Mr. Abad-Manterola’s experience includes controls, dynamics, mechatronics, wheel-terrain interactions, and producing high-fidelity simulations of wheeled systems in off-road and rugged environments. Prior to joining Exponent, he worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a National Science Foundation Research Fellow on the design, construction, and testing of a next-generation Mars Rover prototype. He completed his doctoral dissertation at California Institute of Technology after developing a novel motion planning algorithm for tethered robotic systems operating on extreme and deformable terrain. Mr. Abad-Manterola’s Ph.D. will be conferred in June of 2012.
In addition, Mr. Abad-Manterola has worked as a research assistant in biomechanics laboratories both at Stanford University and in Japan, where he studied techniques for using evanescent waves to generate fluorescence resonance energy transfer. He has assisted in teaching courses on mechanical design and mechatronics.
Abad-Manterola P, Nesnas IAD, Burdick JW. Motion planning on steep terrain for the tethered axel rover. IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation, May 2011.
Abad-Manterola P, Burdick JW, Nesnas IAD, Chinchali S, Fuller C, Zhou X. Axel rover paddle wheel design, efficiency, and sinkage on deformable terrain. IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation, May 2010.
Abad-Manterola P, Burdick JW, Nesnas IAD, Edlund JA, Wu A, Oliver T, Cecava J. Axel: A minimalist tethered rover for exploration of extreme planetary terrains. IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine 2009 Dec; 16(4):44–52.
Abad-Manterola P, Burdick JW, Nesnas IAD, Cecava J. Wheel design and tension analysis for the tethered axel rover on extreme terrain. IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, March 2009.
Nesnas IAD, Abad-Manterola P, Edlund JA, Burdick JW. Axel mobility platform for steep terrain excursions and sampling on planetary surfaces. IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, March 2008.