David Sommerer — Electrical & Systems Engineering Student

Hi, I'm David Sommerer.

I'm an Electrical Engineering Student & Systems Engineer
specializing in Avionics, Embedded Systems, Electronics & Software Engineering.

Student at HTL Elektrotechnik Salzburg. Engineering avionics systems, embedded firmware, electronics, autonomous vehicles and software architecture.

Explore Projects Direct Contact

david@htl-salzburg:~/systems

david@root:~$ whoami

  ██████╗  █████╗ ██╗   ██╗██╗██████╗ 
  ██╔══██╗██╔══██╗██║   ██║██║██╔══██╗
  ██║  ██║███████║██║   ██║██║██║  ██║
  ██║  ██║██╔══██║╚██╗ ██╔╝██║██║  ██║
  ██████╔╝██║  ██║ ╚████╔╝ ██║██████╔╝
  ╚═════╝ ╚═╝  ╚═╝  ╚═══╝  ╚═╝╚═════╝

17-year-old Systems Engineer at HTL Elektrotechnik Salzburg specializing in avionics, embedded firmware, electronics planning and software engineering.

$ grep -r "expertise" /var/log/systems.log

Avionics · Embedded C/C++ · Electronics · Software Engineering

> cat /etc/tech-ecosystem.conf

avionics=true embedded_cpp=true electronics=true software_eng=true

$ ./projects --list

> Crazy Car Autonomous RL - €30 RC car with ESP32 & Unity ML-Agents.

> 6DoF Driving Simulator - Fully restored & repaired HTL 6DoF motion simulator.

> EDI-to-JSONL Parser - Zero-allocation +40 MB/s end-to-end C++20 streaming engine.

> Tri-Tilt-Rotor SAR VTOL - Search & rescue VTOL drone for person location & GPS telemetry broadcasting.

oscilloscope & signal monitor

ch1: pwm_actuator_out

ACTIVE PWM SYNC

PWM: 10.0 kHz 1500 µs PULSE

0 µs 1000 µs 2000 µs

CH1 Servo 1500 µs

CH2 Motor 1620 µs

MCU Clock 480 MHz

Bus Type CAN / DroneCAN

$ pwm output synced · 10 kHz hardware timer · zero jitter

Education & Schooling

HTL Elektrotechnik Salzburg

Higher Technical Institute • 2023 - 2028

Diploma Thesis R&D Project

SAR VTOL Drone & SORA • 2026 - 2028

Specialization

Avionics, Embedded Systems, Electronics & Software

Featured Projects

Crazy Car Autonomous RL

€30 RC car rebuilt with ESP32, AI trained in Unity ML-Agents.

6DoF Driving Simulator

Fully restored school motion rig, physical signal/power wiring & control.

Tri-Tilt-Rotor SAR VTOL

Search & rescue VTOL drone transmitting live GPS position data.

currently learning

Linux / Ubuntu

ROS2 & Gazebo

STM32H7 & PX4

Simulink & DroneCAN

technical skills & stack

Structured engineering competencies across software, microcontrollers, CAD automation, media production, AI technologies and active learning.

Languages, Web & Version Control

C C++ Python (basics) HTML & CSS & JS (basics) Git / GitHub Arduino Framework MSP430 VSCode

CAD, Automation & PLC Engineering

NEPlan EPlan SolidEdge 3D CAD MATLAB KiCad PCB TNC 640 (CNC) TIA Portal V18 PLC Coding (ST/LAD)

Media, 3D & Office Production

Blender (3D) DaVinci Resolve CapCut Unity 3D LaTeX MS Office (Word, Excel, PPT)

AI Tools & Machine Learning

Gemini NotebookLM Antigravity CLI Unity ML-Agents (RL) PPO Policy Optimization

Currently Learning for Projects

ACTIVE R&D

Linux / Ubuntu ROS2 Gazebo Simulink PX4 Flight Controller STM32H7 Dual-Core Nvidia Jetson DroneCAN

featured engineering projects

Documented engineering projects featuring AI reinforcement learning, 6DoF motion simulation, high-performance parsers and custom hardware.

Aug 2025 - Feb 2026 (Graz Competition) ESP32 & Servos Unity ML-Agents (PPO)

Crazy Car: Autonomous AI/RL RC Car

Our first major robotics experiment built from a €30 Amazon RC car. Trained a neural policy in Unity ML-Agents to directly control motor PWM and steering, serving as an invaluable hands-on learning testbed.

Trained RL agent in Unity ML-Agents (Aug-Dec 2025) taking velocity, IMU and 3 ToF sensors to directly output motor speed & servo steering angle (no intermediate PID).
Faced PCB hardware flaws: IMU trace routing was accidentally omitted during CAD layout and high motor current noise interrupted sensor signals under load.
Completed assembly only days before the Graz competition (Feb 2026); despite 2 intense days of on-site debugging, signal noise prevented driving, teaching us crucial engineering discipline for future projects.

