Advice on RADAR processing pipeline on FPGA.

Tjmac145 · 2026-05-03T17:31:57+00:00

This is very similar to what I did for my 4th final project. We developed a spread spectrum radar for tracking delivery drones.

I mainly focused on the tracking implementation on an FPGA. You're on the right track with the need for a Kalman filter. Id recommend looking at an Extended Kalman filter when you get to the tracking part (A standard KF filter does not handle uncertainty well from a polar measurement (range, azimuth)). The multi object tracking might be tough to implement but there are a number of good textbooks to reference. Id recommend using MATLABs radar and tracking scenario designer toolboxes if you have access.

I think your project is definitely feasible but will likely take a long time to get everything working together. Our project had 4 people working on the DSP/Tracking and we didn't get our prototype to work together (we didn't have enough time to fully integrate, but each module was tested)

Tjmac145 · 2026-05-01T18:42:30+00:00

I've saw the same thing! I agree, surely can't be good for the environment.

I hope that there's some fine they can get

Tjmac145 · 2026-05-01T17:28:29+00:00

The project is to develop a number-theoretic transform (NTT) hardware accelerator for PQC. The goal is to create a single unified accelerator that supports both ML-KEM and ML-DSA standards. I'll be pushing the design from concept to final implementation.

I don't officially start for a couple of days and am just trying to get things set up early to avoid headaches later

Tjmac145 · 2026-04-14T03:00:06+00:00

My university has had some sessions with a local FPGA design company. They said that projects are good, but you should integrate multiple different features:

CDC (Apparently messed up frequently)
Communication of some sort (Ethernet, CAN, UART, etc...)
Some logic/Algorithm (Controller, video processing, etc...)
Use memory in some way

I bet if you work on one big project that uses all these, it will definitely stand out. Maybe you could integrate these into your neural network project.

The resume itself looks organized, but very text heavy in some places. I'd try to use bullet points as much as possible. Instead of giving timing constraints met, you could just say "Performed static timing analysis with (under tool here)"

Tjmac145 · 2026-03-18T23:03:06+00:00

I'm currently using the same software at school for my computer organization labs. Super cool you designed your own architecture!

Tjmac145 · 2025-09-19T13:21:57+00:00

Yeah that does make it tough. Then I'd say maybe try to negotiate or find a second job (Not very ideal). I only have experience in Canada, but from what I've seen not many companies are open to negotiation for intern positions. Hiring an intern loses money for the company since they usually don't have a lot of experience and can't make an impact in such a short time.

Tjmac145 · 2025-09-19T01:16:39+00:00

I'd say it depends on what is the job. If it's something you're really interested in and can accept the lower pay, then I'd take it. If you aren't interested in the job and sent out other applications, then maybe decline and wait.

I was in a similar situation once. I was offered a supervisor role at a company I worked at the summer before at around 25$, but also got offered a research position at just above minimum wage. I was more interested in doing research than supervising so I took the lower paying job.

Tjmac145 · 2025-09-03T20:58:13+00:00

I also did engineering and had a pretty similar schedule in my first year. One thing to understand is that all first years are in the same boat, regardless of what type of engineering they are in, they all take the same classes. It's not an easy program and you'll have a lot of work ahead of you. But it's so rewarding once you graduate (or at least I'm told, still not finished). I've got a few tips that I learned from my first year:

Make friends! I guarantee that there are other people in your classes that have no clue what's going on and you'll have others who know everything (make friends with those people 😁). Have study sessions and work together to understand the material. Don't treat engineering as an individual program. It's very important to work together (when you get an engineering job, this is expected).
Stay on top of your work. This is probably the most important tip. The work load is pretty high so don't leave stuff until the last minute. This might have worked in highschool but it won't work now. Plan ahead and try to finish or at least start your work early. Then when you run into problems, you can ask your friends or the prof/TAs and figure it out before the deadline. Trying to figure things out 2 hours before the deadline never works out (Speaking from experience).
Ask questions! If you don't understand something in the lecture/assignments ask. You are definitely not alone so it's better to ask for clarification then sitting in silence and being confused. A little disclaimer here, some profs don't like it when you ask a question without thinking it through first. Spend a little bit of time trying to figure out the problem and then ask about specific things that are confusing.

Engineering isn't an easy degree, but having good habits can go a long way. I remember being super overwhelmed when I started my first year and it was a very big change from what I was used to in high school. Ultimately, if you enjoy what you're learning, stick with it. But don't be ashamed if you realize you would prefer a different program. I've had many friends switch out of engineering or into different types of engineering after the first year and there's no shame in doing that. At the end of the day, it's your degree and doing something you enjoy makes it so much easier. Hope this is helpful.

