About - Clemens Zangl

Hello! I’m Clemens, a software engineer from Germany with a passion for software, electronics, and (old) cars, food and traveling.

My journey into programming began at the age of 13 when I wrote my first program using Visual Basic: a joke application that displayed an error message, pretending your hard disk is being erased. After that, I programmed some simple games, which over time grew. At some point in school, I wrote a 3D flight simulator, supporting OpenGL and DirectX.

At that time, I also got my first car (an ’88 Nissan Sunny Coupe). It required frequent fixing, which I had to do myself. I quickly realized how much I enjoy working on cars, and quickly got interested in mechanics and body work. With a strong interest in metalwork, electronics and software, I decided to study Mechatronics, where I graduated with a Masters of Engineering from the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences. My study focus was on computer vision (paper) and embedded software fault tolerance (paper).

During my academic years at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, I had the opportunity to work at the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology. My research on applying Augmented Reality for industrial robot path teaching not only allowed me to understand the difficulties of applying robotics to small/medium enterprises, but also gave me fascinating insights into the cultures and languages of Asia. At that time, I started learning Mandarin Chinese, which I speak fluently.

At the present time, I work as an Automotive software engineer in Tokyo, Japan. My field of focus is maps for AD/ADAS applications. I wrote and open-sourced the zserio bindings for the rust programing language.

While my professional life revolves around software, I still devote a significant portion of my free time to personal projects related to software, vintage electronics or cars. I have a secret passion for junkyards and document some of the more interesting junkyard findings.

My hobbies are:

Restoring vintage cars.
I love batteries, cell chemistries, battery failure modes and BMS.
Dancing Lindy Hop.
Deep fascination with Chinese and Japanese cultures and languages.