Welcome to my webpage. If you are wondering, it is not a typo. While 'd' and 'f' are next to each other, "alifanfri" is a combination of my full name "Alifandri" and nickname "Fri".
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As an embedded systems engineer, I navigate both the hardware and software domains, bridging physical and digital worlds through electronics and programming.
At my core, I am an engineer. I thrive on problem-solving and hands-on experimentation. However, I believe that logic and creativity are not opposites; rather, they inherently complement each other. The best technology is not just functional—it's beautifully designed.
My passion, though, extends beyond engineering. My curiosity has led me to explore diverse interests and hobbies, immersing myself in new perspectives. Living and working in international environments has shaped my open-minded approach to problem-solving and collaboration.
I bring a unique blend of technical expertise, creativity, and global perspective to every challenge I take on.
What would electronics major be without knowing how to design a circuit. My skillset focuses even more on sensor and IoT systems electronics design.
Aside from the hardware, I also know how to write the bare metal firmwares and drivers. I also know how to write the accompanying external software for testing and or interfacing with.
I have been designing PCBs from 2013. Multi-layer PCBs, interconnecting PCBs, and manufacturable PCBs are just a routine work.
Both signals and data are worth nothing if not treated properly. I have experience in hardware / software filtering and DSP, along with optimising algorithms to extract meanignful insights..
Having exxperience in IoT, I have worked with CI/CD workflows in code integration, automated testing, regression testing, and ensuring reliable firmware delployment.
Not an avid CAD modeler, yet. But working with hardware and product design on daily basis means I've picked up quite a lot of things already.
Nowadays electronics and programming goes hand-in-hand. Many hardware components, from microcontrollers to SoCs and FPGAs, require programming to function. This makes firmware / software development an essential part of the modern electronics design. And with the ever-increasing advancement of the electronics hardware, this trend will demand developers to have the ability of and knowledge in both hardware and software to ensure seamless interaction between the two worlds. Thankfully, I can say that I am one of this kind of "full-stack" developer.
Many people have asked me on what is a sensor engineer. It sounds very specific, making an impression that the field is very limited. On the contrary, because sensor is everywhere, my forte can be implemented on almost anything. Sensor is the window of electronics into our world, it's their version of our 5 senses, but a lot more. While there are a lot of sensors, acceleration, distance, light, moisture, bio-signals; what makes it special is how to apply the sensor. Using vision sensor (camera) as people detection, or magnetic field sensor as rotational position are what the job exists for. And I have had marked my contribution in healthcare and now making another one in industrial IoT.
As an embedded engineer, home lab where I can store a plethora of my components and wire, solder, and rework them is crucial. But that only covers hardware needs. I was never big on IT things, however, after my family's commercial NAS system died due to an ending product support, I have to find another NAS solution. I decided on DIY it and making my own server. Since then, the makeshift server goes beyond NAS, now also software home lab to test softwares, Dockers, trying out OS in VMs and of course, gaming too.
While engineering is mostly analytical, I also like to be creative; I mean I made this website myself. While usually engineering is functionality over anything else, I work in prioritising design and aesthetics. I believe engineering can be approachable and intuitive, where not only engineers but general people can appreciate it, even if they don't fully understand it. I tend to integrate this approach on my works, either a piece of code, a communication protocol, or PCB layout. I also like to combine my other creative skills to my engineering world. One example would be my attempt on making a low-cost 3DÂ printed face mask to help combat COVID-19 and spread awareness that everyone can help, where I use my videography skill to showcase the engineering behind it.
I have been holding a camera since 2011, easily fell in love with it. Initially only photography, but vidoegraphy followed suit. I joined my highscool's media club in photography section, and continue this in my university by becoming the head of media division before leading as the president the following year. I also joined Groningen's Indonesian Student Association (PPI Groningen) in documentation and marketing division. Though as typical as it goes, university and work life took over and I hang up my camera. Then in 2018 I picked it up again. Starting with dance videography, and then branching to Instagram Stories for regularity. Not long after, I got back on photography as well, this time with photo editing, elevating my work. Sometimes I took offer in gigs and projects as photographer, videographer, or editor.
Defying how usually engineers are depicted, sport is an essential part of my life. I have been active since I was a kid, and the adrenaline-seeking desire is still with me growing up. In elementary school I compete in swimming, from Junior Highschool to Highschool I joined baseball club to make it my main sport and compete in club and school levels. Around this time running long distances also become a hobby, I even joined in on 10K run. In university I joined local baseball club in Assen and compete in class 4 national tournament. I also joined Groningen's Indonesian Student Association (PPI Groningen) futsal team to compete on sport festival tournaments. Even though I cannot commit as much time in sport nowadays, I moved to be a gym junkie and do yoga regularly.
