For ARUW’s first two-part alumni spotlight, we are pleased to present Pico Premvuti. Pico was one of the founding members of ARUW when it was first started in 2015, and he was an instrumental part to the engineering team as a lead in his second year. Pico studied as an Electrical Engineer, yet he stated that ARUW allowed him to expand his skills in CAD and computer vision. While Pico was a part of the club, his favorite memories revolved around traveling to China for the RoboMaster competition. His favorite part of the trip was staying in the team’s rented apartment that also functioned as a workspace for the robots.
After his studies, Pico's first few jobs were in the Seattle area working on embedded systems, computer vision, and control systems for robotics startups. He is currently in his second year working at a robotics startup in Tokyo. Pico said that one of the most valuable skills that ARUW taught him was giving himself the space to learn, as he believes it is one of the most important skills an engineer can have. At his current position, Pico said that he is constantly going through the process of trying new ideas and prototypes to continue building his skills. The skills Pico learned during his time with ARUW have transferred well into the workforce.
When Pico was asked what he would tell current members, he mentioned to keep trying new things and don’t be afraid to break things. “If you fry a circuit board or break some component, don’t worry about it since breaking things is an important part of the development process” Pico stated.
Pico believes that some of the greatest minds within the University of Washington are a part of the team. All of his opportunities were through connections that he made as a member, and he encourages current members to take advantage of the team’s network. Pico also noted that ARUW members are well prepared to enter the workforce thanks to both the technical and professional skills they learn. ARUW wishes Pico good luck in his endeavors and thanks him for all of the essential work that he did as a founding member.
