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Luc Desautels
Personal Portfolio 2026

Luc
Desautels.

My main focus right now is in robotics, however I also rock climb, play fiddle, and have a passion for drone photography.

Currently
Engineering
Based in
Toronto, Ontario
Focus
Robotics & Aerospace
Show me —Engineering portfolio →↓ Résumé
§ 01Table of contents
Academics.
[ EDUCATION · TFS & SCHOLAR'S GUILD ]
/ EDUCATION
[ EDUCATION · IB DIPLOMA PROGRAM ]
/ EDUCATION
[ RESEARCH · 5.8 GHZ OVER WATER ]
/ RESEARCH
[ RESEARCH · SAR SPIRAL OPTIMIZATION ]
/ RESEARCH
[ RESEARCH · MOTOR & PROP EFFICIENCY ]
/ RESEARCH
Robotics.
[ SAILFISH · SAILFISH GEN 3 ]
/ SAILFISH
[ SAILFISH · FUSELAGE VTX STACK ]
/ SAILFISH
[ SAILFISH · FIELD TEST, LAKE ONTARIO ]
/ SAILFISH
[ FTC · ONTARIO CHAMPIONS 2024 ]
/ FTC
[ FTC · CNC CHASSIS PLATE ]
/ FTC
[ FTC · ARM TRANSFER SYSTEM ]
/ FTC
Well-rounded.
[ SPORTS · LEAD CLIMB 5.10C ]
/ SPORTS
[ SPORTS · WHISTLER, DOUBLE-BLACK ]
/ SPORTS
[ CREATIVE · ALGONQUIN FOG ]
/ CREATIVE
[ CREATIVE · FOLK FIDDLE JAM ]
/ CREATIVE
[ SCOUTS · LA VÉRENDRYE CANOE ]
/ SCOUTS
Experiences.
[ SHAD · SHAD PROGRAM ]
/ SHAD
[ PROGRAM · WATERLOO CATALYST ]
/ PROGRAM
[ SIDEQUEST · LIGHT SUIT SKI NIGHT ]
/ SIDEQUEST
[ SIDEQUEST · DANCE SHOW MC ]
/ SIDEQUEST
01 / 04
§ 02 — Robotics
Two programs · one workshop
Project Sailfish
FTC Team 16366
IMPACTFUL
ROBOTICS
COMPETITIVE
ROBOTICS

Three generations of an open-sourced autonomous SAR drone.
Built to reach lost crews faster.

↳ Project Sailfish

Five years FTC — competitor, mechanical lead, mentor.
Ontario Inspire 2024 + Worlds, Houston.

↳ FTC Team 16366
Impactful Robotics
01 / 02

Project Sailfish

SAILFISH GEN.3 — HERO
// Sailfish Gen.3 · field test, Lake Ontario
AFF LETTER — SCAN
// Endorsement letter · scanned original
EXPLODED CAD — GEN.3
// Exploded view · CAD generation 3
TEAM PHOTO — STANDUP
// Team standup · Toronto workshop
OSS REPO — README
// GitHub repository · public release
Competitive Robotics
02 / 02

FTC

FTC COMP ROBOT — HERO
// Team 16366 · Ontario Championship 2024
INSPIRE AWARD — STAGE
// Inspire Award · Ontario Championship
CNC CHASSIS — TOOLPATH
// CNC chassis plate · finishing pass
MENTOR SESSION — REVIEW
// Design review · winter build
OUTREACH WORKSHOP — KIDS
// Grade 5 design club · TFS
[ § 03 — Robotics sub-projects ]

Filter by domain.

⊞ Full project grid →
[ Fuselage VTX stack ]
SAILFISH MECHANICAL
Fuselage VTX stack
5.8GHz transmitter + camera packed into the nose.
[ Tilt-rotor controller ]
SAILFISH ELECTRICAL
Tilt-rotor controller
4-axis PWM mixer for tilt-thrust transitions.
[ Wing carry-through CAD ]
SAILFISH CAD
Wing carry-through CAD
Carbon spar layup planned via parametric models.
[ CNC chassis plate ]
FTC MANUFACTURING
CNC chassis plate
First time taking a part CAD→fixturing→ops.
[ Arm transfer system ]
FTC MECHANICAL
Arm transfer system
Two-stage transfer with a passive deadband.
[ Auto routine pathing ]
FTC SOFTWARE
Auto routine pathing
Spline-based path planner for autonomous.
[ Foam-core flotation ]
SAILFISH MATERIALS
Foam-core flotation
Closed-cell flotation that survived 5 belly landings.
[ Ground-station UI ]
SAILFISH SOFTWARE
Ground-station UI
Telemetry dashboard built on top of Mavlink.
§ 04 — School + research

Academics.

