When Devin Easterwood became involved with FRC team 5205, he had no idea what opportunities lay ahead. Now, he works full-time as the lead software engineer at Conceptual Innovations, a robotics mobility company. Easterwood first joined the team 5205 as a sophomore, driven by his interest in tinkering with gadgets and programming. He dedicated himself to learning as much as possible during his first season, which paid off when his head mentor, Dr. Lee, offered him an internship at Conceptual Innovations.
Initially, Easterwood planned to continue working at a family friend’s tree farm over the summer. In previous summers, the experience taught him the value of hard work, as he learned to operate skid-steer loaders, stack wood, and manage heavy loads. However, when the internship opportunity at Conceptual Innovations arose, he realized his passion was in robotics, and he decided to pursue engineering further.
Easterwood’s first task was to program and stabilize a traction differential swerve drive, an omnidirectional drive system. Prototyping with FRC components, Easterwood was able to demonstrate the feasibility and limitations of this drive system for industrial use. While the controllability was limited at higher speeds typically found in FRC robots, Easterwood found that, at the slower speeds typically associated with industrial robotics, he could develop a PID control algorithm that maintained stability. Boeing, an aerospace manufacturing company, showed interest, and so the Halo Drive was born. Boeing utilizes the Halo Drive in their industrial manufacturing space by integrating them into large work stands which drive up to airplane fuselages.
Easterwood continued his internship while attending Albion College on a full-ride scholarship, graduating in 2024 with a degree in computer science. Much of what he learned during his FRC seasons directly translated to his work. Now, straight out of college, he is working full-time at Conceptual Innovations and leads software development for all drive systems.
Easterwood emphasizes that internships are opportunities to learn, not to be perfect. “When projects blow up in your face, learn from it.”