Nnamdi Chinomso Chikere

Bioinspired Robotics · Control · Mechatronics

Research portfolio

Advancing adaptive robotics and intelligent systems

I'm a robotics engineer with a passion for creating innovative solutions through automation and artificial intelligence. My expertise spans embedded systems, mechanical design, and intelligent control. Currently a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, specializing in bioinspired robotics and advanced control systems.
My research integrates hardware design, modeling, and optimization to enable platforms to achieve reliable performance and efficiency in challenging and unstructured environments.

Sea turtle locomotion Low-Reynolds swimmers Collective transport CPG + optimization
Email me Google Scholar LinkedIn CV / Resume

Currently seeking 2026 robotics / controls internships and research collaborations.

Sea turtle-inspired robot on sand

Amphibious sea turtle robot

Flipper-driven robot tested on dry sand, wet sand, and rocks. Used to study how body shape, flipper stiffness, and gait parameters affect speed and energy use.

Flagellated low-Re swimmer

Zoospore-inspired swimmer

Biflagellated low-Reynolds-number robot with flexible flagella. Experiments connect frequency and flagella length to propulsion and force production.

Selected Projects

A sample of my work across amphibious locomotion, compliant quadrupeds, microswimmers, and multi-robot systems.

Sea turtle robot on rocks Terrain robotics

Sea Turtle–Inspired Amphibious Robot

Bioinspired robotic platform used to study how flipper morphology, body shape, and gait coordination influence locomotion across complex terrains such as sand, rocks, and coastal vegetation.

Flipper locomotion Embodied intelligence Terrain adaptation IMU + current sensing
Paper: Embodied Design for Enhanced Flipper-Based Locomotion →
Quadruped with variable-stiffness tail Legged locomotion

Variable-Stiffness Tail for Quadruped Stability & Maneuverability

A cable-driven, multi-segment tail integrated into a sprawling quadruped to study how controlled tail stiffness improves stability, maneuverability, and terrain adaptability on rough outdoor surfaces.

Variable stiffness Compliant mechanics Legged locomotion Terrain adaptation
Paper: Effect of Tail Stiffness on Sprawling Quadruped Locomotion →
Zoospore-inspired dual-flagella robot Low-Reynolds locomotion

Zoospore-Inspired Robotic Swimmer with Dual Flagella

A bioinspired robotic platform modeled after Phytophthora zoospores to investigate high-speed swimming at low Reynolds numbers. The robot uses two flexible planar flagella and oscillatory actuation to emulate natural microorganism propulsion where viscous forces dominate.

Low-Re hydrodynamics Bioinspired locomotion Flagellar propulsion Experimental fluid mechanics
Paper: Flagellar Swimming at Low Reynolds Numbers →
Flagellated robot design Low-Reynolds locomotion

Quadriflagellated Zoospore-Inspired Swimmer

A cable-driven, algae-inspired swimmer designed for propulsion in low-Reynolds-number environments. The robot uses four flexible, multi-segment flagella actuated by a single DC motor to explore how stiffness modulation during the stroke cycle enhances speed in viscous media.

Low-Re hydrodynamics Soft actuation Bioinspired design Experimental fluid dynamics
Paper: Harnessing Flagella Dynamics for Enhanced Robot Locomotion →
Collective transport robots Multi-robot systems

Collective Object Transport Robots

Group of small robots that coordinate to transport shared loads, inspired by ant collectives.

Multi-robot control Collective behavior Bioinspiration
Manuscript in preparation
CAD diagram of turtle robot Control & optimization

Hopf-CPG Control and Bayesian Optimization

Nonlinear oscillator networks tuned with Bayesian optimization to stabilize and speed up gait patterns.

MATLAB + Simulink MuJoCo Bayesian optimization
Simulation + hardware experiments on sea turtle robot
Embedded ML dashboard camera project Embedded Vision

Machine Learning Dashboard Camera System

A real-time hazard-detection system built on Raspberry Pi using a quantized MobileNetV2 model with audio and LED warnings for safer driving.

MobileNetV2 COCO + BDD100K Raspberry Pi TensorFlow Lite Embedded ML
GitHub Repository →
Vision-based grasp detection Perception

Deep Learning–Based Grasp Detection

CNN-based system for inferring grasp points on tabletop objects to support planar manipulation.

TensorFlow Object pose Grasp planning
Internal research project

Technical Skills

Tools I use most often when designing, building, and testing robots.

MATLAB / Simulink Python · NumPy MuJoCo ROS · Raspberry Pi KiCad (PCB design) SolidWorks · Fusion 360 Embedded C / microcontrollers Sensor fusion Optimization Reinforcement learning basics Experimental design & data analysis Test & Reliability

Selected Publications

  • Zoospore-Inspired Robotic Swimmers with Dual Flagella for High-Speed Locomotion, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 2025. Link
  • Robust Maneuverability in Flipper-Based Systems Across Complex Terrains, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 2025. Link
  • Swimming Dynamics of a Soft Flagellated Robot in Low Reynolds Number Environment, The 19th International Symposium on Experimental Robotics (ISER 2025), 2025. Link
  • Embodied Design for Enhanced Flipper-Based Locomotion, Nature Scientific Reports, 2025. Link
  • Harnessing Flagella Dynamics for Enhanced Robot Locomotion at Low Reynolds Number, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2024. Link
  • The effect of tail stiffness on a sprawling quadruped locomotion, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 2023. Link

Video Highlights

Short demonstrations of my robotic systems in action.

Stability

Quadruped Tail-Assisted Stabilization

Demonstration of how a flexible, cable-driven tail increases stability, protects against slips, and improves uphill climbing.

Amphibious

Sea Turtle–Inspired Robot

Terrain-adaptive flipper locomotion across sandy, rocky, and mixed coastal substrates.

Turning

Flipper-Based Turning Maneuvers

Turning gait configurations and flipper combinations that increase maneuverability on complex terrains.

Low-Re

Quadriflagellated Algae-Inspired Swimmer

Cable-driven, variable-stiffness flagella producing high-speed propulsion in a low Reynolds number regime.

Soft flagella in Low-Re

Soft Flagellated Robot for Low-Re Swimming

A soft robotic swimmer using a single, flexible planar flagellum to study propulsion strategies where viscous forces dominate.

Contact

I am happy to talk about internships, collaborations, and speaking opportunities related to robotics, control, and locomotion.
Email CV / Resume Google Scholar LinkedIn