Meet Jan and hear about all things R&D at Yunex Traffic

The traffic systems we design, build, install and maintain are constantly evolving. And, our Research & Development teams are developing the very technologies that are changing the way we move, all over the world!

Meet Jan Vojíř, a Full Stack Developer for IoT. Jan joined #TeamYunexTraffic 9 months ago. Hear about his role so far, what he loves doing and how traffic technologies are changing.

Can you tell us about your role and what you do?

I joined Yunex Traffic Czech Republic around 9 months ago and I work with my colleagues on our IoT management platform that we call DMP. It’s a pretty cool project which includes lots of the latest technologies and working on new code. The plan would be that I’m part of most of this stack but there are so many innovative technologies that it would be difficult for me to grasp everything so early on! So, I’m currently focused on the Front-End tasks and I spend time supporting other technologies such as Java Microservices or deployment. We’re building this team and looking for more Front-End Developers – so check us out if this is your area of interest!

How long have you worked in R&D / Engineering?

I started working in the R&D field 10 years ago as a novice Java developer during my college years. It was for a small travel agency and with two senior Java developers and 10 people, we managed to sell a lot of trips around the world purely online without customers needing to go anywhere.

What excites you about your role? Are there any challenges?

It’s always something new. Yes, it can sometimes be demanding when a lot of tasks focus on research and how your task can be brought to life, but in the end you get the rewarding rush of endorphins when your work is somehow useful to others and making a difference.

I experience some form of challenge almost every day! With the need for innovative solutions and with technology changing, we often need to start building features from the ground-up. It’s exciting to be a part of and I overcome these challenges by speaking with my colleagues, learning from one another and research.

How has technology within our industry changed over recent years?

I would say that from the outside the changes might not be so visible. A traffic light shows green when it should, pedestrians go when they are instructed and cars don’t bump into each other. But from the inside, many changes have happened!

Everything is moving to the cloud which is a bit counterintuitive for traffic controllers to do. You want to have them as close to the intersection as possible so they are becoming some kind of edge cloud themselves and adopting technologies we know from the cloud world. As the whole industry now works in scrums, we are able to release new software versions almost every month, making these available for customers so they can update their devices. Our devices are becoming part of one big IoT ecosystem which has its own advantages that were almost unthinkable before.

Also, with arrival of AI technologies, costly intersection detectors are becoming much more obsolete. With one low-cost camera and AI software, our customers can monitor lots of details about their traffic situations, even predicting and notifying about hazardous situations in real-time.

If you could name just one project that you loved working on at Yunex Traffic – what would this be and why?

I’m still early on so there’s lots of exciting things to come! But if I could pinpoint anything it would be the DMP platform. It should enable us to monitor the behaviour of all new, major Yunex Traffic devices which can be serviced or managed with ease. It will enable a lot of features that will allow us to grow more rapidly and endure that growth.

What does the future of traffic in our cities look like to you?

For me, that would definitely be autonomy. I can’t predict whether it will begin from public or individual transport but it will be a game charger when it takes off. There are still many elements to overcome before self-driving will become commonplace, but it will eventually drastically reduce traffic congestion.

Also, trends about traffic sustainability are becoming much more visible these days and our cities will look different as a result. The ban of internal combustion engines in the EU from 2035 will speed up this trend even more. I believe cities will invest more into light rail or EV buses and greener urban transport such as cycling. The car will no longer be prioritized with traffic technology prioritizing pedestrians, bikes and public transport also. We’re already seeing this but I think it will become the standard. This would then see efforts to create more bike lanes and expand transportation networks and create pedestrian-only zones in central areas.

If you could say anything to a person considering R&D / Engineering at Yunex Traffic – what advice would you give?

I consider myself a fairly new employee still! So, for those also considering joining, I would say:

– You should stay curious and keep learning – technology is constantly evolving and it’s so important to stay up to date with the latest developments. Moreover, we have the broadest end-to-end portfolio of products and solutions so don’t worry if you don’t get to grips with everything from just a few articles or online research.  

– Do not underestimate the topic of transport! It sounded easy when I first heard about it – in the end its just 3 colours right? No, that device is complex and intelligent and we are trying to predict its behaviour using neuron networks like we didn‘t even know how our own device behaves. It’s exciting!

Feeling inspired? Become a Traffic Transformer! We have many opportunities for you to join us in the Research, Development and Engineering space. Check them out today by visiting jobs.yunextraffic.com.