TOMORROW TODAY DIGITISATION AND SECURITY
AUSTRIAN HIGH TECH ICE-COLD ALUMINIUM FORMING // KryoAlu project revolutionises the automotive industry PRESERVING OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE // Efficient management of extremely large datasets INTEROPERABLE NETWORKS // Flexible research infrastructure for electric mobility
Head of Department Helmut Leopold and Petra Thanner, Digital Safety & Security Department
02 16
TOMORROWTODAY II
IT DOESN‘T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE
Working on solutions for the future: Manfred Gruber, Andreas Vrabl, Petra Thanner, Helmut Leopold, Andrea Nowak (LTR)
Florian Skopik, Yegor Shovgenya and Roman Fiedler in expert talks (LTR)
Andreas Köberl, Manfred Hülber, Atos IT Solutions and Services (LTR)
Top-Story
SILICON VALLEY Walter Huemer, Managing Director of Huemer iT-Solutions,
Austria has achieved a leading position in the international security technology scene. This is in no small part due to AIT.
Suddenly it goes dark. The power grid has been hacked, the lights go out. Blackout. A nightmare. This is why system-critical infrastructures run by states, energy utilities, banks, insurance companies, health insurance funds or hospitals must be protected from unauthorised access under all circumstances.
SEEING AND UNDERSTANDING
Photos & Coverphoto: Johannes Zinner
Maria Leitner, AIT expert in ICT Security
The technology exhibition “Seeing and Understanding – Security for our Digital Society” offered insights into the research and development work currently underway in Austria in this field. The event was organised by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and the VRVis Centre for Virtual Reality and Visualisation, in cooperation with the Digital City Vienna initiative and the Vienna Business Agency. It demonstrated the latest security technologies in action, including strategies for recognising cyber-attacks, state-of-the-art encryption methods for secure data exchange, innovative communication systems for efficient crisis and disaster management, and security technologies for protecting critical infrastructure
INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
Visitors thronged to the second „Seeing and Understanding“ technology exhibition.
Helmut Leopold, Head of the AIT Digital Safety & Security Department, is enthusiastic about the range of solutions which were on show. „At this exhibition we presented not only ideas and visions but especially concrete developments with a high maturity level. We need to cooperate closely with partners from business and industry in order to
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position these Austrian security technologies in the international market.“ The great value of the Seeing and Understanding exhibition lies in the exchange of ideas and products, and particularly in technology marketing – by showing innovations and solutions in demo or even real operation. These solutions provide the essential building blocks and foundations for further applied research. In turn, this encourages new industrial approaches which should strengthen Austria as a business and research location and improve its international competitiveness. This is an aim Georg Stonawski, Managing Director of the VRVis Centre for Virtual Reality and Visualisation, agrees with. „If our top experts are to develop solutions for industry, we first need to sit down with industry representatives and explore the challenges and tasks they face. Our event was a means of initiating these talks and making innovations possible.” Helmut Leopold knows there‘s still plenty to be done. “We have very clever people in Austria, as well as a well-functioning system of public funding for innovative research. However, we have to be better at turning the developments undertaken here into products and marketing them internationally.”
and creates opportunities for start-ups which, in turn, secure the city‘s future as a business location.
KEEPING VALUE CREATION AT HOME Leading industrial enterprises such as Fabasoft rely on knowhow made in Austria. Andreas Dangl, Managing Director of Fabasoft Cloud explains. “Fabasoft Cloud applies Austrian security technology such as Secomo for true end-2-end encryption which exceeds the international standard and was most recently the first cloud service worldwide to be awarded a top 5-star ranking in the EuroCloud StarAudit.” From Austria for Austria, and out into the world – that‘s the spirit motivating Walter Huemer of Huemer iT-Solutions. “I‘ve been dealing with solutions made in Austria for many years, and I‘m convinced that they stand up to comparison. We should be keeping our value creation and jobs in Austria.” These words are strongly echoed by Helmut Leopold. “The IT solutions presented at the ‘Seeing and Understanding’ exhibition demonstrate, in a simple and practical manner, that high tech doesn‘t always have to mean Silicon Valley or China, but can also be developed by us here at home.”
