Switching Gears with Upi Chauhan
In our most recent iteration of Switching Gears, we catch up with Upi Chauhan, our Lead Systems Engineer. We discuss why looking at competition is important and how connectivity is shaping the future of the automotive industry.
Describe your day as a Lead Systems Engineer at Charge Cars?
My day is really varied, I come in around 8.30am in the morning and grab a coffee and some breakfast before I get stuck into my day. Since joining the company in September, I’ve come into a really pivotal time in the company where cars are being built and it’s my job to make sure that the areas of the car I’m responsible for are delivered to each car fully functioning and offers the customer the best user experience. So it could be that I need to test a component on our electrical rig or its fault finding to understand if we have an issue with software or electrical hardware.
Top tip for someone entering your field of work.
The automotive world is changing on a daily basis and technology is moving really fast. What’s really important is to understand what the customer wants out of their car. Looking at market trends especially in telecoms, is a good way to realise where technology is heading. It’s also good to understand your competitors. Competition gives an opportunity to approach your product with the plan of either making something better or improving something that is already consider a great feature in the market.
What trend, if any, is shaping your area of work right now?
As cars move to be being more autonomous, it gives more time for the people inside the car to enjoy the cars features. So what is becoming more common is an improvement in audio and visual aspects. Whether that be a great audio system, larger user display or ambient lighting, these all still allow the user to be in control of the vehicle either be audio prompts or visual lighting and warning sounds. The other key trend shaping the future is connectivity. Your car now becomes the extension of your existing eco-system and therefore it’s important to be able to access your vehicle in the comfort of your own home but also be able to communicate with other vehicles around you (V2X) so you can react quicker to hazards during your journey.
Working here, what are you most looking forward to?
Like the rest of the team, I’m really looking forward to seeing the end product. Before starting at Charge, I was following their movements on social media and always excited to see the car on a screen, but to actually see it come to life and see it drive and be a part of that journey is a real passion for me.
What book would you recommend?
‘Elon Musk’, by Ashlee Vance. Elon Musk is a very controversial man, but also extremely intelligent. I read this book with the intention to find out more about Tesla and how he’s got the company to where it is today. But I was quite surprised to read about the journey of how he got there.
