People over process— How one engineer brings a human-centric focus to automotive industry

Hailing from a small town amid mighty Himalayas in North India, Harnarayan Singh was always fascinated by the idea of technology having the potential to make lives of people simpler in all aspects. His interest was initially sparked by witnessing the works of people in his family on their own engineering projects. Starting with simple building blocks, he watched in amazement as they developed advanced complex tools, like fingerprint scanners and washing machines, that had a real utility in daily lives. Behind those activities, Singh discerned a simple motive: "To make life safer and more enjoyable for all people everywhere." This succinct and powerful mantra continues to inspire Singh in his current pursuit of a master's degree in mechanical engineering at OSU. 

His desire to work in the field of automotive simulation and controls led Singh to attend OSU, where he found opportunities that perfectly aligned with his interests. In his first year, for instance, he became involved with the EcoCAR program. There, he gained hands-on experience working on projects similar to those in the automotive industry, while also working with a team of people from diverse backgrounds in a goal-oriented environment. Singh found such experiences not only professionally valuable, but personally enriching as well. "My time at OSU has taught me to appreciate everyone's culture and learn from people around by striving to be a better version of yourself each day," he says. 

Another important element of Singh's experience is the research that he's conducted at the SIMCenter. His work has focused on developing human-centric, quantitative metrics for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), primarily through the creation of Euro NCAP testing scenarios in simulators like Carla, PreScan, and VTD. "We are looking into the capabilities of these simulators in the testing of ADAS systems," Singh reports, "and how we can use these for developing metrics for various objectives like drive quality of adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist systems." These systems are fundamental to autonomous vehicles, and Singh's research is contributing to their gradual refinement and eventual implementation. 

Nevertheless, Singh is adamant that his achievements would have been impossible without the support of his family, friends and advisors. A commitment to continuous learning is another crucial factor: "Being an engineer, it’s important to believe that we can learn new things from everyone around, and you never know what might help you in the future," he says. While Singh plans to gain further experience in the automotive industry in US after receiving his degree, he hopes to eventually return to India, where he "can be a part of bridging the technological gap that is currently there." His desire to improve life in equal measures for all people clearly remains undiminished. 

Contact Harnarayan at singh.1281@osu.edu. See below for techical expertise, and view his LinkedIn profile here. 

-Software Expertise: Matlab, Simulink, Simscape, Unreal Engine, Autonomie, GT- Power, VeloView, Vector
CANoe, dSPACE Control Desk, LaTeX, C / C++, Java

-ADAS Softwares: Matlab Simulink ADT, PreScan, Carla, dSPACE ASM

-OS Experience: Windows, Linux

-CAE Analysis Softwares: Ansys Mechanical, Hypermesh, Nastran, HiL.