ECE students have the opportunity to take part in a variety of student teams to work on cutting-edge projects! By joining a student team, our students gain technical experience, expand their network within the ECE and UBC community, improve skills to bring forward in their careers after graduation, and most importantly, have some fun with other students at UBC!
Below we are excited to highlight some of the student teams at UBC our ECE students participate in. For more information on each team and the exciting work they do, and how you can get involved, read on!
AeroDesign
Check out our featured ECE “Student Team Perspectives” article with the AeroDesign Team!
UBC AeroDesign designs, builds, and flies fixed-wing remote-control electric aircraft to participate in the annual SAE Aero Design competition series, providing UBC students with an excellent opportunity to gain experience in the field of aeronautical engineering. From aerodynamic and structural analysis, to propulsion and controls simulation, to machine learning and computer vision, we do it all!
ECE students can expect to work on the avionics (aircraft electronics and software) for our primary aircrafts and for a smaller drone that deploys from the Advanced Class primary aircraft. Avionics work can include:
● Machine learning/computer vision models for target identification and navigation planning
● Embedded programming for aircraft sensing and control
● Full stack programming for data visualization, target verification, and telemetry reporting
● Power supplies sizing/optimization that drive our electric motors and electronics
Additionally, if interested, ECE students have an equal opportunity to learn aircraft and mechanical design techniques!
If you are interested in learning more about UBC AeroDesign, we host live information sessions end of August and in the beginning of September (Imagine Day, etc.). You are welcome to reach out to us there, or on social media:
Website: https://ubcaerodesign.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UBCAeroDesign
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ubcaerodesign/
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/ubc-aerodesign
Feel free to also email us at ubcaerodesign@gmail.com to learn more about the team, or recruitment.ubcaerodesign@gmail.com if you’re more specifically interested in joining the team!
AgroBot
Agrobot is currently recruiting new members! Click here for more information on how to get involved.
We are a diverse team of students with a shared passion to make agriculture more efficient and sustainable. We want to help the agriculture sector better meet future food demands without compromising the health of the environment or people. We hope to do this by accelerating automation and precision farming and develop future-proof agricultural technologies like robotics, machine learning, machine vision and image recognition that have successfully transformed industries.
Our design team works on two electrical and computer engineering focused projects. Computer engineering students will have the opportunity to learn various programming languages like Python and be able to pick up on skills in software design, data science, web development, and machine learning (deep learning, dynamic programming, reinforcement learning, etc.) Electrical engineering students will be able to work on power and energy systems – working on power delivery, power generation, and related electronics – as well as digital communication systems and control systems.
ECE students can look forward to working as part of our various subteams for the AgroBot project. Our future plans include opportunities to work on developing much of the following:
- chassis team – the powertrain and battery management system.
- extermination team – electronics and programming for prototypes of herbicide sprayer robotics and robotic weed whackers.
- navigation team – improving the accuracy of our autonomous navigation software and integrating the software with the motor control system.
- image recognition – Using machine learning and image processing to recognize and locate crops or weeds from live camera footage.
Our AgroPonic project can also help ECE students develop their skills by getting involved in various design and hands-on work:
- Hardware – a complete electrical and feedback system, i.e. sensor inputs that are used to acquire data and PID controllers that are used to tune and control the outputs.
- Software – A remote supervisory control software to monitor the health of the plants using Raspberry Pi and Arduino microcontrollers and PHP based web development. UI design is also involved.
We have many outlets that interested students can reach us through if they want to get in touch or want to learn something more. Our main source of outreach is our website: ubcagrobot.com. We also have an instagram account where students can DM us: @agrogramubc. We also have a Facebook, LinkedIn, and of course, an email address where anyone can feel free to send us an email: ubcagrobot@gmail.com. You can also look for our booth on Imagine Day. Virtual information sessions will also be held on Imagine Day – stay tuned to our website for details. Additionally, if you ever happen to come across one of our team members, certainly feel free to approach them with your questions and they will guide you the right way!
Bionics
UBC Bionics is an undergraduate engineering design team at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, focused on the advancement of bionics. Our team aims to foster an environment that is readily accessible to students and provide a space for them to apply, strengthen, and hone their technical skills. We take pride in providing a very hands-on learning experience for all of our members, with support and guidance from senior leads.
ECE students on the UBC Bionics team are involved in a variety of tasks depending on which subteam they join. The Electrical subteam works on circuit design using CAD software, testing and doing plenty of hands-on work. The Embedded Software subteam works on system design, management and prioritization of tasks within our bionic arm, GRASP. ECE students joining the team can expect to gain a lot of experience in a team project setting, applying their technical skills in circuit design, learning new software programs, and relating ECE course content more specifically to bionics.
