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Heilbronn, Germany / Mechatronics, 3rd semester

Kshitij Savanna

Mechatronics student building towards aerospace and motorsport engineering.

I design and simulate hardware with a focus on aerodynamics and structures, and I ship the software that goes around it. Third semester at Hochschule Heilbronn, GPA 1.7.

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Frame v2e, top viewScale 1:1, millimetres
Top view of drone frame v2e drawn to scale: 140.9 mm motor spacing, 199 mm diagonal, 5.1 inch propeller discs.140.9 MOTOR SPACING⌀199 DIAG.CAMERA 25° DOWNFC AT 45°GPS, REAR TAB5.1" PROP DISC▲ FRONT

Highlights

Sheet 01Engineering

Hardware I design and simulate.

Three projects at three stages: a drone in detailed design, an inverted-running RC car in research, and aero work for the university Formula Student team.

Sheet 01 / 03Rev. 09 Nov 2026
In designTest print next

Printed camera drone

Printed plastic is roughly 14 times softer than carbon. Can a sub-250 g printed frame still fly and film cleanly?

A 3D-printed camera drone under 250 g that should film as cleanly as a carbon one. The work is about vibration: frame stiffness, isolation and filtering, each to be checked against the drone's own gyro logs.

Takeoff weight
248g
modelled
First frame mode
194Hz
simulated
Hover power
32.5W
modelled

Tools Fusion 360 / Python / ArduPilot / PAHT-CF / PLA-CF / TPU

Read the case study
Fusion 360 assembly of frame v2e with flight controller, motors, props, camera and GPS
Fusion 360 assembly of frame v2e with flight controller, motors, props, camera and GPS
Sheet 02 / 03Rev. 09 Nov 2026
Research phaseAero simulated, build planned for summer 2027

Inverted RC aero car

A model car that makes more downforce than it weighs.

A 1:10 scale car that makes more downforce than it weighs, so it can drive on a wall and then on a ceiling. The aero is simulated and the build is planned as my project lab next summer.

Inverts from
65km/h
modelled
Downforce at 110 km/h
48N
simulated
Ready-to-run mass
1.65kg
modelled

Tools AeroSandbox / NeuralFoil / CadQuery / Fusion 360 / XFLR5 / ESP32 / MPU6050 / HX711

Read the case study
Render of the inverted RC aero car v2, with front and rear wings and a sealed floor
Render of the inverted RC aero car v2, with front and rear wings and a sealed floor
Sheet 03 / 03Rev. 19 Oct 2026
Active memberMember, technical team

HHN eRacing, aero and composites

Formula Student team building HNR26. I helped with the electrical braking system, then moved to aero and composites, which nobody else covered: carbon fibre research, nose and sidepod design, and a 14-page guide for the team wiki.

Tools CATIA / Fusion 360 / Carbon fibre / Formula Student

The HHN eRacing Formula Student car, number 239 from a previous season
The HHN eRacing Formula Student car, number 239 from a previous season

Earlier, and small

CompletedFirst place, category winner

Future City Hackathon

Turned a regional water utility's legacy infrastructure records into machine-readable formats for AI analysis. Presented the solution to the judges, then was invited to keep working on the case as a first-semester student.

2025

CompletedWorkshop lead

Cosmic Journey, aerodynamics workshop

Designed and ran a recurring aerodynamics workshop for students aged 12 to 15, covering lift, drag and stability. We built and launched model rockets and compared simple trajectory predictions with the real flights.

Aug 2023 to Mar 2024

Planned

RC plane

A small RC plane we are planning to build together with friends. Early stage, no flight data yet.

2026

Sheet 02Software

Things I ship.

Web apps and tools I build around the engineering work, from a live study guide to a motion pipeline.

Live IMS2 Study Guide with per-topic progress and the overall completion bar
01 / 2026 to presentLive

IMS2 Study Guide

Revision app for the full IMS2 semester at Hochschule Heilbronn. Per-topic progress tracking, works offline, and used through the SS2026 exam period. Classmates use it too, and I add each semester's content.

  • JavaScript
  • Netlify
  • Claude Code
Visit the live site
Flowr with demo data, showing the overview, the cash-flow forecast and the expense list
02 / 2026Shipped

Flowr

The app I run my money on every day. It projects my balance day by day to the next payout and warns me before a direct debit would bounce, which happened to me once.

  • React
  • Vite
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Netlify Functions
  • Hand-drawn SVG charts
nibble with demo meals, showing the daily targets and the diary
03 / 2026Shipped

nibble

Food diary that estimates calories and macros from a photo, lets you correct the guess in plain words, then saves it. A wellness company in India asked to add it to their lineup. I am holding off until it is ready.

  • JavaScript
  • Google Gemini API
  • Cloudflare Workers
  • Web Push
  • PWA
Title frame rendered by motion-studio
04 / 2026Built

motion-studio

A code-driven motion graphics pipeline. Playwright captures frames, FFmpeg encodes them, deterministic spring physics drives the movement, and synthesised beat-locked audio sits on top. A self-critique loop checks the rendered frames.

  • Node
  • Playwright
  • FFmpeg
05 / 2026In progress

Restaurant swipe app

Tinder-style picker for groups. Friends join with a shared code, swipe through restaurants, and a place everyone likes becomes the match.

  • React Native
Home page of the live consultancy site
06 / 2026In progress

Website for my mother's consultancy

One-page site with an interactive career map, a "where to start" tool that builds a pre-filled WhatsApp message, and motion design throughout.

