SAR is a student-led, faculty-advised engineering organisation at Michigan State University. We operate like a production robotics team: documented, measured, and accountable for what we ship.
Nothing goes to the field without a simulated baseline.
Every controller and perception module lives first in simulation. We train, validate and stress-test in a virtual environment, then transfer to hardware only after the work holds up.
Strict documentation, code review and multi-disciplinary sprint cycles. Every member, local or remote, is tracked on an internal progress dashboard with contributions visible across the team. Work is measured. Favouritism isn't a process here.
Dr. Tan is SAR's faculty advisor and an MSU Foundation Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He manages the Smart Microsystems Lab, and his work in control systems, robotics and autonomous systems aligns closely with the technical areas SAR studies and builds around.
Four divisions, one agenda. Nobody arrived knowing how to do this.
Sets direction and owns delivery across all five divisions.
LINKEDIN →Leads the software and controls stack behind the robot.
LINKEDIN →Builds and validates the simulation stack the robot is tuned in.
Owns how the robot reads and crosses real ground.
Owns power, wiring and electrical bring-up.
Runs the budget and sponsor development.
LINKEDIN →Keeps records, runs recruitment, and holds the team to MSU compliance.
Five divisions, and the onboarding is built for someone who has never touched a robot.
