diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 226d3a71..3a449466 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+
 devel/
 bin/
 msg_gen/
@@ -59,3 +60,6 @@ COLCON_IGNORE
 # uwrt_mars_rover_hw_bridge shouldnt be added as a git submodule
 uwrt_mars_rover_utils/lib/uwrt_mars_rover_hw_bridge/
 
+uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/compile_commands.json
+uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/compile_commands.json
+.gitignore
diff --git a/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/CMakeLists.txt b/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/CMakeLists.txt
index ab5f9053..4e7255d5 100644
--- a/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -24,6 +24,14 @@ if(NOT CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD)
   set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 14)
 endif()
 
+# add_library(uwrt_mars_rover_utils SHARED IMPORTED)
+# target_link_libraries(
+#     ${PROJECT_NAME}
+#     PUBLIC
+#       uwrt_mars_rover_utils::uwrt_mars_rover_utils
+# )
+
+
 # find dependencies
 find_package(ament_cmake REQUIRED)
 find_package(hardware_interface REQUIRED)
@@ -31,6 +39,7 @@ find_package(transmission_interface REQUIRED)
 find_package(pluginlib REQUIRED)
 find_package(rclcpp REQUIRED)
 find_package(rclcpp_lifecycle REQUIRED)
+find_package(uwrt_mars_rover_utils REQUIRED)
 
 include_directories(include)
 
@@ -41,6 +50,7 @@ include_directories(include)
 #	include
 #)
 
+
 # add dynamic library & it's dependecies
 add_library(
 	${PROJECT_NAME}
@@ -48,6 +58,7 @@ add_library(
 	src/${PROJECT_NAME}_actuator.cpp
     src/${PROJECT_NAME}_differential.cpp
 )
+
 ament_target_dependencies(
 	${PROJECT_NAME}
 	hardware_interface
@@ -55,7 +66,10 @@ ament_target_dependencies(
 	pluginlib
 	rclcpp_lifecycle
 	rclcpp
+  uwrt_mars_rover_utils
 )
+
+
 target_compile_options(${PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE -Wshadow -Werror) # add some extra flags for this target
 target_compile_definitions(${PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE "UWRT_MARS_ROVER_ARM_HW_DLL") # visibility header stuff regarding .so files
 #TODO: fill in the above correct compile definition above
diff --git a/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/compile_commands.json b/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/compile_commands.json
deleted file mode 120000
index fb786302..00000000
--- a/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/compile_commands.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-/home/niiquaye/robotics/build/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/compile_commands.json
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/include/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw_actuator.hpp b/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/include/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw_actuator.hpp
index 2ca5ef60..34b7eb85 100644
--- a/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/include/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw_actuator.hpp
+++ b/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/include/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw_actuator.hpp
@@ -14,45 +14,11 @@
 #include <rclcpp_lifecycle/state.hpp>
 #include <transmission_interface/simple_transmission.hpp>
 #include <vector>
-
+#include <uwrt_mars_rover_utils/data_utils.hpp>
 #include "uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/visibility.hpp"
 
 namespace uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw
 {
-// namespaced structs to hold transmission data - state & command
-namespace TransmissionData
-{
-namespace ActuatorData
-{
-using CommandData = struct CommandData
-{
-  double velocity{};
-};
-
-using StateData = struct StateData
-{
-  double velocity{};
-  double position{};
-  double iq_current{};  // not used for differential transmission
-};
-
-}  // namespace ActuatorData
-namespace JointData
-{
-using CommandData = struct CommandData
-{
-  double velocity{};
-};
-
-using StateData = struct StateData
-{
-  double velocity{};
-  double position{};
-};
-
-}  // namespace JointData
-
-}  // namespace TransmissionData
 
 class ArmActuatorInterface : public hardware_interface::ActuatorInterface
 {
@@ -115,10 +81,10 @@ class ArmActuatorInterface : public hardware_interface::ActuatorInterface
   inline static constexpr std::size_t NUM_COMMAND_INTERFACES{1};
 
   // holds actuator reads/writes
-  TransmissionData::ActuatorData::CommandData actuator_commands{};
-  TransmissionData::ActuatorData::StateData actuator_states{};
-  TransmissionData::JointData::CommandData joint_commands{};
-  TransmissionData::JointData::StateData joint_states{};
+  DifferentialTransmissionData::ActuatorData::CommandData actuator_commands{};
+  DifferentialTransmissionData::ActuatorData::StateData actuator_states{};
+  DifferentialTransmissionData::JointData::CommandData joint_commands{};
+  DifferentialTransmissionData::JointData::StateData joint_states{};
 
   // transmission for state & command transmission
   std::shared_ptr<transmission_interface::SimpleTransmission> command_transmission{nullptr};
diff --git a/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/include/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw_differential.hpp b/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/include/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw_differential.hpp
index 03ff12c2..2592e170 100644
--- a/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/include/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw_differential.hpp
+++ b/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/include/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw_differential.hpp
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 #include <rclcpp/macros.hpp>
 #include <rclcpp_lifecycle/state.hpp>
 #include <transmission_interface/differential_transmission.hpp>
+#include <uwrt_mars_rover_utils/data_utils.hpp>
 #include <vector>
 
