William Cortez Email & Phone Number

Vancouver, Bc, Ca

Chico, Us

Acquired by Sanctuary AI in 2023Working to create advanced telerobotic systems with human-like dexterity and haptic perception. ANA Avatar XPrize finalist (Team Tangible) - Mechanical design lead. Designed and built a custom omnidirectional telerobot platform with strict 160kg weight and stability requirements for two UR5e arms and Shadow Robot hands. Designed and built custom sheet metal panels, hardware, and electrical mounting brackets for a product-like finish. The platform and robot system was designed to be fully integrated and battery powered. ANA Avatar XPrize semi-finals (Converge Robotics) - Support engineer NSF funded STTR research grant: Haptics in Telerobotics, Phase 1 - in collaboration with the Stanford University BDML lab - Project manager, engineer and liaison between teams In-house development lead - Working closely with researchers and developing engineering solutions from napkin sketches to functional prototypesManage, mentor and collaborate with junior engineers and engineering interns throughout their projects

Sacramento, Ca, Us

Assisted in field and systems integration support, performing factory inspections, through full-scale commissioning of 32 Megawatt Francis Generators, for the restoration and commissioning of the Thermalito Hydroelectric Power Plant. Generator Unit Governor system factory acceptance testing, on-site integration support, and commissioning Generator Automatic Voltage Regulator system factory acceptance testing, on-site integration testingGenerator Unit Switchboard - factory acceptance testing, SCADA/Local Modbus database filtering, integration support for field instrumentation and remote generator controlsGenerator Downthrust Data Acquisition integration/ commissioningSmart Motor Control Centers integration, factory acceptance testing, on-site commissioningStation Service Low Voltage Switchgear factory acceptance testing, on-site commissioning supportPlant Essential DC system monitoring/ integration support Full-Scale Francis Hydroelectric Generator commissioning through local and remote operations

Sacramento, Ca, Us

Oroville field division engineering assistant to several PE mechanical and electrical engineers. Digital documentation of archived hydroelectric power plant drawings and schematics using AutoCAD software. Assisting with research, quoting and communicating with manufacturing distributors for replacement and refurbishment of hydroelectric turbine components. Assisting with proofreading and revising of updates to hydroelectric schematics. Scaled calculations for electrical renovations throughout the Oroville field division.

Chico, Us

Consulted and contributed to the development of robustness testing apparatuses for materials to be used in semi-autonomous robotics. Worked with a talented team to conceptualize, prototype and build one-off machines to quantify the mechanical effects of abrasion, cyclic loading, force-displacement and impact loads of materials.

Chico, Ca, Us

Project Manager: Scheduling, Project Budget, Sponsor Contact, Project Support Worked alongside a team of senior engineering students to develop an electro-mechanical prosthetic hand for a young burn victim who has lost his fingers to amputations. The project was a two-semester design and manufacture course intended to provide students with real world engineering experience. The prosthesis design was privately funded, phase two of development to a previously successful mechanical prosthetic design (See other projects). The prosthesis design was driven by custom electromyograph muscle sensors (EMG) that read muscle movements in the forearm and transmit a digitally filtered signal to the custom PCB mounted processor. The processor would then dictate which of the motors to operate on the hand, based on the signal criteria. Our client was able to manipulate objects repeatedly during testing, while running completely on battery power. The prosthesis was designed using Solidworks and the fingers were CNC machined from Aluminum for durability, while the housing was 3D printed using durable polycarbonate-ABS plastic. The project gained widespread popularity throughout the Chico State campus and was featured as the cover story for the Fall 2016 "Chico Statements" magazine.