Robotics

Rocketry Air Brake System — ARC National Qualifier

Designed and built a mid-flight air brake system for a model rocket with PID altitude control. Qualified for American Rocketry Challenge National Finals.

Overview

For the American Rocketry Challenge, I led the design and development of a custom air brake system capable of deploying mid-flight to dynamically adjust drag and control the rocket's apogee altitude. The system uses real-time sensor data, signal filtering algorithms, and a PID control loop for precise, responsive actuation.

Role

Lead Engineer — Designed the mechanical air brake mechanism, developed embedded control software, implemented sensor filtering, and tuned the PID algorithm.

Tech Stack

•Embedded C / C++
•PID Control Systems
•IMU & Barometric Sensors
•Signal Filtering (Kalman)
•Servo Actuation Systems
•Arduino / Microcontroller

Key Challenges

•Reliable mechanical deployment under high-speed flight conditions
•Filtering noisy sensor data for accurate altitude readings in real time
•Tuning PID parameters for stable and responsive brake actuation
•Meeting competition weight and size constraints

Results

•Qualified for American Rocketry Challenge National Finals (2025)
•Successfully demonstrated mid-flight air brake deployment
•PID controller achieved accurate altitude targeting within competition tolerance

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