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WHO THE FAQ AM I?



So for those who wonder who I am, and what makes me so robot like, here is a quick blurb about me . . .

My Qualifications:
I graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2004 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

All of my undergrad electives and research were directed towards electrical engineering, robotics, programming, and artificial intelligence related studies.

I am an alumni member of the CMU Robotics Club, the CMU NanoRobotics Laboratory, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and current member of the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society.

I am currently living in Washington, DC as the project application engineer to build robot fish for the Navy. The Airforce has robot planes, so the Navy apparently wants in on the action. I am responsible for designing, building, and testing all electrical and software components, and the majority of mechanical components. First time I am actually getting paid to make a robot =)

Why did I make this site?
I first started making robots in 2002, with a small grant of money given to me by a professor in college. I had no idea what I was doing, and few people to turn to for help. I always wanted to build a robot, but never knew where to start - this was my chance. I remember intently searching the web for a robot help forum, without finding a single one. I also remember searching for robot tutorials, and found maybe 2-3 webpages each with a single tutorial. They were helpful somewhat, but not nearly as helpful as I needed. I was basically forced to figure things out on my own, with some help coming from members of the CMU Robotics Club when I got stuck. I was fortunate enough to have this help, and funding, but most people are not.

I learned quite a bit, and I was building fairly advanced robots within just one or two years of starting. I would argue that if beginners actually had a tutorial and help forum that they can learn much faster than me. Whats the point of reinventing the wheel, anyway? We should all share what we know - thats why society advances in technology.

So in the summer of 2005 I got bored for two weeks and so I decided to make my own robotics site, complete with dozens of useful tutorials and a robot help forum. It was originally just going to be a small hobbyist website, like the millions out there already. But now its become something much bigger, with 100's of thousands of readers each month. And growing. Its now become more of a passion for me, as I aim it to become the worlds largest and most useful free robot resource out there. An international robotics club, you may say.

Do I have a life outside of robotics?
Probably not. However I do a lot of outdoors stuff, camping and sailing, etc. I have traveled Asia twice, and Europe more recently. Taught myself to speak and read fluent Thai, too. Other than that, nope, no life outside robots.

My Robotics Publications
I dont just do robot hardware, but I also do useful science advancing both robotic technology as well as increasing our understanding of interesting organisms in nature.

• Jason Geder, John Palmisano, Ravi Ramamurti, William Sandberg, Banahalli Ratna, A New Hybrid Approach to Dynamic Modeling and Control Design for a Pectoral Fin Propelled UUV, 15th International Symposium on Unmanned Untethered Submersible Technology, Durham, New Hampshire, USA on August 19th-22nd, 2007.
• John Palmisano, Ravi Ramamurti, Kerr-Jia Lu, Jonah Cohen, William Sandberg, Banahalli Ratna, Design of a Biomimetic Controlled-Curvature Robotic Pectoral Fin, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Rome, Italy, 2007.
  Best Conference Paper Award
  Invited to publish in IEEE Transactions on Robotics (T-RO) in progress
• Steven Floyd, Terence Keegan, John Palmisano, and Metin Sitti, A Novel Water Running Robot Inspired by Basilisk Lizards, Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ Intelligent Robotic Systems Conference, Beijing, China, October 2006.
  As seen on the Discovery Channel, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, and Slashdot.