Joint Us!

The Robotics, Automation & Mechatronics Engineering Laboratory (RAMEL) at Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) is a facility for graduate and undergraduate robotics research and education with an emphasis on studying novel mechatronics design. Our research interests are in the area of Robot and Manipulator design, Unmanned Systems, soft robotics, machine learning, and planning and controlling robots.

Robots Design

Bipedal, Quadruped, or any Social and Educational Robots

Soft Robotics

Robotic Manipulators

Manipulator designs, Tactile Sensors, Robot Hand, and Soft Manipulators

Unmanned Systems

Drones (UAV), Cars (UGV)

Autonomous Navigation

Robot Vision

Artificial Intelligence

Machine and Reinforcement Learning

Research

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Robots Design

STEAM ROBOTS

Robots Design

TherapyBuddy

Robot Design

Industrial Robots

Unmanned Systems

Autonomous Robot Navigation

Unmanned Systems

BOX and Package

Robotic Manipulators

Computer Vision

Artificial Intelligence

Quadruped

Robot Design

OobSoft Gripper

Robotic Manipulators

Cable Manipulator

Robotic Manipulators

Head of the Laboratory

Francisco Yumbla

FRANCISCO YUMBLA (Senior Member, IEEE) received his degree in Electrical Engineering with a specialization in Electronics and Industrial Automation from Escuela Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Guayaquil, Ecuador, in 2014. He obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in the field of Robotics and Mechatronics from Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), South Korea, in 2021. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Robotics Engineering Research Center at Sungkyunkwan University. In 2022, he joined the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Production Sciences at ESPOL as a Research Professor, and since 2025 he has been a Full Professor in the Mechatronics program. Since 2023, he has served as Director of the Robotics, Automation & Mechatronics Engineering Laboratory (RAMEL). He has published more than 30 scientific papers and has participated as a speaker in 15 international IEEE-RAS conferences, including ICCRA, IROS, CASE, UR, ICARA, ICMRE, and ICCAS. He is also the director and principal investigator of research projects funded by both national and international organizations. His research interests include autonomous vehicles, social robotics, robotic arm manipulation, robot and manipulator design, as well as artificial intelligence.

PROFESSORS

Marcelo Fajardo Pruna

Jorge Hurel

Jonathan Leon

Researchers

Newton Toledo

Computer Vision

Eliezer Acebo

Robots Design

Ivan Baldeon

Research Assistant

Jean Thomé

Robots Programmer

Daniel Pallazhco

Unmanned Systems

Jorge Pluas

Unmanned Systems

Bryan Briones

Unmanned Systems

Arturo Carrera

Research Assistant

Emilio Riofrio

Research Assistant

Patricio Vasquez

Research Assistant

Roberto Estrada

Research Assistant

Juan Espinoza

Research Assistant

Domenica Santamaria

Research Assistant

Kruger Ronquillo

Computer Vision

Melissa Barberán

Robots Design

Cristian Orozco

Robots Design

PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCES

Contact Us

Recruiting for students researcher is open for researchers who want to work in our research areas. Don't hesitate to get in touch with Prof. Francisco Yumbla for inquiries by e-mail or at his office (RAMEL).

Phone/E-mail

+593-4-2269350

fryumbla@espol.edu.ec

Office

Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Ciencias de la Producción.

Campus "Gustavo Galindo" Km. 30.5 Vía Perimetral