Deven Balaji

Lead Software Developer for Team 6417. Developed autonomous and TeleOp software for a 13‑sensor robot with Limelight 3A vision. Won 1st place Inspire Award (Goodall Division) at the 2026 FIRST World Championship, placing in the top ~0.1% of teams globally, having qualified via 1st place Inspire at the Chesapeake Regional Championship (280+ teams). Joined Blu Cru in Summer 2025 and contributed to a 13th place finish at the Maryland Tech Invitational (MTI) at Johns Hopkins APL.

Lead TeleOp Developer for Team 25865. Built state‑machine‑based control software for an 11‑sensor robot. Won 1st place Inspire Award at Chesapeake Regionals (250+ teams) and qualified for FIRST Championship 2025 in Houston.

Lead Software Developer for Team 23495. Led software development for a competition robot with 6 sensors.

A full‑stack web app for students preparing for national math and physics competitions (HMMT, CMIMC, F=MA, etc.). Uses Claude APIs to extract archived test content and provide AI‑powered problem‑solving support. Features adaptive practice problems, targeted review to strengthen weak areas, and performance analytics to track progress over time. Deployed on AWS.

People with visual impairments still face everyday navigation challenges, like finding a specific store in a strip mall or reading a printed bus schedule. This project explores how Gemini Vision can power an assistant that helps visually impaired users navigate the world more independently.

Built and tested microbial fuel cells that generate electricity from bacteria in soil, exploring sustainable energy at the microscale.

AI‑powered deer detection and garden defense system built on an NVIDIA Jetson Nano. Uses real‑time computer vision to detect deer in the yard and trigger deterrents automatically.