Utkarsh Verma
Embedded Developer

Biography

My fascination with technology has propelled me onto various hardware and software development projects. These projects led me to pursue a career in Embedded Systems. I find the applied nature of this skill particularly rewarding, as it allows me to transform abstract ideas into tangible products, regardless of the industry or domain.

My research background includes experience in both experimental physics and robotics, which has equipped me with a strong foundation in scientific and engineering principles. I am eager to leverage my diverse knowledge and expertise to contribute to other domains and industries.

Download my curriculum vitae.

Interests

Embedded Systems
Low-level Languages
Computer Architecture
Linux
Robotics
Software Development

Education

Bachelor of Technology - Electronics and Communications Engineering with Distinction

May 2023

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design & Manufacturing - Kancheepuram

Skills

Programming
C/C++, Assembly, Python, Rust, Verilog, Shell Scripting
Tools
KiCAD, EagleCAD, MATLAB, CERN ROOT, Plotly, git, (Neo)Vim
Presentation Tools
LaTeX, Markdown, Google Workspace Suite
Soft Skills
Systems Thinking, Collaborative Brainstorming, Teamwork

Experience

Research Assistant
Biomedical and Electronic Engineering Systems (BEES) Lab, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore Jul 2023 – Oct 2023 Bengaluru, India
- Investigated the effects of antigen-antibody interaction, using impedance spectroscopy, to explore possibilities for screening oral cancer through a custom lab-on-chip.
- Wrote programs to swiftly analyse roughly 100 data files, cutting analysis time from over two hours to minutes, eliminating possibilities for human error.
- Performed literature survey on emerging gas sensor technologies and proposed suitable approaches for an electronic nose that screens patients for liver cirrhosis through their breath.
Google Summer of Code Contributor
Real-Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems Jun 2023 – Sep 2023 Remote
- Added support for the Raspberry Pi 4 in the RTEMS real-time operating system through a 64-bit board support package.
- Developed low-level drivers for GPIO and interrupt-driven I/O for UART and the mailbox, conforming to RTEMS’ APIs.
- Made the Raspberry Pi 4 usable in RTEMS applications and laid the foundation for GPU utilisation, including HDMI usage.
- Regularly wrote technical blogs documenting project progress and the challenges encountered to expand the online knowledge base.
Embedded Systems Developer
Aerospace Engineers Private Ltd. Jan 2023 – Apr 2023 Salem, India
- Re-designed the electronics architecture to improve the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)’s hardware topology. This simplification led to a 40% reduction in size of the hardware stack.
- Oversaw the entire hardware stack and acted as a bridge between the software and electronics teams.
- Developed firware for the AUV’s embedded processor to robustly interface actuators and sensors, and implement controls.
- Implemented an SPI communication link to facilitate reliable data exchange between the controls and autonomy processors.
- Developed a bootstrapper to package AUV dependencies into a headless Linux image, reducing software deployment time from hours to minutes.
Research Intern
GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research Jul 2022 – Oct 2022 Darmstadt, Germany
- Worked on the PANDA Barrel DIRC’s readout chain which employed FPGAs called DiRICH boards to acquire time-of-flight (ToF) measurements of particles through a microchannel-plate photomultiplier tube (MCP-PMT) array.
- Developed software to expedite analysis of the huge amounts (2 GiB/test) of acquired data using CERN’s ROOT library.
- Performed experiments on a high-voltage (2 kV) operated setup, analysing fast analog signals and addressing their non-idealities.
- Brought a two-fold improvement in the timing precision of the ToF measurements, bringing it down to 70 picosecond.
Junior Embedded Systems Engineer
Dextroware Devices Dec 2020 – Mar 2021 Remote, India
- Developed the prototype of a hands-free input device, called Mouseware, for people with upper-limb disabilities.
- Researched and developed a minimum viable product utilising AVR MCUs, gaining experience in RF communications.

Accomplishments

Google Summer of Code
Google May 2023
Secured a funded open-source project based on my proposal for firmware development.
GET_INvolved Fellowship
GSI Helmholtz Centre Jul 2022
Got selected for an onsite summer research internship at the GSI particle accelerator facility.
IIT Madras Summer Fellowship
IIT Madras May 2022
Received a summer fellowship for doing a research project at IIT Madras.
Robocon 2020
IIT Delhi Mar 2020
Led a team to develop robots capable of playing robo-rugby which secured 98/100 points at the national level.
Maker Sponsorship
DFRobot Jan 2017
Received sponsorship from DFRobot for my articles and personal projects on electronics.

Projects

Linux SBC ↔ STM32 MCU Communication Link
Apr 2023
- Employs a custom protocol with acknowledgement mechanisms to reliably transfer data.
- Polyglot in nature; utilises Python for Linux, and C on the firmware.
Skills
C, Python, SPI, Linux
Linux Image Bootstapper
Feb 2023
- Written in a modular, extensible and portable manner using POSIX-compliant shell-scripting.
- Bootstraps and configures a minimal headless Debian Linux image with the project dependencies.
- Facilitates snapshotting of the entire software stack, allowing for reproducible and hassle-free deployments.
Skills
Linux, Shell Scripting
OLED Display Driver for ATmega328
Dec 2021
- Written in pure assembly language; includes drivers for SD card and OLED display through SPI and I²C respectively.
- Prepares a 1 KiB framebuffer in the MCU’s flash, populates it with the SD card’s frame data, and sends it to the display.
- Achieves a frame rate of roughly 16 FPS, which is respectable for an 8-bit MCU.
Skills
Assembly, I<sup>2</sup>C, SPI
8-bit Computer
Mar 2021
- Based on the SAP-1 ALU processor and built around the von Neumann architecture.
- Contains more than ten modules spanning across a total of fourteen breadboards.
- Uses a custom instruction set and is programmable over UART.
Skills
Computer Architecture, Digital Logic, Assembly
Minimal Build System for STM32 HAL
Mar 2023
- Takes care of project compilation, debugging, and flashing the code using OpenOCD.
- Written with a focus on modularity and extensibility, following the UNIX philosophy.
- Allows developers to use their favourite text editor for firmware development, hence, increasing productivity.
Skills
C, Makefile, STM32 HAL
dwmblocks-async
Dec 2022
- Generates the status text by executing user-configured commands asynchronously.
- Updates the status based on a periodic interval or through an external trigger implemented using signals.
Skills
C, Linux
Fit Routine for PANDA Barrel DIRC
Oct 2022
- Operates on huge chunks of experimental data from the data acquisition system and saves results to a file.
- Filters out noise from the 2D histogram data before computing the statistical parameters.
- Developed as an alternative to the former manual and subjective method, with considerable time savings.
Skills
C++, ROOT, Statistics
qGmail
Apr 2020
A cross-platform CLI tool for securely fetching Gmail mailbox info. Its interface auto-updates with the upstream Gmail API specification.
Skills
Go, Meta Programming, Continuous Integration
Line Follower Robot
Mar 2018
A line-follower robot built up from scratch with the PIC16F84A as its brains. It uses interrupt-based software PWM signals for the motors.
Skills
PCB Design, Embedded C

Programming

Tools

Presentation Tools

Soft Skills

Research Assistant

Google Summer of Code Contributor

Embedded Systems Developer

Research Intern

Junior Embedded Systems Engineer

Google Summer of Code

GET_INvolved Fellowship

IIT Madras Summer Fellowship

Robocon 2020

Maker Sponsorship