Projects Experience Education Inspiration

// hello world

hey, I'm Zihan.

@ boston

Mechanical engineer building interdisciplinary electromechanical systems — from design to test to field deployment. Bilingual in English and Mandarin, with hands-on experience in sensor integration, motion control, and prototyping across U.S. and China.

electromechanical systems sensor fusion motion control ROS 2 test engineering
See Projects Resume
Open to work — March 2026
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About me

Zihan Lin

I'm a Robotics M.S. graduate from Northeastern University with a Mechanical Engineering B.S. and a minor in math.

Bilingual in English and Mandarin with deep familiarity in both U.S. and Chinese work cultures — I've done production engineering in Beijing and test engineering in Boston, and I'm comfortable navigating both environments.

My work sits at the crossroads of electromechanical system design, sensor fusion, motion control, and test engineering — building things from concept through validation, wherever hardware meets software.

I've done hands-on test and design engineering at SharkNinja (sealed test chambers, compressed-air fixtures, wind tunnel validation) and electronics production at HiRain Technology (PCB fixtures, firmware flashing, DFM). My research on biomechanical characterization is published in the European Journal of Mechanics.

Skilled with SolidWorks, FEA, rapid prototyping, and regulated workflows. Always eager to learn — whether it's a new sensor, a new system, or a new challenge.

more about me →

Selected projects

things I've built, broken, and rebuilt

Biomechanics Lab
Jun 2022 — Dec 2025

Micro/Nano Biomechanical Characterization Lab

Published research — dual-IMU fusion identifies lateral instability at 19 mm depth, 5× faster per-sample cycle time.

Engineered 3D-printed compliant linkage with dual-IMU sensor fusion to reconstruct real-time 3D inclusion trajectories. Identified Southwell-type lateral instability at critical depth (~19 mm). Automated indentation testing via Raspberry Pi/Python/PID, reducing per-sample cycle time by 5×.

IMU FusionRaspberry PiPIDSolidWorks
Publication →
IMU Sensor
Sep — Dec 2025

GPS/IMU Driver & Sensor Fusion

40 Hz real-time odometry — calibrated, fused, and Allan Variance characterized from scratch.

Built inertial odometry pipeline with least-squares magnetometer calibration and complementary filter fusing gyroscope + magnetometer heading. ROS 2 driver for VectorNav VN-100 IMU at 40 Hz. Characterized gyroscope errors via Allan Variance.

ROS 2Sensor FusionAllan VarianceLinux
View Details →
Drone Simulation
Jan — May 2025

Disaster Relief Drones Simulation

100% area coverage across all grid sizes — 30% less redundancy vs. random placement over 20k RL episodes.

Architected autonomous drone deployment using Q-learning RL and A* pathfinding to restore LTE coverage in disaster zones. 100% area coverage across 7×7 to 20×20 grids. 30% less drone redundancy vs. random placement over 20k episodes.

Q-LearningA*PythonRL
Wearable Device
Sep — Dec 2024

ToF Cameras & Vibrational Smart Glass

Wearable obstacle detection for visually impaired users — 30% accuracy improvement, real-time PWM haptic feedback.

Arducam ToF + dual vibration motors on custom 3D-printed glasses driven by RPi 4B. Real-time depth pipeline with tri-zone ROI and PWM haptic feedback. 30% user accuracy improvement.

Raspberry PiToFHapticsPython
View more projects

7 more — Robotic Arm · Drone Sim · Vehicle Control · FEA · Flow Sensor · Sleep Study · Bridge

Where I've worked

Jun 2022 — Dec 2025

Research Assistant

Micro/Nano Biomechanical Characterization Lab, NEU

Engineered 3D-printed compliant linkage with dual-IMU sensor fusion. Co-authored publication in European Journal of Mechanics - A/Solids.

Jan — Jun 2023

Mechanical Test Engineer Co-op

SharkNinja, Needham MA

Designed sealed test chambers, compressed-air fixtures, and custom test nozzles for Shark Air Purifier product validation. Executed wind tunnel testing protocols and troubleshot test setups across multiple product lines. Created engineering drawings and fixture documentation in SolidWorks.

Jul — Dec 2021

ME Design & Production Intern

HiRain Technology, Beijing

Designed PCB test fixtures and PCBA enclosures with DFM compliance in SolidWorks. Performed firmware flashing, soldering rework, and Linux-based debugging. Supported production engineering in a regulated automotive electronics environment.

Where I studied

Northeastern University
2024 — 2025 · ME Concentration
Dual Husky Scholars · EXP Makerspace · Toastmaster · NUCCF · Tried New Sports
Northeastern University
2019 — 2023 · Minor in Math
Dean's Honor List · Presidential Global Scholars · Ski Club, International Student Mentor
High School Diploma
Beijing No.35 High School
2016 — 2019 · Beijing, China
Harvard Business School Camp · 3D Printing Club · Business Case Comp 1st/30 · String Orchestra

full coursework →

What I work with

Electromechanical Design

SolidWorks / Creo / CAD85%
Motion Control / PID / NMPC80%
3D Printing / DFM / Prototyping75%

Sensing & Software

Python90%
Sensor Fusion (IMU/GPS/ToF)85%
ROS 2 / Linux80%

Test & Analysis

MATLAB / Simulink / Simscape80%
ANSYS / FEA75%
Test Design & Validation75%

full toolbox →

My notes

Life Change Dailylog

What Inspires me

Aero art
Aero art
Ask Nature
Ask Nature
Active Inspiration
Active Inspiration

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