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Member Monday December 6th, 2021 

This week, Member Monday features Srivatsan Vijayaraghavan, our Research Engineer. He's recently joined us, but he's already making progress and spreading cheer in the lab. Here's a little bit about Srivatsan. 

Q: Where are you based?

Srivatsan: Chennai, India

Q: How long have you been at Rakuten? And why did you join the company? 

Srivatsan: I have been with Rakuten for 2 months now. The prospects of working for one of the top global brands, doing cutting edge research and development, along with peers who are the pioneers in the field of Autonomous Networks, was the major driving factor for me. 

Q: What does your day look like at the Rakuten Mobile Innovation Studio?

Srivatsan: I wake up before 6 am (preferably), hit the gym, have breakfast, do work (read, research, code), attend meetings, take a quick lunch break, change diapers on demand for my newborn, continue to work, relax, and stretch if possible…

Q: What is your favorite quote? 

Srivatsan: “It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing as if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt such an honour to be associated with such a player.” - Sir Alex Ferguson on Roy Keane.

Q: Favorite language?

Srivatsan: C++ and English

Q: How do you define automation and autonomy?

Srivatsan: Automation is making the machine do repetitive work known before starting the job. Autonomy is letting the machine or system decide on its own and paving the way for self-governance. 

Q: Tell us about your research/project(s) around Autonomous Networks at the Rakuten Mobile Innovation Studio?

Srivatsan: My role as a C++ Engineer involves developing or evolving the prototype of an Autonomous Networks framework and collaborating with other teams for an integration of use cases. 

Q: What role do you think a truly Autonomous Network will play in our future?

Srivatsan: It can achieve a higher degree of fault tolerance, resilience, and efficiency by continuously evolving to find better solutions to the ever-changing environment. 

Q: Anything else? 

Srivatsan: I try to train and keep active whenever I can. It keeps me calm. : )