Hanselminutes with Scott Hanselman Inside the Maker Mindset with Roboticist Aaed Musa
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Aug 14, 2025 Aaed Musa, a talented Purdue engineering student and YouTuber, dives into the fascinating world of robotics. He shares his creative process, from building a Boston Dynamics-inspired robot to innovative concepts like 'nerd sniping'. Aaed discusses the balance between academics and his ambitious projects, highlighting critical material choices and prototyping. He also explores the transition from robotics to full-time content creation, emphasizing the joys of 3D printing and the mentorship that fuels his passion for engineering.
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Hobbyist Builds Advanced Robots
- Aaed Musa built a rope-driven quadruped robot as a hobby outside his mechanical engineering coursework.
- He works late nights to balance school and hands-on projects because building helps him apply classroom learning.
Compliance From FOC And Capstan Drives
- Aaed explains he used brushless motors and FOC controllers to get compliant, natural motion in legged robots.
- He replaced gears with smooth drums and rope to create a novel capstan-based drive system.
Prevent Rope Slip With Proper Wrapping
- Test capstan drives for slip concerns and use multiple wraps to exploit the capstan equation for high friction.
- Anchor the rope to both drums to further prevent slip and improve reliability.