Armaan Bains
Embedded Systems & Systems Software Engineer: firmware, digital hardware, and low-level software. ECE student at the University of Toronto, building high-performance systems from bare-metal C++ up to custom RTL and robotics.
About
I'm an Electrical and Computer Engineering student at the University of Toronto (BASc + PEY Co-op), focused on embedded firmware, digital hardware, and systems software development. Most of my work lives in C++ close to the metal, whether that's architecting large-scale GIS routing engines and low-latency algorithms, driving PWM peripherals, or implementing the real-time kinematics that keep a robotic arm on target.
I like projects that force me to understand a system end to end: from a transistor-level PCB trace and bare-metal firmware, up to the algorithms, data structures, and vision models running on top.
Skills
Experience
Sep 2025
Research Intern
Intelligent Sensory Microsystems Lab (ISML), University of Toronto
- Reverse-engineered top-level Verilog RTL across 5+ major Time-of-Flight sensor source files, mapping FSMs, ADC readout control signals, and pixel-bucket timing diagrams into system breakdowns.
- Engineered Python control scripts to drive microcontroller GPIO pins on camera-ToF PCBs, dynamically triggering Verilog timing state transitions for live parameter testing by lab researchers.
- Performed waveform-level signal analysis and PCB signal tracing to debug timing issues and firmware/hardware mismatches across 3 PCB revisions.
- Documented verification findings and presented architectural breakdowns across 16+ peer design reviews.
Sep 2024
Produce & Overnight Stocking Associate
Costco Wholesale
- Managed high-volume inventory flow and overnight restocking across departments to prepare the warehouse for daily operations.
- Assisted members with product inquiries, location guidance, and service needs in a fast-paced retail environment.
Projects
C++ · Python · OpenCV · ESP32 · YOLOv8 · Fusion 360
- Built a real-time embedded firmware stack on an ESP32 driving a 5-channel servo array via 12-bit hardware PWM at 50Hz, utilizing native PWM drivers without external convenience libraries.
- Wrote a custom 3D geometric Inverse Kinematics engine in C++ to convert Cartesian target vectors into joint duty cycles in real time.
- Implemented an automated wrist self-leveling loop to counter-rotate the end-effector and hold a stable posture through fast movements.
- Built a vision pipeline with a custom-trained YOLOv8 model to map pixel coordinates to physical workbench coordinates for closed-loop pick-and-place.
- Designed a parallel-tracking gripper with passive compliance, and every mechanical component of the arm, in Fusion 360.
C++ · ESP32 · TinyML · KiCad · I2C
- Wrote a bare-metal C++ I2C driver for an MPU-6050 IMU, parsing raw 6-axis accelerometer and gyroscope data.
- Built a spatial orientation and kinematics engine using Mahony sensor fusion and quaternion math, feeding an on-device Edge Impulse TinyML model across 10+ exercise classes.
- Engineered real-time peak-detection algorithms to identify rep boundaries and segment eccentric and concentric phases.
- Designed a custom two-layer PCB in KiCad integrating the ESP32 and IMU into a wearable form factor.
SystemVerilog · PyTorch · ModelSim · Quartus · DE1-SoC
- Architected an INT8 pipelined deep learning accelerator on a Cyclone V FPGA for MNIST handwritten digit recognition, using Python PTQ scripts to quantize Float32 PyTorch weights into .hex memory files.
- Designed an RTL datapath with an 8-bit MAC engine and 27-bit accumulator for 784-element dot products, plus custom ReLU and ArgMax classification logic.
- Implemented a multi-state control FSM and verified cycle-accurate RTL waveforms in ModelSim before synthesis.
C++ · RISC-V Assembly · FTXUI · Linux
- Built a cycle-accurate CPU emulator in C++ decoding and executing the RV32I base instruction set, with a 32-entry register file and a 1MB simulated RAM system bus.
- Developed an integrated single-pass assembler to compile human-readable assembly into 32-bit machine code in real time.
- Built an interactive terminal debugger with FTXUI featuring live register visualization, aligned memory hex dumps, and single-step execution.
C++ · GTK · GDB · Linux
- Built a GIS routing engine supporting 20,000+ intersections with interactive POI search and map rendering.
- Implemented an efficient caching layer and query system, reducing memory overhead and keeping large-scale map rendering smooth in real time.
- Implemented Dijkstra's and A* algorithms for shortest-path computation, halving routing time from 6ms to 3ms.
Education
BASc, Electrical and Computer Engineering + PEY Co-op
University of Toronto
Relevant coursework: Computer Organization, Digital Systems, Electronics, Circuit Analysis, Signals & Systems.
Awards
1st Place, UTEK Junior Design Competition: OEC Provincial Finalist. Engineered a winning design prototype under strict time and material constraints, selected to represent U of T at the Ontario Engineering Competition.