Samantha Chan

Hi! I am Samantha and I'm currently studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto. I am passionate about mechatronics, entrepreneurship, video game development, sustainability, and communication.

I want to work with robots that delve into dangerous environments, working along side humans to save people, and eco-beneficial robots to further humanity's climate goals. I aim to learn as much as I can in these fields as a robotics engineer and project manager.

Besides professional pursuits, I enjoy singing, ancient history, and fencing!

Thank you for checking out my portfolio and I hope you enjoy!

Engineering Portfolio

Projects

Camera Robotic Arm - MIE243 University of Toronto

Our MIE243 project focused on creating a robotic arm that also mounts a camera to function as a photography/videography tool. As a team, we discussed the user and system requirements, planning out who our target audience is: Advanced Hobbyists, and we each created our own candidate designs.

For the candidate design I worked on focused on biomimicry of an animal’s tail. However, we opted for our four-bar assembly candidate design.

I designed each part for the upper assembly including the clamp and tilting DOF. The design includes 3 unique and 2 redundant DOFs, and we decided to use NEMA 19 stepper motors as our drivers.

We ran weekly team meetings to iterate on our requirements and designs, and discuss each week’s next steps, and as the Communication Liason, I focused on communicating with our TA and professors on any questions and advice, and arranging meetings between the team and TA.

Turret Alarm Clock

Tactical Unresponsive Riser Rousing Emergency Timer (T.U.R.R.E.T) is an alarm clock that shoots a nerf bullet at me to wake me up. I came up with this idea as I am an extremely heavy sleeper, not responding to most sounds (even fire alarms sometimes).

The alarm clock uses computer vision to identify myself on the bed and distance. It then calculates the angle needed to fire a parabolic shot at me. The nerf bullet launcher utilizes flywheels to fire the bullets at a consistent speed.

Launcher and aiming mechanism is designed on Solidworks and uses motors to aim and fire. A camera, alarm clock, and RTC module is used to set the time and identify my location.

The electrical schematic was designed on KiCAD. Python, OpenCV, Pytorch, and YOLO11 algorithm was used for the current object detection software.

Main components within the schematic include:
- Raspberry Pi 4
- Arduino Nano
- MG996R Servo Motor
- DC Motors
- L298N Driver
- DS3231 RTC Module
- I2C LCD 16x2
- Push Buttons
- Battery (Servo: 5v, DC: 7-12v, USB wall outlet adapter)
- BSS138-based 4-channel module

A Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 is also used but was not placed in the schematic.

Automated Pillbox - Kintech

During my internship at Kin Technology, I was tasked to create a portable version of the company's main product, a smart pill-dispensing tool. I designed the automated pillbox to alert users when to take their medication, rotate to dispense the correct pills at the scheduled time, and notify caretakers whether the pills were taken.

The device was modeled in Onshape and is powered by an nRF52832 microcontroller. The electrical schematic and PCB was designed using EasyEDA.

Solar-powered Flower

A solar-powered flower that autonomously opens and closes based on the presence of light

The solar panels power the arduino Nano which is connected to a light sensor that detects light. When light is detected, the DC motor at the center of the flower spins the gears to open the petals, and when there is no light, the DC motor spins in the opposite direction to close the petals.

The flower shell, bevel gears, electronic housing, and petals were all designed using Onshape, while the electrical schematic was designed using KiCAD.

Main components included within the electrical schematic are:
- Arduino Nano
- Solar panels
- 7-12V DC motor
- L298N driver
- LDR sensor
- MT3608 Boost Converter
- TP4056 Charging Module
- Push Buttons

Melomoon: NASA Space Apps Hackathon 2023

Melomoon is a game set in a thriving colony on Titan, where players explore the unique climate and conditions of the moon. The goal of the game is to inspire players to apply their new-found knowledge to design a rover for NASA's 2026 Dragonfly mission

Designed during the 2023 NASA Space Apps Hackathon, our hope was that Melomoon helps inform and inspire everyone who plays it, alighting in others a new sense of fascination and wide-eyed wonder at the infinite splendours of space

In a team of three, I programmed the player movement, interactions, and dialogue using Unity and C#

Clef: Dancing Robot

A robot that grooves to music

It was designed and 3D printed with Onshape. The electronics were made with an Arduino UNO, a microphone sensor to detects sound, and several servos to control the movement of the limbs, torso, and head. When it detects sound it sends information to Clef about which pre-programmed routine to dance

Arcade Machine

A life-sized wooden arcade machine that I built during high school and is currently being played by students daily

It was designed using Onshape and later drafted onto plywood, learning and incorporating carpentry skills such as drafting and cutting with tools like the vernier caliper and square

The main frame was assembled using hand tools, while smaller pieces were designed and laser-cut using Inkscape. For the electronics, I repurposed an old monitor and computer, integrated a JLF-TP-8YT 5 Pin Joystick and buttons, and hooked them up to a Zero Delay USB Encoder

Liar's Symphony

A 2D indie RPG game that delves into truths and lies. In this world, the player explores a world where lying is illegal and the harsh "truths" that come along with it

Created this project in May 2022 and grew it to a current team of 11, composing of artists, programmers, a music composer, a script writer, and a social media manager

As project manager, I mainly lead ideation, vision and direction, short and long-term planning, progress tracking, and team coordination. Thus, I dabble in almost all aspects of the game, learning a lot of new things in varying fields.

As a game designer and programmer, I work on programming parts of the game in C#, as well as designing the UX, level design, and mechanics of the game.

Currently we are developing a battle system demo to begin marketing in Jan. 2026!

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Work Experience

Steamoji - Facilitator

Mar. 2022 - Sep. 2024
Vancouver, BC

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Engineering Portfolio

Projects

Work Experience

Steamoji - Facilitator

Mar. 2022 - Sep. 2024
Vancouver, BC

Kin Technology - Intern

Nokia - Network Analysis Intern

Jun. 2025 - Aug. 2025
Hong Kong, SAR

July 2023 - Aug. 2023
Kanata, ON

Contact information

Engineering Portfolio

Projects

Work Experience

Steamoji - Facilitator

Mar. 2022 - Sep. 2024 Vancouver, BC

Kin Technology - Intern

Nokia - Network Analysis Intern

Jun. 2025 - Aug. 2025 Hong Kong, SAR

July 2023 - Aug. 2023 Kanata, ON

Contact information

Mar. 2022 - Sep. 2024
Vancouver, BC

Jun. 2025 - Aug. 2025
Hong Kong, SAR

July 2023 - Aug. 2023
Kanata, ON