This project involved two pairs of students collaborating to develop two PCBs: a "Hat" and a "Racer." The Hat PCB mounts to a driver's head and uses an accelerometer and NRF24 radio to wirelessly transmit PWM signals to the Racer PCB, which is mounted on an RC chassis. The two boards compete together in the University of Canterbury's annual "Wacky Racers" race.
As this was my first experience using Altium (having previously used KiCad), getting familiar with the new workflow was the initial hurdle. After some practice, the schematic-to-PCB workflow and design rule setup became intuitive. A key layout challenge was antenna clearance, ground and power planes near the NRF24 antenna can significantly degrade RF signal strength and reliability, so careful keepout zone placement was essential. Working across two teams also required establishing clear design conventions early on; consistent footprint libraries, naming schemes, and interface definitions. This was so both pairs could develop independently and integrate cleanly during testing.