Håkan Carlsson joined Nordic Inertial as a Senior Engineer in August 2023. Previously, Carlsson worked with autonomous excavators for a San Francisco-based company. Carlsson is undoubtedly a five-star addition to our team of #CuriousMinds!
Carlsson completed his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at KTH, Stockholm, specializing in signal processing, mainly focusing on motion estimation using IMUs. When he came across Nordic Inertial's LinkedIn post for a Senior Engineer position, Carlsson knew he had discovered his future work community.
"I had heard about Nordic Inertial in my research but didn't know much about the company," Carlsson says. "It will be fascinating to see how my research can contribute to Nordic Inertial and its future products."
What initially attracted you to join our company?
"Definitely the work Nordic Inertial does with inertial sensors. The people here have a strong academic background, which is quite unique. The technical knowledge in the company is exceptionally high.” Carlsson states.
“It's exciting to join a company that specializes in inertial sensor systems and their applications. While there are larger companies that work on bits and pieces of this field, having a company with an equivalent research background that focuses solely on this area is truly noteworthy.
"Additionally, having team members with an academic background enables us to effectively communicate our work to a broader audience, not just within our professional circle. This, of course, greatly benefits our client interactions and our efforts to educate the public about how we contribute to making the world a safer place."
The Man Who Almost Invented Autonomous Vacuum Cleaners
Back in high school in 2005, for his final year project, Carlsson had the ambition of creating an autonomous vacuum cleaner. He describes this project as the one that sparked his interest in robotics and motion.
"I didn't realize how challenging it was," Carlsson says, laughing.
“The vacuum cleaner had two wheels, and I believed the best approach would be for it to move in a snake-like pattern, requiring precise 90-degree turns. However, it consistently turned at 89 or 91 degrees, eventually losing its orientation.”
This same issue arose when Carlsson conducted his research on positioning robots relying solely on sensor-derived information.
“I kept coming back to the same issue time and time again” Carlsson smiles and shrugs.
When he began his engineering and physics studies at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, he discovered that you can actually prove that if you simply allow a robot to move straight until it encounters an obstacle, and then it changes direction randomly, the robot will eventually cover the entire floor. This is precisely what every household robot vacuum cleaner does!
So, you basically invented robot vacuum cleaners?
“Well, I can’t claim I invented them, but I did work on them” he chuckles.
Inertial sensors will change machine operating
Inertial sensors are poised to revolutionize machine operations. Carlsson is convinced that their broader impact lies in the fact that inertial sensors can be integrated into almost any moving machine.
This technology holds tremendous relevance for various types of robots, including autonomous vehicles, drones, excavators, and more. Machines that once required human operators can now be controlled from anywhere in the world.
"Of course, for this to work, the robot would need 'eyes' to understand its position and be aware of its surroundings, and that's where Nordic Inertial comes in," Carlsson explains.
Challenges and possibilities in the world of autonomous vehicles
The vision of completely autonomous excavators that can operate in all conditions, locations, and weather is a distant one. For instance, when we have excavators working in urban areas, we must ensure they avoid people and buildings - a challenging task. However, in the interim, operators could be situated in other countries, controlling multiple excavators instead of having one operator per excavator on-site.
"With our sensors, we continuously monitor how the excavator moves. Understanding its movements thoroughly is crucial for safety, especially when it comes to avoiding various obstacles. This is where we play a pivotal role, enhancing the accuracy of this knowledge.”