Students interested in applying to join our team can find more information about our team at ubcbionics.com or on our social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, & Twitter) at @ubcbionicsteam. Interested individuals can also reach out to us at ubcbionicsteam@gmail.com with any inquiries! Our team is active in the UBC and APSC community, and can often be found at Imagine Day, as well as at Open Houses.
Check out our ECE Feature Interview Story with the Bionics Team to learn more!
Formula UBC Racing
Formula UBC Racing designs, builds, tests, and races a new single-seat race car each year. The team participates in an annual student competition put on by the Society of Automotive Engineers. Every May the team trailers down our car to Michigan and competes against approximately 120 international teams. Throughout the year, students take parts or entire subsystems through all the stages of design. Starting with problem definition and concept generation, the team performs simulations and iteration, manufacturing, off-the-car testing if applicable, and finally implementing the design onto the car.
ECE students are involved in sensor integration, data acquisition, vehicle wiring harnesses, power distribution, and driver-controlled pneumatic systems like paddle shifting and opening/closing the rear wing for the Drag Reduction System (DRS). Anything from a tire temperature sensor to a brake light can be designed by students on the team. Integration into the vehicle and the design process for any individual part often requires inter-disciplinary team communication to make good design justifications, like how to mount new parts in CAD so nothing interferes once the parts go on the car.
ECE students can expect to learn about most of the electrical modules, sensors, and interconnecting harnessing on the car and in doing this they will be able to learn skills like making a wiring harness, implementing CAN bus communication, C- based STM32 microcontroller firmware, and PCB design in Altium. In addition to learning new skills, you will be in a student-led environment and surrounded by people who have similar interests so it’s a great place to make friends and have the opportunity to work on projects together.
To learn more about Formula UBC Racing, visit: https://www.formulaubc.com/
Mars Colony
UBC Mars Colony is a multidisciplinary engineering design team focusing on the design and manufacturing of technologies required for Mars Settlement. We are a group of passionate individuals who love to explore our knowledge in a meaningful way, beyond what we learn in lectures. UBC Mars Colony has accomplished multiple past projects, including Project “Airlock” and Project “HELIOS.”
UBC Mars Colony have a well-organized electrical sub team which oversees the design and assembly of electrical components on our projects. We aim to provide the same level of professionalism and experience as competing industry and we expect ECE students to walk out from the team with extensive hands-on experience that can be directly applied to their future jobs.
ECE Students are expected to work on many hands-on tasks such as: control system designs, PCB design, DFM, final assembly and debugging. UBC Mars Colony offers the opportunity for ECE students to work on components that will not be completely covered in classes, for example: schematics/PCB design (using Altium Designer: professional tool used by industry) to PCBA, automation system design (using Power Automate) for 5S and finance. ECE Students have the opportunity to walk though the whole design cycle of a complete system in a professional way that directly aligns with the industry.
UBC Mars Colony are very active on social media platforms such as Instagram and LinkedIn, where we will be posting project updates and recruitment details. To learn more about UBC Mars Colony, please visit our official website at: ubcmarscolony.com.
Sailbot
We design, build and operate fully autonomous sailboats. Our ships have won many racing regattas and have sailed the Atlantic Ocean. Currently, we are finishing the construction of Raye, who is an 18 foot autonomous sailboat set to sail by itself from Victoria, BC to Maui, HI this summer!
ECE students can expect to be involved in the design of advanced electromechanical systems, custom PCBs, power systems, computer, and control systems, among many other things. Our projects combine ECE course fundamentals with industry practices to create a challenging, yet approachable environment to team-driven system design. Sailbot is a great place for students
to dive into their interests and get real world, applicable experience working in a multidisciplinary team.
Visit our website ubcsailbot.org, look us up on Instagram and Facebook @ubcsailbot, or email us at captain@ubcsailbot.org. For our recruitment page, please follow ubcsailbot.org/recruitment.
UBC Solar
UBC Solar is a student-led engineering design team dedicated to designing, manufacturing, and racing solar-powered cars. We compete in the Formula Sun Grand Prix and American Solar Challenge, where teams from across North America race over 2,000 miles across the United States while harnessing energy only from the sun.
At UBC Solar, ECE students are presented with a plethora of learning opportunities. Our electrical teams are what makes our cars move – members gain experience with industry standard tools and skills which are directly translatable to their future careers. Skills include PCB Design using Altium, software/firmware construction, power electronics design, and more!
For those interested in learning more, reach us through email at manager@ubcsolar.com or through Instagram @ubcsolar. We love chatting, so please reach out!
