When companies have smart products that require field testing, they turn to Lab651, an engineering services provider specializing in internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The SciTech team recently spoke with one of Lab651’s Founders, Justin Grammens, to learn more about how internships have become a staple within his company.
Interns are a part of 651’s mission for continued learning, Grammens explained. “We want to help people in college become better equipped to enter the marketplace.”
The magic of coding
This summer, they hired a new Quality Assurance and IoT Testing Intern, Renna Hintermeister. Hintermeister is currently studying computer engineering at the University of St. Thomas and often finds herself drawn to things that are “cool and exciting and can make things happen and, if done in the right way, can produce really cool results.”
Hintermeister’s interest in coding began in high school, after taking an AP computer science course. “It was hard, but there was still a magic to it, the ability to type certain words and make something happen…I learned that magic is just science you don’t understand yet.”
A fun challenge
At her internship, Hintermeister is exploring that magic through her main project: testing a series of printers for one of Lab651’s clients. Meant for educators, these printers can print projects as large as posters and as small as stickers and it’s Hintermeister’s job to make sure they do so without any hiccups.
“[Renna’s] been very reliable, communicating with the customer every day,” Grammens said. “We got the printers in here and she just took over and set them all up. That was one thing that really impressed me: I’ve been able to put something on her plate and she gets it done without any micromanaging.”
Hintermeister is working closely with the client’s software, testing their front-end app and checking for bugs. Finding them, she says, is the fun part.
“Yesterday was exciting because there was a printing error, so I got to test multiple templates and figure out what specifically about that bug affected which templates and sizes. I enjoy the challenge of it,” she added. “It was a nice moment, knowing I was able to do something really productive with the software and we were able to fix it pretty easily.”