CREATING BENEFIT FOR ALL In the end, society benefits from the know-how which is developed in Austria as an ICT location with significant AIT input. As far as Ulrike Huemer, CIO of the City of Vienna, is concerned, “Vienna now ranks third in the global City Innovation Index, behind only London and San Francisco. This is an excellent starting point from which to develop innovative ideas together with cooperative partners in industry and research.” That‘s why the Digital City Vienna initiative is striving to create even better framework conditions. This attracts new ideas
Tomorrow‘s security The AIT Digital Safety & Security Department develops pioneering information and communication technologies (ICT) to ensure secure and reliable critical infrastructures. These ICTs have a role in applications including driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles, technologies for optical quality inspection used in Industry 4.0, new forms of security technology to defend against cyber-attacks, and new solutions to help aid organisations involved in crisis and disaster management.
Photo: Joahnnes Zinner
Great public interest in the experts panel discussion.
Performance & Success
FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE & SUCCESS FUTURE MOBILITY
E-MOBILITY REQUIRES INTELLIGENT POWER GRIDS Increasing e-mobility makes huge demands on the power grids, mainly due to the need for interoperability, i.e. the ability for different systems to cooperate with one another. Leading research and development centres have joined forces in the EU COTEVOS project to achieve this aim. “We created a flexible research infrastructure for integrating e-mobility into smart grids and are now making it available to the industry,” reports Johannes Stöckl from the AIT Energy Department. Europe faces a whole range of challenges, with the connections of many electric vehicles currently only adapted for a region’s local charging stations. That‘s why Stöckl and his colleagues at AIT are determining which networks currently exist, and the asymmetries that vehicle manufacturers and grid operators need to consider. “This information is very important both for the automotive industry and grid planners,” stresses Stöckl. After all, in future every electric vehicle should be able to safely recharge its batteries at any charging station in Europe. The AIT SmartEST Lab offers a practical means of testing, analysing and improving the interactions between power grids and electric vehicle charging stations.
THE NEED FOR RESEARCH
RESEARCH FOR THE NEXT GENERATION What are the social developments we can expect to see by 2040, and what challenges and influences will shape our lives?
Photos: Smatrics, Shutterstock. AIT
“In an ever more rapidly
And how should Europe‘s research landscape respond? Thechanging society, research se, and other questions about the future, are the focus of the policies demand sensitiBOHEMIA project (Beyond the Horizon: Foresight in Support ve, flexible and far-sighted of the Preparation of the European Union‘s Future Policy in decisions.” Research and Innovation) carried out by the Innovation SysMatthias Weber, tems Department on behalf of the European Commission. AIT Innovation Systems Working together with European research partners, foresight methods will be used to develop scenarios and undertake evaluations which will form the basis for making decisions on future research policies. The results of this foresight process will be incorporated into preparations for the European Union‘s next framework programme on research, the successor to Horizon 2020.
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The ECAP tool developed as part of the project opens up hitherto inconceivable potential for influencing mechanical properties.
Vienna‘s Hofburg Palace was the setting for CPS Week 2016.
MATERIALS RESEARCH
SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES IN MAGNESIUM ALLOYS
DIGITISATION
EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF LARGE DATASETS PRESERVES CULTURAL HERITAGE In collaboration with leading international universities, AIT experts are using their longstanding expertise in Internet technologies to significantly enhance access to and use of invaluable online historical resources. The work is being funded by the US-based Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as part of the “Pelagios” project. AIT‘s innovative data processing, annotation and visualisation technologies are enabling Pelagios partners to work with and gather evidence from historical sources more efficiently; to conduct search and analysis on the resulting data in real time; and to explore the complex relations that exist within it interactively. AIT’s Digital Insight research team has acquired an international reputation for managing large and complex data sets. The team led by Ross King is working on solutions for providing open, easy and intuitive access to large databases consisting of image, audio, video and text files.
CONGRESS
TOMORROW‘S WORLD Cyber-physical systems consist of physical objects which are connected via information and communication systems, and communicate through software programmes. They form the basis for tomorrow‘s intelligent transport systems, smart grids, modern healthcare services (eHealth), environmental management and public safety systems. Over 1,000 international delegates met in Vienna to discuss this topic at the 9th CPS Week held in Vienna‘s Hofburg Palace. Together with the Vienna University of Technology and IST Austria, AIT succeeded in bringing this unique event to Vienna for the first time.
