After completing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Philosophy, I, like many philosophy graduates, asked myself, "What's next?". Philosophy teaches you many great skills - critical analysis, conceptual breakdown, clear and direct communication, and how to read (and re-read) often difficult or obscure material - but none of these translate particularly well onto a resume without sounding trite. So after a few years exploring my interest in the practical and working with my hands as a gardener and in maintenance at a fuel terminal, I found myself seeking more of a challenge. Having developed an interest in small Arduino projects, I decided to return to university to study Mechatronic Engineering. And it was one of the best decisions I have made.A mechatronic engineer is exposed to a variety of disciplines, and in my career have been able to leverage this broad foundation - along with my own personal experiences and projects - to write control and perception algorithms using both vision and range-finding sensors; design circuits and printed circuit boards for fabrication; design and document components for Decoda's exciting Detect system platform using CAD software packages; fabricate and install these components on Ultra-Heavy class mining vehicles; and work within our team to help ensure our goals are clear, appropriate and achievable - capturing the successes and mistakes along the way in concise and accessible documentation to help build up the organisational knowledge repository critical for an emerging and maturing start-up.I have a particular interest in system modelling, control theory and perception/belief systems, and the role they play in developing effective and robust autonomous and semi-autonomous platforms (thanks in no small part to the great mechatronics educators at UQ). To see a physical system perceive, process, and respond to a variety of real-world conditions with a surprisingly simple and elegant mathematical foundation, is to me, nothing short of awe-inspiring. But I have plenty left to learn, and as my experience in industry grows, I am confident that I will one day prove a useful servant to our future robot overlords.