New Delhi: India is globally recognised for its talent pool in the domain of software development. This has made the country a leader in IT and software offshoring. A latest testimony to this is the CES 2021 Innovation Award won by the Bosch eBike System Nyon. It was fully developed by a team of 20 associates at Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Pvt Ltd (RBEI) Coimbatore campus.
Nyon is an intuitive and connected on-board computer for eBikes so that riders can use the eBike as a fitness facility that can also offer navigation and a whole host of other functions. The eBike Connect App connects Nyon with the smartphone and exchanges data about routes and activities. The all-in-one on-board computer can be operated intuitively with the touchscreen, and controlled by a separate control unit while riding.
The Coimbatore-based team that worked on this product consisted of embedded automotive software engineers who have end-to-end responsibility for the development and system testing of eBike’s features. It includes controlling the bike assistance with Bosch-defined assistance modes, core riding, ABS notification, anti-theft protection and electronic gear control system.
In an exclusive interaction with ETAuto, Jacob Peter, senior vice president, Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, talked about the software development process of these computers amid the pandemic, India’s rich talent pool, and how the company has been managing its innovation streak in the transitioning WFH culture.
“This (software development) is an ongoing programme. We have been working on the earlier generation also. The software for Nyon was done completely in the Coimbatore campus and the electronics in Germany. The full development cycle took about 18 months, including validation and software development”, Peter said. The main market for the product is Europe and North America.
Notably, the majority of the development took place remotely thanks to the remote enablement of labs much before the pandemic struck. Jacob said in the coming months, the company would scale up these remotely-enabled labs to be fully equipped to deal with any similar emergency.
RBEI has been consistently investing in research and development. It is well reflected in the number of patent applications it has filed. Bosch’s global stockpile of patents relating to mobility solutions is far more than that of the competitors.
RBEI has been filing an average of 75-90 patent applications every year and the rate of grant is around 90%, Peter said. Most of the patents are in the field of AI, cybersecurity, computer vision and Industry 4.0.
RBEI, which has over 20,000 employees in the country, is adding talents in a big way as it plans to recruit 1,000 freshers and 1,500 experienced professionals over the course of this year. Hiring is already under way. “Our focus for the future is going to be AI-based IoT solutions, so our hiring also would reflect skills in these areas,” he said.
The company primarily hires for IT and embedded work. But this time almost half of them are in areas like IoT, AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, and blockchain .
Up-skilling
For the existing workforce, the company adopts a three-pronged approach for up-skilling.
“There is an opportunity for the present employees to come and work on building different platforms. For others we have been running training programmes on topics like data engineering, AI, and architecture where people can participate,” Peter said.
“Moreover, an engineer can join a course of his or her choice and get the course fee reimbursed on successful completion of the training from a special fund we have earmarked for that,” he added.
