Engineering is at the heart of entrepreneurship, a truth that Han Ju and Rudy Ruelas II have embraced in their first year as NIU engineering students. Their ability to blend the two disciplines resulted in seed-funding success, first on the DeKalb campus and more recently at DePaul University in Chicago.
Two weeks ago, the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (CEET) students secured a spot in the final pitch round—and $1,000—at the 2025 University Pitch Madness Competition hosted by DePaul. The founders of SafeStride Robotics LLC, they are developing a robotic guide dog designed to help the visually impaired navigate their environments more safely and independently.
Their achievement was chronicled last week on the College of Business news blog, NIU Entrepreneurs Take the Stage at 2025 University Pitch Madness. A stepping stone to the July 15 showdown in the city was the De La Vega Pitch Competition, hosted by the College of Business in April. At that event, the pair’s first-place performance earned them $2,000 in seed funding and propelled them to the DePaul event.
Twelve months ago, neither could have envisioned such a feat.
“I personally didn’t really know what I wanted to do in engineering when I first started out,” Ju said. “The only thing I was certain about was that I love animals and I want to use engineering in uplifting them.”
“If you have an idea and don’t know where to start, take the leap and begin working on it,” Ruelas added. “Chip away at it, piece by piece. Along the way, you’ll find like-minded people willing and able to help you along your path.”
Indeed, their triumphs have not occurred in isolation, with NIU offering resources and guidance at every stage of the innovation journey. Among those providing key support: the Office of Innovation in the Division of Research and Innovation Partnerships, as well as CEET faculty members such as Mechanical Engineering Presidential Teaching Professor Nick Pohlman and Peter Lin, a member of the mechatronics program faculty.
Lin, faculty mentor to Ju and Ruelas, lauded the two for their “infectious enthusiasm” and called their performance at DePaul “nothing short of exceptional.”
“On stage, under pressure, they delivered a compelling and confident presentation—each playing a vital role in showcasing their vision: AI-powered robotic guide dogs designed to assist visually impaired users,” Lin said. “Han and Rudy exemplify the spirit of student entrepreneurship.”
Lin encouraged other CEET students to explore how they can merge entrepreneurship and technology.
“In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping the job landscape—bringing both disruption and opportunity—it’s more important than ever for engineering students to tap into their entrepreneurial potential,” Lin said. “Don’t wait until graduation. Use the powerful AI tools, resources and knowledge you’re gaining from CEET to solve meaningful, real-world problems now.”
Ju, a mechanical engineering major, and Ruelas, a mechatronics engineering major, answered several questions about their experience so far.
Q: What have been some of the biggest take-aways for you?
Ju: I had a really nice time demonstrating the SafeStride robot dogs and learning so much about other amazing business ideas out there. …This was our second time pitching and receiving feedback from the judges as well as watching other business pitches. We learned a lot about how we would be able to improve in our future pitching.
Ruelas: It was really fascinating to see all the other teams and their ideas. There were lots of engineering groups from across the Midwest and it was fun to see not just the process of initial concept, designing process and final product, but also how these ideas can be turned into businesses.
Q: What’s the next major milestone for SafeStride Robotics—and how do you plan to get there?
Ju: We’re focused on rolling out our technology and, in the process, getting consistent customer feedback.
Ruelas: As for getting there, we need to refine our ability to interface with our robotic dogs and our proprietary software to get to a level where we feel comfortable beginning that testing.
Q: How do you envision your robotic guide dog evolving over the next few years in terms of features and accessibility?
Ju: I am very excited for our robotic dogs to have the features that not only mimic but also outperform traditional guide dogs.
Ruelas: Over the next couple of years, we hope to see our technology evolve to a point where the dog will be able to handle more advanced situations. Right now, we’re working at a starting point of simple situations in controlled environments. Through testing and refinement of our team’s skills, we hope that the dogs will be able to handle more advanced scenarios in more uncontrolled environments.
For information and inquiries about SafeStride Robotics, please e-mail contact@safestriderobotics.com. For more information about the College of Business’ De La Vega Innovation Lab and its offerings, visit go.niu.edu/innovation-lab.