Note: Git was omitted on this early project (corrected on all future work). Explore Project Story →

30€ Amazon RC Car Hardware

May 2025 - Jan 2026 6DoF Motion Rig Modular C++ Control

6DoF Dynamic Motion Simulator Rig

Fully restored and repaired a broken, legacy 6DoF motion rig at HTL Salzburg by diagnosing electrical/mechanical faults and building custom C++ control software.

Diagnosed root cause EMI interference and mechanical faults; separated signal & power wiring and built a custom electrical distribution fuse box.
Wrote modular C++ control software and secured €2,000 monitors & €3.5k gaming PC sponsorships from department leadership.
Featured as the main highlight at HTL Salzburg Open Door Day 2026.

GitHub Repo Explore Project Story →

6DoF Motion Simulator Rig CAD Concept Model

3D CAD Stewart Platform

Started April 2026 (Stealth) C++20 & POSIX mmap O(1) Memory Engine

High-Performance Zero-Allocation EDI Engine

High-throughput O(1) EDI streaming engine processing +40 MB/s end-to-end (from file transmission to final reception) in <35 MB RAM.

Binds memory footprint to strictly O(1) (~35 MB RAM) while maintaining +40 MB/s end-to-end processing speeds.
Engineered zero-code parsing logic driven dynamically by external JSON mapping configurations (V3/V4 standards).
Fully Dockerized, microservices-ready architecture currently under commercial evaluation for industrial partnerships.

Explore Project Story →

OBXID Engine Gateway

Started June 2026 • Target 2028 (Diploma Thesis) Pixhawk & Nvidia Jetson ROS2 & SORA

Tri-Tilt-Rotor SAR VTOL Drone (Diploma Thesis)

Search & rescue 3-rotor VTOL drone engineered to locate missing persons and broadcast live GPS coordinates to emergency ground teams.

Engineered for Alpine Search & Rescue with thermal IR AI person detection and live GPS coordinate broadcasting to rescue teams.
Specs: 15-20 kg mass, 3m wingspan, 130 km/h top speed, 85 km/h cruise speed, 120-400m operational altitude (up to 4000m travel mode).
In active sponsorship & testing site talks with the Austrian Armed Forces (Österreichisches Bundesheer).

GitHub Repo Explore Project Story →

Tri-Tilt-Rotor SAR VTOL Drone Concept Model

3D CAD SAR VTOL Drone

Personal Learning Project Modern C++20 Vector Dynamics

AeroPhysicsEngine: C++ Physics Experiment

A small C++ sandbox experiment built to learn C++ at a deeper level and understand rigid-body physics mechanics and vector dynamics from first principles.

Built as a personal coding sandbox to master modern C++ memory management and language features.
Explored 3D vector dynamics and rigid-body mechanics algorithms from first principles.
Served as an educational testbed to strengthen software engineering skills for future robotics projects.

GitHub Repo Explore Project Story →

Started April 2026 (Comp 2027) STM32H7 & Simulink MPC 13 kg Downforce Cushion

DIN A4 Ground Effect Autonomous Vehicle

Direct successor to Crazy Car started 8 months ahead! Features 13 kg ground-effect downforce cushion on 2 kg chassis, Bugatti-like acceleration and STM32H7 MPC.

Designed CAD chassis in SolidEdge achieving 1:6.5 power-to-weight ratio; secured €400 component sponsorship.
Developing Model Predictive Control (MPC) in MATLAB/Simulink deployed to STM32H7 for track position estimation.
Engineered optimal racing line solver with ToF sensor obstacle avoidance to secure victory at 2027 competition.

Explore Project Story →

DIN A4 Ground Effect Autonomous Vehicle 3D CAD Concept

3D CAD SolidEdge Model

work experience & education

Industrial engineering internships, municipal power grid calculations, custom switchgear manufacturing and hands-on workshop fabrication.

Practical Work Experience

Summer 2026 • 4 Weeks

Electrical Grid Planning & Calculation Intern

Salzburg AG (Municipal Power Grid Operator)

Utilized NEPlan power analytics software to perform complex power flow & grid capacity calculations across the city distribution network.
Planned new electrical switching states and executed short-circuit (Ik'') and earth-fault current calculations for network safety.
Assisted senior grid engineers in optimizing municipal transformer substation configurations.

Summer 2025 • 4 Weeks

Industrial Switchgear & Fuse Box Engineering Intern

ERA - Elektrotechnik Ramsauer GmbH

Independently built and wired large-scale industrial fuse boxes, main distribution switchgear and control cabinets.
Constructed high-power electrical distribution assemblies tailored for major industrial companies across Austria.

Education & Workshop Fabrication Skills

HTL Elektrotechnik Salzburg

Higher Technical Institute for Electrical Engineering • 2023 - 2028

5-year intensive engineering program covering power systems, control engineering, embedded C/C++, CAD design, electronics and software development.

Hands-on Workshop & Manufacturing Competencies

Welding (MIG/MAG/TIG)

TNC 640 CNC Machining

Precision Drilling & Milling

Polishing & Metalworking

3D Printing & FDM Prototyping

High-Voltage Wiring

SMD & THT Soldering

Custom PCB Design (KiCad)

Systemic Troubleshooting & Problem Solving 100% Practical