Robotics
Kinematics of parallel mechanisms, mobile robot navigation and dead reckoning.
MSc Mechatronics Engineering · ETH Zürich × Ashesi University
Divine Enow
Always ready to Learn, Build and Guide.
I design controllers, test them in simulation and prove them on real hardware. My work spans robotics, control systems, embedded systems, machine learning and energy systems.
Research Assistant, ASPIRE! 2026 · Ashesi University
About
Where control theory meets real hardware
I'm a mechatronics engineer based in Ghana, studying for an MSc in the joint Ashesi University and ETH Zürich programme. I enjoy the moment a controller leaves the simulation and meets a real machine, because that is where the interesting problems show up.
Most of my research is with the Ashesi Robotics and Control Lab (ARCLab), on iterative learning control, ball-and-plate balancing and inverted-pendulum swing-up. I'm also a research assistant on an electronically controlled fertilizer dosing system for high-speed precision planters.
Outside the lab I build things people use. SimpliGrade, the bilingual report card platform I developed, has run at a secondary school in Cameroon for over two years. FreshKeep, the venture I co-founded, is working on affordable cold storage for smallholder farmers in Ghana.
I care about how people learn, too. On the Ashesi Student Council Academic Committee I write guidance for students on using AI tools ethically and well, and I'm teaching a hands-on electronics workshop for undergraduate and graduate students.
- Studying
- MSc Mechatronics EngineeringETH Zürich × Ashesi University · graduating 2028
- Research
- Ashesi Robotics and Control LabIterative learning control, swing-up and stabilisation
- Building
- SimpliGrade · FreshKeepEdTech in Cameroon, cold chain in Ghana
- Member
- IEEE Student Member
- Based in
- Ghana
Focus areas
What I work on
Five areas that keep showing up in my research, coursework and projects.
Control Systems
PID, norm-optimal iterative learning control, swing-up and state-space design.
Embedded Systems
C on microcontrollers, serial communication, sensors and camera-based feedback.
Machine Learning
Sequence models for prognostics and data-driven tools for controller design.
Energy Systems
Hybrid powertrain energy management, refrigeration for the cold chain and energy economics.
Research
Current research
Work carried from simulation through to physical experiments.
Experimental Stability of Norm-Optimal Iterative Learning Control on a Vision-Based Ball-and-Plate System: The Learning Gain Norm as a Predictive Design Metric
A hardware study on a three-servo ball-and-plate platform with Pixy2 camera feedback. Across 52 logged runs of PD, PID and norm-optimal ILC configurations, it shows how the learning gain norm can predict where the system stops being stable, before you run the risky experiment.
- Iterative learning control
- Computer vision
- Experimental validation
Robust Swing-Up and Stabilization of an Inverted Pendulum: From Simulation to Hardware Validation
A team study that designs a swing-up and stabilising controller for an inverted pendulum, then measures how well simulation results carry over to the physical rig.
- Nonlinear control
- Sim-to-real
- MATLAB
Electronically Controlled Fertilizer Dosing and Placement System for High-Speed Precision Planters
Selected as a research assistant on project P12 of Ashesi's ASPIRE! Research Assistantship programme, working on electronic control of fertilizer dosing and placement for precision planting.
- Agricultural mechatronics
- Embedded control
Projects
Selected projects
From software that schools use every term to controllers running on real hardware.
EdTech · Web platform
SimpliGrade
A bilingual (English and French) report card platform for Cameroonian schools. It started as an Excel and VBA tool, and I rebuilt it as a web app so it can serve more schools. It has been in use at a secondary school for over two years, automating grading and producing formatted report sheets.
- Next.js
- Supabase
- Bilingual UX
Venture · Co-founder
FreshKeep
Affordable cold storage for smallholder farmers in Ghana. We ran market research interviews at Medina and Makola markets and are developing a 1 m³ vapour-compression prototype that holds produce at 8 to 15 °C.
- Refrigeration
- Market research
- Agritech
Robotics · Control
3-RRS Ball-Balancing Platform
A parallel-mechanism platform that balances a ball using camera feedback. I wrote the inverse kinematics in C, tuned closed-loop PID control, and built an interactive 3D visualiser that runs in the browser.
- C
- Inverse kinematics
- PID
- 3D web visualisation
Energy · Optimal control
Hybrid Race Car Energy Management
An Equivalent Consumption Minimisation Strategy (ECMS) controller for a P2 hybrid race car on the Bahrain circuit. Built in Simulink with Hamiltonian minimisation, a PI feedback loop and a bisection search for the equivalence factor.
- MATLAB
- Simulink
- ECMS
Machine learning · Prognostics
Turbofan Remaining Useful Life
Predicting how long a jet engine has left before failure, using NASA's C-MAPSS FD001 dataset. I compared MLP, CNN, LSTM and Transformer models, and added checkpointing and early stopping after diagnosing overfitting.
- Python
- Deep learning
- Time series
Mobile robotics
VEX V5 Differential-Drive Robot
Kinematics, dead reckoning and obstacle sensing for a differential-drive robot, with encoder-based P-control to fix straight-line drift and waypoint tracking. I also wrote a Python bundler to work around VEX V5's single-file limit.
- Python
- Odometry
- P-control
Experience
Experience and leadership
Research and industry
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Research Assistant
ASPIRE! Research Assistantship, Ashesi University2026Project P12: electronically controlled fertilizer dosing and placement for high-speed precision planters.
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Researcher
Ashesi Robotics and Control Lab (ARCLab)Iterative learning control on a vision-based ball-and-plate system, and inverted-pendulum swing-up from simulation to hardware.
-
AI Product Extern
Wayfair -
Embedded Systems
MECITECH
Building and leading
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Co-founder
FreshKeepCold storage for smallholder farmers in Ghana, from market research to prototype design.
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Creator and Developer
SimpliGradeDesigned and built a bilingual report card platform used by a secondary school in Cameroon.
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Member, Academic Committee
Ashesi Student CouncilWrites guidance for students on using AI tools ethically and effectively.
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Workshop Instructor
Basic Electronics WorkshopHands-on sessions for undergraduate and graduate students using Tinkercad, Falstad and Arduino.
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Student Member
IEEE
Contact
Let's build something
Research collaboration, an engineering role or a project that needs building: I'd be glad to hear from you.