TOMORROW TODAY 0119
HELMUT LEOPOLD HEAD OF CENTER FOR DIGITAL SAFTEY & SECURITY
Andreas Vrabl, Head of Center for Vision, Automation & Control, Nicole Brosch, Junior Scientist und Petra Thanner, Research Engineer (r.).
THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS // SMART COATINGS AT THE FOCUS OF RESEARCH COMET PROJECT AMALFI // SEARCH FOR THE MATERIALS OF THE FUTURE AWARD // AIT IS THE TOP INNOVATION COMPANY
VIENNA CYBER SECURITY WEEK
INFORMATION EXCHANGE AT A TOP LEVEL
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VIENNA – HOTSPOT FOR CYBER SECURITY
Antonella Mei-Pochtler, Special Advisor to the Austrian Federal Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, & Head of the Department of Strategy, Analysis and Planning (Think Austria), in an exciting discussion with Helmut Leopold, Head of Center for Digital Safety & Security (left) in the course of the special session „Critical Infrastructure Protection and Human Capacity Development - Challenges & Chances for Austria“.
Foto: Johannes Photo: AIT, Coverphoto: Zinner/AIT PicturePeople
Vienna has evolved into a globally recognized hub for international cyber security dialogue. The AIT Center for Digital Safety & Security plays a decisive role in this.
Attracting around 700 participants from around 70 countries, 115 speakers, and an exhibition with innovative solutions on the topic of cyber security, the Vienna Cyber Security Week (VCSW), which took place for the third time this year, set standards high in every respect: „Where else can US security experts sit next to Iranian security professionals together at one table? That only happens in Vienna,“ says Helmut Leopold, Head of Center for Digital Safety & Security at AIT, with a smile. Vienna is becoming increasingly important in the cyber security community as a hotspot where information is exchanged at a neutral level. „Many people think that Israel is the center of cyber security,“ says Leopold, „but only Vienna can offer a meeting of this kind and quality – both in terms of the participants‘ expertise and the topics covered.“ Leopold is certain that cooperation, exchange of information, mutual assistance, common rules and trust are the most important parameters in the fight against cybercrime. The focus of the VCSW this year was on critical infrastructure, the fight against cybercrime, regulation and legislation, as well as standardization. „It‘s not just about the technology, but also about social and economic issues, processes, laws, training and usability,“ says Helmut Leopold who also emphasizes the importance of the topic of „Security by Design“. “Security aspects have to be considered right from the start, especially for more complex systems. The first standards are being developed for this as well.” Artificial intelligence is also becoming increasingly important, especially with the new applications of the Internet of Things. Innovative encryption technologies, such as those developed at the AIT, are becoming increasingly important. Even Austria‘s policy makers are aware of the pace of these developments. “Digitization takes place in all areas of life and is interconnected throughout the world. This makes the comprehensive protection of global critical infrastructures all the more important,” emphasizes Norbert Hofer, Minister of Technology. „AIT is a leading provider of cyber security training for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and for nuclear power plant operators, and is considered a high-tech development center for post-quantum encryption to protect against future quantum computers. Even the development of forensic tools for authorities to assist in the fight against cyber crime is straight out of Austria.“ The importance of the event was also stressed in the keynote speech by Gernot Blümel, Federal
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Discussion of the situation: Helmut Leopold, Head of Center for Digital Safety & Security, Donald Dudenhoeffer, Cyber Security Research Engineer at the AIT and Michael Mürling, Marketing and Communications (from left to right)
Information exchange at a top level.
Minister for the EU, Arts, Culture and Media. “Digitization is one of the three priority topics of the Austrian Federal Government in 2019,“ said Blümel, „Cyber Security is the basis for all digitization measures.“ Blümel stressed the importance of cooperation in this area.