AIT methods help to preserve cartographic sources, image, video and text files for future generations. Photos: AIT, PID/Schaub-Walzer, Land OÖ/Schauer
Magnesium alloys are promising materials for bioresorbable medical implants. As well as a high degree of biocompatibility and an appropriate degradation rate, implants also require excellent mechanical properties. The alloys developed in the K-project “OptiBioMat” ensure the highest possible degree of biocompatibility by minimising the content of zinc and calcium. ECAP (Equal Channel Angular Pressing) technologies are used to optimise strength. “The newly developed ECAP tool offers huge potential for raising the mechanical properties to an unrivalled level, by repeatedly pressing cylindrical pins through an angular channel under very high pressure. This high level of strain results in an ultra-fine grained structure of exceptional strength and ductility,” explains Manfred Bammer of the AIT Health & Environment Department.
INNOVATION CALENDAR LIGHTWEIGHT CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
ICE-COLD ALUMINIUM FORMING In the automotive sector, aluminium alloys allow significant reductions in weight, leading to higher levels of energy efficiency. However, the extent to which aluminium sheets can be formed at room temperature is limited. In their KryoAlu research project, Daniel Vipavc, head of the forming group at Light Metals Technologies Ranshofen (LKR), and his colleagues have taken a new approach. “Aluminium is easier to form at low temperatures, and this is a property we are exploiting.” Working together with companies in the metal and mechanical engineering industry, a process was developed to form aluminium at temperatures of down to -150°C. “The sheet blanks are precooled in liquid nitrogen, placed in the forming press by a robot, and then removed after deep drawing,” explains LKR Managing Director Andreas Kraly. The new cryogenic forming process allows complex components formerly produced in sheet steel to be manufactured in aluminium. The KryoAlu project received the 2015 Upper Austrian State Prize for Innovation.
Werner Pamminger (Business Upper Austria), prize winners Richard Kretz (LKR Light Metals Technologies Ranshofen) and Karl Radlmayr (voestalpine Metal Forming GmbH), Michael Strugl, Upper Austrian Minister for Economic Affairs (LTR)
10/5/2016 // THE DIGITAL ENTERPRISE „The Digital Enterprise“ is a specialist and networking event focusing on practical discussion and analysis of the latest digitisation topics. AIT experts will give a presentation on the subject of Industry 4.0. Venue: Novomatic Forum, Vienna Info: www.lsz-consulting.at/events/ digital-enterprise_185/ // 10-12/5/2016 // PCIM EUROPE 2016 Europe‘s leading exhibition for power electronics, intelligent motion, renewable energy and energy management presents the latest developments in the power electronics industry. Venue: Nuremberg AIT contact: Johannes Gragger Info: www.mesago.de/de/PCIM/home. htm // 19/5/2016 // CMG-AE CONFERENCE Approaches, standardisation and practical examples of communication aspects in Industry 4.0 are at the centre of the CMG-AE conference, which is carried out in cooperation with the Business Unit Technology Experience (Innovation Systems). Venue: AIT Technology Experience Lab, Vienna AIT contact: Marc Busch Info: www.cmg-ae.at/ // 23/5/2016 // COOP 2016 AIT organises a symposium on design requirements for an aging society as part of the COOP 2016 conference. Venue: Trento (Italy) AIT contact: Markus Garschall Info: www.coop2016.tech-experience. at/ //
5-10/6/2016 // ESA SYMPOSIUM AIT experts give a presentation on PWA under zero-gravity conditions at the ESA Symposium „Life in Space for Life on Earth“. Venue: Toulouse Info: www.congrexprojects.com/2016events/16a13 // 7-10/6/2016 // 2016 EUSPRI CONFERENCE The conference deals with the scientific analysis of RTI policy under the motto „Exploring New Avenues for Innovation and Research Policies“. Venue: Lund AIT contact: Matthias Weber Info: www.euspri-circle2016.org // 9/6/2016 // FSV TRANSPORTATION DAY Annual conference of the Austrian Association for Research on Road – Rail – Transport (FSV). Venue: Vienna AIT contact: Manfred Haider Info: www.fsv.at // 10-13/6/2016 // ESH CONFERENCE AIT experts give presentations at the 26th European Meeting on Hypertension and Cardiovascular Protection. Venue: Paris Info: www.esh2016.org/ // 13-14/6/2016 // M2M/IOT FORUM CEE 2016 International annual forum on the Internet of Things and the Digital Revolution. AIT scientists give presentations on the topics of Industry 4.0 and Smart Health. Venue: Vienna City Hall Info: www.m2m-forum.eu/ //
AIT Top Journal Papers
EUROPEAN R&D
GENOME RESEARCH FOR TRICHODERMA SPECIES
The focus of this study is on integration processes in European R&D by modelling the spatio-temporal development of three different R&D networks: project based networks within the EU Framework Programmes, co-publication networks and co-patent networks. The integration of R&D activities is one of the major aims of the EU‘s RTI policy. Focus is on the free movement of knowledge and researchers within Europe and the harmonisation of fragmented national R&D systems. The study adopts a spatial interaction modelling perspective to identify integration effects for the three networks. Panel negative binomial model versions are used for the econometric specification. Estimation problems caused by spatial autocorrelation of the interactions are taken into account using Eigenfunction spatial filtering methods. The results show that geographical barriers, such as geographical distance or national borders, are small for project-based R&D networks and significantly decrease over time. In contrast, co-patent and co-publication networks are characterised by a substantially lower degree and speed of integration.
