Daniel Raible Engineering Portfolio

1. Daniel Raible’s Engineering Portfolio
Satellite Engineering Nano-Composites
d.raible@ieee.org
Laser Power Beaming Robotics

2. Vik-Sat 1 Research Satellite
Development of a new class of low cost, rapid turn around,
technologically current small satellite platforms for
scientific/military testing and space qualification of hardware.
Funded by the NASA Glenn Research Center
Managed, designed and constructed by a team
of interdisciplinary staff at the ISSL
Used as a test-bed for embedded technologies
and the development and integration of systems
Implementation of new control
theories for power management,
attitude correction and camera
pointing and tracking systems

3. Vik-Sat 1 Research Satellite

4. Vik-Sat 1 Research Satellite
Each subsystem required the design of a
separate vertically-stacked circuit board. At
their core these embedded systems required
both microcontrollers and FPGAs for
command and data handling, depending on
the specific functionality. The entire satellite
was designed, developed, integrated and
tested in approximately 6 to 8 months.

5. High Strength Nano-Composite Glass Fibers
• Worked on a team that successfully demonstrated
a technique for dispersing, orienting, and aligning
Multi-Wall Carbon Nano-Tubes (MWCNT) in an E-
glass matrix at high temperatures
• Implemented on an industrial scale resulting in
lighter glass fiber with a 3.5-fold increase in tensile
strength

6. High Strength Nano-Composite Glass Fibers
Process controls parameters
and custom hardware were
developed to conduct the
manufacturing experiments
on-line on a glass fiber
drawing tower.
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7. High Conductivity Nano-Composite Metals
FEEDSTOCK PRODUCT CHARACTERIZATION
MWCNT’s Metal Powder
Success!
The samples
are machined
MWCNTs are mixed at various to dimensional
ratios by weight with metal accuracy and
powder in a slurry, using a cleaned up for
proprietary operation to reduce testing.
conglomerations and encourage
dispersion.
RESULTS
PROCESS
Both low and high AC and DC
currents are injected through the
samples, using a variety of test
equipment, in order to
The resultant mixture is charged into a Nano-composites demonstrate a characterize the conductance of
set of machined graphite dies, heated 130% increase in electrical the samples.
near its melting temperature in a custom conductance over regular metals.
vacuum furnace and then consolidated
with a hydraulic ram. Increasing the Conductivity of Metals

8. High Intensity Laser Power Beaming (HILPB)
High energy lasers, advanced
photovoltaic receivers and power
management electronics comprise
the system for long range wireless
power transmission. Optical to
electrical efficiencies up to 50%
have been achieved in the
laboratory.

9. High Intensity Laser Power Beaming (HILPB)
Various receiver configurations, including
both air and water-cooled versions, have
been designed, constructed and tested in an
effort to optimize this form of wireless
power transmission, which is supported by
the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

10. High Intensity Laser Power Beaming (HILPB)
Custom electronics have been developed
to provide data logging and battery
storage of the received energy. They are
being downsized to fit into an Unmanned
Aerial Vehicle (UAV), to create a system
that will provide in-air refueling of electric
aircraft using lasers.

11. Nitinol Robotics
Nitinol wire responds to electrical
impulses by constricting, much like
muscle tissue. A microcontroller
provides the control of the leg
actuation in two axes, offering a
variety of insect-like walking gaits.

12. Radial Robotics
The radial walking
hexapod offers several
unique challenges in
that it has no defined
front side, so it can
Translate to walk in any
direction. Each leg also has 3
degree of freedom, so 18 servo
drives require synchronization
from the central FPGA.

13. Radial Robotics
Sensor fusion is employed to compile the
data received from a variety of sources in
the sensor turret. This information is
used to make motion planning decisions
using fuzzy logic. From there, the FPGA
uses inverse kinematics to calculate and
actuate the necessary joint angles.

14. Daniel Raible
Lead Engineer
Industrial Space Systems Laboratory
Engineering Highlights
d.raible@ieee.org