Yashwanth Piratla MechE · UC Berkeley
Engineering projects

Things I designed, built, broke, and fixed

Each case study follows the same arc — requirements, engineering decisions, what failed under test, and what I changed. Numbers and methods come from the project documentation, not from memory.

2025 FRC season

Three-Stage Cascading Elevator

A fully belt-driven three-stage cascading elevator that reaches a 7-ft scoring target from inside a 3 ft 6 in. starting-height envelope — redesigned component-by-component through testing.

Mechanical DesignCADManufacturingPrototypingTesting
2026 FRC season

Deployable Multi-Level Climbing Mechanism

A deployable climber that carries the full weight of the robot up multiple bars on alternating carbon-fiber hooks — packaged into three inches of space between the swerve modules and shooter.

Mechanical DesignCADFEAPower TransmissionTesting
2024 FRC season

MK4 Swerve Drivebase & Robot Architecture

The complete mechanical architecture for a 2026 FRC robot — chassis, frame rails, bellypan, and an under-bellypan electronics layout that freed the upper chassis for the elevator, climber, and under-bumper intake.

Mechanical DesignCADPackagingSystems IntegrationManufacturing

5" FPV Drone

A personal mechanical and electrical project — designing and assembling a 5-inch FPV drone and integrating the frame, motors, flight controller, ESC, ELRS receiver, battery, and power system.

Mechanical AssemblyElectrical IntegrationTroubleshooting
Preview page → In progress