In the Systems Dynamics and Control Laboratory (MIE352), I designed and simulated a 2-DOF robotic arm in MATLAB that can follow different paths, such as circles and smooth trajectories. This was a basic learning project, but it gave me a clear understanding of how forward and inverse kinematics work to calculate end-effector motion and how the robot’s workspace sets practical limits.

Through this project, I realized how mathematical models translate into actual robot motion, the differences between joint space and Cartesian space, and how trade-offs like resolution, speed, and accuracy shape performance. At the same time, I improved my MATLAB coding skills by writing modular and reusable functions for robotics applications.

Even though it was a simple project, it gave me a strong foundation in kinematics, trajectory planning, and visualization, which I hope to build on in more advanced work with multi-DOF arms, control design, and real hardware integration.