February 21, 2020 by Alessandro Mascellino
Researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and Silicon Austria Labs (SAL) are partnering up to advance the development of electronics-based systems.
The teams from the two institutions will converge at Campus Inffeldgasse of TU Graz and will establish two separate laboratories.
The Dependable Embedded Systems (DES) Lab will focus on researching the safety and dependability of modern computer-based systems, while the EMCC and Radio InterOp Lab will see the researchers collaborating on the compatibility of future electronic systems.
The partnership is particularly relevant for electronics engineering as SAL is a well-known institution in the field of electronics-based systems. The company relies on numerous academic and research facilities based at the three SAL locations Graz, Linz, and Villach.
Silicon Austria Labs was founded in 2018 by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation, and Technology (BMVIT) as an international centre of excellence in the field of electronics-based systems. The business focuses on cutting-edge research on microsystems for smart factories, autonomous driving and for intelligent power grids.
As part of the new initiative, a new joint doctoral program will also be established, to bring together up to 50 doctoral students from TU Graz, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Alpe-Adria-University Klagenfurt and Vienna University of Technology.
“Scientists from the University and SAL will work together to develop the basic principles that will later form the basis for new technologies and products on the world market in cooperation with industry and thus contribute to innovation leadership,” said SAL managing director Werner Luschnig, commenting on the structure of the new partnership.
Luschnig added that working this way, the two institutions will achieve a more direct transfer of scientific knowledge to the economy, thus creating a lever for global competitiveness.
From left to right: SAL Managing Director Werner Luschnig, Styrian State Councillor Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, the chairman of the supervisory board of SAL Ingolf Schädler and TU Graz Rector Harald Kainz, celebrating the launch of the first TU Graz SAL Research Labs. Image Credit: Graz University of Technology.
Looking at both labs individually, it is noticeable how the DES lab will be headed by Bernhard Aichernig, Deputy Director of the Institute of Software Engineering at TU Graz, and Andreas Windisch, Senior Scientist at SAL.
The research facility will focus on the dependability of modern computer-based systems, looking for new methods to make intelligent and networked systems safer. This will translate into interdisciplinary research in the areas of testing, verification, machine learning, optimisation and hardware-related software development.
"The possibilities offered by artificial intelligence and networked systems seem almost unlimited,” Aichernig explained, “but the widespread use of these technologies is hindered by a lack of dependability. It is important to find practicable solutions here."
The EMCC and Radio InterOp Lab, on the other hand, will be overseen by the joint leadership of Bernd Deutschmann, Head of the Institute of Electronics at TU Graz, and Bernhard Auinger, Staff Scientist at SAL.
The institute will focus on research regarding electromagnetic compatibility of electronics-based systems, with a particular emphasis on the development phase, where researchers will examine predictions about how electromagnetic interference emission and immunity should be possible to ensure the coexistence and compatibility of future electronic systems.
To further the development of these technologies, TU Graz and SAL will pour 1.5 million euros each in the new project over the next four years. The institutions are also planning the opening of a third lab, which will become operative in the course of 2020.
