FADE | ASME at UCLA

Founded in 2015, X1 Robotics is ASME's freeform robotics team that brings creative projects into reality through challenging robotic systems. Each project is pitched and voted by members, and student leaders define realistic goals for our projects in a fast-paced yearly design cycle. Through our member-ideated projects, X1 is a hub for members to express their creativity and develop engineering and problem solving skills as they bring their dream projects to reality.

X1 specializes in interdisciplinary integration as we design robots from the ground up, a process that requires knowledge of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science. Students on our team are typically exposed to fields other than their own, ranging from mechanical design to electrical controls to computer vision and more. X1 is recommended for students with some prior project experience in their field of interest.

To learn more about the team, contact our X1 leads at x1.asmebruins@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram @X1robotics!

Past Projects

Since 2015, X1 Robotics has worked on a wide variety of projects. The first projects were advanced quadcopters, including a drone that could be controlled via an iOS app and a magnetic levitation quadcopter that utilized Halbach rotors to generate lift and propulsion. 2017’s project was a rover and quadcopter pair which worked cooperatively to navigate obstacles.

In 2018, X1 began work on the Guardian Project, a hexapedal robot inspired by the video game series Legend of Zelda. This robot could navigate an environment and use computer vision to direct a laser pointer towards a target object. Though prototyped in 2018, this project continued in 2019, with a streamlined and redesigned model made for higher mechanical efficiency. 2019 also introduced BruinBot, a campus interaction robot able to navigate UCLA’s campus, interact with students, and dispense gifts.

In 2021, X1 designed Boelt: our first quadruped, inspired by fictional dog and named after a core UCLA engineering building. In 2022, X1 dug deeper into the recreating our favorite fictional robots into reality with Wall-E. A shredder was added as a practical addition to this beloved fictional character.

X1 reached deeper into the practical project space in 2023 with the conception of Surgical-Robo-Tech (SRT), a surgical robot arm with the aim of streamlining distribution of medical instruments and biomaterials. X1 returned to campus inspired robots in 2024 with the advent of Bruin Bear, our first autonomous quadruped robot that aimed to uplift campus spirit through gesture recognition and its bear-like mannerisms.

For 2025, X1 is increasing the complexity of our project with B^3 (a BB-8 inspired robot that specializes in autonomous movement and outdoor movement). This is the most interdisciplinary and complex X1 has made so far, branching deeper into depth sensing, magnetics, materials science, alongside mechanical and electrical engineering to innovate on an interactive and dynamic robot that inspired many of us to pursue engineering.