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R Jeffry Rufus

@rjeffryrufus

Mechanical engineer at Spacer Robotics who improved rebar-crossing detection from under 50% to 90% for a robotic tying system.

United States

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At Spacer Robotics, I designed a tracked skid-steer chassis for a rebar-tying robot and evaluated its clearance, track contact, and actuator reach in Gazebo before testing the prototype.

I also developed a split control system using laptop-based visual servoing and a Teensy 4.1, and helped train a YOLOv5 classifier that improved rebar-crossing detection from less than 50% to 90%.

At CREAT UNO Minda, I modeled charger enclosures for TATA Electric and built and calibrated sensor test rigs. I supported validation of the rear parking assist system that was selected for production on TATA Motors.

In the Autonomous Vehicles Lab, I design vehicle hardware and set up CAN communication for hub motor controllers. I implemented and simulated an MPC controller, testing it with lane detection, SLAM, sensor noise, and obstacle avoidance.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Graduate Research Assistant

Current

Autonomous Vehicles Lab

Aug 2024 - Present (2 years 2 months)

Designed and installed brackets and enclosures in SolidWorks for mounting LiDAR, camera, and PCBs on the vehicle, running tolerance analysis on full assemblies before rapid prototyping each part. Implemented a real-time 8-state MPC controller in Python using the acados solver, tracking position, heading, velocity, and second-order steering and throttle actuator dynamics over a 40-step horizon.

Solidworks LiDAR Cameras PCB Mechanical Tolerance Analysis Rapid Prototyping CAN CANable 2.0 MPC Python Acados CARLA UFLD V2 FAST LIO2 Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM)Obstacle Avoidance

Mechanical Engineer - Robotics Integration

Spacer Robotics

May 2025 - Aug 2025 (3 months)

Designed a 427 × 427 mm aluminum-extrusion tracked skid-steer chassis in SolidWorks, integrating custom motor mounts, a linear-actuator bracket, and a Makita rebar-tying gun cradle for a 6-inch-spaced rebar grid. Architected a laptop-Teensy split control system with visual servoing run on the laptop at 30Hz, sending position corrections over USB serial to a Teensy 4.1 running drive and actuator PI

Solidworks URDF Gazebo Visual Servoing Teensy 4.1 PID YOLO V5 Python USB Serial Rebar Tying

Mechanical Engineer - EV Division

CREAT UNO Minda

Jun 2023 - Mar 2024 (9 months)

Modeled wireless charger and On Board Charger enclosures for TATA Electric using CREO, applying DFM practices including draft angles, rib to wall ratios, boss and gate placement, and weld line positioning. Built and calibrated test rigs for Ultrasonic sensors and ToF sensors, set up rear camera calibration, and supported validation that got the RPAS (Reverse Park Assist System) selected for produc

Creo DFM Ultrasonic Sensors ToF Sensors I2C JSN SR04T VL53L0X Sensor Fusion Calibration Validation

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

Texas A&M University

Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering Technology

2024 -

Grade: 3.83/4.0

Pursuing a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology with a focus on control systems and optimization. Expected graduation in December 2026.