A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW IS REQUIRED The formula for success at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, WKO Aussenwirtschaft Austria and the EnergyPact Foundation has
Top-Story
about the necessity of „machine life standards“ that must be developed across all levels. Kemal Huseinovic, Chief of Infrastructure at the ITU, emphasized the importance of national and international policies in cyber security. „Because anyone can start a cyber attack today,“ Huseinovic warned. For Robert Bodenstein, chairman of the Federal Department for Information and Consulting in the WKO, the exchange of experience on an international level is an important aspect in the fight against cyberattacks: „Austria can contribute and export a great deal of expertise to international markets here.“
EXPERIENCING TOMORROW’S SOLUTIONS
The exhibition offered an overview of the latest technologies
Photos: AIT/Zinner
„made in Austria“.
been organized in close cooperation with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since 2017. Under the motto “Protecting Critical Infrastructure”, a technology exhibition was held this year. Michael Otter, Head of WKO Aussenwirtschaft Austria: „The Vienna Cyber Security Week offers Austrian exporters of IT security technologies a platform in which they can establish direct contacts with customers and partners from around 70 countries while at the same time enabling all Austrian exporters to find out about the latest trends, developments and innovations in cyberspace security.“ According to Alexandre Dimitrijevic, President of EnergyPact, the strong involvement of leading experts and the intense discussions confirm the need for such platforms: „This promotes both global awareness and increased confidence with regard to energy security and cyber threats.“ The importance of a comprehensive approach was illustrated by an expert discussion on the sidelines of the conference. For instance, Gabriela Ehrlich, Global Head of Public Affairs & Advocacy at the IEC, explained that security remains very IT-oriented. However, issues of certifications or standards must also be considered. Frans Vreeswijk, General Secretary & CEO of the IEC, spoke
A tour of the technology exhibition showed the wide-ranging approaches in dealing with the topic of cyber security. Advenica, AIT, Attingo, Barracuda, CyberTrap, Digital City Wien, Desoma, EnergyPact Foundation, EPS Electric Power Systems, the Austrian Association for the Electrical and Electronics Industries (FEEI), FH Upper Austria, FinPin Technologies, fragmentiX, Huawei, HuemerIT, IKARUS Security Software, MP2 IT-Solutions, NOKIA, OSCE, Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity, Satellite Telecom, SBA Research, Silkroad 4.0, Sparx Systems Central Europe, Sphinx IT Consulting, Trusted Cyber Security Solutions, TeleGroup, VACE Systemtechnik, Wenisch Consulting, World Institute of Nuclear Security (WINS), WKO Aussenwirtschaft Austria and X-Net Services all present new solutions there. The sponsoring partners of the Vienna Cyber Security Week were Huawei, Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity and Barracuda.
The AIT represents Austria in „CyberSec4Europe“, the new EU competence network for cybersecurity. There, it represents Austrian research excellence and thus forms an important hub in a consortium consisting of 43 European organizations from 22 European countries. CyberSec4Europe will make an important contribution to the implementation of EU directives and regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) the PSD2 Payment Services Directive, the eIDAS Electronic Identification Regulation or the ePrivacy ElectronicCommunications Privacy Directive as part of the implementation of the EU Cybersecurity Act.
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HOW SMART REALLY IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?
On the 2nd and 3rd of April, a scientific symposium with international experts took place at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology in Floridsdorf, Vienna. More than 200 participants spent two days discussing the latest developments and trends in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics. The symposium was opened by Prof. Wolfgang Knoll, scientific Managing Director of AIT. „The AIT acts as a national and international hub at the interface between science and industry, enabling and promoting scientific exchange between international and national experts, as well as industry and public institutions,“ Knoll stated. He also emphasized that the main concern is enabling and supporting a „smart transition“. Prof. Helga Nowotny, ERA Council, Austria and former Presi-
dent of the European Research Council (ERC) moderated the first day of the symposium. For many decades, she said, humanity has been driven to make machines smarter. Artificial intelligence is therefore also „a game changer“ for Nowotny. However, it is less a matter of big changes taking place and more a matter of a permanent adjustment. This goes hand in hand with the question of which priorities a country wants, and is able to set. Last but not least, one has to consider whether the current development is a „hype“ or a „heatwave“. Nowotny pointed out that the major regions of the world have different approaches to the topic of artificial intelligence. In any case, you have to bring society on board – ideally „by a robot defeating our best skier,“ she remarked pointedly.
Foto: AIT/Christian Husar
Where does Austria stand as far as the research and development of artificial intelligence is concerned? What‘s next for Machine Learning and Robotics? How do they benefit people? These are just some of the questions that were addressed at a high-profile AI symposium, initiated by AIT Managing Director Wolfgang Knoll.
Conference
The audience eagerly participated in the discussion of these exciting and future-orientated topics.