 #include "transmission_interface/handle.hpp"
@@ -23,40 +24,6 @@
 
 namespace uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw
 {
-namespace DifferentialTransmissionData
-{
-namespace ActuatorData
-{
-using CommandData = struct CommandData
-{
-  double
-    velocity{};  //TODO: change this so that it can work with any interface type... add enum class that will hold the different command types
-};
-
-using StateData = struct StateData
-{
-  double velocity{};
-  double position{};
-  double iq_current{};  // not used for differential transmission
-};
-
-}  // namespace ActuatorData
-namespace JointData
-{
-using CommandData = struct CommandData
-{
-  double velocity{};
-};
-
-using StateData = struct StateData
-{
-  double velocity{};
-  double position{};
-};
-
-}  // namespace JointData
-
-}  // namespace DifferentialTransmissionData
 
 class ArmDifferentialSystemInterface : public hardware_interface::SystemInterface
 {
diff --git a/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/package.xml b/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/package.xml
index f83ec7eb..464fac05 100644
--- a/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/package.xml
+++ b/uwrt_mars_rover_arm/uwrt_mars_rover_arm_hw/package.xml
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
   <depend>rclcpp</depend>
   <depend>rclcpp_lifecycle</depend>
   <depend>transmission_interface</depend>
+  <depend>uwrt_mars_rover_utils</depend>
 
   <test_depend>ament_cmake_cppcheck</test_depend>
   <test_depend>ament_clang_tidy</test_depend>
diff --git a/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/CMakeLists.txt b/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..547e254e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.8)
+project(uwrt_mars_rover_utils)
+
+# set C/C++ standard
+if(NOT CMAKE_C_STANDARD)
+  set(CMAKE_C_STANDARD 99)
+endif()
+if(NOT CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD)
+  set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 14)
+endif()
+
+
+if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX OR CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID MATCHES "Clang")
+  add_compile_options(-Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic)
+endif()
+
+# find dependencies
+find_package(ament_cmake REQUIRED)
+
+add_library(${PROJECT_NAME} INTERFACE)
+target_include_directories(
+  ${PROJECT_NAME}
+  INTERFACE
+  $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
+  $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
+)
+
+ament_export_targets(${PROJECT_NAME}Targets HAS_LIBRARY_TARGET)
+
+
+install(
+  DIRECTORY include/
+  DESTINATION include
+)
+install(
+  TARGETS ${PROJECT_NAME}
+  EXPORT ${PROJECT_NAME}Targets
+  LIBRARY DESTINATION lib
+  ARCHIVE DESTINATION lib
+  RUNTIME DESTINATION bin
+  INCLUDES DESTINATION include
+)
+
+
+
+
+if(BUILD_TESTING)
+  # Force generation of compile_commands.json for clang-tidy
+  set(CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS ON CACHE INTERNAL "")
+
+  # clang-format
+  find_package(ament_cmake_clang_format REQUIRED)
+  ament_clang_format(
+      CONFIG_FILE ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/../../.clang-format
+  )
+
+  # clang-tidy
+  find_package(ament_cmake_clang_tidy REQUIRED)
+  ament_clang_tidy(
+      ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}
+      CONFIG_FILE ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/../../.clang-tidy
+  )
+
+  # cppcheck
+  find_package(ament_cmake_cppcheck REQUIRED)
+  ament_cppcheck()
+
+  # flake8
+  find_package(ament_cmake_flake8 REQUIRED)
+  ament_flake8(
+      CONFIG_FILE ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/../../.flake8
+  )
+
+  # xmllint
+  find_package(ament_cmake_xmllint REQUIRED)
+  ament_xmllint()
+endif()
+
+ament_package()
diff --git a/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/include/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/data_utils.hpp b/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/include/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/data_utils.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..62093899
--- /dev/null
+++ b/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/include/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/data_utils.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+#pragma once
+
+namespace DifferentialTransmissionData {
+
+namespace ActuatorData {
+
+struct CommandData {
+  double velocity{};  // TODO: change this so that it can work with any interface type... add enum class that will hold
+                      // the different command types
+};
+
+struct StateData {
+  double velocity{};
+  double position{};
+  double iq_current{};  // not used for differential transmission
+};
+
+}  // namespace ActuatorData
+
+// keeping this separate from ActuatorData despite the overlap for extensibility reasons
+namespace JointData {
+
+struct CommandData {
+  double velocity{};
+};
+
+struct StateData {
+  double velocity{};
+  double position{};
+};
+
+}  // namespace JointData
+
+}  // namespace DifferentialTransmissionData
diff --git a/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/package.xml b/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/package.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0f91e6db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/uwrt_mars_rover_utils/package.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+<?xml version="1.0"?>
+<?xml-model href="http://download.ros.org/schema/package_format3.xsd" schematypens="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"?>
+<package format="3">
+  <name>uwrt_mars_rover_utils</name>
+  <version>0.0.0</version>
+  <description>UWRT Mars Rover utilities package for avoiding duplicate code.</description>
+  <maintainer email="keyonjerome@gmail.com">keyonjerome</maintainer>
+  <license>MIT</license>
+
+  <buildtool_depend>ament_cmake</buildtool_depend>
+
+  <test_depend>ament_lint_auto</test_depend>
+  <test_depend>ament_lint_common</test_depend>
+  <test_depend>ament_cmake_clang_format</test_depend>
+  <test_depend>ament_cmake_clang_tidy</test_depend>
+  <test_depend>ament_cmake_cppcheck</test_depend>
+  <test_depend>ament_cmake_flake8</test_depend>
+  <test_depend>ament_cmake_xmllint</test_depend>
+  
+  <export>
+    <build_type>ament_cmake</build_type>
+  </export>
+</package>