Before joining Circu Li-ion, Christian was deeply immersed in the world of scientific research as a PhD student under Prof. Tobias Meisen at RWTH Aachen and the University of Wuppertal. His expertise spans the industrial application of AI, with significant contributions to projects on predictive maintenance, sequence optimization, and self-learning robotics. Christian's research primarily focused on self-learning robotics, where he explored innovative methods to adapt time-discrete reinforcement learning for smooth and continuous robot movements and cross-domain transfer learning to enhance efficiency. His work stands at the intersection of AI and robotics, driving forward the capabilities of intelligent systems.
What’s your role at Circu Li-ion?
Christian: I’m part of the automation team, and my main role is to lead the development of the automation software stack for our battery disassembly machines. Since batteries come in all shapes and forms, our machines need to handle this variability. We approach this challenge by teaching our robots generally applicable skills, which can then be easily combined to create battery-specific disassembly procedures. We also employ state-of-the-art computer vision systems, enabling our robots to identify and adapt to their environment. Additionally, we ensure that multiple batteries in the machine are simultaneously disassembled correctly and efficiently. To achieve this, the software I am developing ensures that all components in this complex architecture are orchestrated correctly to guarantee reliable and efficient operation.
I am also involved in the grant efforts of Circu Li-ion. There is a lot of exciting research happening in robotics and AI from which we, as a company, can benefit from managing the complexities of battery disassembly. With my background in academia, I enjoy helping to transfer some of this research into industrial applications.
What motivated you to join Circu Li-ion?
Christian: When I began looking for new job opportunities, I rated potential workplaces with three main criteria: mission, technology, and team. The mission is very important to me, as I am a purpose-driven person. If I don't see meaning and use in the tasks I am doing, I get disengaged very quickly. The Circu Li-ion mission of upcycling batteries, which would otherwise be destroyed, deeply resonates with me as a journey that will unquestionably have a positive impact on our planet and society. And as our CEO Antoine likes to say: it's also a great business case. Regarding tech, I am fascinated with autonomous machines, so I choose to focus my efforts on the intersection of robotics and artificial intelligence. As a Senior Robotics & AI Engineer at Circu Li-ion, I get to do precisely that: continuously make our machines more intelligent and autonomous. Finally, the leadership at Circu Li-ion is very mindful about assembling a team of ambitious and capable individuals who love to take initiative and dare to change the world, which is exactly the working environment I was looking for.
Cheers for sharing, Christian. Let's boost some battery value!
You’d like to join the revolut-ion as well?
Find more information and open positions here.