser cutters. In this role, he also advised and guided students with their electronics projects utilising Raspberry Pi and Arduino platforms.

Furthermore, he established and led the Robotics Club and Drone Society at the university, fostering a collaborative environment for students to explore robotics and drone technology.