When exchanging contacts, giving your business card is still one of the best way to swap info. Business cards are designed and styled to reflect and show yourself. That being said, as an embedded engineer, why settle with handing out piece of printed paper if you can instead hand out a printed circuit board.
The business card has NFC chip and programmed to store this website's link. When a smartphone taps the card, the link is transferred. Additionally, 2 LEDs will light up. The LED that stays solid acts as an idea bulb, as the sign says, "let's bring ideas to life". The other LED pulses to simulate heartbeat as the circuit diagram is an instrumentation amplifier for ECG. While putting actual bio-signal circuit is too complex to be placed in this card, simple circuit with 555 timer IC should do the trick..
To power the LEDs, timer, and other components the business card harvest the energy gained from NFC communication. The circuits were designed with specific selected parts to be ultra-low power to enable this feature. Thus, no coin battery, USB, or other power source is required for this interactive business card; a proper power management.
In the front of the business card, there is a QR code printed in the silkscreen layer. This QR code, when scanned with camera phone also gives a link to this website. In a way, this was a way to show my knowledge in manufacturing. To make the smallest possible QR code works, we have to know the manufacturer's printing capabilities and align it with the QR code standard (i.e., resolution, contrast, etc.).
A device specially made for rare disease patients to monitor their arms and legs on their daily activities. These wireless sensor system network then run the algorithm on the edge before sending it to the cloud via cellular network.
Made to enable young boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy to be able to game like their peers. With the purpose of gaming in mind, the design is made to be non-stigmatising and follow the design language and feature sets of console gaming controller.
A complex system consisting of multiple complimentary body monitoring and stimulator system. I was responsible in developing effector system and the limb movement monitoring system.
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An instrument that function to validate the condition of a specified organ in lower cost and faster procedure. I was responsible for automation sensor for the system and the GUI for the device.
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Premature infants or Neonates are extremely delicate and monitoring their vital signals is crucial for their survival. This accelerometer-based device was developed to allow doctor to easily check neonates' heart rate and breathing within seconds after their delivery.
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To promote Assen as a "Sensor City", this device was made to show what sensor technology can do. By using a depth-sensing camera, it can detect a pedestrian, even their shape. During a red light, it shows a figure of themselves and plays music to induce them to dance while waiting; making it fun to wait rather than to jaywalk.
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A project in combining sensing and fashion, and show what wearable can do. The dress is embedded with LEDs. It has 3 zones of lighting and will light up depending on the user's P, R, and T peaks of their heartbeat. It also sends the cardiograph data via Bluetooth to external device.
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In this role, I continue to perform responsibilities similar to my previous position. In addition, I mentor and support junior developers, providing guidance on the codebase and best practices. Other teams now rely on me more for advice and support, often reaching out as the point of contact. I help ensure a smooth workflow by addressing complex issues first, allowing junior developers to focus on well-structured tasks without unnecessary bottlenecks.
Evalan is an IoT solutions provider for businesses. They provide a bespoke IoT system to fit the needs of their clients. Evalan also have their own IoT platform and product lines, including BACE, WattMaestro, ARMOR, among others.
As a member of the firmware development team, I design, develop, and optimise firmware for IoT devices. My responsibilities include implementing new features, debugging issues, and conducting firmware release testing. I also develop and maintain internal tools and regression testing as part of the CI/CD pipeline.
Additionally, I collaborate closely with hardware and cloud teams for system-wide integration, as well as with operations and assembly teams to address field issues and continuously improve device functionality.
Yumen Bionics is a company that builds devices to support people with Muscular Dystrophy, mainly Duchenne. Their main product is a passive exoskeleton to enable the user to regain their upper body movements. The company also investigate other projects and protocols for the improvements of Muscular Dystorphy patients.
I was responsible as the lead in electronics side of the development. I have led a cross-functional team of embedded and AI engineers to ensure seamless data flow from acquisition to cloud processing.
I have also acted as the primary contact between the company and consortium partners in coordinating with external engineers and researchers for electronics-related developments. This also includes company partners for design and manufacturing of the electronics.
President of Sensor Tech Society (2015-2016)
Head of Media of HITÂ Society [previous name] (2014-2015)
Hanze University graduation project with Yumen Bionics to develop a sensor system for exoskeleton for Duchenne patients. The system tracks the arm movement of the patient and log it for further analysis by researchers. It allows researchers to study the arm movement of the patient in their daily activity remotely.
Vice President of Genesys [english club] in External Affairs (2011-2012)
FelPro is a prototyping company that focuses on developing a low cost automation solution for small businesses. They do rapid prototyping to move idea quickly to actual product.
I was mainly involved in applying automation for damaged organ point-of-care testing device to increase the accessibility of the device. Here, I have also made a PoC for wireless endoscope controller among other medical and or biology-related projects.
