Prelude
I am currently in my final year of the BEng Electrical Engineering program at the BCIT. As part of the program, final-year students complete an industry-sponsored capstone project, where we collaborate with real companies to solve real engineering problems. It is an opportunity to apply everything we have learned over the past four years to meaningful problems beyond the classroom.
Our team consists of four members: Cole Leeners, Chuibin Zeng, Michael Desimone, and myself. I served as the team lead and primary firmware developer, taking responsibility for the overall technical direction of the embedded system, firmware architecture, and software integrations.
Level5Fleet
Level5Fleet Corp. is a provider of an autonomous trailer security and operations platform used by customers in the logistics industry. Their on-trailer devices enforce time- and location-bound access to brakes, doors, and cargo locks, ensuring that only authorized tractors and drivers can move or access a trailer. The system is designed to prevent fictitious pickups and misrouting, detect tampering, and generate audit-ready logs, while also automating yard check-in/out and providing real-time visibility. Overall, the platform helps reduce theft and dwell time while improving asset utilization. The core of Level5Fleet’s system is the Admiral Hub, an on-trailer telematics device installed on fleet trailers.
The Requirement
For our capstone project, we were tasked with designing a bridge device that interfaces with a diesel truck’s ECU to read and parse key parameters such as ignition status, speed, and RPM, and transmit this data to the Hub via BLE, after which it is uploaded to AWS. This functionality defines the Listen Mode, in which the device is mounted in the truck’s cabin and connected to the SAE J1939 connector. The same hardware platform will also support a second mode of operation: Control Mode, where the device is mounted on the trailer and provides power to, and serves as a communication link for an electronic brake chamber.
We are responsible for end-to-end product development, including embedded firmware, custom PCB, enclosure design, and creation of test tools using off-the-shelf development kits to validate the system without a physical truck or trailer.
Project Timeline
Custom PCB
