Welcome to the lab of Dr. Joshua Vaughan in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Our research includes a variety of controls and robotics related work, including vibration control, input shaping, crane control, human-machine interfaces, mobile robotics, mine detection, and inspection robots.
Yes, we're following a long line of labs doing great work that have acronym names, such as the GRITS Lab at Georgia Tech and the GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. In our case, we're paying homage to a delicious creature from our Louisiana home, the crawfish. For us, C.R.A.W.LAB is the home to research focusing on Controls, Robotics, and Automation, With respect for human interaction.
We aim to make C.R.A.W.LAB inclusive and respectful to all. For more information, see the C.R.A.W.LAB Code of Conduct page on this site.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB M.S. student Ben for graduating today (08/07/20).
This summer, a team of C.R.A.W.LAB students competed in the 2020 International RoboBoat Competition, which was hosted by RoboNation. Due to COVID-19, this year's contest was a virtual one. The team won 2nd place overall, 3rd place in the Technical Design Report, and a Special Award for Evidence in Testing. The full results can be found on the results summary page. A huge congratulations to the entire team. More information on the team's entry can be found on the website that the team developed for the contest, and pictures from the process can be found on the project's flickr album.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB student Ben, who successfully defended his M.S. thesis, titled Effect of Hyper-Local Weather Predictions and Adaptive Prediction Horizon on Trajectory Tracking Performance for Autonomous Surface Vessels, on 07/03/20.
Last week (06/16-06/24/19), Dr. Vaughan and a team of students attended the 2019 International RoboBoat Competition, held in Daytona Beach, FL and hosted by RoboNation. At the contest, the team won a Manufacturing Award, an award of recognition from Blue Robotics, and an NVIDIA Jetson TX2 from RoboNation. Pictures from the development of the boat and at the contest can be found at the project's flickr album. An article about the project is also included on the UL Lafayette MCHE webpage.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB undergraduate student Grant for graduating today (05/17/19).
For the six weeks this spring (2019), the C.R.A.W.LAB hosted three students visiting from Kumoh National Institute of Technology. We hope they had a great stay here in Lafayette.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB undergraduate students Jacob D, Jacob R, and Lane for graduating today (12/14/18). Jacob D was also named the Department of Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Graduate. A huge congratulations to him.
Recently (10/03-10/14/18), Dr. Vaughan visited the Northeast Forestry University in Harbin, China. He presented a series of lectures on C.R.A.W.LAB research and one introducing the Chinese students to UL Lafayette. The slides and audio from Dr. Vaughan's presentations can be found at a webpage for the lecture series. Dr. Vaughan and his host, Dr. Yizhuo (Joe) Zhang, also discussed research collaborations and the possibility of future student exchanges. Pictures from the trip, including some sightseeing in the Beijing area can be found in a flickr album for the trip.
Last week (09/11-09/14/18), Dr. Vaughan traveled with several students the 20th ARLISS competition. It was the 5th time that UL Lafayette has fielded a team in the contest. A huge thanks to the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium (LaSPACE) for supporting the team. You can see some pictures from the trip in the ARLISS - 2018 flickr album.
Last week (06/26-06/28/18), recent C.R.A.W.LAB graduate, Daniel, presented some of our work at the 2018 American Controls Conference in Milwaukee, WI. He presented two papers. One was titled Eliminating Nonzero Initial States in Flexible Systems through Specified Insensitivity Input Shaping, co-authored by Dr. Seong-wook Hong. The other, co-authored by another C.R.A.W.LAB alumnus, Minh, was titled Designing Input Shapers Using Reinforcement Learning.
Recently (06/26-07/02/18), Dr. Vaughan traveled to Budapest, Hungary to present some of our research at the 14th IFAC Workshop on Time Delay Systems. The paper was co-authored by recent C.R.A.W.LAB M.S. graduate, Daniel, and titled Concurrent Design of Linear Control with Input Shaping for a Two-Link Flexible Manipulator Arm. Some pictures from the trip can be found in a lab flickr album for the trip.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB student Gerald, who successfully defended his M.S. thesis, titled Concurrent Design of Path Planning Methods and Input Shaping for Flexible Mobile Robots, on 06/20/18.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB M.S. student Daniel for graduating today (05/11/18).
