Adaptive Morphing Leg for Search and Rescue
A 5-bar leg that changes shape to switch between fast travel and heavy dragging. ICRA 2026.
William Harris
M.S. Mechanical Engineering @ UC San Diego · ARCLab · Rescue Robotics, Haptics, Medical Devices
Looking for full-time roles and internships in medical robotics and medical devices. (resume)
I build robots that help in emergencies.
In the Advanced Robotics and Controls Lab I've built a mobile manipulator and a shape-changing leg for search and rescue, working with my thesis advisor, Prof. Michael Yip.
I design the hardware: frames and mechanisms, motors and their control, and the tests that show whether a design does what the model says. I've been hooked on robots since a fourth-grade LEGO class.
La Jolla, CA
What I'm working on
A leg that changes shape
A search and rescue robot has to cross rough ground quickly, then pull a heavy load once it reaches someone. This leg does both by changing its link lengths on the fly. The paper was accepted to ICRA 2026.
Selected projects
All projects
Background
It started in fourth grade with a LEGO Mindstorms robot and a lot of arithmetic about wheel rotations. My public school district had almost no STEM programs, so a Friday engineering class in middle school, with balsa gliders and spaghetti towers, mattered a lot.
At UCSD I joined Triton Robotics knowing less than most of my teammates and ended up leading the team. Along the way I worked on a solar water heater for an orphanage in Tijuana, and since 2024 I've been building rescue robots at ARCLab.
Experience
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Jun 2024 – now
Graduate Researcher
ARCLab, UC San Diego. Thesis work on an adaptive morphing leg for search and rescue, plus a mobile manipulator for rescue research. Advisor: Prof. Michael Yip.
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Jul 2023 – Jun 2024
President
Triton Robotics. Led an 80-member competition robotics team and rebuilt its training program for newcomers.
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Dec 2022 – Jun 2023
Team Lead, Baja Del Sol
UCSD Global TIES. Revived a solar water heater project for an orphanage in Tijuana, and translated between the students and the house parents.
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May 2022 – Jul 2023
Hero Robot Lead
Triton Robotics. Led the Hero subteam and its chassis redesign, with an X-drive and a slip-ring turret.
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Sep 2021 – May 2022
Mechanical Team Member
Triton Robotics. Designed and built a lighter Hero chassis with 30% less aluminum tubing.
Education
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Expected Jun 2027
MS Mechanical Engineering
UC San Diego. GPA 3.68. Robotics, linear control, haptics, soft robotics, and parametric identification.
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Jun 2025
BS Mechanical Engineering, minor in Design
UC San Diego.
Publications
Details-
Dynamically Extensible and Retractable Robotic Leg Linkages for Multi-task Execution in Search and Rescue Scenarios
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Discovery to Extraction: Biomechanically Safe Manipulation of Human Limbs Using Robotic Manipulation in Search and Rescue Scenarios
What I work with
- Design and fabrication
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Frames, capstan drives, TPU grippers, laser-cut and machined parts
- SolidWorks
- Creo
- Ansys FEA
- Fusion 360 CAM
- DFMA
- CNC and manual machining
- Laser and waterjet
- 3D printing
- MIG welding
- Electronics and controls
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BLDC motors over CAN, ODrive, sensor circuits
- BLDC motor control
- CAN
- PCB design (EasyEDA)
- Circuit design
- Software
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Python control and optimization, MATLAB analysis, ROS 2 on a Jetson
- Python
- MATLAB
- C (Arduino)
- ROS 2
- Embedded Linux
- MuJoCo
Outside the lab
When I'm not in the lab, you'll usually find me on a bike trail, on a badminton court, or testing a new recipe. I lift, I review movies with friends, and I follow Formula 1.