About

Education

Rikki received her BSE from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012 with majors in Mechanical Engineering and Cognitive Science. Currently, Rikki is a student of the Master of Science in Robotics program at Northwestern University. She is interested in robotic control in the areas of manipulation, mobility, and locomotion as well as the robotic application of neuroscience in areas such as advanced prosthetics.

Professional Experience

Rikki worked as a research engineer in the Robotics and Electromechanical Systems division at Intelligent Automation, Inc. Work included:

• KineSys MedSim: Researched and tested optimization methods for 27 DOF hand tracking. Analyzed visual processing methods for end-effector tracking; evaluated augmented reality software. Developed medical scenarios with force information for use in haptic rendering. Integrated tactile display from Tangible Haptics and particle jamming display from Stanford University with cable-based robot.
• IED-Defeat: Created path-planning behaviors for area exploration including waypoint following behavior and complete coverage behavior for mobile robot. Developed drivers for motor control for dual arm addition. Researched various sensors for use in autonomous robot navigation during IED detection. Integrated GPS, IMU, LIDAR, stereo camera, and GEM-3MA mine detection sensor to enable advanced robot behaviors.
• ATS-OCU: Developed control algorithms for operating a mobile robot with a 2 DOF manipulator. Used inverse kinematics and specialized controls to enable robot to use its arm to climb over obstacles. Implemented controls on an Xbox controller for operator ease of use with scalable autonomy.

Previously Rikki interned at Northrop Grumman for the Missile Defense Agency in Colorado Springs and worked as a research assistant in GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsyvlania.

Technology and Skills

Proficient in Matlab, C, C++, Java, Solidworks. Experience with Python, ROS, OpenCV, Linux and Windows environments.