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB undergraduate students Andrew and Juan for graduating today (05/11/18).
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB student Daniel, who successfully defended his M.S. thesis, titled Attenuating Vibration through Input Shaping and Feedback Control Techniques, on 03/26/18.
C.R.A.W.LAB alumnus Matt was recently featured in a Job Spotlight for his current employer (and friend of the lab), ASV.
Earlier this year, the lab was featured in an article by the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report covering ways that automation and robotics can improve the safety of inspection and maintenance.
This week (1/14—1/21/18), Dr. Vaughan will be visiting Kumoh National Institute of Technology to present a series of lectures on Modern Approaches to System Dynamics and Control.
For the next six weeks, starting on 1/4/18, the C.R.A.W.LAB will be hosting three students visiting from Kumoh National Institute of Technology. We hope they have a great stay here in Lafayette.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB undergraduate student and ARLISS team member Haley for graduating today (12/14/17). Haley was also named the Department of Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Graduate. A huge congratulations to her.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB M.S. student Daniel for graduating today (12/14/17).
On 11/15/17, Dr. Vaughan was presented with a University of Louisiana at Lafayette Innovator Award for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Even though the actual plaque only bears his name, the award really belongs to the entire lab.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB student Daniel, who successfully presented his non-thesis M.S. project, titled Control of a Boom Crane Level Luff Through Cable Length Manipulation on 11/3/17.
This week (10/11 — 10/13/17), Dr. Vaughan and C.R.A.W.LAB students Daniel and Gerald all attended the 2017 Dynamic Systems and Control (DSC) Conference in Tysons Corner, VA. Daniel and Gerald both gave their first-ever conference presentation.
Last week (9/12 — 9/16/17), the UL Lafayette ARLISS team traveld to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to compete in ARLISS 2017. Some pictures from the trip can be found at: https://flic.kr/s/aHskQREGFS
This week (8/26 — 8/30/17), Dr. Vaughan is traveling to the 2017 IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications to present two C.R.A.W.LAB papers.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB M.S. student Forrest for graduating last week (08/04/17).
On 5/31/17, C.R.A.W.LAB student Forrest successfully defended his M.S. Thesis titled, Design and Control of a Planar Cable Suspended Parallel Manipulator. A huge congratulations to him.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB M.S. student Nicole for graduating (05/12/17).
On 3/30, C.R.A.W.LAB student Nicole successfully presented her non-thesis M.S. project, titled Command Generation for Reducing Vibration of a Cable-Driven Parallel Manipulator for the Inspection of Vertical Structures. A huge congratulations to her.
We have long held ourselves to standards of behavior that are inclusive and respectful to all. We recently posted a code of conduct that makes these expectations explicit by outlining the behavior expected of all C.R.A.W.LAB members.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB M.S. student Josh for graduating tomorrow (12/16/16).
Tomorrow (12/9/16), Dr. Vaughan and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Maritime RobotX team begin their travel to the 2016 Maritime RobotX Challenge, in Honolulu, HI. Look for updates here throughout the week.
In the most recent UL Lafayette Research Reception, hosted by the Office of the Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Development and held on 11/17/16, Dr. Vaughan was named the College of Engineering Rising Star for the 2014 — 2016 academic years. The award is "intended to recognize a junior faculty member showing great promise in research, scholarship and mentorship". Dr. Vaughan also received an Innovator Award, which is "intended to recognize those who disclosed technology in 2014-2016 academic years with the potential for commercial success and economic development".
On 11/3/16, C.R.A.W.LAB student Josh successfully defended his M.S. Thesis titled, A Simplified Model of Heave in Landing Strings. A huge congratulations to him.
On 10/31/16, Dr. Vaughan was a member of a panel discussing Perspectives on Big Data for Internet of Things, hosted by the Center for Visual & Decision Informatics.
This week (10/12-10/14/16), C.R.A.W.LAB student Forrest and Dr. Vaughan will be attending the Dynamic Systems and Controls Conference (DSCC) in Minneapolis, MN. Forrest will be presenting a paper on which he was the lead author, and Dr. Vaughan will present a paper on which C.R.A.W.LAB alumnus Bobby is the lead author.
