Embedded Systems & Electrical Architecture for University Rover Challenge
Building electrical and embedded subsystems for a URC rover with power management and CAN bus integration
Building the electrical and embedded subsystems of a rover prototype with a team of engineers to compete in the University Rover Challenge (URC). My role focuses on engineering a custom coulomb-counting and power-distribution system (using INA219 & DS18B20) to ensure mission endurance. I also develop C++ firmware for Teensy microcontrollers, implementing a CAN bus network to coordinate motor controllers and integrating sensors with ROS nodes for autonomous navigation.
Developing Teensy firmware for distributed control and CAN bus communication
Designing custom power management hardware and wiring harnesses for reliable operation
Integrating embedded sensor data with ROS to support autonomous terrain traversal
The rover taking shape
I own the electrical and embedded subsystems for our University Rover Challenge build — the parts that decide whether the rest of the machine gets clean power and coordinated control.
Custom power distribution
My coulomb-counting and power-distribution design (INA219 + DS18B20). The goal is mission endurance: knowing exactly how much energy is left and keeping every rail healthy under load.
Coordinating motion over CAN
The manipulator arm. Motor controllers across the rover talk over a CAN bus network I implement in C++ on Teensy microcontrollers, so the arm and drivetrain stay in sync.
Harnessing that survives the field
The electrical bay and wiring harnesses. Connectors and harnessing are unglamorous and completely decisive once the rover is out on real terrain.
Hardware meets navigation
Embedded sensor data feeds into ROS nodes to support autonomous terrain traversal — the bridge between raw hardware and the navigation stack.
Want the full story?
Happy to talk through any of the engineering decisions, trade-offs, or what broke along the way.