From LEGO Technic to Functional Development for Autonomous Robotic Lawn Mowers: Christian at STIHL Tirol on MATLAB/Simulink, Prototyping, and Problem-Solving

Why this developer story sticks

Watching the session “Christian, Funktions Entwickler bei STIHL Tirol,” one thing becomes immediately clear: this is someone who discovered a love for technical tinkering early on and now lives it in a highly relevant domain. Christian traces the path from curious builder to functional developer—with the detours, dips, and aha moments many engineers recognize. His focus is concrete, hands-on development for autonomous robotic lawn mowers. It is about functions “visible internally in the device,” about MATLAB/Simulink, automatic code generation, a simulator, a prototyping platform—and ultimately about behavior in real gardens.

That sentence frames Christian’s arc and captures a core driver of tech careers: the need to understand what happens inside. Programming becomes a means, not an end—bringing real things to life.

About the session “Christian, Funktions Entwickler bei STIHL Tirol”

The session takes us from Christian’s first fascination with making things work to his current role: functional development for autonomous robotic lawn mowers at STIHL Tirol. We follow the route through HTL, early programming with Basic and assembly, the breakthrough with C on self-built hardware, and finally a professional process based on MATLAB/Simulink, simulation, prototyping, and tests in the real world. The defining challenge: “every garden looks different”—a concise way of saying that embedded software must hold up under diverse, unpredictable conditions.

Curiosity as an engine: LEGO, tinkering, and the urge to understand

Christian’s interest in tech started young. LEGO Technic, built from scratch and remixed—that was more than a pastime. The curiosity was the driver from the very beginning:

That mindset is the red thread of his journey. If you want to know what’s going on inside, you don’t stop at the surface—you learn to get inside the system. For Christian, that meant going to an HTL—a move from practical curiosity to structured technical education.

First contact with software: Basic and assembly at HTL

At the HTL, programming entered the picture. The start was rough—and that’s what makes it relatable:

• Beginnings with “some Basic”
• Assembly for microcontrollers
• Personal verdict then: “I didn’t enjoy it that much.”

Assembly is relentless: maximal hardware proximity, minimal comfort. For many, that is the moment a decision gets made—whether programming is just grind, or whether the right entry point is still around the corner. For Christian, that entry point came with C.

The aha moment with C: When LEDs blink and systems click

Switching to C on the hardware changed the energy of the work:

Crucially, the feedback was immediate. And context mattered: back then, “there were really no Raspberry Pis,” so the hardware was self-built. That produces a deep sense of cause and effect.

• Self-built instead of off-the-shelf
• C as a bridge between idea and hardware
• Early projects: blinking LEDs, a “Night Rider”-style running light, triggering sensors

This phase marks a shift from “I can kind of code” to “I understand what my code physically does.” That competency later defines strong functional development.

From running lights to functions: Christian’s role at STIHL Tirol

Today, Christian works in functional development at STIHL Tirol—in a “small, fine team” focused on autonomous robotic lawn mowers. What does that mean?

Key aspects of his work:

• Input from product management and marketing
• Space for own ideas: “What would be cool to add?”
• Focus on internal device functionality

This is the part of product development that often remains invisible externally yet defines real behavior. It’s not about a flashy UI; it’s about inner logic—robustness, reactions, behavior.

Toolchain and process: MATLAB/Simulink, simulation, prototyping, the real garden

The development method is clear and grounded:

A coherent workflow emerges:

1. Concept and modeling in MATLAB/Simulink
2. Validation in a simulator
3. Auto code generation to a prototype
4. Trials in the real environment

This balances speed with truth. Simulation enables rapid iteration; the prototyping platform bridges the model and the hardware; tests in the garden ensure behavior isn’t only correct in theory but also on grass, soil, edges, and in varied situations.

The core challenge: Every garden is different

The biggest challenge is stated plainly:

For functional development, this implies:

• From the outset, embrace uncertain operating conditions
• Design for generality and robustness in algorithms and logic
• Choose parameters and behaviors that stabilize under variance
• Treat edge cases as the norm, not a corner

This reaches far beyond mowing. Anyone building embedded functions knows the tension: systems must be reliable even when the environment refuses to match ideal assumptions. Christian’s practice—from model to simulation, from prototype into the garden—addresses the gap between theory and reality.

Becoming a programmer out of interest: Mindset and posture

When Christian describes who becomes a programmer, the word “interest” keeps returning. That aligns with his story: enthusiasm, curiosity, sticking with it.

