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Matthew Zhou · Mechanical Engineering

Robotics and Manufacturing Systems, Built from Concept to Working Hardware

I’m a Georgia Tech mechanical engineering student specializing in robotics and automation. I design, manufacture, and test systems ranging from competition robots and autonomous vehicles to production equipment and metal-additive-manufacturing research.

I also lead multidisciplinary teams through design, fabrication, testing, and deployment—turning ambitious ideas into reliable, working systems. More importantly, I like integrating resources and organizations at hand to establish a stronger institution and achieve greater societal impact.

Focus Areas
Robotics Mechanical Design Advanced Manufacturing Research
CSWP
Certified SOLIDWORKS
Professional
2nd
Place at ARCC 2026

Featured Projects

View Other Projects →

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ARCC 2026 Sentry Robot
Sentry in front of banners.
Sentry robot at competition
Sentry being tuned at competition housing lobby.
Sentry robot with referee system installed
Sentry after all referee-system components were mounted.
Section view of the Sentry X-drive module
A section view of the X-drive module (note the motor length).
Sentry X-drive chassis framework
X-drive chassis framework excluding the wheels.
Second Sentry turret prototype on prototype suspension swerve chassis
Second turret prototype mounted on prototype suspension swerve chassis — using HT3532 as pitch motor.

ARCC 2026 Sentry Robot (CAD Included)

During the 2025–26 season, I served as President of RoboRambler GT and Mechanical Lead for Sentry, leading the mechanical development of a competition robot that combined a suspension X-drive chassis, spatial-memory module, supercapacitor, fully autonomous navigation, and auto-aim.

Result
Helped RoboRambler earn second place in the 1v1 competition and scored multiple fully autonomous kills in 3v3.

Selected work

  • Designed custom suspension X-drive and structural components.
  • Developed the ammunition channel, feed path, and final turret interfaces.
  • Contributed to autonomous navigation, auto-aim, and competition integration.
Read full project →
Second place trophy in front of RoboRambler banner
Second place trophy in front of RoboRambler banner.
ARCC 2026 robot fleet with trophy at headquarters
Robot fleet with trophy back at HQ.
ARCC 2026 driver with the trophy
Driver claimed the trophy.
ARCC 2026 robot fleet during a match
The robot fleet forcing an opponent robot into a corner.
Close view of the ARCC 2026 robots on the field
A close view of the fleet lined up at the starting region.
Field tuning beside two ARCC 2026 robots
Me helping with field tuning during pre-match set up period.

ARCC 2026 Robot Fleet

During the 2025–26 season, I served as President of RoboRambler GT and Mechanical Lead for the team’s three-robot ARCC fleet.

Result
The fleet competed in ARC Championship, where the team won second place in 1v1 competitions and 9th place in 3v3 competitions.

Selected work

  • Led mechanical development across the Sentry, Infantry, and Hero platforms.
  • Supported field tuning and pre-match setup at competition.
  • Coordinated sponsorship, logistics, media, and finance in addition to technical work.
Read full project →
ARCC 2026 Infantry Robot
Infantry in front of banners.
Infantry robot detail
Infantry retrofitted for chicken wires (to lose weight).
Infantry robot at competition
Infantry with TPU shields mounted.
Prototype Infantry swerve module
Prototype swerve module in Nov 2025.
Infantry prototype swerve module iteration
Prototype swerve module, later design iteration.
Main Infantry carbon fiber plate
The main carbon fiber plate isolated in context of the chassis frame.

ARCC 2026 Infantry Robot (CAD Included)

During the 2025–26 season, I served as President of RoboRambler GT and Mechanical Lead for Infantry, leading the mechanical development of a competition robot that combined a suspension swerve-drive chassis with a turret armed with a rapid-firing 17 mm gun.

Result
Won its opening 1v1 matches and competed in every 3v3 match as the team’s pilot-operated Infantry robot.

Selected work

  • Designed and manufactured the experimental suspension-swerve drive.
  • Developed a rapid-firing 17 mm turret and its structural interfaces.
  • Balanced chassis packaging, mobility, and a firing rate of up to 22 Hz.
Read full project →
ARCC 2026 Hero Robot
Hero in front of banners.
Hero robot detail
Hero with referee-system hardware installed.
Hero robot at competition
Hero being tuned at competition housing lobby.
Prototype Hero ammunition loading chain
Prototype ammo loading chain Mar 2026.
Hero ammunition channel construction sketch
Construction sketch of ammo channnel profile.
Hero turret balancing mechanism
How the balancing mechanism fit into the rest of turret structure.

ARCC 2026 Hero Robot (CAD Included)

During the 2025–26 season, I served as President of RoboRambler GT and Mechanical Lead for Hero, leading the mechanical development of a competition robot that combined a suspension X-drive chassis with a turret armed with an accurate 42 mm gun.

Result
Played in all 3v3 games and scored several long-range heavy hits and kills, helping RoboRambler secure three victories.

Selected work

  • Designed the Hero-specific suspension X-drive chassis and structural packaging.
  • Developed the curved polyurethane flywheel and ammunition path.
  • Created a balancing mechanism that holds the turret angle without continuous power.
Read full project →
In-plane shear testing sample and fixture
In-plane shear testing sample and fixture development.
Machining the raw stock into the tube sample
How to machine the raw stock into our tube sample.
Brosius sample testing setup
How to test our Brosius sample.
Three shear states with Brosius and tube samples
Testing the three shear states with Brosius sample and tube sample [1].
Second fixture design iteration
Second fixture design iteration with mirror mounts on both fixture halves.
Third fixture design iteration
Third fixture design iteration using thinner rectangular mirrors.

In-Plane Shear Testing Sample and Fixture Development

As an AMPF researcher supported by a President’s Undergraduate Research Award in spring 2026, I introduced a new specimen geometry for tube-extrusion material testing and designed a fixture for combined torsional and axial loading.

Recognition
Received the President’s Undergraduate Research Award for the specimen geometry and fixture development.

Selected work

  • Translated the testing requirements into a manufacturable specimen concept.
  • Used FEA to evaluate fixture concepts and load paths.
  • Designed the final fixture around combined torsional and axial loading.
Read full project →
Metal 3D printing heated build plate
Hot test image 2.
Heated build plate research poster
HBP project poster.
Heated build plate hot test
Hot test image 1.
Heated build plate FEA results on bolts
FEA results on bolts.
Heated build plate FEA results on thermal coupler
FEA results on thermal coupler.
Heated build plate cold test setup
Strain gauges mounted on cold test setup.

Metal 3D Printing Heated Build Plate Validation

In my AMPF research from Aug 2025 to Apr 2026, I validated a heated build plate for directed energy deposition through finite element analysis and instrumented cold testing.

Validation approach
The project investigated thermal-cycle-driven residual stress, delamination, and cracking in metal additive manufacturing.

Selected work

  • Built and evaluated finite element models of the heated build plate.
  • Designed cold tests using machined stainless-steel weights.
  • Instrumented the setup with hand-soldered strain gauges to compare measured and predicted behavior.
Read full project →
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