  • JavaScript
  • Cloudflare Pages
  • GSAP
Sheet 03Now

What I'm working on right now.

  1. DroneFrame v2e test print in PLA-CF at the university lab, parts being ordered.
  2. eRacingCarbon fibre test panels and the HNR26 nose and sidepods.
  3. Next semesterRC aero car as my project lab, plus Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics as extra modules.
  4. GermanB1 course at HHN, B2 next.
Sheet 04Skills

Tools, and where I used them.

Each line names the project it was used on.

CAD and simulation

Autodesk Fusion / CATIA / CadQuery / Blender

Drone frame v2e: parametric Python scripting, modal FEA and generative design in Fusion. CATIA for the eRacing nose and sidepods.

Aerodynamics

XFLR5 / AeroSandbox / NeuralFoil

RC aero car: wing sizing and the downforce model per axle. Drone: propulsion and hover power model.

Fabrication

FDM printing / PLA-CF / PAHT-CF / TPU / LW-PLA / Carbon fibre (research)

Printed drone frames and lids. Wrote the 14-page carbon fibre guide for the eRacing team wiki.

Embedded

C / ESP32 / MPU6050 IMU / HX711 load cells / ArduPilot

Programming 1 and 2 in C, graded 1.0 in Programming 2. ArduPilot for the drone, ESP32 telemetry planned for the RC car.

Software

JavaScript / React / React Native / Tailwind CSS / Node / Python / Java / HTML/CSS

Flowr, nibble and the IMS2 Study Guide, all in daily use. Python for numerical methods and Fusion scripting.

Tooling and AI

Git / Linux CLI / REST/JSON / Claude API / Claude Code / Playwright / FFmpeg / Cloudflare / Netlify

Google Gemini API in nibble, a Playwright and FFmpeg render pipeline in motion-studio, deploys on Cloudflare and Netlify.

Documents and media

LaTeX / Excel / PowerPoint / Video editing

Engineering calculations in Excel, reports and this CV in LaTeX.

Completed modules, HHN

  • Engineering Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Engineering Mechanics 1 to 3
  • Materials Science (metals and plastics)
  • Electrical Engineering and Electronics
  • Programming 1 and 2 (C)

This semester

  • Signals and Systems
  • Metrology and Sensors
  • Manufacturing Technology
  • Engineering Design
  • Microcontrollers and Software Engineering
  • Data Science
Sheet 05About

From Ipoh to Heilbronn, heading for aerospace.

Born in India, grew up in Ipoh, Malaysia from age 9 to 19, now studying in Heilbronn.

Formula 1 is why I care about aerodynamics. The goal is an aerospace M.Sc. at TU Munich, so I am adding thermodynamics and fluid mechanics to my timetable next semester.

  1. BornIndia
  2. Age 9 to 19Ipoh, Malaysia
  3. B.Sc. IMS, since 2025Heilbronn
  4. Goal: aerospace M.Sc.TU Munich

Education

  • Oct 2025 to present

    B.Sc. Intelligent Mechatronic Systems

    Hochschule Heilbronn

    English-taught, 7 semesters. GPA 1.7 on the German scale, 1.0 in Programming 2. Deutschlandstipendium holder.

  • 2022 to 2024

    A-Levels (A, 2B) and IGCSE (1A*, 6A, 2B)

    Tenby International School, Ipoh

    A-Level Mathematics 84%, Physics 78%, Chemistry 78%. IGCSE Physics 90%, English Language 89%, Mathematics 84%. Valedictorian, Merit Scholarship.

Awards

  • Deutschlandstipendium2026Awarded 2026, funded from summer semester 2027
  • 1st place, Future City Hackathon2025Category winner for innovation and practical implementation
  • Valedictorian2024Campus Principal Award, Tenby International School
  • Academic Achievement Award, Mathematics2024
  • Academic Progress Award, Chemistry2024
  • Merit ScholarshipFor A-Levels
  • Model United NationsSeveral recognitions at national-level conferences

Languages

  • EnglishC1/C2
  • HindiC1
  • GermanA2, B1 course in progress
  • MalayA1
  • MandarinA1
Sheet 06Beyond engineering

Teams, students, and everything off the drawing board.

  1. Present

    Technical team member

    HHN eRacing, Formula Student

    Aero and composites on HNR26, after helping with the electrical braking system.

  2. Present

    Volunteer

    AStA student union, HHN

    Help organise and run student events, from setup to on-the-day support. Outside AStA I help juniors prepare for exams and new students settle in.

  3. Aug 2023 to Jan 2024

    Secretary General

    Tenby Ipoh Model United Nations

    Ran an international conference for 125 delegates from across Southeast Asia. Owned logistics, budget and sub-team coordination; finished at a surplus.

  4. Aug 2023 to Mar 2024

    Aerodynamics Workshop Lead

    Cosmic Journey

    Designed and ran a recurring workshop on lift, drag and stability for students aged 12 to 15. Built and launched model rockets and compared simple trajectory predictions against the flights.

  5. Aug to Dec 2021

    Vice President

    Interact Club

    Coordinated community service across a 45-member team.

Formula 1, mountaineering (Basic Mountaineering Course at NIMAS, India, 2026), triathlon and cycling, rocketry, golf, and photographing clouds.

Sheet 07Contact

Hiring for a Werkstudent role or an internship? Get in touch.

Based in
Heilbronn, Germany