Automation Engineer · Algae Barn, Denver CO

Building affordable automation for manufacturing & agriculture.

I design and build industrial automation systems end-to-end — from custom PCBs and ESP32 firmware to pneumatic controls and computer vision — for production floors that need reliability, not complexity. VP of IEEE Denver Section. Founder, Akash Technologies.

See what I've shipped Watch project demos
01· Projects

Things I've designed, built & shipped.

From concept to production floor — I design the hardware, write the firmware, wire the pneumatics, and document everything as I go. A selection across industrial automation, robotics, computer vision, and personal R&D.

PROJECT 01 Deployed

Phyto Filling Machine

4-head pneumatic fill system, 1 second per jar.

Redesigned Algae Barn's phytoplankton filling line from the ground up. Dual ESP32 microcontrollers running custom ESPHome firmware, Modbus RS485 I/O, SeaFlo pumps, capacitive level sensors, and a CYD touchscreen HMI I designed — with automated CIP and Zoho Cliq notifications.

Fill time1s per jar (was 2.5s)
ControllersDual ESP32 · CYD HMI
ProtocolModbus RS485
ExtrasAuto CIP · Zoho alerts
Watch demo →
Running PHYTOTANK VALVE 1VALVE 2 VALVE 3VALVE 4 CYD TOUCHSCREEN FILL TIME 1.0s VOLUME 16oz MODE Auto ESP32 MODBUS TANK HMI CONTROLLER 60% faster than manual Deployed July 2026 Dual ESP32 + CYD HMI filling system
PROJECT 02 Deployed

Sticker Labeling System

$50,000 saved. Zero manual labor.

Built a budget-friendly automated labeling machine from scratch — compact actuators, pneumatics, proximity sensors, and a microcontroller replacing expensive PLC hardware. Real-time TOTAL/GOOD/BAD tracking. Published in Sakshi Education.

Annual savings$50,000+
Accuracy100% label placement
Manual laborEliminated entirely
PublishedSakshi Education
Read the article →
Running LABELER LIVE COUNT TOTAL 1,247 GOOD 1,245 BAD 2 CONVEYOR APPLICATOR MONITOR $50K+ saved annually Published in Sakshi Education Automated labeling with real-time QC
PROJECT 03 IEEE GHTC 2026

HelioNode

A solar-powered IoT sensor for agriculture.

ESP32-S3-based agricultural IoT node with solar charging, custom KiCad PCB, and MQTT → InfluxDB → Grafana telemetry pipeline. Accepted for oral presentation at IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference 2026.

PowerSolar · runs indefinitely
CommsMQTT · wireless mesh
WatchesSoil · temp · humidity · light
PipelineInfluxDB → Grafana
IEEE GHTC 2026 paper →
Accepted AKT·002 SOLAR ENCLOSURE MQTT Solar-powered ag sensor · IEEE GHTC 2026
PROJECT 04 R&D

FactorySense

Listening to machines before they break.

Predictive maintenance for small manufacturers. Sensors monitor vibration, current draw, and acoustics on industrial motors — pinging WhatsApp when anomalies are detected. Part of the Akash Technologies R&D pipeline, with a 2-student internship program (FactorySense Internship, GPREC).

WatchesVibration · current · sound · heat
InstallNon-invasive · clamp-on
DashboardLive charts & history
AlertsWhatsApp · Zoho Cliq
Interested in this? →
Listening live dashboard ALERT · Motor 03 Vibration threshold exceeded MACHINE DASHBOARD From machine to phone, in real time
02· How one of them works

Here's how HelioNode works.

Quick walkthrough of how the soil sensor works end to end. Each node out in the field is independent — it powers itself from the sun and talks to a nearby hub. The hub does the rest. No subscriptions, no cloud bills, no apps to maintain.

01 · SENSE 02 · PROCESS 03 · TRANSMIT 04 · DELIVER Soil Moisture In the ground Temp + Humidity Above ground Ambient Light Sunlight exposure SENSOR NODE HelioNode Solar-powered WIRELESS HUB Gateway Aggregates & relays Farmer's Phone SMS alerts Dashboard Live & historical Web View Anywhere Solar powered Runs on sunlight alone
SenseThree sensors keep watching what's happening in the soil and air.
ProcessThe little board on the node packages those readings together.
TransmitIt pings a hub nearby — no wifi or mobile data needed.
DeliverYou get a text, dashboard view, or smart-home update.
03· About me

Hi, I'm Akash.

I'm an engineer who can't stop building things. My day job pays the bills, but my real fun happens at my workbench — soldering tiny boards, debugging stubborn firmware, and trying to make affordable hardware that actually works in the real world.

What pulls me in is the gap between "this could exist" and "this exists and is in someone's garden right now." Most of my projects start with a small irritation — a plant that needed watering, a humidifier that didn't know I was in the room — and grow from there.

I design the hardware myself, write the software, and document the journey. Sometimes things break. Often they do. That's most of the fun.

Akash Chinthamanipeta
The engineer
Akash Chinthamanipeta
Automation & Robotics Engineer at Algae Barn, Denver CO. MSc in Robotics & Control from CU Boulder. VP of IEEE Denver Section. I design and build production automation systems — from custom PCBs and ESP32 firmware to pneumatic actuators and computer vision. Founder of Akash Technologies, exploring affordable IoT for agriculture and industry.
At a glanceThe basics
LocationDenver, CO
Current roleAutomation Eng
EducationMSc CU Boulder '25
IEEEVP Denver Section
StackESP32 · Modbus · ROS2

Wanna talk shop?

If you're working on something interesting in hardware, IoT, or automation — or you just want to chat about a weird project idea — drop me a line. I always reply.

Send me a message
Email
akashchintamani24@gmail.com
LinkedIn
Find me here