AUSTRIA IS AT THE CUTTING EDGE IN TERMS OF TRENDS Iven Mareels, director of IBM Australia, considered what steps need to be taken to enable „AI made in Europe“ and at the same time, allayed some concerns: “Austria did not miss the boat.” To him, the great advantage of AI is that it makes predictions cheaper from an economic perspective – keyword: Predictive Maintenance. However, 80 percent of the data in companies is not useful due to a lack of quality and analysis. In addition, incomprehension is prevalent. „We do not know what AI is or what it can do.“ As such, building trust in AI is particularly important right now. This requires fairness, open access, understanding, security and affordability. Herbert Zeisel from the German Ministry of Education and Research presented the AI strategy of the German Federal Government, the roots of which date back to the 1980s. In recent years, the main focus has been on generating more computing power, developing the B2C model, and focusing on the topics of Big Data Analysis and the Internet of Things. To this end, a large number of initiatives and scientific and economic research institutions such as the „platform learning systems” were established. According to Zeisel, the goal is to integrate AI into a social, ethical, legal and cultural context, because ultimately, AI also affects the structure of social systems. 100 new professorships and the involvement of the population are expected to advance artificial intelligence in Germany. Prof. Robert Trappl, Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence, explained how artificial intelligence could help avoid armed conflicts. „Many conflicts show amazing overlaps,“ says Trappl, who analyzed decades of disputes in a research project. Trappl is sure that the findings could have helped save many lives if applied appropriately. His work also deals with more efficient uses of energy and the question of whether AI could help to get global warming under control. Trappl says: “Yes.”
AI WILL CHANGE LIVES Prof. Stefan Thurner, Complexity Science Hub Vienna, then explained why it is important to understand complex systems. „Artificial intelligence is essential in finding patterns and correlations in data,“ says the researcher. Thurner gave an example that he called the „road to hell“: Evaluations of health data can be used to show how a person‘s health develops over the years, especially when one or more diseases are involved. Thurner calls this a „clustering of diseases“ which would result in a sort of guide for the upcoming disease progression. Ross King, Senior Scientist at the AIT, discussed the topic of applied AI. AIT‘s Digital Insight Lab (DIL) provides data science consulting
and develops solutions that enable informed decision-making based on large, heterogeneous datasets and real-time data. For example, in the German-Austrian bilateral project FLORIDA, a semi-automated video forensics system is being developed for the analysis of video data after terrorist attacks. This system seeks to improve the efficiency and quality of investigative work by automating and simplifying the pre-processing, viewing and analysis of extremely large amounts of audio-video material resulting from such events. „Audio is an area in surveillance that has been neglected in the past,“ said King.
GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR AUSTRIA The second day of the symposium was opened by Andreas Weber, Research Consultant in the cabinet of Norbert Hofer, Federal Minister for the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT), and acting Federal Chief Digital Officer (CDO). „The great opportunities – particularly in Austria – are anchored in technological expertise. Even the Silicon Valley hotspot deems Austria to be very strong and steady in terms of knowledge and techno logical progress,” said Weber. Michael Wiesmüller, Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT), moderated the second AI session, which started with a lecture by Prof. Matthias Scheutz, Computer Science at Tufts University, Boston. Scheutz presented the opportu nities and r isks that come with cognitive robots. He also addressed the change in robotics, which is increasingly moving away from automation and towards autonomy. W hile it is important that society is sensitized to dealing with innovation, it is also key that the appropriate technological, legal and ethical standards are found. “A robot has no ethics. You have to teach it these,” says Scheutz. He also showed that human-like robots are still very far from being a reality with current research projects. The latest developments in event-driven perception for autonomous robots were presented by Chiara Bartolozzi of the Italian Institute of Technology. Her primary focus was on how the sense of touch can help make robots smarter so that they can become collaborative companions in everyday life. Tactile information processing makes robots more flexible and opens the door to new applications. Around 5,000 sensors are attached to her research robot. The use of vision technology in terms of super-fast image processing will massively change the future nature of robotics as well: To illustrate this, she mentioned that „The robot thus learns the statistics of a movement in a particular scene.“
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About 200 guests attended the AI symposium and watched the speeches and panel discussions with great interest.
Chiara Bartolozzi described how robots are made „smarter“ and more suitable for interacting with humans.
COMPLETELY RETHINKING PROCESSES
high-calibre speakers to Vienna.