Trichoderma species produce enzymes for diverse applications and are among the most important fungi used in biotechnology and agriculture nowadays. Detailed knowledge on the genome content of these fungi is necessary in order to understand the mechanisms behind these functions. An international consortium including Monika Schmoll (AIT, Austria) and Alfredo Herrera-Estrella (LANGEBIO, Mexico) have compiled a comprehensive overview of the genomic content of Trichoderma reesei, Trichoderma atroviride and Trichoderma virens – three potent biocontrol fungi frequently used in agriculture and the biotechnological workhorse for enzyme production. The paper describes hot topic research aspects such as carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), transport, transcription factors and development along with less studied topics such as signal transduction, genome integrity, chromatin, photobiology or lipid, sulfur and nitrogen metabolism. The study covers more than 2,000 of the predicted 9,000 to 11,000 genes of each of the Trichoderma species discussed, which is more than 20% of the respective genomes. Highlights of the results include the discovery of new genes for many of the relevant topics and the expansion of several signalling pathways in Trichoderma. The research team found indications that Trichoderma spp. is able to generate hybrid galactose containing N-linked glycans and the duplication of the alternative synthesis pathway for sulfur aminoacids. The present study opens up new perspectives for research with Trichoderma in general and provides valuable support for work with other fungi species. M. Schmoll, C. Dattenböck, N. Carreras-Villaseñor, A. Mendoza-Mendoza, D. Tisch, M. I. Alemán, S. E. Baker, C. Brown, M. G. Cervantes-Badillo, J. Cetz, G. R. CristobalMondragon, L. Delaye, E. U. Esquivel-Naranjo, A. Frischmann, J. J. Gallardo-Negrete, M. García-Esquivel, E. Y. Gomez-Rodriguez, D.R. Greenwood, M. Hernández- Oñate, J. S. Kruszewska, R. Lawry, H. M Mora-Montes, T. Muñoz-Centeno, M. F. Nieto-Jacobo, G. N. Lopez, V. Olmedo-Monfil, M. Osorio-Concepcion, S. Piłsyk, K. Pomraning, A. Rodriguez-Iglesias, M. T. Rosales-Saavedra, J. A. Sánchez-Arreguín, V. Seidl-Seiboth, A. Stewart, E. E. Uresti-Rivera, C.L. Wang, T. F. Wang, S. Zeilinger, S. Casas-Flores, A. Herre-
Lata, R., Scherngell, T. and Brenner, T.
ra-Estrella (2016). “The genomes of three uneven siblings – footprints of the lifestyle of
(2015) „Integration Processes in Europe-
three Trichoderma species“, Microbiol Mol Biol Reviews, Vol. 80, 1: 205-327
an R&D: A comparative spatial interaction approach using project based R&D networks, co-patent networks and co-publication networks“, Geographical Analysis 47, 349-375.
Imprint: Editor-in-chief: Michael H. Hlava, Production manager: Daniel Pepl, Editorial team: Michaela Jungbauer, Michael Mürling, Fabian Purtscher, Katharina Sabetzer, Juliane Thoß. Please send your feedback to: presse@ait.ac.at