About Me

Hello! My name is Sharfin and I am a fourth year doctoral student at Columbia University. I am advised by Matei Ciocarlie and work on mechanical design of robotic manipulators. Before my PhD, I worked on design of minimally actuated quasi-passive walkers with Aaron Johnson, Sarah Bergbreiter, and Justin Yim.

Overall, I am interested in the design and control of intelligent, but simple mechanisms that can be deployed in real robotic applications.

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Education

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering | Columbia University (2021-Present)

M.S., Mechanical Engineering | Columbia University (2022)

B.S., Mechanical Engineering w/ Minor in Robotics | Carnegie Mellon University (2021)

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News

[Oct 2024] - Presented paper on hardware/software co-optimization for underactuated tendon transmissions at IROS 2024!
[Oct 2024] - Presented at the 3rd Workshop on Mobile Manipulation and Embodied Intelligence (MOMA.v3)
[Sept 2024] - Submitted paper on low-cost 6-axis force/torque sensor to ICRA 2025
[May 2022] - Presented paper on minimally actuated quasi-passive walker at ICRA 2022! Also featured in IEEE Spectrum

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Projects

Low-Cost 6-Axis Force/Torque Sensor for Robot Hands
A novel method for six-axis force/torque sensing that allows for finger-size packaging with no amplification electronics, low cost manufacturing, and easy integration into a complete hand.

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End-to-end Hardware/Software Co-Optimization w/ Reinforcement Learning
We first formulate a general model for an underactuated, tendon-driven transmission and then use this model to co-optimize a three-link, two-actuator kinematic chain using reinforcement learning.

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Miniature Minimally Actuated Quasi-Passive Walker
By leveraging the passive 3D dynamics, carefully designing the spherical feet, and changing the actuation scheme, we are able to produce a very simple 3D bipedal walking model that has a total of 5 rigid bodies and a single actuator per leg.

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Publications

A. El-Azizi^, S. Islam^, P. Piacenza^, I. Kymissis, and M. Ciocarlie. “A Compact, Low-cost Force and Torque Sensor for Robot Fingers with LED-based Displacement Sensing”, under review (^joint first authorship)

S. Islam^, Z. He^, M. Ciocarlie. “Task-Based Design and Policy Co-Optimization for Tendon-driven Underactuated Kinematic Chains”, IEEE/RSJ Intl. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems, October 2024 (^joint first authorship)

S. Islam, M. Ciocarlie. “Towards a Miniature Bi-Manual End-effector for Compact Coordinated Robot Dexterity”, 3rd Workshop on Mobile Manipulation and Embodied Intelligence, October 2024

S. Islam^, K. Carter^, J. Yim^, J. Kyle, S. Bergbreiter and A. M. Johnson, “Scalable Minimally Actuated Leg Extension Bipedal Walker Based on 3D Passive Dynamics,” 2022 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2022, (^joint first authorship)

J. Yim, S. Islam, K. Carter, S. Bergbreiter and A. M. Johnson, “3D Passive Dynamics-inspired Walking Actuated by Open Loop Leg Extension,” 2021 Dynamic Walking Conference

S. Islam, K. Carter, R. St. Pierre, S. Bergbreiter and A. M. Johnson, “Integrating Passive Dynamic Wobbling with Leg Extension to Produce Stable Gaits in a Two-Actuator Bipedal Robot,” 2020 Dynamic Walking Conference

K. Carter, S. Islam, R. St. Pierre, S. Bergbreiter and A. M. Johnson, “Design and Control of a Mesoscale Hip Actuated Powered Walker,” 2020 Dynamic Walking Conference

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