ENPH 253 · Summer 2023 · Competition winner
SHARP.
Built to race.
An autonomous Mario Kart robot that took first place at UBC’s Engineering Physics competition.
A summer of building, tuning, and racing with a four-person team. My focus: software and electrical integration.
Full size- 1st
- Overall, among 17 teams
- 15 s
- Lap time reported by our team
- 4
- Engineering Physics teammates
Sense, steer, compete
Fast laps take a complete system.
Two robots raced head-to-head for points on a Mario Kart-themed course. Laps and collected items scored points; bombs could erase a lap’s progress. Reliable autonomous behavior mattered as much as speed.
Reflectance sensors detect the tape. PID control turns that feedback into steering corrections, keeping the robot on course.
C++ firmware on an STM32 uses a state machine and separate component libraries to organize the robot’s behavior.
Custom KiCad boards support motor drive, reflectance sensing, and infrared detection. Integration brought sensing and actuation together.
Working on software and electrical systems taught me how to debug across circuit and firmware boundaries, tune feedback behavior, and organize embedded code for a team.
Competition day · August 10, 2023
From the workbench to first place.
Full sizeOur dedicated site has the electrical schematics, mechanical design, and software breakdown.