Neya E-Ranger

The summer after my junior year, I developed a drive-by-wire and safety subsystem for an autonomous ATV while interning for Neya Systems. Neya builds advanced autonomous off-road systems, and the platform I created enables them to safely run physical tests of their software. It retrofits an off-the-shelf electric ATV so that it can robustly switch between manual and autonomous control modes, adhere to a tiered emergency stop system, and drive the vehicle actuators according to higher-level control input.

The project was daunting at first, primarily due to the extreme ruggedness required for anything installed on the vehicle. I was in unfamiliar territory since most of my prior experience building electromechanical systems had been with hobby-grade microcontrollers. Being out of my comfort zone pushed me to learn new skills, so I could successfully solve the problem ahead of me. I had incredible mentorship from both Vikas Bahl and Andrew Capodieci through the entire process.

This project allowed me to further grow my design and fabrication skills for both electrical and mechanical tasks, and it also developed my project management capabilities. Over the course of the summer, I balanced input from several stakeholders before being approved to purchase, program, assemble, and validate the system. It was challenge, but I gained invaluable skills in the process.