Ryker Zierden Portfolio
Projects
Llama At Home
A locally hosted quantized version of Meta's Llama 2 large language model used to generate REST API requests to make changes in my Home Assistant smart home. A full report of this project is included in the source code page.
Development Tools: Python, Llama 2 7B
External Dependencies: exllamav2, Quantized Llama 2
Constellations VR
An interactive virtual reality application for learning about constellations. I implemented a new interaction technique for this project called the "Magic Panel", which allows users to see the celestial coordinates and constellation lines.
Development Tools: C# and Unity
Haptic Fabric
A modular wearable haptic device that provides haptic sensations to the user and tracks their motion, sponsored by Minnetronix. For this project, I programmed the serial communication between the computer and the master control module as well as the I2C data transfer between the control module and the follower modules. I also did the electrical wiring for our design show demo box and created 2 virtual reality experiences that showcased the modules haptic and motion tracking capabilities.
Development Tools: Arduino, C, C#, and Unity
Near-Earth Comets Visualization
A visualization of near-earth comets in virtual reality with selectable comets and multiple viewing modes. Along with my groupmate, I implemented a class structure to keep track of comet data and make calculation of orbital positions and distances from Earth's orbit for each point easier. We also implemented a user interface to allow selecting which comets to display and information about each comet.
Development Tools: C# and Unity
Flashlight Assembly
Automated assembly of a flashlight using a UR5 cobot. Cowrote python code pick, place, and thread flashlight components onto a pneumatic chuck. We then tuned the positioning and turning code to ensure no damage came to the threading of the different flashlight components.
Development Tools: RoboDK and Python
MATLAB Stirling Engine Analysis
An engineering analysis and design of a flywheel for a Stirling Engine. I used a combination of engineering analyses to solve for the mass of the flywheel. See source code page for a full report of what was done.
Development Tools: MATLAB
K Means Image Filter
A simple image filter that uses a k-means algorithm to limit the color palette to a set number of colors. Development Tools: Python
About Me
Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science
I graduated with a bachelor's of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota just over two years ago, but decided to pivot my career towards software engineering. For the last year and a half, I've been working as a software engineer on a modeling and simulation team at BAE Systems Inc. I have had a wealth of experiences in that time, and have worked on a wide variety of different projects, from developing applications in C++ with the Qt framework to creating 3D visualizations and simulations in Unity, and more recently, Unreal engine. I also worked for a year supporting engineering tools in BAE's IT organization, where I worked on automating engineering processes and deploying and supporting CAD software. I'm very passionate about technology and thoroughly enjoy working in exciting and challenging environments were I get to solve technical problems and work towards greater goals.
