HARDWARE & SOFTWARE · PRODUCT MANAGEMENT · BUILDER

ECE @ Carnegie Mellon. I want to build hardware and software products that create lasting value for users. I'm particularly passionate about consumer electronics and tinkering with AI Agents.

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Sida Cheng at CES with OS Keyboard
At CES 2025 with OS Keyboard
3.82 GPA
300+ Products Built and Shipped
$70K Investment Won
380K+ Video Views

About

Education & Profile

B.S. Electrical & Computer Engineering
+ Engineering Design, Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Carnegie Mellon University
Aug 2023 – May 2027
GPA3.82/4.0

I just want to build products. Growing up, I watched hundreds of tech reviews and unboxing videos, fascinated by how companies keep innovating features that "wow" me. I enjoy well-designed consumer electronics and small open-source tools that just work. I'm also interested in AI agent applications and how they can make everyday tasks easier. I want to bring that curiosity to a team building useful hardware or software.

OS Keyboard is my current focus — an ergonomic split keyboard I've shipped to 50+ paying customers. I did everything to bring the project from 0 to 1: PCB design & assembly, firmware development, 3D modeling, video editing, reddit posts, and community building. Prior to this project, I also led hardware development of a smart dice tower that won ~$70K investment at XbotPark.

HARDWARE

STM32RP2040nRF52840ESP32PCB DesignSolidWorks

SOFTWARE

CPythonReactTypeScriptWebHID APIVite

AI TOOLS

Pi (#8961)Claude CodeCodexOpenClawMCP Connectors

PRODUCT

User ResearchProduct StrategyGo-to-MarketCommunity Engagement

Projects

A selection of recent projects

SPARK

Local-AI Writing Companion Peripheral

Plug-and-play keyboard-side AI assistant with a USB-HID MCU, local LLM processor, and PC daemon for typo correction, tone changes, expansion, and autocomplete.

Local AIUSB HIDFirmwarePC Daemon
GitHub

GRO-BOT

Smart Algae Bioreactor

ESP32-controlled desktop photobioreactor with CO2, O2, airflow, temperature, and humidity sensing. Achieved ~18% mean CO2 removal in a 14-day autonomous run.

ESP32BLESensorsControl Systems
Case Study

Robot Card Dealer

Automatic card-dealing robot designed and built in 7 days at CMU Build18. Arduino-powered stepper motor + LCD Interface + Pseudo-shuffling algorithm.

ArduinoMechanical DesignRapid Prototyping
Build18 Garage

Experience

How I contribute to the team

Hardware & Product Engineer

Designed PCBs and enclosures for OS Keyboard and built USB-HID peripheral hardware and firmware for SPARK.

Full-Stack Developer

Built web configurator with React + TypeScript + Vite + WebHID API for real-time browser-to-keyboard communication. No driver install needed.

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Founded OS Keyboard, ran customer discovery, filmed marketing content, and competed in venture competitions. McGinnis 2nd Place (Undergraduate), Innov18 Award winner.

Product Storyteller

Turned technical work into user-facing stories through Bilibili videos, launch content, demos, and community feedback loops.

My journey

  1. Cosmos E-BIKE — PM & FDE Intern

    Authored a 51-page PRD for an e-bike computer, deployed a RAG-powered customer-service agent, and built Shopify and Astro website pages at a hardware startup in Hangzhou.

  2. McGinnis Venture Competition — 2nd Place

    Won 2nd Place in the undergraduate track with OS Keyboard. $4K cash + $10K AWS credits.

  3. SPARK

    Built a local-AI writing peripheral with USB-HID firmware, a local LLM inference pipeline, and a PC daemon.

  4. Founded OS Keyboard

    Founded OS Keyboard at CMU Build18 — won Innov18 Award. Shipped keyboards to 50+ paying customers worldwide.

  5. Innov18 Award — Build18

    Won Innov18 Award at CMU Build18 for OS Keyboard, validating the first public prototype and user story.

  6. Started at Carnegie Mellon

    Enrolled in ECE + Engineering Design, Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University.

  7. Mengyou DIY PC — Social Media

    Produced weekly Bilibili videos for Mengyou DIY PC shop, growing followers by 28%.

  8. Stanley50z Keyboard Studio

    Launched keyboard studio at age 16 — managed a 50+ customer group buy and sold 200+ products separately.

  9. Keyboard Community Building

    Built early keyboard communities and content channels that later informed OS Keyboard's launch strategy.

Contact

Want to get in touch?

I'm open to internships across hardware and software, including embedded engineering, product development, and AI agent applications. I'd like to help build products people actually use.

sidac@andrew.cmu.edu