What was your background before joining Velco?
After finishing my DUT in GEII (Electrical Engineering and Industrial Computing) in Angers, I wanted to specialize in computer development and more precisely in the development of Android applications.
I then left the sweet Angevine to go to Reims and do a professional license specializing in the development of Android applications.
Following this license, I came back to Angers to do my internship at the end of the year in a company specialized in the realization of solutions for the management of the public domain.
It was a very nice experience that allowed me to make an Android application and to gain experience on this part that I’m passionate about.
After my internship I was hired and I was able to work on different tasks, which allowed me to touch a lot of things in the IT part (server and android development, deployment, deliverable management, database management …).
Having seen what I could do in this company, I decided to take on a new challenge by joining Velco.
What’s your position at Velco? What projects are you working on?
I’m an Android developer and back-end. This allows me to be present on all the phase of realization of an Android application. Android development consists in making Android applications. We are currently two Android developers within Velco.
My role is to code an application according to the specifications and the UI/UX mock-ups made by the project manager and the UI designer. Once the code is created, validated and tested by myself, it is then deployed in “Test”, a phase during which the project manager and/or interested parties test and validate the application. Once this phase is completed, the application can be deployed in “Production”, where it is connected to a real database and published on the Play Store.
Back-end development consists of coding the server processing of Web and mobile applications. As for the Android part, specifications are first written and the development is then carried out, tested and validated following the same process. Currently I’m working on a server application that can communicate with our Nuotrax product. This application allows to communicate with our Nuotrax product which is a connected handlebar. It allows to have a bidirectional communication with Nuotrax, which allows to configure it and retrieve information such as GPS position, instantaneous speed and average speed of the bike, battery level of the bike, etc … I am also working on another application that allows to interface with one of our customers so that they can communicate and retrieve data from Nuotrax.
Beyond the code, I also take care a little bit of the server infrastructure part which consists in configuring the servers.
Why did you choose to join Velco?
The start up atmosphere and the prospect of specializing in Android development while still touching a bit on the server side motivated me to join Velco.
What I appreciate the most in the company is that each person is fully integrated and empowered with respect to his or her project. We have a great deal of freedom over the technologies used. Each person can give his or her opinion and thus share it with others. We have regular meetings with our project managers, which allows us to know the general progress (commercial, technical etc …).
Do you think connectivity will revolutionize mobility and how?
Urban mobility is a key issue today. Politicians are even making it an important topic on their agendas. Connectivity is everywhere nowadays, even in our watches, it is found in all the objects of our daily life. This is why the marriage of connectivity and urban mobility is important today and will be even more important in the future.
Connectivity makes it possible to secure one’s means of transport in the event of theft or loss. It helps the mobility operator to monitor the maintenance of his object. It enables cities to retrieve important information on traffic and thus be able to act to facilitate traffic by targeting the construction of bicycle lanes where they are needed, for example.
There’s so much we can do and that’s why I think there’s a great future for urban mobility connectivity.
How do you feel about the Velco team?
I’ve been at Velco for a little less than a year and I feel like I’ve been here for a very long time. We have a lot of exchanges and communication between the different people on the team, which allows us to have an overview of what Velco does.
When a new employee arrives at Velco, he or she discovers the different jobs by exchanging with each person in the company. This allows them to get to know and integrate into the team but also to have an overview of everything that happens at Velco.
We regularly have the opportunity to do activities all together through team buildings, which allows us to get together, to have a good time and to be even more united.
How do you imagine Velco in five years?
Today we have big projects for big French cities. I see Velco as the European leader in urban mobility within 5 years.