A collection of my design and engineering works - both academically and professionally.

1. RON ROSENBERG
ENGINEERING
PORTFOLIO2015

2. ABOUT
01 HEY THERE,
I’M RON
A hybrid mechanical engineer, materials
scientist and designer, looking to join an exciting
product design engineering team. My nonlinear
path - from solar engineering in research labs to
conducting design interviews in rural India - has
led me to discover my purpose: engineering
products that transform markets and lives.

3. FERNO
02
MOTIVATION: Recreational camping stoves are
heavy and unwieldy.
SOLUTION: Ferno is a sleek, lightweight, and com-
pact outdoor with dual burners for recreational
campers. Its low profile design makes it not only 29%
lighter and 50% smaller than its closest competitor -
but also easily carried in a common backpack.
CONSUMER: Recreational backpackers
COLLABORATORS: Nathan Robert, Anna Chris-
tensen, Kelsey Brigance, Katie Inman, Ryan Madson,
Bethany Lemanski, Sara Comis
Fall 2012
appala

4. FERNO02
IDEATION & NEED FINDING
Researching the outdoor stove market, we discovered a
gap: avid backpackers own the Jetboil (a high-end single
burner stove) while recreational backpackers own the
Coleman (a cheaper multiburner stove)...but for users in
the middle, there is a need for a compact and cost
effective multi burner stove.
Ferno aimed to be that
product.
compact camping stove
SKETCH MODELS
Our first sketch model of Ferno was
dedicated to prototyping our most critical
module: the compacting mechanism. We
settled on a scissor mechanism and
prototyped various cardboard designs.
appalachian trail casual picnics
the user
chian trail casual picnics
the user
HEX-FERNO
In the end we decided our other compaction
mechanism, a hexagonal roll up iteration
lovingly dubbed "Hex-Ferno", was best due to
ease of compaction, lack of pinch points and
mechanical robustness.
STAX-FERNO
Stax-Ferno was based on segments
that slide and overlap each other.
The prototype test revealed that the
overlapping parts created pinching
points that were hazardous while
opening and closing.
ALPHA PROTOTYPE
The final solution focused on simplicity of use, reducing size,
and saftey. The waterjetted stovetop folds out from the
silicon base. Piezo buttons ignite the flames which emanate
from venturi valves molded into the base. Side levers control
heating and color-responsive stickers let the user know when
the stove is cool to touch. The graphic design logo is
incorporated as a physical motif as well.

5. VIVIFY
03
MOTIVATION: Ironing, steaming, and dry cleaning
soil garments are time, labor, and cost intensive.
SOLUTION: Vivify is a low-profile, passive, and fast
garment refreshing solution. Vivify steams, cleans,
and sanitizes soiled garments in less than five min-
utes with minimal user interaction - thus freeing our
users to wear what they want, when they want it.
CONSUMER: Young professionals and businessmen/-
women, households looking for a quick laundry regi-
ment
COLLABORATORS: Andrew Kriebel, Ankita Kaul,
Armen Nalbrand, Jasmine Florentine, Paolo Passeri,
Naomi Arnold
Spring 2015

6. VIVIFY03
fast garment refresher
MOCKUPS
ALPHA PROTOTYPE
Vivify is low-profile so it can fit easily in a user's closet.
It’s designed for a simple user experience: just push open
the door, place the garment, close the door, and press
start. In only five minutes, Vivify steams, cleans, and
refreshes garments to their fresh, "out the dryer" feel.
Preliminary interviews exposed
three main laundry issues:
transport, wearability, and
time. From there, we defined
our project objectives: a
passive, fast garment
refreshing device that
alleviates the time, cost &
effort of dry cleaning, washing,
or ironing.
IDEATION & NEED FINDING
We considered different
automated scrubbing mechanisms
and surfaces to clean the clothes -
as well as a “burrito-like” compact
washer. In the end, we realized
designing an all-in-one compact
washer drier would be too complex
and out of scope.
‘WORKS’ LIKE,
‘EXPERIENCES’ LIKE MODELS
We used the advantages of steam combined with
natural scents and alcohols to simultaneously
de-wrinkle, sanitize & freshen up garments. Next,
was making a dynamic, modular ‘experiences-like’
model to test in users homes to see how and where
they preferred interacting with the device.

