Engineering students take innovative research abroad

Mechanical engineering students Colton Cunningham and Andrei Catalan returned in February from their first international adventure — a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe

“My favorite part of the trip was being exposed to another part of the world. It was a very maturing experience to see how things are the same and different outside of the United States,” Cunningham said. “It has given me more gratitude in some areas and changed how I think in some areas. The life experience I gained is really worth a lot and is something I think can help me as I work, and can give me a more well-rounded perspective as a community member.” 

Thanks to support from the Lyles College of Engineering’s Student Success Fund, Cunningham and Catalan attended the fifth International Conference on Robotics, Computer Vision and Intelligent Systems held in Porto, Portugal. 

The Student Success Fund supports students’ experiential learning through professional networking, conference presentations, project development and hands-on research. It is funded in part by Fresno State’s annual, 24-hour Day of Giving, which is scheduled this year for March 26. 

At the conference, Cunningham and Catalan presented their research on developing a fully automated robot to pick citrus fruit using a robotic arm. With the help of coding and a camera, the robot uses data to determine the distance between the tree and the arm to move the joints into position to pick the fruit. 

Cunningham’s work focuses on the computer side of robot development. He uses computer vision to read images of the fruit and uses artificial oranges to ensure the accuracy of his captures. His work was recently published and used to create a poster for the conference. Andrei Catalan, Colton Cunningham and Dr. Alaeddin Bani Milhim at the conference.

“I’m grateful we had the funds for this opportunity,” Cunningham said. “Having an undergraduate publication is a big deal, and I think it’s very important to attend conferences because you get to meet a ton of different people who are in the field, and it can also lead to job offers.” 

Catalan is working on the base of the robotic arm and how it moves in coordination with what it sees through a camera. He is excited about the impact this type of robot can have on the agriculture industry.

“This research is important because what we’re developing can be a helpful tool for small citrus picking businesses who can’t hire a lot of workers and [might] miss out on selling their product since fruit is supposed to be picked within a certain time frame during certain seasons,” said Catalan.

At the conference, the two students connected with professionals who were able to provide feedback on challenges they are facing in their research and suggest different approaches. They also met people who are developing software to model robotic arms, similar to their own work.

Between networking and attending presentations, Cunningham and Catalan took time to explore Douro Valley, historical churches, gardens and vineyards.

“The conference was an amazing experience that opened my eyes about the possibilities of my own research,” Catalan said. “Being able to experience my first conference internationally, meeting different people, cultures and sharing experiences with them opened my eyes to how amazing the diversity of ideas are in an international setting.”