Jake Li
Hi, I'm Jake. I study Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science at Columbia. Check out my hardware and software projects below!
Go ahead, knock a letter over. The arm cleans up after you.
I am currently working on...
- Quadruped RobotPersonal projectSep 2026 to now
Building a sub-$300 robot dog, with eight bus servos driven by forward and inverse leg kinematics on a Raspberry Pi
- DitecT Lab, ColumbiaRobot Learning Research EngineerSep 2026 to now
Post-training diffusion vision-language-action models to drive a scaled autonomous vehicle fleet from a Jetson Orin Nano
Analyzing human preference data for post-training audio model infrastructure
Building the CUTE tokamak, designing its reactor body in Fusion 360 and machining the connectors that carry 10,000 Amperes to its coils
Robotics & Aerospace Projects
- CUTE Tokamaklab profile Structure, current paths and vacuum for a university fusion device.
- Quadruped RobotA sub-$300 dog that trots, built on a five-bar leg reduced to 2-link IK.
- Columbia Space InitiativePropulsion fluids on the rocketry team: a PID-driven ball valve that throttles liquid oxygen, and a subscale air rig that tests the electronic regulator under the same control software.
- Don't Get DistractedA robot arm that sees you pick up your phone and pokes you.
Fun fact:
I fly model rockets and boost gliders for the US National Space Modeling Team.