What do you do at Jaguar Land Rover?
I work in the V2X department which basically means Vehicle-to-everything, and covers all kind of communication to other cars, infrastructure, cloud, pedestrians, etc. V2X will be an enabler for improving road safety, traffic efficiency and comfort.
For the last three years I have been working in the V2X Research department and mainly working on the V2X area of the government funded project called UK Autodrive. I have recently moved to the Pre-Development team to work on getting this technology in our cars.
What is the most enjoyable part of your job?
The most enjoyable and satisfactory part is when you see the V2X prototype systems that we have been working on for months working fine during the demonstration days to VIPs or to the press.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of this job is that this technology keeps evolving because of the different working groups and consortiums in the world working on it. And as a company we have to make sure that our cars can communicate with the rest of world. In another words, we need to assure that Jaguar Land Rover cars speak the same language as the other cars.
Can you tell us about the research you’re currently working on?
In the UK Autodrive project that I previously mention, we have implemented a total of 7 V2X features, one of them is called GLOSA (Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory). This feature consists on the vehicle talking to the traffic light. Because of that the car will know when the traffic light will change to green or red. With that information the car will recommend the driver the speed that needs to drive for getting a green light pass.
What first stirred your interest in this area?
To be fair, when I joined the V2X department a few years ago I did not know much about V2X, but once you start understanding the basic principles is when you realise the big potential and the big impact that will create to the automotive industry. It was at that moment when my passion to V2X started.
What skills and tools do you use on a daily basis?
I basically use different programing tools for creating the initial V2X prototypes. The good thing of the early prototypes in research is that we have to do everything. From wiring the V2X antennas to the roof of the car to designing, programing and testing the applications with cars in test tracks or public roads.
What applications do you foresee for this research?
I can see most of the applications that we have researched and trialled on the marked in the near future, because most of them are also being tested in other regions of the world by different car manufacturers. All will be determined by the penetration in the market of that technology, because some features needs a high percentage of cars equipped with that technology.
If there is such a thing, can you describe a typical day for you?
A typical day can be quite varied, because of the multidisciplinary tasks that we perform. Some days we focus on programing and simulating our algorithms and some others we spend the whole day driving around testing our system.
How did you get interested in engineering?
I think that my interest to engineering started when I was a kid. I remember playing infinite hours with Lego type of games, where as a kid you start training some engineering skills. After that I started to be interested in electronics and robotics and I guess that this passion for new technology brought me to where I am today.
What do you love most about working at Jaguar Land Rover?
If I have to choose one thing I would say the people that I have been lucky to work with. Working at Jaguar Land Rover gives you the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and I find this fascinating because everyone always has a different point of view. Being able to work with this cross cultural environment is something that really enriches me as a person.
What piece of advice would you give someone who is considering a job at Jaguar Land Rover?
I would say that in Jaguar Land Rover there are plenty of different jobs and roles, so the best thing is to choose to work on something that you like or you have passion for.