7. MASTERS RESEARCH
04
MOTIVATION: Rural Indian farmers lack actionable
information about their soil health, leading to low
crop yields and limited profitability.
SOLUTION: My master's research is dedicated to
developing a new type of soil diagnostic device. My
sensor comprises of disposable strips with four chan-
nels corresponding to the main macronutrients in soil
(N, P, K, Ph) as well as a fixed reader device that con-
verts signals in each channel to a Low, Medium, High
measurement. Coupled with a mobile-phone based
input and output system, the farmer will receive both
their soil test result as well as actionable information
as to how to improve their soil health with irrigaiton
and fertilization.
CONSUMER: Small landholding farmers in rural India
COLLABORATORS: Soumya Braganza
2014-2016

8. MASTERS RESEARCH04 low cost soil diagnostics
RESEARCH LIKE A DESIGNER
Research and design are analogous, starting with searching for
inspiration from divergent fields. While butterflies (SEM below) have
nothing to do with soil health, the fact that the irridesent color of their
wings results from their microstructure, inspired me to think of
nano-imprinted surfaces for soil diagnostics.
INKJET PRINTING
DEVICES
I settled on ion selective electrodes
as the main approach. Screen
printing ended up being messy and
wasteful, so a more preceise and
accurate process was needed. With a
simple desktop inkjet printer, I can
accurately print my electrodes and
my ion selective inks with just a click!
ELECTROCHEMICAL
CHALLENGES
The biggest challenge I have had is in
achieving low limits of detection (I need
ppm resolution) for my devices. I use
electro- chemical methods to trouble
shoot and characterize my devices.
A paper based electronic device
shows dummy values for soil
chemistry concentrations. Users
got to “experience” what it
would be like to use the device
before its final completion.
USER EXPERIENCE
MOCKUPS
PAPER MODELS
Thinking about coloriometric
strips, we designed looks like
prototypes where shades of color
correspond to different ion
levels. While we were attracted
by the low cost and simplicity of
these prototypes, the farmers
found them confusing to read.
Every Jan/Aug we conduct design workshops
with our users. In the workshops we organize
activities to answer critical questions, i.e. “do
they find the user experience intuitive?” or “do
they value soil testing at all?” We also interview
stakeholders involved to understand the whole
ecosystem.
ITERATING WITH THE CONSUMER

9. 2
AMIGO
05
MOTIVATION: Dog wheel chairs are rigid, uncom-
fortable, and don't let the dog sit down to rest while
wearing them.
SOLUTION: Amigo is designed to foster a more com-
fortable wheel chair experiences for elderly and dis-
abled dogs. With a spring loaded four bar mechanism
attached to a harness via an adjustable connector
pieces, Amigo not only offers optimal adjustability,
but also supports the dog from the sitting to the
standing position. The dog is therefore free to run,
sit, play, and relax.
CONSUMER: Elderly and disabled dogs
COLLABORATORS: Nir Shalom, Naor Brown
Sep 2013 - Mar 2014

10. AMIGO05
comfortable dog wheelchair
MOCKUPS (FABRIC & METAL)
In the alpha prototype we focused on building a
functional version of the back-end of the wheel
chair. Most of the parts were machined in house
with the engineering team, as well as a 3D printed
ratchet-like brake. I made a paper mockup of the
harness as well to test on dogs.
There were two options for the
alpha prototype: a sandwhich
structure or a plastic extrusion.
We chose the sandwich
structure in the end because it
was cheapest and easiest to
prototpye without investing in a
mold (photo cred: Nir Shalom)
EXTRUSIONS OR SHEETS?
My original objective was to design the connector piece that
connects the harness at the front to the four bar mechanism in
the back. Different products - from body armor to flexible rulers
- inspired a variety of design iterations.
THE FRAMING PHASE
SIDE
TOP
INSPIRATION
ARMADILLO PEFORATED CORRUGATED THIN SHEET
1. PULL
2. ADJUST
3. LOCK
MAGNET BRACKET
FLIPPED
TELESCOPE
MECH. +
SPRING PIN
MAGNET
SNAPS
PLASTIC EXTRUSION WATERJETTED ALUMINUM

11. 3
LEFTSHARK DRILL
06
MOTIVATION: Brain surgeons performing surgery on
the skull use primitive solutions to test depth drilled
through the skull.
SOLUTION: The Leftshark Drill is a smart drill that
can measure real-time drill depth, determine the
material family being drilled, and simultaneously
optimize drill feeds and speeds for optimal drilling. It
operates via stochastically perturbing the material by
randomly dithering the voltage supplied to the drill.
CONSUMER: Brain surgeons, DIY and home improve-
ment consumers
COLLABORATORS: Taylor Farnham, Jeff Clayton,
Allie Yost, Megan Roberts, Morris Vanegas
Spring 2015

