“Life is the same except that more people now know me and believe in my software and control system engineering skills,” says Vikas Sathaye, a Pune-born engineer, who was the part of the team that was awarded the Oscars 2018 Scientific and Technical Awards for Shotover K1 Camera System.
Back in 2009, when I joined this new startup company called Shotover Camera Systems, I had no clue that one day we could win an Oscar,” he adds.
After completing his diploma in instrumentation from VPM’s polytechnic Thane, Vikas moved to Pune in the year 1988 to pursue his degree in engineering from VIT Pune.
“Though I grew up in Mumbai my parents are from Pune and most of our relatives live in Pune. Therefore, even before moving to Pune, my family and I used to visit the city during summer vacations. It used to be very different at that time, very quiet and peaceful.
“Me and my cousins got together at my uncle’s house for a few weeks to enjoy our summer vacation,” he reminisces.
Vikas never expected to enter the motion pictures industry, yet, his love for electronics and Research and Development led him to where he is today.
“I hadn’t thought of getting into this industry, but the aerial filming camera system which Shotover wanted to develop closely resembled the six-axis robot.
When I realized that in this new role I will be developing software that will be controlling motors that will drive the robotic arms and position the camera head, I was very interested in this project.
“I could see my dream coming true. I decided to join Shotover Camera System which opened the gates for the motion picture industry.
“During the year 1991 when I did my graduation in Electronics Engineering, the R&D jobs needed decent experience. I therefore decided to join an engineering college on a visiting faculty basis and in the spare time develop some electronic products. Eventually I was pulled into a full-time lecturer role when I began to like teaching.
“In the year 1997 the college sent a team of lecturers on a collaborative project with Fiat Italy. During my visit to Italy, I saw the automation in the car manufacturing industry and the various robots handling exciting things. After seeing all of this, I thought of entering the field of hardcore R&D. The closest match to satisfy myself was to enter the field of embedded software development,” he adds.
It was his colleague Shane who insisted him to join the new startup, which further led to them developing the Shotover K1 Camera System.
One of my Christchurch company colleagues, Shane Buckham joined this new startup company called Shotover Camera Systems in Queenstown, New Zealand and asked me if I would be interested in joining. I liked the product that Shotover Camera System wanted to develop and I decided to join them.
Shotover K1 was used in many Hollywood and a few Bollywood movies. The first movie filmed with Shotover K1 was Walking with the Dinosaurs in 2011.
“One of my favorite moments was going to the filming site for Walking with Dinosaurs at Glenorchy, New Zealand and helping the crew use our system,” he shares.
Reacting on being awarded an Oscar, he says, “The first thoughts were about my parents and my family. My parents have always supported me. They knew that I had a very strong liking towards science and technology and they cultivated the scientist in me by allowing me to do lots of experiments at home.
“My wife Ashwini and daughter Tanvi supported me during the Shotover K1 development by staying with me in a small town with practically no social life.
“The Oscar award has definitely inspired me a lot. During the Oscars ceremony I have seen so many technical fields in which people are working for the movie industry.
I do not have a specific big project at the moment, but the Oscars have triggered my thought process. In the near future I would like to help develop products for the movie industry which will be smart and user friendly.
“Besides science and technology, I am a big fan of food and cooking.
“I want to make cooking easy with technology. For my own interest I am developing something which will save time, energy and still make consistently good food with minimal effort.
When asked if he would like to return to Pune, Vikas says, “Life is very dynamic, and I do not have a clear picture at this stage, but given a chance at some point I would like to return to Pune.
I love eating tasty and delicious food and I do miss a lot of places I used to visit. A few of my favorite places and snacks included Jayashree Pav Bhaji on Tilak Road, Ku-Kooch-Ku at Deccan Gymkhana, Kayani bakery cake, Santosh bakery pattice, Khekada Bhaji at Sinhagad and many more.
“We migrated to New Zealand in 2002. Initially we were in Christchurch for about five years and then moved to Queenstown, New Zealand. I worked for Shotover Camera Systems from 2009 to 2012 and in the year 2012, my family and I decided to relocate to a bigger city for my daughter’s further education.
“Ever since then, we have been in Adelaide. I now work for a company called RFI Technology Solutions, as a Senior Software Engineer.”
Vikas spent his early days in Mumbai and he remains as nostalgic as ever and added “My childhood in Mulund was full of joy and adventure, I still miss my childhood friends…
Reach her at loveleen@pune365.com or tweet @KaurKaur18
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