2019 brought one of the biggest surprises in the automotive domain. More exactly, in everything that means techology integration, AR and car innovation. At CES (Consumer Electronics Show), Mercedes Benz presented MBUX, the infotainment system that uses augmented reality and it is already part of the new Mercedes Benz A Class.
How many of you ask who stood behind this project? In all these hardworking years that had as a result MBUX, they had a team of 100 romanians. It is all about a part of the Harman “family”, a Samsung company that transforms the everyday driving through the latest technologies.
The work of Harman International team from 3 continents was awarded at the beginning of this year, at 2018 Daimler Supplier Awards, the annual event that recognizes the performance of the giant partners in auto world. Moreover, along with the transition under the brand Samsung, Harman expands the collaboration limits with their clients in the auto world, offering more innovative solutions, which changes the drivers and passengers experience in the entire world.
We wanted to find out what this experience meant for the Harman`s team members. We visited their office and we talked about their feelings now that the product is “live”, how did they work, the challenges they faced but also about the satisfaction when they see the new Mercedes A Class model.
Ionuț Măgureanu, CPM Daimler
What did MBUX mean to you?
It was a challenge. Sometimes it gave me headaches, but it represented the sum of my experience. There were 600 people involved in this project, including 100 from Bucharest.
It was a multicultural environment and it was necessary to unite people from 3 continents, from countries like India, USA, Germany, China, Poland, Ukraine.
What challenges did you face?
Because the Romanian market is volatile, we had to overcome our own limits. Often, even though we felt pressure in the key moments of the project, we learned how to focus on results, without compromising quality. This is how we got to this point, receiving the 2018 Daimler Supplier Award.
Lucian Marinescu, Team Lead Media Daimler
How did the project influence you?
It helped me develop my technical skills, teamwork, but also coordination and organizing. Perseverance was the most important thing in dealing with a lot of tasks.
What was the component you worked for?
I helped developing the media player: playback from USB stick, Bluetooth or Smartphone, streaming, IP Radio – tuning.
Mihaela Călinescu, Team Lead Media Devices
What was your experience with MBUX?
We represent the interface of the integration management media player. It was a challenging project because I started to lead the team when the product was already in launching phase.
Bogdan Barbu, Team Lead Connectivity&Speech
How was the project for you?
It was indeed an interesting project. I needed a calibration period together with my colleagues from India, USA, Germany, Ukraine, but once we have succeeded, the collaboration was a good one till the end.
How did MBUX influence you?
Regarding the technical aspect, I overcame my level and I won visibility În ceea ce privește aspectul tehnic, mi-am depășit nivelul și am câștigat vizibilitate in projects from the countries we work with. Being a multicultural environment, I saw other working methods that proved to be effective. I can’t wait for the car to be displayed in our Showroom so that I can play with what I’ve developed with the team.
Adrian Dobrescu, C++ Developer
What did MBUX mean for you?
It was an extremely interesting project for my career, a project in which I felt that I had a major impact on the technologies.
What was the component you worked for?
I had a little piece from a bigger ensemble: the offboard part which needs connection to the internet – like Siri. You can ask “How is the weather tomorrow”, voice recognition in Cloud, hands-free, microphones.
If you want to be part of our future projects, you can apply for one of our jobs from the following LINK. Do you want to know how it is to work at Harman, what are the benefits and how does the work atmosphere looks like? Read the article from our partners HotNews here.