12. LEFTSHARK DRILL06
smart power drillling
TIME OF FLIGHT PROTOTYPE
We prototyped a time-of-flight
approach: a laser beams light, reflects
off a surface and returns back to a
photodiode. With a high precision
quartz crystal clock, we got the time
delay and measured the distance the
drill was from the surface.
EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
Left to right: (1) Computer with dithering code (random PWM of
voltage input); (2) Scope connected to voltmeter and current to
voltage converter, monitoring current and voltage; (3) The arduino;
(4) The drill; (5) 80-20 rails with our material of interest bolted in
and connected to a set of constant force springs sliding the material
into the drill bit; (6) A webcam connected to MATLAB monitoring
the speed of the advancing material.
The final version of
"Leftshark" drill
(named after the
dance in Katy Perry's
superbowl show). An
arduino and
potentiometer control
the frequency of the
stochastic
perturbation, allowing
us to characterize a
wide range of
materials.
FINAL DRILL
CHARACTERIZING
MATERIALS
Our drill utilizes a Toeplitz matrix
inversion method to calculate
impulse responses from the
stochastic binary voltage input. We
then FFT those responses to get the
natural frequency and gain of each
material, allowing us to identify
materials in real time, then optimize
the feeds and speeds of the drill bit
to accommodate a more efficient
drilling operation.

13. 4
S CRUTCH
07
MOTIVATION: Traditional underarm crutches are
painful and energy intensive.
SOLUTION: The "S" crutch combines material and
geometric properties to provide a far more com-
fortable crutch experience. The "S" shape affords
just the right amount of compliance and elasticity
to return energy to the user, while the curved
bottom guides the user throughout the gait cycle,
providing stability and reduced impact force. The
crutch is made of a glass-fiber polymer composite
around a foam mold for optimal strength and mini-
mal weight.
CONSUMER: Injured adults
COLLABORATORS: Vivian Dien, Will Taschman, Fei
Pu, Anne Juan
Spring 2013

14. S CRUTCH
07
comfortable composite crutches
POGO STICK INSPIRATION?
We explored a variety of crutch types - from
rocker to canadian styles. We also took
inspiration from other products which
communicate sturdiness - like machine tools or
wheel chairs. We chose to base our prototype
on a combination of the spring and rocker
mechanism; providing elastcity and reducing
the peak shock force.
MODELING & ITERATION
One thing that we wanted to do was design
for safety. Assuming the worst possible
situation: a 95th percentile male falling off
a step, we did a back of the envelope
calculation and input that into our FEA
software. We noticed that our first designs
failed at the bend, so we iterated through
our CAD model until we arrived at a safety
factor of 2 compared to the ultimate yield
strength of our composite.
POGO STICK INSPIRATION?
The principle behind the "S" crutch was
to leverage both geometrical and
material properties to make the
ultimate crutch. An optimal crutch
springs back slightly to return energy to
the user, absorbs shock to minimize
force on sensitive limbs, provides
stability throughout the gait cycle, and
is lightweight and slim. The S shape,
along with the specific strength of glass
fiber composites, provided all these
attributes elegantly and simply.
RESULTS
We tested the final
prototype vs the
rocker-spring and
traditional underarm
crutches - via instron,
user testing, and force
plate testing. The final
prototype achieved a
29% reduction in peak
shock force and 33%
reduction in energy
intensity!

15. SHOCKBOX JUKEBOX
08
MOTIVATION: : What if you could stream a real-time hologram of an
object shocked to your favorite song, and view it on your smartphone?
The Shockbox combines electrophotography, holography, and music to
create a magical experience with friends. With the Shockbox, users
choose an object to be shocked and a song input. The song signal goes
through a driver circuit, which shocks the object at 30,000 volts (using
a car ignition coil) according to the song frequency. A webcam inside
takes real time video, and a computer streams that video in the form of
four images rotated 90 degress to one another. When users connect to
the server with their smartphones and view the video with a transpar-
ent pyramid on top, the four images reflect off the pyramid to create
the illusion of a floating object in the center. Hence, a“hologram” of the
object, with sparks emanating from it in accord to the beat of the song.
This project was done for the Media Lab course: “How to Make (Al-
most) Anything”. Each week, we learned a different mechanical or elec-
trical manufacturing technique and the final project was intended to
combine these techniques into one unified work.
Fall 2015

