Mechanical design, robotics, controls, prototyping
I am Joshua Hodson, a mechatronics engineering student at the University of Waterloo. My projects focus on physical systems: robots, mechanisms, fabrication, controls, and the messy problem-solving that happens between CAD and a working prototype.
Each piece shows constraints, design decisions, failures, and fixes. They focus on the iterative process and physical testing required to build robust systems.
Each project is structured so recruiters and teams can quickly grasp the problem-solving methodology, technical tradeoffs, and the engineering judgment behind the final build.
Moving beyond isolated components to design mechanisms, electronics, and controls that work together reliably in the physical world.
Selected work
Continued a previous student's hexapod and rebuilt much of the system: redesigned and reprinted parts, rewired electronics, modified control code, and tested the robot through repeated mechanical failures.
Built a robot for a first semester university project with the goal of shuffling and dealing a deck of cards through a physical mechanism.
Detail page
Building and optimizing a self-hosted, privacy-first AI development environment utilizing Odysseus, OpenClaw, and Ollama to handle local repository manipulation.
Detail page
Designed and built a competition robot for the 2023 VEX Robotics game using a strategy that differed from many other groups.
How I work
Start with the real success condition: distance, payload, motion, reliability, weight, budget, or competition rules.
Build around the highest-risk mechanism first so the design learns from physical behavior early.
Use failures as data, then adjust geometry, materials, electronics, code, or assembly process.
Smaller builds
These smaller projects round out the portfolio with focused mechanism and troubleshooting work.
SolidWorks, Fusion 360, AutoCAD, Blender, FEA, 3D printing, rapid prototyping, and iterative design.
Circuit design/analysis, microcontrollers, Arduino, PLCs, soldering, signal analysis, and data acquisition.
C/C++, Python, MATLAB, RobotC, Git, Docker, VS Code, systems modeling, optimization, and statistical analysis.