The C.R.A.W.LAB again competed in ARLISS, which was held 9/12—9/16 this year. This year's entry included an improved core platform, a more-advanced control system, and expandable wheels. Pictures can be found at https://flic.kr/s/aHskC3FrAj.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB students Bobby and Yasmeen for graduating on August 5th.
Dr. Vaughan and C.R.A.W.LAB students Nicole and Yasmeen attended the International Conference on Motion and Vibration Control (MOVIC) from July 3 — 6, 2016, held at the University of Southampton's Highfield Campus in Southampton, England. Nicole presented a paper titled Modeling and control of a cable-suspended robot for inspection of vertical structures.
For the next three weeks (starting 06/16/16), C.R.A.W.LAB student Forrest will be traveling to Tokyo to deliver some of our research to our partner, HiBot.
C.R.A.W.LAB student Bobby successfully defended his M.S. thesis, titled Tracking Control Enabling Retrieval of Oceangoing Autonomous Surface Vehicles, today (06/07/16). A huge congratulations to him.
The C.R.A.W.LAB was recently featured by the Acadiana Advocate in an article summarizing some of our recent work.
C.R.A.W.LAB student Yasmeen successfully defended her M.S. thesis, titled Design and Control of Compliant Lower Legs for Insectoid Robots, today (05/27/16). A huge congratulations to her.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB students Erin and Gerald for graduating today! A special congratulations to Erin for being named the MCHE outstanding graduate. That's two years in a row that the outstanding graduate has come from the C.R.A.W.LAB.
A big congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB graduate student Bobby for winning the graduate section of the UL Lafayette Engineering and Technology week poster contest!!! Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB undergraduate researcher Erin, as well, for a 3rd-place finish in the undergraduate section of the contest.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB student Nicole for her third place finish in the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Graduate School's Three Minute Thesis competition. Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB student Yasmeen on being selected as one of the five finalist.
News of Dr. Vaughan's research presentation at Wuxi Institude of Huazhong University of Science and Technology was posted on the Institute's website.
Today (3/8), Dr. Vaughan is traveling to the Wuxi Institude of Huazhong University of Science and Technology to present some C.R.A.W.LAB research and introduce researchers there to the great work we're doing at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
News of Dr. Vaughan's visit to Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST) was posted on the HUST website.
For the next two weeks (2/29 — 3/12/16), Dr. Vaughan will be visiting Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, China. HUST is one of the top engineering programs in China. Dr. Vaughan was invited to lecture a class similar to MCHE201 here at UL Lafayette and to present C.R.A.W.LAB research. In addition, students in this semester's session of MCHE201 will be exchanging work with the Chinese students.
Today, 2/27, Dr. Vaughan and C.R.A.W.LAB students Yasmeen and Nicole participated in Lafayette Public Library's Robotics Day.
For Mardi Gras this year (2/5 — 2/10/16), Dr. Vaughan is visiting HiBot for work on our research project with them, developing robots for inspection and maintenance that use cable-driven parallel manipulators. We're contributing our controls expertise to the project.
On 2/5, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette EECE advisory board visited the C.R.A.W.LAB. We hope they enjoyed their visit.
Congratulations to C.R.A.W.LAB student Jarmarquis and all the other UL Lafayette graduates today (12/18).
This week (11/16), Dr. Vaughan is presenting some C.R.A.W.LAB research on crane workspace mapping using scanning laser rangefinders at the ASME 2015 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition in Houston, TX. The lead author on the paper is C.R.A.W.LAB alum Beau Domingue, who completed the work as part of a MCHE470 special topics course.
On 11/24, the final contest for MCHE201: Introduction to Engineering Design will be held in Oliver Hall, starting at 4:30pm. You’re all invited! See the full invitation for details and how to RSVP.
On Thursday, October 22, the first round of the Fall 2015 MCHE201 contest was held. In this round, each student built a device to compete. Pictures from the contest are available at the class Flickr album. More details can be found on the class page.
The work conducted by our visiting students from Brazil this past summer got some news coverage this week.