Development of extensible SA002+ device variants based on SA001 architecture - ON-1235

Project type: Innovation
Desired discipline(s): Engineering - computer / electrical, Engineering, Engineering - mechanical, Computer science, Mathematical Sciences
Company: SamPull Technologies Inc.
Project Length: 6 months to 1 year
Preferred start date: As soon as possible.
Language requirement: English
Location(s): Brampton, ON, Canada
No. of positions: 1
Desired education level: CollegeUndergraduate/BachelorMaster'sPhDPostdoctoral fellowRecent graduate
Open to applicants registered at an institution outside of Canada: No

About the company: 

SamPull Technologies Inc. is a Canadian technology startup building an anonymous, real-time in-person sensory and experiential feedback capture system for the retail and consumer sampling industry. The platform has three components: an IoT tactile hardware device that captures instant shopper feedback across sensory modalities (taste, smell, touch, sight, sound), a mobile field-agent application, and a cloud analytics platform built on an Insight Dimension framework. SamPull operates an agency-first go-to-market model, partnering with sampling and demonstration agencies (the sole billing relationship) who deliver in-store feedback data and reporting to CPG brand clients. The company has a US provisional patent filed and a Canadian trademark application in process, and has contracted a hardware prototyping partner to build its first device generation. SamPull is currently pre-revenue, developing its MVP hardware and software stack ahead of a pilot with a major Canadian retailer.

Describe the project.: 

SamPull owns and has fully designed its first-generation IoT feedback device, SA001 (a 5-button tactile hardware unit built on the Nordic nRF52840 SoC), with schematics, PCB layout, and firmware developed in-house and with its hardware partner, NeuronicWorks. This is a product development/innovation project, not reverse engineering: the intern will work directly from SamPull’s existing, company-owned SA001 schematics and firmware as the base architecture to design and develop a family of derivative devices — SA002 through SA005, extensible to further variants — each serving a different deployment scenario (e.g., a wired slave/tether unit, a wireless BLE-only variant, and additional form-factor or feature iterations as identified). Main tasks include: analyzing the SA001 PCB layout, firmware architecture, and bill of materials to determine what can be reused vs. redesigned per variant; developing updated schematics and PCB layouts for SA002 through SA005; porting and extending embedded firmware (Nordic nRF5 SDK, BLE stack) for each variant’s use case; validating power/battery behavior (LiPo) and wireless performance; and producing documentation to support manufacturability and cost targets at scale. Methodology is iterative hardware-software co-design starting from the SA001 baseline: schematic capture and review, prototype bring-up, firmware flashing and bench testing, and validation against SA001, working alongside SamPull’s hardware prototyping partner (NeuronicWorks) and existing local supply chain. The end goal is an extensible SA00X device family ready for pilot deployment with sampling agencies and CPG brand clients.

Required expertise/skills: 

Embedded systems development in C/C++ for Nordic nRF52840 / nRF5 SDK, including BLE peripheral stack implementation. Experience reading and adapting PCB schematics (KiCad, Altium, or Eagle) and structuring a bill of materials. Firmware debugging via JTAG/SWD. Working knowledge of RF/antenna basics for BLE, and LiPo battery power management/charging circuits. Comfort working from an existing, company-owned hardware architecture (not greenfield or reverse-engineered) to produce derivative designs quickly. Mechanical/enclosure design familiarity (basic CAD) is a plus but not required. Strong documentation habits for handoff to a contract manufacturing partner. Optional assets: SamPull will provide SA001 schematics, firmware source, and BOM directly to the selected intern under NDA.