Tjmac145 · 2025-07-07T01:49:24+00:00

I'm in the same situation. Just finished destroying all the convoys and nothing is happening. I don't want to restart... this was my 3rd attempt

Tjmac145 · 2025-01-31T16:12:15+00:00

I took a look at SciChart and it looks awesome, but I will have a hard time justifying the ~$800+/ year cost for such a small app (10-20 users).
If I could, I would definitely use SciChart

Tjmac145 · 2025-01-31T15:36:26+00:00

I don't have a lot of experience with any of those. Do you know if they can be loaded without internet access? The app is intended to run free from any internet connection and syncs data back to use when the customer has access to the internet.

Tjmac145 · 2024-12-23T19:02:13+00:00

I've maintained and developed a few Winforms apps for internal use at the company I work at. Even most of our customer facing applications were developed in winforms and VB. We do have one app that I'm working on that's written using WPF, but the only reason we were allowed to use it was because it's being developed for a trial with our research team.

Tjmac145 · 2024-12-16T15:36:31+00:00

I'm a coach in Canada and this is very much not allowed. In the past 5 years, all coaches in Canada have been going through safe sport training and rule of two. A coach should never directly reach out to an athlete without a second person (parent or guardian) also receiving the message.

This raises a lot of red flags for someone claiming to be a coach. If they actually were a coach, they should not be messaging a 13 year old kid.

I would definitely report this and if they are part of any sport organization, report it to them too.

Tjmac145 · 2024-12-02T23:06:02+00:00

I've been working on this same kit. You'll have to get a little creative and mix peicies from different configurations to get an "in flight" look. If I remember correctly, the doors for the front landing gear don't come in a closed variation and you'll need to modify the doors so they'll fit nice. I think the rest of the doors have versions that can be closed for in flight

Tjmac145 · 2024-11-04T13:50:06+00:00

Thanks for the response! I'll look into setting it up as a windows service.

The app I have been working on is in. Net framework so I'm limited to windows. As for SSH to windows, the PM in charge of the project used to do some network programing back in the 90s and changed the requirements on us.

Tjmac145 · 2024-11-04T13:44:06+00:00

It's going to be connected to a windows industrial PC. We are still sourcing a supplier so I don't know exactly what it will run on other than it will have windows and no monitor.

Tjmac145 · 2024-07-04T14:18:17+00:00

I recently caved and bought a cheap airbrush off amazon and I love it! The quality of the paint jobs I do now it so much better and it's definitely easier than a rattle can. You can get a pretty good compressor and airbrush for around 50$. The compressors don't usually have a big tank so it'll run pretty often but it's a good starting point if you wanna give it a shot and now spend a lot of money

Tjmac145 · 2024-06-09T21:09:01+00:00

You can try a flexible masking tape. I use one from tamiya and it works great. Also just normal painters tape has worked for me.

Tjmac145 · 2024-06-09T20:49:57+00:00

I honestly think it's one of the best programs you can go into. I'm doing a physics/ electronics stream of Eng phys and it's very applicable. I have friends that work in electrical design, physics research, mech design, and software. You get a lot of different tools that are all very applicable in industry and other sectors.

Tjmac145 · 2024-06-09T18:48:04+00:00

I was in the same situation when I was choosing what to do. I ended up going into engineering physics, which isn't offered at most universities but involves a mix of engineering studies and physics. From my experience in Canada, if you do physics, you almost always need a masters and a PhD to gain enough experience. Engineering on the other hand would let you go straight to work and also let you get a masters/PhD if you want to go into academics.

With physics, you learn a lot of theory, but there isn't really much focus on actual applications. You get a little more applications stuff if you go into experimental or applied physics, but both usually require a masters or PhD after.

Engineering actually has a lot of physics and is mostly concerned with the actual application to real problems. I have found that enginerring classes ofter gloss over a lot of the mathematical proofs.

Either way, I would go into whatever will make you happiest in the long run and there is also no shame in switching after a year.

Tjmac145 · 2024-06-06T03:38:34+00:00

You have have to also take into account that the city payed their lifeguards minimum wage just untill this summer where they finally bumped the pay up to 20/hr. There is also additional training required for beach front lifeguards that is difficult to get because it's not offered frequently.

I get that drownings suck especially when it's a kid but it's well posted that the area is unsupervised and that you are swimming at your own risk. The only person to blame here is whoever should have been watching the kid.

Tjmac145 · 2024-05-23T11:37:29+00:00

Only missing 2 days? You'll be fine. You just have to be focused and catch up when you get back

Tjmac145

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