Vehicle Controls and Telemetry (VCAT)

Vehicle Controls and Telemetry (VCAT) is responsible for driver- and external-facing controls and indicators, as well as data acquisition, wireless transmission, and real-time data visualization. It comprises two subsystems: Controls and Telemetry. 

 The Controls subsystem handles external lights as well as mission critical driver facing interfaces such as the steering wheel buttons, display, dashboard, and pedals. Additionally, Controls co-develops the firmware for the Vehicle Control Unit along with Power Systems. This subsystem is purely embedded and focused on safe and robust real-time operation. 

 The Telemetry subsystem develops embedded systems to measure electrical (motor, solar array, battery) and mechanical (wheels, suspension, aeroshell) signals. These measurements support debugging, race strategy, and future system design. Telemetry also manages wireless data transmission (LTE, RF) and real-time visualization using our in-house heterogeneous compute engine, Photon. Its scope includes embedded systems, RF communication, digital logic design, and data visualization.  

Both Controls and Telemetry design PCBs in KiCad and write embedded firmware in C. Telemetry also uses C++ for Photon and writes Verilog for FPGAs used in digital signal processing. We're looking for engineers who are excited by low-level systems, real-time reliability, and data-driven performance. If that sounds like you, consider applying to VCAT and becoming part of the team.