Three of the Five Winning Projects at Feria Transforma 2026-1 Come from Robiolab

At Feria Transforma 2026-1, the project fair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Universidad de los Andes, three of the five winning projects came from Robiolab. Congratulations to the teams!
Winning projects
- Underactuated robotic hand — Luis Felipe Ponce. Underactuation lets a hand with many joints move with only a few actuators and conform on its own to the shape of the object it grasps. This is a long-running line of work in the lab, from the first underactuated prosthetic hand to the prehensile hand with a floating body and force control for underactuated prostheses.
- Cow lifting device — Gabriel Blanco. A mechanical device designed to lift and support cattle, a real need in the agricultural sector.
- Soft fish — Sara, Neva and Camila. A swimming robot made of soft materials and inspired by fish locomotion, following the lab's soft robotics line and bioinspired projects such as the silicone robotic jellyfish.
Sara, Neva and Camila from the soft fish team with their winner certificates.
More lab projects at the fair
Besides the winners, other students from the lab presented their work. Laura Ximena García Arévalo showed "TPU replication and dynamic analysis of a Kresling cell", a study of the bistability of this origami-inspired structure, printed in TPU and characterized experimentally.
Laura Ximena García Arévalo presenting her poster on the Kresling cell, with paper and TPU prototypes.
About the event
Feria Transforma is the semester project showcase of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Universidad de los Andes. Students from different courses and levels exhibit prototypes and posters to professors, classmates and visitors, and the standout projects are recognized as winners.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to the students for their dedication, and to the Department of Mechanical Engineering for organizing the fair and offering a space to show what is built in the lab.
