Sugiarto Wibowo

Fulbright Scholar · Rice University · Houston, TX

Building embedded systems
from prototype to production.

Embedded systems engineer with experience across consumer electronics, wearables, and RF hardware — from shipping production firmware for a digital rice cooker at Polytron, to building Sally, a wearable AI assistant for Alzheimer's care, to developing a software-defined radio platform at Rice University's Wireless Lab. Away from the bench, I'm usually on a trail, camera in hand, or dialing in a pour-over.

MECE — Rice University Embedded Linux Wearable Devices Production Firmware
Sugiarto Wibowo
Zion National Park Based in Houston, TX

01 — About

Background

I'm a graduate student at Rice University, pursuing a Master's in Electrical and Computer Engineering on a Fulbright Scholarship. My work sits at the intersection of RF hardware, FPGA prototyping, and embedded Linux systems.

I currently work as an Embedded Software Engineer on the Houdini Project at Rice's Wireless Lab, building a software-defined radio platform on the RFSoC 4x2 — from custom PLL kernel drivers to multi-rail PCB power design for a phased-array RF front-end.

Before Rice, I spent close to three years as an Embedded Software Engineer at Polytron, Indonesia's largest electronics manufacturer, shipping production firmware for consumer appliances and researching IoT connectivity standards.

Outside of engineering, I've hiked through 14 U.S. national parks so far, with a road trip through the Pacific Northwest, California, and southwest. I document the trips on YouTube, and spend a fair amount of time perfecting pour-over coffee.

Embedded Software

  • C/C++, Python
  • Linux kernel modules
  • FreeRTOS, Zephyr RTOS
  • Driver development

RF & Hardware

  • RFSoC / FPGA (Vivado, PetaLinux)
  • PCB design (Altium, 4-layer)
  • Power sequencing & safety design
  • Frequency & logic analyzers

IoT & Connectivity

  • BLE, Wi-Fi, OpenThread
  • Matter IoT framework
  • MQTT, cellular (4G)

Wearables & UI

  • 3D design & enclosures
  • LVGL embedded UI
  • Flutter mobile apps
  • Low-power design

02 — Experience

Work History

May 2026 — Jul 2026

Embedded Software Engineer Intern

Wireless Lab, Rice University · Houston, TX

Designing and building a software-defined radio system on the Xilinx/AMD RFSoC 4x2, spanning embedded Linux, FPGA, RF, and power electronics.

  • Built custom Linux and Python (PYNQ) drivers for PLL frequency control, with dedicated test software for functional validation
  • Used frequency and logic analyzers to debug signal integrity and confirm RF performance
  • Verified full RF signal chain at X-band (10 GHz)
  • Designed a 4-layer PCB (Altium) for powering a phased-array RF front-end, including multi-rail sequencing and safety protection

Aug 2022 — Apr 2025

Embedded Software Engineer

Polytron · Indonesia

  • Shipped production firmware for a digital rice cooker (ARM-based MCU) supporting eight cooking modes with adjustable timing
  • Built a wireless test/logging tool for rice cooker and refrigerator data over serial and Bluetooth
  • Developed TFT display visualizations using the LVGL graphics framework
  • Researched BLE, Bluetooth Mesh, OpenThread, and Matter for IoT prototypes
  • Delivered internal MicroPython training and introduced the Matter/OpenThread framework through internal sharing sessions and a student internship program

Jul 2021 — Dec 2021

R&D Engineer Intern

Unicode · Indonesia

  • Built a GPS vehicle tracking system reporting driver location over 4G to a geofencing server
  • Converted a manual attendance system into automatic Bluetooth-based detection using the Room Assistant framework
  • Implemented YOLO gesture recognition on an SBC for camera-based human-computer interaction

Sep 2019 — 2022

Electronics Laboratory Assistant

Petra Christian University

  • Supervised practicums in digital electronics, microprocessors, machine vision, and robotics
  • Developed an FPGA learning module (Xilinx PYNQ-Z2) covering I/O and PWM generation
  • Built a training module for collaborative robots sorting objects via industrial camera

03 — Selected Work

Projects

More work archive ↗

04 — Education

Academics

MECE, Electrical & Computer Engineering

2025 — 2027

Rice University · Fulbright Scholar

Specializing in computer engineering, with a focus on wearable devices and embedded systems. Current GPA: 3.94/4.0.

B.Eng. Electrical Engineering

2018 — 2022

Petra Christian University · Surabaya, Indonesia

Focus in robotics and electronics. Dean's List, GPA 3.86.

  • Ministry of Education (Indonesia) funded project — multi-story building evacuation system for earthquakes
  • 2nd place, International Electrical Engineering Competition — wearable COVID-19 patient monitor
  • Head of Research & Development, HIMATEKTRA student organization

High School, Natural Science

Karangturi National High School, Semarang, Indonesia — 2018

Google Project Management

Coursera specialization, funded by Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Information Technology

05 — Record

Publications & Patents

Publications

  • Hand Symbol Classification for Human-Computer Interaction Using the Fifth Version of YOLO Object Detection — PDF
  • ALZO: An Outdoor Alzheimer's Patient Tracking System Using Internet of Things — PDF

Patents (Indonesia DJIP)

  • Alat Pemantau Aktivitas Pasien Demensia di Luar Rumah — DJIP
  • Metode pada Perangkat Elektronik untuk Memantau Aktivitas Orang Dengan Demensia di Luar Rumah — DJIP
  • Sistem Automasi Bangunan Berbasis IoT dan AI untuk Evakuasi Korban Gempa — DJIP

Certifications