Samuel Marriage | Engineering Portfolio

About Me

I have always had a desire to understand how things work, and learn how to create them for myself.

My journey into engineering began with coding in school, where I was able to bring my ideas to life through logic and problem-solving. While I definitely enjoyed this and found it rewarding, I felt my imaginative and innovative side was left underexplored.

This is where I found my love for robotics. It gave me the opportunity to combine logical thinking with creativity; allowing me to see my code in real and tangible systems.

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Quick Highlights

Designed and built a fully autonomous maze-solving robot with closed-loop control and multi-sensor fusion
Developed 2 real-time physics simulations with stable multi-body collision handling
Member of the York Engineering Society
Represented Computer Science at Sixth Form open evenings, encouraging students to pursue STEM at GCSE

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My Work

Relevant projects I have worked on over the years. Outlining the task, what I implemented, and the results.

Autonomous Maze Solving Robot

Robotics Embedded C++ Arduino

A fully autonomous differential-drive robot with a custom-built chassis, using the Arduino Nano 33 BLE to navigate unknown maze environments.

Houses 4 infrared sensors, 2 ultrasonic sensors, 2 motors, and a custom-built battery pack holder.

What was implemented

2 custom laser-cut plates capable of housing sensors, motors, the battery, and the microcontroller
Multi-sensor fusion, using 4 IR sensors (90° and 45°) and 2 ultrasonic sensors (front and back) for obstacle detection
Wheel odometry using encoder interrupts to calculate distance travelled and displacement
Gyroscope bias calibration and closed-loop angle control for precise turns
Trigonometric wall-angle estimation using 45°/90° sensor comparison to maintain parallel wall alignment
Utilisation of bluetooth to stream data wirelessly for ease of debugging
Finite state machine controlling behaviours: drive, wall avoidance, repositioning, and turning

Results

The robot successfully navigated both known and unseen maze environments, demonstrating reliable autonomous obstacle avoidance, stable wall-following behaviour, and accurate gyroscope-corrected turning.
Key strengths included consistent wall alignment, obstacle avoidance, and recalibration of the gyroscope before major turns to ensure angular accuracy.

Robot CAD Design

Robot In Action

Work completed at the University Of York. Further resources (such as source code, schematics, or CAD files) may be available upon request

Design Breakdown

FollowerFeuds

Simulation Python

A BeyBlade-style game implementing a real-time 2D physics simulation built in Python, attracting 500+ daily users on TikTok.

Implements rigid-body motion, collision detection, and momentum transfer. Using a modular state-driven architecture, capable of handling continuous real-time updates.

What was implemented

A rigid-body 2D physics engine with velocity, mass, and collisions with overlap prevention
Momentum exchange using tangent/normal vector decomposition to conserve momentum while preserving tangential velocity
A hierarchical state-based logic architecture managing simulation phases
4 roles which each player has a chance of selecting:
None: Default role (70%)
Venom: Deal a tick damage after every hit (10%)
Clone: Once falling beneath 50 health, spawn in a clone of yourself with both instances getting 30 health (10%)
Glitch: 3 opportunities to dodge dagger attacks (10%)
3 randomly spawning items that players are able to interact with:
Health Pack: Boosts a players health by 5 points (caps at 100)
Shield: Temporarily blocks a player from taking damage from opponents, can be broken early if hit by a dagger
Dagger: Boosts collision damage from 1-3 points to 15-25 points
Modular design enabling easy addition of new mechanics, arenas, and gameplay modifiers

Results

The final system delivered stable multi-body dynamics with consistent physics. The engine maintained stability during high-speed impacts and multi-object collisions, demonstrating reliable momentum conservation.
Posting daily videos of gameplay on TikTok, the project reached 500+ daily users as of March 2026. Validating both the performance of the project and user engagement.

Gameplay Demo

Independent project. Further resources (such as source code, schematics, or CAD files) may be available upon request

Repo Tiktok

Skills: Physics Simulation | Real-Time Systems | Collision Detection | State Machines | Game Architecture

Flocking Simulator

Simulation Java

Real-time flocking simulation in Java, applying object-oriented programming principles to simulate emergent flocking behaviour in autonomous boids.

Each boid follows rules for cohesion, alignment, and separation, whilst maintaining avoidance of static obstacles on a 2D canvas.

What was implemented

Implementation of core flocking rules: separation, alignment, and cohesion to produce emergent behaviour
Neighbour detection using distance-based filtering and spatial partitioning to significantly reduce computational complexity
Functional obstacle avoidance based on geometric calculations and collision prevention logic
Efficient object-oriented architecture using inheritance, composition, and interfaces
Customisable simulation controls through a GUI, allowing users to adjust boid behaviour dynamically

Results

The final result includes a fully working interactive flocking simulation with a clear GUI, working controls, and visual accuracy.
Key strengths of my project included a responsive reset/disable feature, dynamic visual feedback where boids became greener as flocking strength increased, clean and reliable execution, and a well-structured object-oriented design.

Demo

Work completed at the University Of York. Further resources (such as source code, schematics, or CAD files) may be available upon request

Try it! Write Up

Parameterisable Processor

Simulation VHDL

A parameterisable processor datapath in VHDL, built to be reusable, and simulated within Vivado 2023.2.

Modular components including an ALU, register bank, and control logic are used to execute a custom single-cycle multiplication routine.

What was implemented

A parameterisable ALU supporting signed arithmetic, bitwise logic, and shift/rotate operations
Comprehensive flag generation including overflow detection
A dual-read, single-write register bank built using for-generate constructs and synchronous reset D flip-flops
Custom multiplexer-based selection logic
A complete datapath architecture and FSM-based control unit capable of executing an 8-bit multiplication algorithm using 16-bit operations
Self-checking testbenches using assert/report mechanisms
RTL schematics and synthesis reports confirming hardware structure and implementation

Results

The final system demonstrated correct multiplication functionality across multiple test cases, with simulation waveforms clearly showing accurate data propagation, state transitions, and control signal generation.
Key strengths of this project included a strongly modular design, robust test methodology, and clear documentation.

Schematic

Testbench

Work completed at the University Of York. Further resources (such as source code, schematics, or CAD files) may be available upon request

Write Up

Want more?

Public Repos can be found on my GitHub, further information / private repos may be available upon request.

Public Repos Contact

Skills

Programming Languages

C++
Python
Java
VHDL
MATLAB
SQL
HTML5
CSS
JavaScript

Libraries/Frameworks

ROS2
Pygame
Java AWT
ArduinoBLE
mbed

Software/Tools

Visual Studio
ArduinoIDE
STM32CubeIDE
PyScripter
Eclipse
Vivado
LTSpice
Autodesk Inventor
Fusion360

Experience

Student

Sept 2023 - July 2026

University of York - York, UK

Member of York Engineering Society
Relevant Coursework: Quadruped Robot Dissertation Project | Robotics Design & Construction | Advanced Sensors & Instrumentation | Control, Sensors, & Instrumentation

Engineering Intern

July 2022

Ocado - Hatfield, UK

Completed an engineering experience placement, working with various software, simulation, and deployment teams, gaining insight into engineering workflows, code review processes, and system integration in a large scale environment.

Computer Science Assistant

Sept 2022 - July 2023

Goffs Academy - Cheshunt, UK

Assisted teaching 20+ GCSE Students, increasing understanding of Python and Computing Theory, leading to improved exam scores.

Contact

Get in Touch

The fastest way to reach me is via email: samuel.marriage@icloud.com

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CV

Download my CV below.

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