Several times a year, we take you behind the scenes at Sensile Technologies to meet one of our team members. Today, we invite you to meet Cosmin Atanasoaei, Embedded Software Engineer.
From research to software engineering
After studying computer science at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania, Cosmin Atanasoaei came to Switzerland to pursue a PhD in electrical engineering at EPFL. As part of his research, he developed facial detection and recognition algorithms for integration into mobile phone cameras – this was at the turn of the 2010s, when devices were much less powerful than they are today.
Fifteen years later, technology has evolved, but the focus on optimisation remains just as strong at Sensile Technologies, where embedded software is designed to maximise the battery life of telemetry units. Within our R&D team, Cosmin is our C++ expert: an essential language for robust, resource-efficient firmware development. He focuses on the application layers that process and prepare data before transmission.
Going further with automation and knowledge-sharing
Since joining the company, one of his most significant projects has been to enhance the automation of software testing. Using open-source tools and scripts developed in Python, Cosmin has helped to set up an infrastructure that automatically verifies that the firmware is working properly after each update. These tests, carried out on several cards, are a key step before any further manual checks.
He has also helped to create reusable C++ libraries. These components, shared between several projects, make developments lighter and more consistent, while facilitating their adaptation over time.
Cosmin also shares knowledge with his colleagues every day. In a field where standards are constantly evolving, nothing is ever set in stone. “We have to be aware of everything and keep up to date, which is very stimulating. Our expertise complements each other, and we discuss so many things. We make a great team.”
An analytical and curious mind, both at work and at play
Outside work, Cosmin loves spending time with his children. They play chess together and one of them has just competed in his first tournament. Weekends are often spent on excursions to all corners of Switzerland: he enjoys the great diversity offered by his adopted country, where “there’s always something to see or do.”
Cosmin spends his other free time on a personal project he started after his PhD: an open-source library to test, deepen and renew his skills in software development and machine learning. Through this project, he puts the latest C++ standards into practice and continues the connection he has always made between research and engineering, software development and algorithm design.
Visit Cosmin Atanasoaei’s LinkedIn profile to find out more about his career.