16. SHOCKBOX08
musical holographic video streamer
RHINO BRAINSTORMING
In the brainstorming phase, I used Rhino to render a
physical model of the Shockbox shocking a leaf.
THE ELECTRODE
CUSTOM MILLED ELECTRONICS
The main driver circuit uses the
frequency of the audio input to turn on
and off 12V to an ignition coil. In return,
the coil generates upwards of 30,000V!
All boards were designed
in Eagle and milled
in house from a
copper board.
PSYCHADELIC SOFTWARE
The python code takes real time webcam video, processes it into four images rotated 90
degrees form one another, and then streams that video in JPEG chunks to a local server. Users
can connect to the server with their cell phone and see the real time procssed webcam video.
THE ELECTRODE
VIEWING PYRAMIDS
To create the hologram, transparent pyramids
are placed atop the phone. Light from the
images on the screen reflects into the pyramid
and the appears “floating” inside. The same
floating image can be viewed from any angle.
The pyramids are made of a 3D printed base
and transparent polycarbonate sides.
HOLOGRAM JAM
Left: hologram of a
butterfly flapping it’s
wings, Right: key
“floating” inside the
pyramid, with it’s
sparked corona ebbing
and flowing with the
beat of the song,
“Finale” by Madeon.
The transparent electrode
inside Shockbox connects to
the driver circuit which
shocks the object in accord
to the song input. It consists
of a one-sided conductive
Indium Tin Oxide coating,
copper tape outline,
transparent acetate sheets
and high voltage wire.

17. 6
2.007 ROBOT09
MOTIVATION: The robot that I completed for the 2.007 Intro
to Manufacturing and Robotics competition. Each student was
tasked to create a robot that would be able to complete a few
tasks inspired by the game of "Operation" board game.
Spring 2013

18. 2.007 ROBOT09
an intro to manufacturing & robotics
QUICK AND DIRTY
MODELS
Quick prototypes in the beginning -
from heat-bent plastic chassis to foam
prototypes of the magnetic arm - were
critical in understanding how to build
the robot.
STEP BY STEP
NOW
For my most critical module, I chose the
rubber arm extender. I tried to break down
the action into its most basic constituent
steps, so I could better understand potential
hurdles to overcome during the full action.
CAD MODEL
The 3D exploration was very helpful in
identifying potential problems & highlighting
manufacturing complications that could
result. In this case, I realized that I would
need to have two dowels connected to the
slider so that I would lose an unwanted
rotational degree of freedom.
FINAL VERSION
The robot completed
two of the tasks on
the board: the
"wrenched ankle",
where students had
to pick up a wrench
from a hole without
hitting the metallic
sides, and "hip
replacement" where
students had to pull
rubber bands
between two
posts...the unique
aspect of this robot's
design was that it did
both tasks together
using a single wench
mechanism.

19. 7
SANO
10
MOTIVATION: A collection of short-term mechani-
cal engineering projects I was tasked with creating
for a fast-paced startup, focused on making a com-
mercial non-invasive glucometer.
Most of the activities took place in the San Francis-
co Techshop. There, I was able to learn and become
proficient on the laser cutter, lathe, and CNC mill.
The tech shop was a fascinating place, full of ma-
chines, dreams, and makers with boundless creativi-
ty. Quite the inspiring environment to walk into
every morning.
Summer 2014

20. SANO10
non-invasive glucometer
HAND APPLICATOR PROJECT
The task: design a hand applicator for testing, one
which could provide enough force to insert the
glucometer onto the skin. Using the laser cutter,
lathe, and drill press, I designed and manufactured
this spring-loaded hand applicator for the sano
glucometer.
100ML DISPENSOR
The chemistry team
identified a need to
build a automatic,
handheld 100mL
dispenser for
chemistry
experiments. The
dispensor has two
states - one in which
the spring is
uncompressed and the
top hole was open to
be filled from a jar
above, and the second
when the user
compressed the
spring, releasing the
o-ring seal at the
bottom and
dispensing water
through the hollow
tube.
SHOTBOTTING
I was in charge of using the CNC-shotbot to 2D-carve out our electrochemical
testing setup for chronoamperometry, as well as voltammetry of the glucometer.
This setup had to accommodate two chassis of sensors (the working electrodes),
the platinum auxiliary electrode and a graphite counter electrode.

21. RON ROSENBERG
ronrose@mit.edu ronyrose.com 617.894.7556