Benjamin Cox

Emergency Hyperloop Landing Wheel – Smith Engineering Hyperloop

What? Led a team of 4 to design a vacuum-compliant, composite emergency landing wheel for a 20-tonne MagLev vehicle operating at high speed in a low-pressure tube. The design needed to survive high impact loads and provide substantial braking capability.

How? Designed a two-layer wheel using Inconel 600 and Aluminum 7075-T6 and performed structural and thermal analysis in SimScale to validate strength and thermal performance. Wrote Python scripts to determine optimal wheel diameter and mounting angle.

Results

Presented at Hyperloop Global 2025 and won 1st place.

Autonomous Delivery Robot – Mechatronics and Robotics Design II

What? Collaborated with a team of 4 to design an autonomous delivery robot with a 2‑point hitch trailer for use in hospitals. The system navigates pre‑mapped indoor paths, avoids obstacles, and maintains localization despite wheel slip.

How? Implemented a weighted undirected graph in C++ with Dijkstra’s algorithm for shortest‑path navigation, prototyped encoder‑based localization, designed a caster‑wheeled trailer in Onshape, and built a wireless prototype interface using Arduino WiFiNINA and a web UI.

Results

• Achieved functional navigation and localization subsystems and a working wireless prototype interface.

Functional Model Elevator – Data Structures and Algorithms

What? Designed, built, and programmed a functional model elevator that leverages data structures to efficiently manage user requests for pick-ups and drop-offs.

How? Implemented two doubly linked lists to track active elevator requests and a separate node for priority users, optimizing efficiency in request handling. Designed the model elevator using Onshape. Developed the hardware system including a 1-inch LCD display, a motor driver to control elevator movement, and a magnetic encoder to accurately track the elevator’s position.

Results

• All implemented data structures and algorithms functioned as expected for Call, Delete Call, and Priority Requests.
• Mechanical components performed reliably: functional floor buttons, priority button, and smooth door operation.

Line Following Robot – Mechatronics and Robotics Design I

What? Programmed a MiniBot to follow a black line and pick up blocks using an IR sensor. The goal was to have the MiniBot follow the line in a circle and pick up blocks three times with a minimum of 5 per time.

How? Calibrated sensor voltage readings for line detection and coded Arduino control to adjust wheel speeds to stay on the line. Used an optimized block layout to maximize pickups per run.

Results

One of two groups to pick up all 50 blocks, creating a tie for first.