From this, we can distill some guidance:

• Interest isn’t optional; it’s fuel
• Problem-solving skill emerges from doing
• Abstraction helps make complexity tractable
• Technical and scientific grounding steadies decisions

Practice, make mistakes, improve

Christian’s advice is disarmingly pragmatic:

Equally important:

That is the posture that turns feedback loops into learning curves. No shortcuts, no mythology about “natural talent”—just deliberate iteration. His bio shows it: from early assembly frustration to “Night Rider” running lights and real embedded functions in autonomous devices. Everything on the path counts as learning.

What the tech community can take from Christian’s path

Christian’s story is not a fairy tale about luck but a pattern many can apply:

• Show interest early; take things apart and put them back together
• In education, accept that first contact with code can be rough
• Lean into practical feedback; it creates understanding that books alone cannot
• Later, use professional processes—but keep the same curiosity and need to understand

And the working principles that underpin many embedded and functional development efforts:

• Think model-first (MATLAB/Simulink) to grasp complexity
• Use simulation to test hypotheses quickly
• Rely on automatic code generation to establish clear paths to hardware
• Treat real-world tests as the source of truth

Concrete takeaways for engineers

• Build feedback loops: from model to simulation to prototype—each stage reveals different truths.
• Keep your target real: no two gardens are alike. Design functions to accommodate variance.
• Find your aha moment: when C on hardware makes an LED blink, you lock in understanding that documentation can’t deliver alone.
• Learn from friction: you don’t have to love assembly on day one. The key is understanding which layer clicks for you and why.
• Nurture your interest: it carries you through silent debugging hours and the joy of the first running light.
• Stick with it: “Practice, practice … make mistakes … do it better next time”—often that’s the whole game.

Collaboration that makes functions strong

Christian’s description of collaboration shows how product ideas become implemented functions:

• Inputs from product management and marketing as a starting point
• Space to propose own ideas: “What would be cool to add?”
• Implementation as internal device logic

This chain is powerful if it stays connected: market impulses translated into functional requirements, technical concepts modeled, simulated, prototyped—and then interrogated in reality. In the “real garden,” good ideas prove themselves.

From parts to systems: Thinking in functions

Christian’s path—from LEGO Technic through microcontroller programming to functional development—is systems thinking in action. What begins as a running light later becomes device responses to complex external influences. What starts as simple sensor triggering ends in robust functions that “work everywhere.”

• Micro steps build macro competence
• Hardware proximity stays valuable—even in model-based development
• Each iteration improves the match between expectation and behavior

Robustness through reality: Why real gardens matter

Simulations are powerful, but Christian anchors functional development in the field:

That turns environmental variance into a design factor. Weather, terrain, edges, areas—every garden tells a different story. To keep functions stable, you need those stories to make the unpredictable predictable. Christian’s process targets exactly that.

Mental models that help

Without going beyond his account, a few mental models emerge:

• Proximity before abstraction—at least initially: when an LED blinks, you see why a line of code matters.
• Abstraction supports scale: MATLAB/Simulink helps organize complexity without losing sight of physical behavior.
• Reality judges everything: the garden is the arbiter; simulation prepares; the prototype translates.

For aspiring functional developers

If you want to move in a similar direction, Christian’s story offers a clear path:

• Seek projects that make things move early on
• Endure the first prickly languages—they sharpen your understanding
• Build a toolchain that takes you from model to reality
• Accept the unknown as a design parameter
• Hold on to your interest—it is your strongest constant

Conclusion: Learn what matters—and apply it where it matters

“Christian, Funktions Entwickler bei STIHL Tirol” shows how curiosity becomes practice and practice becomes a reliable process. Christian’s path confirms:

• Understanding is active—from the LEGO model to functional logic
• Programming becomes exciting when it touches the physical world
• Strong functions emerge when idea, model, code, and reality form a loop
• Robustness grows where you don’t know what the garden looks like—but still build solutions that work everywhere

That’s not just advice. It’s a description of a craft that becomes deeply rewarding when we see it as continuous learning—with an eye on how things behave in the real garden.

• 

  

  Alex, Product Owner bei STIHL Tirol

  Alex von STIHL Tirol erzählt im Interview über seinen Anfang als Developer und Product Owner, was seine aktuelle Arbeit beinhaltet und gibt nützliche Tipps für Einsteiger.

  Watch now