My first major project. Born from a simple desire to control my bedroom lights without leaving bed, I designed and built a device that attaches to any standard light switch. Features a presence detector for automation, connects to my web app and Google Home via MQTT, and includes a touch sensor for manual control.
I am an A-Level student located in Bristol who is super passionate about engineering and building cool things. More information about me and my projects below!
Vital stats.
Current project.
Self-Balancing Desk Robot
A two-wheel inverted pendulum that lives on a desk — balanced by an LQR controller with a Kalman filter for IMU fusion. Talks back via a mic+speaker, watches for obstacles with an ultrasonic sensor, won't fall off the desk thanks to IR cliff sensors, and homes back to a charging dock using an IR beacon.
Read the build log →Selected projects.
Inspired by the need to automate my roller blinds, I designed a stepper-motor-driven device that connects to the existing cord mechanism. I designed a custom PCB to minimise wiring, used an ESP32 C6 for wireless control, and integrated it with my home-automation app with useful automations.
A custom-built multi-device companion application designed for home automation. Built as a high-fidelity mobile-first PWA, it manages shared homes with multiple family members, each getting independent device control and personalized automation schedules. Features real-time MQTT state syncing, sunrise/sunset blinds automations, radar-based presence detection through linked devices, secure Firebase auth, and BLE credential provisioning for offline hardware rescue.
This project is for my A-Level Computer Science project. The idea came from wanting to control my blinds and light switch without my phone — just by using my voice. So I decided to build a personal desk assistant I can talk to, that can do tasks and actions for me. I also wanted it to be self-balancing for the extra complexity in my Comp Sci project.
About me.
I'm Giorgi Suramlishvili — 16 years old, born in Tbilisi, Georgia, grew up in Bristol, UK. I've been taking things apart since I was old enough to hold a screwdriver.
These days I'm in Year 12 studying Further Maths, Maths, Physics and Computer Science. Building things runs in parallel with school. My first serious project was the Light Switch Control Device at age 13 — a practical solution to a simple problem, but it taught me more than any lesson. The Blinds Control Device followed, and now I'm deep into the Self-Balancing Desk Robot for my A-Level Computer Science project.
I enjoy solving problems and working on projects that are beyond my current scope of knowledge and I work in Fusion 360, design PCBs in KiCad, and write firmware in C++ and Python.
Outside of projects: water polo four times a week, tennis once a week, gaming when I get the chance, and slowly figuring out where to apply for engineering at university.
Education & experience.
- Further Mathematics
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Computer Science
- Learnt skills such as how to work efficiently within a team.
- The level of documentation an aerospace/defence project requires.
- Presentation skills — pitching a futuristic missile project to senior figures within the company.
- I got to see all the components that go inside a missile and how each department operates within the company.
- Learnt key skills such as file organisation, Python coding within Maths and LaTeX.
- Learnt skills necessary for creating a research document — how to set up the document, add references and lay everything out.
- Was introduced to some of the content taught in the university for Mathematics.
- Quantum mechanics — wave-particle duality, the uncertainty principle.
- Renewable energy — how wind turbines and wind farms are designed and optimised.
- Semiconductors — band theory, p-n junctions, device physics.
- Particle physics — the Standard Model and detection methods.
- Attended a talk by Cambridge engineering faculty on fluid dynamics and real-world applications.
- Exposure to Cambridge academic culture and university life.
- Talks on the Standard Model, collider experiments and detector technology.
- Hands-on data analysis activity using real CERN collision data.
Skills & tools.
- Fusion 360CAD
- KiCadPCB
- C++firmware
- Pythonscripting / control
- 3D printingFDM, PETG
- Control theoryPID · LQR · Kalman
- MicrocontrollersESP32 · Arduino · RPi
- Problem solvingcore
- Critical thinkingcore
- Teamworkteam sports
- PresentationMBDA placement
- Self-directed learningproject-based
- Technical writingdocumentation
- Water poloteam
- Tennissingles
- Gaminghobby
- Readingnon-fiction
- Long walksthinking time
Feel free to contact me!
Looking for project collaborators, work-experience opportunities, or just engineers to talk to. The fastest way to reach me is email — I'll write back!