Question: Can you describe your role at HydroSurv in just three words?
Make technology accessible. A wide variety of hardware, software and technology is installed on-board our vessels and the data collected is used for many different purposes. All this technology and data needs to be exposed to operators and data consumers in an integrated and simple way. It is my job to bring all of these control and monitoring systems and survey datasets together into an intuitive suite of software products that can be used by as broad an audience as possible, regardless of skillset and experience.
Question: What’s the most exciting thing that you have worked on so far?
The SoAR (Squads of Adaptive Robots) project was the most exciting as it was both innovative and highly collaborative. It involved close co-operation with a number of other partners, which allowed me to work with and learn from a whole bunch of very talented individuals. It also required the monitoring and operation of the USV remotely from our operations centre. It was great to see all the different components and technologies come together during the final sea trials.
Question: What do you most enjoy about being a part of the HydroSurv team?
Much of the work is not only innovative, but also ground breaking. I have always enjoyed the challenge of continually learning throughout my career, and this role offers that in spades! I am learning lots about an industry sector in which I had no prior exposure and at the same time I am vastly expanding both my software and hardware knowledge. It is great to be able to apply modern tools and technologies to solve our technology problems, without being constrained by legacy systems, people and processes.
Question: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I had absolutely no idea. I left school at 18 in the middle of a recession, and struggled to find any regular employment despite six months of trying. I decided one afternoon to take a trip to the careers office and apply for university. The only thing I could think to study was what I enjoyed doing most in my spare time, programming my computer at home! The rest is history…
Question: What values are most important to you, both in your working life and personally?
Be the best you can at everything you do and be kind to others. If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing properly. If I apply myself to anything, at home or work, I like to be sure that I have done the best job possible and attended to every detail. I learnt very quickly that there is no such thing as a short cut. A little extra time spent up front always saves time (and money) in the long run.
Question: What are the most important issues of the day that our work can solve?
I think anything that can help lessen the environmental impact that humans are having on the planet is of upmost importance. USVs are an effective way to address this in the marine industry.