Prof. Vu N. Duong from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, explored how an AI air traffic controller could help improve air traffic management. Particularly in Asia, this is a key topic as air traffic is developing enormously. „You can learn from data,“ said Duong. In the project „Data driven 4D trajectory prediction“, previous mathematical models were replaced by big data analysis. A tool for supporting airspace monitoring was developed. It turned out that, in 65 percent of the cases, the AI agent made the same decisions as an air traffic controller. Given that there are always different strategies employed in airspace control to avoid „conflicts“ such as aircraft collisions, this is a surprisingly high value. A training system, which is intended to justify a hybrid human-AI solution, is to be developed from this at this point. Whether Big Data, AI and Robotics will be able to meet the ambitious expectations of oncology in the near future was the subject of a lecture by Senior Prof. Richard Greil, University of Salzburg. Using many statistics and evaluations, Greil showed how high the rate of overlapping diseases is in some areas. At the same time, he stated that no two cancers are the same and that every patient is different. However, AI methods would assist in the fight against diseases such as cancer, especially in regards to medication or quality control issues.
In his speech, Prof. Andreas Kugi, AIT’s Head of Center for Vision, Automation & Control and Head of the Institute of Automation and Control Technology at the Vienna University of Technology, questioned whether and how AI will change industrial automation. Kugi grounded the audience in his unique manner by pointing out that Europe and Austria have enormous strengths in many areas – and should also focus on these strengths. He also pointed out that the technical equipment in many companies is not up to date – and yet they still run well. Kugi considers the significantly higher data quality as an important development step. „However, a consistent data strategist is still missing from many companies,“ Kugi learned from many discussions with companies. He also pointed out the great changes that we will face as a result of increased automation. Kugi also brought up an interesting, often overlooked aspect in the discussion: „It is often the lack of skilled workers that forces companies to venture into the field of automation.“ Kugi’s expert tip to Austrian companies: „Rethink processes or just change your whole way of thinking!“
Fotos: AIT/Christian Husar
AIT Managing Director Wolfgang Knoll managed to bring
Performance & Success
FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE & SUCCESS LEVITATE
EUROPE‘S PATH TO THE DRIVERLESS FUTURE OF MOBILITY As part of the EU project “LEVITATE: Societal Level Impacts of Connected and Automated Vehicles”, an international consortium around Loughborough University (UK) and the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is examining which functions interconnected and automated driving can take on in the field of passenger and freight transport, what the social impacts are, how transport infrastructure should be designed for this and which innovative mobility concepts must therefore be developed. A team from the AIT Center for Mobility Systems is developing a web-based decision support tool for policy-makers in politics and administration. In doing so, the researchers rely on comprehensive expertise in the areas of scenario development, impact assessment for passenger and freight transport, road safety and infrastructure.
IMPETUS
NEW AVENUES IN DIAGNOSTICS Coordinated by a team from the Molecular Diagnostics Competence Unit, the H2020 project IMPETUS brings together 12 leading partners with a strong focus on industrialisation. Paper, printing and microchip technologies are combined here to create a pilot line in an industrial environment that can produce fully integrated paper-based electrochemical biosensors. These biosensors are being developed as power-saving disposable test strips that combine the simplicity of lateral flow tests with a quantitative reading which is enabled by the implemented electrochemical detection method. The data measured is transmitted directly to the user‘s smartphone. One application example is distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections quickly and cost-effectively.
INTERNATIONAL MICROBIOMESUPPORT WORKSHOP
HIGH HOPES IN THE SMALLEST ORGANISMS By 2050, 60 % more food than today will be needed due to the growing population. Microbiomes can be used to improve production and avoid breakdowns and storage losses. At the beginning of March, over 100 science and industry representatives from 24 countries met in Vienna for the „Common Ground Workshop“ of the EU-funded and AIT-coordinated „MicrobiomeSupport“ project. In the future, unified methods should lead to meaningful results and a more effective use of synergies. The objective is to sustainably secure the production of healthy food and animal feed in the long term.
Bin Hu, mobility expert at the AIT Center for Mobility Systems explained, „In LEVITATE, we start from the goals of the cities and create
Photos: Rita Skof, Thomas J. Teskey
measures in order to optimize our use of new technologies to achieve precisely these goals.“
Angela Sessitsch, Head of the Bioresources Competence Unit at the AIT Center for Health & Bioresources said, “We are working efficiently towards food security, sustainable production and bioeconomy, as well as improved human health.”
