What is Ada?

Ada is a chemistry robot focused on solar cell materials research. A significant goal of Ada is full automation. By covering every aspect of the materials research workflow (sample creation, analysis, and selection of next sample) this robot can run experiments for days at a time with minimal human supervision.

My Projects

I implemented two major development projects on Ada:

• The Mimic Platform is a suite of tools for hardware development and integration into the Ada system. I built a full copy of the Ada system with additional utilities (air, vacuum, motor controllers) aimed at facilitating hardware development. This project led to a significant decrease in the development time of new hardware modules and automation routines.

• The Probe Station enabled Ada to measure the conductivity of thin film materials deposited on glass slides. I designed and implemented both a fixture head for measuring conductivity and a slide-handler for manipulating the workpiece. I also wrote and integrated a Python API to control this module in conjunction with the larger Ada system.