Robotics Engineering Technology / Purdue University

Drish Shah

building robots and humanoids
trace lab rail gripper, rendered live in ascii. drag to turn it.

I'm a sophomore at Purdue University studying Robotics Engineering Technology.

I'm a mechanical and robotics engineering intern at Vibe Robotics, designing grippers and hardware for the Vibe 01 home humanoid, and an undergraduate researcher at TRACE Lab with Prof. Yan Gu, building a rail grasping gripper for Agility Robotics’ Digit.

Before Purdue, I co-captained FRC 9692 and FTC 20890 in Mumbai.

drish.shah@gmail.com shah1413@purdue.edu LinkedIn Resume
Based
West Lafayette, IN
Focus
Mechanical design, manufacturing and program execution for grippers and humanoids
Tools
SolidWorks, Siemens NX, CATIA V6, Onshape, MuJoCo, Isaac Sim
Contact
shah1413@purdue.edu

Selected Work

08 PROJECTS / OPEN ONE FOR PHOTOS AND DETAILS
Vibe Robotics2026

Vibe 01 Grippers and Humanoid Hardware

Grippers and end effectors first, plus drive, chassis and actuation hardware.
Laundry handling gripper
TRACE Lab, Purdue2025 to now

Digit on the Bus Rail Gripper

Holds through 600 N vibration spikes in a 150 x 150 x 120 mm envelope.
Humanoid rail grasping
Purdue Humanoid Robotics Club2025 to 2026

Modular Humanoid Hand

Mechanical linkages in place of string tendons.
One actuator per finger
Independent research2026

Architected Origami Metamaterials

Poisson’s ratio from −0.6 to +0.57 across five tessellations.
SES 2026 presenting author
Purdue TECH 1202025

LILY: Autonomous Water Quality Monitor

Floating Raspberry Pi monitor logging temperature, ORP and TDS.
95% accuracy vs professional grade systems
Design project2024

OASIS: Origami Aid Shelter

Crease mechanics in CATIA V6, rendered in Blender.
Sub 10 minute field setup
CAD project2025

Little Blazer Engine

Full assembly in Siemens NX with motion simulation.
Interference free crank driven piston
FIRST Robotics2021 to 2025

FRC 9692 and FTC 20890

Led 26 member FRC and 12 member FTC teams from concept to competition.
Engineering Inspiration and Inspire Awards

Upcoming

  1. TRACE Lab x Eli Lilly
    Starting / Spot end effector for autonomous gas leak inspections
  2. Vibe Robotics
    In progress / CNC machined parts for the Vibe 01 humanoid
  3. More projects
    Coming soon

Experience

  1. Mechanical Engineering Intern, Robotics
    Vibe Robotics / May 2026 to now
    • Grippers and end effectors for the Vibe 01 home humanoid, including a laundry gripper for an October 2026 hotel pilot.
    • Hardware across the drive system, chassis and actuation, plus actuator motor wiring.
    • Making CNC machined parts for the Vibe 01 humanoid.
    • Benchmarked leading home robot hands.
  2. Undergraduate Researcher
    TRACE Lab, Prof. Yan Gu / Aug 2025 to now
    • Rail grasping gripper for Agility Robotics’ Digit on the Bus.
    • Bus testing starts soon, followed by trials aboard a naval ship in Norfolk, VA.
    • Starting end effector work on a TRACE Lab and Eli Lilly Spot collaboration.
  3. Techie Tutor
    Purdue School of Engineering Technology / Sep 2026 to now
  4. Building Manager
    Purdue Memorial Union and Stewart Center / Aug 2026 to now
  5. Student Ambassador (1 of 14)
    Purdue School of Engineering Technology / Jul 2026 to now
  6. Co Captain and Mentor
    FRC Sigma 9692 and FTC Sigma 20890 / 2021 to 2025
    • Led 26 member FRC and 12 member FTC teams from concept to competition.
    • Raised $52,000, taught 3,000 students and set up 27 robotics labs in underserved Indian schools.

Skills

016 tools

CAD and PDM

  • SolidWorks
  • Siemens NX
  • CATIA V6
  • PTC Creo
  • Onshape
  • Fusion 360
026 tools

Manufacturing

  • DFM and DFA
  • GD&T (ASME Y14.5)
  • CNC machining and CAM
  • Sheet metal parts
  • Fastener and material selection
  • BOM and vendor sourcing
036 tools

Analysis and Test

  • FEA
  • Tolerance analysis
  • Load and vibration testing
  • MATLAB
  • MuJoCo
  • Isaac Sim
043 tools

Fabrication

  • FDM printing in PLA and TPU
  • Laser cutting
  • Hand machining
057 tools

Electrical and Programming

  • PCB design
  • Motor wiring and control
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Arduino
  • DAQ (NI USB 6008)
  • Python
  • C/C++
065 skills

Program Management

  • Led 26 and 12 member teams
  • Concept to competition delivery
  • Raised $52,000
  • Cross team design reviews
  • Prototype to pilot