My team at Johnson + Johnson is a subgroup of the robotics and controls (RC) department, which focuses on forward-looking innovation within the realm of surgical robotic control. While the broader RC group has been focused on the release of J+J's Ottava robot, my team primarily focuses on two domains:
Within the algorithms realm, I have implemented iterative inverse kinematics algorithms which are capable of applying constraints to highly redundant manipulators. I have also implemented adaptive control algorithms for precise control of instruments with imprecise end effectors. In my first year with the company, the instrument I wrote software for was chartered for a full product release.
Within the software realm, I have focused on the development of C++ software that is highly readable, reusable, testable, and efficient. I am always pushing the team to embrace concepts from modern C++ standards (11, 14, 17, and 20) and leverage many functional programming techniques with the intent of writing high-quality code that goes beyond "just working".
During my time with the team, I have placed a strong emphasis on building a collaborative team culture. It is extremely important to me that I foster an environment in which teammates and I can comfortably acknowledge deficiencies in our technical skills and take the time to fill those gaps. To this end, I have taken many opportunities to give technical presentations to my team on various concepts: iterative inverse kinematics, adaptive control, C++ move semantics, functional programming in C++, and more.
Moreover, I always make an effort to help others on the team be comfortable expressing their opinions and asking for help. The culture we have built on the team has made it so that I can confidently say I enjoy working with my teammates, and I have become a significantly better roboticist and programmer than I was before working at J+J.