Pleurobot is a salamander-inspired robot that is capable of moving in and transitioning between terrestrial and aquatic environments. Some research projects in our lab have demonstrated the effectiveness of vision-guided or human-controlled locomotion transition strategies. However, the present Pleurobot is unable to use similar strategies robustly, especially in outdoor environments, because of lacking vision systems or robust wireless controllers.

In this project, the student will need to add vision systems (e.g., RGB-D camera) for Pleurobot that can operate in amphibious environments. In addition, a robust radio controller is needed to operate the robot in outdoor environments. Alternatively, the student can choose to implement algorithms for the vision system for recognizing terrain and obstacles in real-time. Both systems need to be integrated into the ROS 2 controller running on the onboard computer. The major challenges include the requirements for waterproofing, the limited space for electronics, and the fusion of multiple sensory systems in an embedded system.

The student is expected to have a solid background in circuit design for embedded systems, firmware programming, and familiarity with ROS 2. The student who is interested in this project could send his/her transcript, CV, and materials that can demonstrate his/her past project experience to qiyuan.fu@epfl.ch.

3D printing of polymers is today a well-implemented process for many applications, including rapid prototyping. Several tens of thousands of parts are produced every year in the 3D printing workshop at SPOT, EPFL's main student makerspace. Most of these parts are produced by FDM 3D printing, using PETG filament. Every year, around 20 kg of thermoplastic waste is thus generated.

As part of its sustainability approach, SPOT has acquired a recycling line (grinding, drying, extrusion) to recycle this waste and produce new 3D printing filaments in-house. Two previous semester projects have optimized the recycling process. However, the filaments obtained can still present random defects (inclusions, diameter variations) which make them unreliable for mass 3d printing. Thus, a device has been designed and built in a previous semester project in order to detect those defects in the filament.

This project aims to further develop the device in order to improve filament quality control and to facilitate the correction of detected defects.

The various steps in the project involves:

• Adding a spool defect mapping function to the existing device.
• Adding a semi-automatic defect correction function.
• Characterizing the entire process and evaluate the device's efficiency.

The student is expected to be rigorous and patient, and to have good programming and prototyping skills (mechanical design, 3D printing, laser cutting, etc). A previous experience prototyping at SPOT is required.