Scholar Profile –
David

I think I’ve always had an interest in electronics. When, at 7 or so, I got my first computer, one of the first things I did was take it to bits (after having first victimised the typewriter); from that (and poking in old CRT TVs!) my interest grew naturally to the point where – right now – I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Not only is a UKESF scholarship too good an opportunity to pass up, I really felt that RPR was everything I was after – a company within my area of interest that promised to let me pursue a project from start to finish, with plenty of room for creativity and opportunity to work across many diverse areas, thanks in part to RPR’s small size.

RPR’s current and historical logging solutions all require either a good mains supply or a large solar panel and Lead-acid battery; these products are excellent for collecting critical data at a rapid rate though the solution is too power-hungry, short range, and expensive for many markets. To attempt to solve this, I worked with the other engineers at RPR to produce a new low-power, slow-speed Wireless Sensor Node – working on the hardware design (including the RF section), much of the firmware, and basic integration with our cloud platform: a true full-stack developer! Designing new hardware amidst severe global shortages was, on its own, a very valuable experience that I hope will benefit me in future.

In Electronics, I like to do anything that seems cool: Embedded, Valves, Pretty Lights, Dangerous High Voltage – the lot! Outside of that, I’m interested in Cyber Security, and I enjoy the outdoors: I love cycling and walking (fantastic in the New Forest!), and I do a bit of photography too.