When it comes to inertial navigation, OxTS have the expertise, the experience, and the proven technologies. Bringing a new technology or product to market is a significant challenge. However, if your innovation needs to accurately capture position, orientation, and dynamic measurements, you can lean on OxTS to bring your products to market, faster and more cost-effectively, through our integrated INS solutions. We partner with manufacturers, from start-ups to large OEMs, across a myriad of industries, to integrate our INS technologies directly into their products. Iain Clarke, OxTS Senior Product Engineer is an expert in working with customers to successfully develop and launch ground-breaking products, enabling them to soar ahead of their competition. Here he shares a ‘day in his life’.
1. How long have you worked at OxTS, and have you experienced many changes during your time with the Company?
I’ve been with OxTS for 7 years now. It was my first job out of university and it’s incredible to think how much I’ve learnt and grown in my time here, and also how much the company has grown along with me. OxTS has tripled in size since I joined and I’ve been able to keep progressing as departments expand, new teams are created, and new opportunities arise.
2. What does a typical day at work look like for you?
One of the things I like about product management and being a product engineer is how varied the work is. On a typical day I could be meeting our engineers to discuss product development updates; working with the marketing team to produce content like webinars, brochures, or blogs; speaking to customers and partners about projects and opportunities; setting up equipment for data collection and evaluation; or researching new markets and technologies for potential business developments.
3. Which of the projects you’ve been involved with so far has been the most satisfying and why?
I’ve enjoyed working on the OEM range of products as we took our market-leading RT products and adapted them for integrators, taking our technology and building it into customers’ systems to enhance their offering and leverage our navigation capabilities. Projects such as OEM3000 v3, our highest performance INS for product integration; our compact INS, the OEM1000 for customers facing space restrictions; and xOEM1000 customisable INS board set were all projects I enjoyed. But I think the most satisfying and exciting project I’ve worked on is one I’m still working on. I can’t give too much away yet but it’s a new product we’ve developed with cutting-edge technology for a market that could be revolutionary. It’s quite a big step from our other products so a lot of work went into gathering requirements, defining the specs, and planning the business model. It’s been really challenging but very satisfying at the same time and I can’t wait for the launch early next year.
4. What’s been your most challenging project as an OxTS Senior Product Engineer, and how have you overcome this?
Following on from the previous question, this current project I’m working on is the most satisfying because it’s also one of the most challenging. The market and application are new, the customers are new, the requirements are new, the business model is new. It’s all so different to what we’ve done before, and trying new things is always very challenging. Thankfully I’ve had a great team working with me across all areas of the company and real backing and encouragement from the executives.
5. What’s the best thing about being part of the OxTS team?
The best thing about being part of the OxTS team is how close everyone works together and how eager people are to help. When I started, the company was a lot smaller, but it’s managed to retain that ‘family-like’ feeling throughout the growth which is nice. All departments across engineering, commercial, and operations work well in collaboration, even in these challenging times where we can’t physically be in the offices together due to the global Covid-19 situation.
6. What are you most looking forward to in the year ahead at OxTS?
I’ve mentioned it a few times already but I’m most looking forward to the product launch we have coming up early next year (2021). We’ve all put a lot of work into it and it’s exciting, as well as a little nerve-wracking, to bring it to market. The early data we’ve collected so far is really promising so I can’t wait to get it into customers’ hands to use in their projects. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months.
Learn more:
- Download the OxTS integrated solutions brochure.
- Contact us to discuss your own product requirements and integrated solutions.
- To register to participate in forthcoming OxTS support and training webinars, or to view recordings of sessions we’ve already presented, please follow this link.
