Working at the robotics R&D

Hej! So it’s time for an update! Since my last blog-post I’ve had the great opportunity of being abroad for almost six months. More specifically in Huskvarna, Sweden – the place where Husqvarna Group was once founded!

On the professional side I’ve made a shift from the development of irrigation controller software to the development of robotics hardware. So the first thing, when I arrived at our office in Huskvarna was to receive a detailed course about everything that one has to know about robotic lawnmowers. Starting at the product range to the details of the embedded system, which can be described as the brain of the robots.

I started my period in Huskvarna in 18^th March and it turned out that I arrived at just the right time to be part of developing a new robotic lawnmower model. Since I’m an electrical engineer my task was the development of the mainboard for this product. For me this was a great chance to gain a very detailed knowledge about the components and technology that is used in our robots. It was a very good experience for me to really participate in a bigger project. It gave me the opportunity to learn the processes and of course more about the Swedish lifestyle. The office culture in Sweden is definitely characterized by a so called Fika, which is having a coffee and chat with colleagues or friends.

Additionally during the project I was able to join a workshop in our factory in Aycliffe (UK). It was really instructive, because I could really see and learn how our robotic lawnmowers are built and what the challenges in the production lines are.

Except for three small weekend trips home to Germany I stayed the whole period in Sweden. Thus I had really a lot of time to spend in, around and outside of the city. So I really felt like I got to know the place. One of the things I liked most about it, was the closeness to nature – even in the city there a lot of small parks with lakes and behind the factory of Husqvarna Group there is a beautiful waterfall.

Hello readers!

I’m Christian, the Global Trainee in the area of research and development for electronics and software in Ulm. I live close to Ulm in south Germany. Originally, I already joined Husqvarna Group (strictly speaking the Gardena division) in 2010 for the dual study program at the cooperative state university of Baden-Württemberg. After that I worked for two years as an electrical engineer especially in the field of IoT. During this time, I realized that I can expand my knowledge even further. This motivated me to start my master studies – of course also in Electrical Engineering. After my graduation I returned to Husqvarna Group and I had the unique opportunity to become a part of the Global Trainee program. Besides this opportunity the reason why I wanted to come back to the company was, that I really liked working with my old team and the very good collaboration and atmosphere.

For a good start as the new trainee group and to immediately get to know all the important stuff about the company we got an introductory week in Sweden. After this first week I started directly to support my old team with their development projects. In particular I primarily write embedded software for microcontrollers, a task which I really love to do! In addition, I also do some hardware reviews to find issues and improve the new products.

The department currently has no department head. Therefore, I’ve got the great chance (which is of course also a big challenge) to be part of important decisions. For example: for me a whole new task was to be actively involved in job interviews from an employer point. So, for the first time I had to really assess the applicants. That was a very valuable experience.

So finally let’s risk a view into the future. Starting in March next year I’ll spend half a year in Sweden, which I am already looking forward to!

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year!