01 / 02

Education.

★ Standout
[ TFS & Scholar's Guild ]

TFS & Scholar's Guild

Top 10% of students at TFS, a rigorous bilingual International Baccalaureate high school. Selected for the Scholar's Guild for academics and leadership.

[ IB Diploma Program ]

IB Diploma Program

Completed the full IB Diploma Program, focusing on physics, math, and chemistry to build a foundation for engineering.

[ Bilingual (French) ]

Bilingual (French)

Since a young age my education has been in French, and I've become bilingual in an English-only family.

02 / 02

Research.

★ Standout
[ 5.8 GHz video over open water ]

5.8 GHz video over open water

Investigated 5.8 GHz digital video transmission over water for drone camera systems — multipath, antenna polarization, and range.

[ Optimized SAR spiral ]

Optimized SAR spiral

Modelled the flight path for a search-and-rescue drone with a parametric optimized spiral considering wind drift and ocean current.

[ Motor & prop efficiency ]

Motor & prop efficiency

Efficiency testing on electric drone motors and propellers across a thrust-stand setup, building a usable lookup table for sizing.

§ 05 — Outside the lab

Well rounded.

01 / 03

Sports.

★ Standout
[ Rock Climbing ]

Rock Climbing

Serious about climbing for 4 years. I climb 5.12 on Top-Rope and V6 for Bouldering. I expect to join the UBC climbing team.

[ Skiing ]

Skiing

11 years of skiing with extensive lessons. Level 1 Instructor Certification. I can ski any double black diamond at places like Whistler.

[ Sailing ]

Sailing

Recreational sailing on the coast. A sport I enjoy with friends that requires support and cooperation.

02 / 03

Creatives.

★ Standout
[ Nature Drone Videography ]

Nature Drone Videography

Exploring landscapes from above through drone photography and videography of natural environments.

[ Violin ]

Violin

10 years of violin in the Celtic and folk fiddle style. I comfortably play 20+ numbers and enjoy jamming with others.

[ Philosophy ]

Philosophy

Exploring moral ethics through our school's philosophy club, TOK class, and English coursework.

03 / 03

Scouts.

★ Standout
[ 12 years in Scouts ]

12 years in Scouts

12 years from Beavers at age 5 to Venturer Scout. Scouts is about teamwork, building outdoor skills, discipline, service, loyalty, integrity and kindness.

[ Chief Scout's Award ]

Chief Scout's Award

Earned the Chief Scout's Award, a designation requiring a volunteer project. I built a community library box.

[ Duke of Edinburgh ]

Duke of Edinburgh

Achieved the Silver Medal with Gold expected after completing the multi-day outdoors challenge.

§ 06 — Programs + side quests

Experiences.

slightly less serious from here on.
01 / 02

Summer Programs.

★ Standout
[ SHAD ]

SHAD

Canada-wide STEM enrichment program connecting students from across the country for intensive design challenges.

[ Waterloo Catalyst ]

Waterloo Catalyst

Engineering and entrepreneurship program at the University of Waterloo.

[ Scouts Jamboree ]

Scouts Jamboree

Large-scale Scouts gathering bringing together members from across the region for outdoor activities and community.

02 / 02

Side Quests.

★ Standout
[ Light suit night skiing ]

Light suit night skiing

Skiing the bunny hill at night wearing a fully wired EL-suit. Mostly to make other skiers smile.

[ Dance Show MC ]

Dance Show MC

Hosted the school dance show. Suit on, jokes prepared, mostly improvised.

[ Prank Day ]

Prank Day

Coordinated school-wide prank day. Logistics ran smoother than most of my robotics builds.

§ Principles

What I look for in the work, and the people.

What I value in engineering work
01
Real constraints
Cost, weight, time. The constraint is the design.
02
Ship the prototype
First-principles thinking only matters once it flies.
03
Document everything
Future-me and the next person inherit the project.
What I value in a creative & professional environment
01
High trust, high tempo
Move fast, disagree well, ship together.
02
Curiosity over hierarchy
Good ideas can come from the most junior person in the room.
03
Outdoors-adjacent
I do my best thinking after a long walk or a hard climb.