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HECOPERMED
OPPORTUNITIES OF PERSONALIZED MEDICINE As part of health economics and policy-making, the HEcoPerMed project addresses the question of how the macroeconomic perspective of personalized medicine can contribute to European health systems. The objective of the project is to develop guidelines for modelling modern
The MoProVe allows vehicle dynamics to be analyzed based on the respective driving behavior and the interaction with the road infrastructure.
VIAMOTORRAD
INCREASED SAFETY FOR MOTORCYCLE RIDERS The project “viaMotorrad” increases safety on two wheels. Data from actual motorcycle accidents and reported problem areas are analyzed together with data from riding dynamics, driver behavior and video analysis. The video analyses are collected by means of the AIT’s Motorcycle Probe Vehicle/MoProVe. This complete data package allows routes to be classified according to their potential risk. This enables potentially dangerous areas to be identified in advance by means of risk assessment and measures to improve motorcycle safety to be implemented in order to avoid accidents. In collaboration with TU Wien, a KTM 1290 Super Adventure that was approved for use on roads was converted into a one-of-a-kind high performance measuring vehicle which is approved for use on roads.
Susanne Giesecke is the head of an EU Horizon 2020 project of major importance for the health care sector.
health economics and for implementing financing and payment strategies of personalized medicine. The EU Horizon 2020 project started on 1st January 2019 under the coordination of Susanne Giesecke, Senior Scientist at the AIT Center for Innovation Systems & Policy. The partners of the project also include the AIT Center for Health & Bioresources, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Institute for Medical Technology Assessement and Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Syreon Research Institute and the University of Oxford. The project ends in 2021 and will be con– cluded with a stakeholder conference. Info: www.hecopermed.eu
PRESTIGIOUS AWARD FOR AIT JUNIOR SCIENTIST Great success for AIT Junior Scientist Daniel Auferbauer, Center for Digital Safety & Security: A paper he submitted as the lead author was selected for „Honorable Mentions“ at the prestigious ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. The thesis, entitled „Socio-technical Dynamics: Cooperation of Emergent and Established Organizations in Crises and Disasters“, and written by Auferbauer and TU Wien Associate Professor Hilda Tellioglu (Institute of Visual Computing & Human-Centered Technology), offers a theoretical framework for the socio-technical dynamics that obtain in the interaction between emerging groups and established organizations – particularly in disaster and crisis management.
Photos: Krischanz Zeiller, AIT/Zinner
ACM CONFERENCE
Performance & Success
RISIS II
JOINT USE OF R&I DATASETS RISIS (research infrastructure for research and innovation policy studies) is the first pan-European research infrastructure for the support and development of science and innovation studies in the context of RTI policy. RISIS II focuses on developing a user-friendly virtual workspace where users can link up, analyze and enrich R&I datasets. In addition, geocoding shared between databases and standardisation of organization names across databases, such as in patents or publications, is to be made possible. This is highly relevant to RTI policy against the background of emergent topics such as artificial intelligence, digitisation or decarbonisation. Researchers throughout Europe can thus access a common
COMET PROJECT AMALFI
SEARCHING FOR THE MATERIALS OF THE FUTURE In order to make light metals fit for future industrial applications, the LKR Leichtmetallkompetenzzentrum Ranshofen is pooling its expertise with 12 project partners from industry and science. The LKR scientists Stephan Ucsnik and Carina Schlögl are coordinating the AMALFI project, funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG and the Upper Austria province. Together with an interdisciplinary research team, they will explore and further develop new types of aluminum and magnesium alloys, taking into account different production and processing chains. In addition, the AMALFI consortium will also focus on a basic research topic: the development of new types of microstructure and structural models for aluminum and magnesium alloys. „These models are important because they have the potential to significantly advance the development of future Al and Mg alloys, in particular through virtual numerical simulation,“ explains Project Coordinator Stephan Ucsnik. With AMALFI, Stephan Ucsnik and Carina Schlögl are beginning a new chapter in production.
Photos: Krischanz Zeiler, AIT/LKR/Lang
Thomas Scherngell, Project Manager of RISIS
and comprehensive set of information. With the AIT-EUPRO database, the AIT Center for Innovation Systems & Policy manages one of the seven RISIS Core datasets and introduces advanced methods of data analysis in order to support users. In addition, central access to the infrastructure is coordinated and developed by the AIT. AWARD
AIT SELECTED AS TOP INNOVATION COMPANY 2019 The AIT Center for Vision, Automation & Control was awarded for its Inline Computational Imaging technology. The trade journal „InVision“ grants awards to ten particularly innovative products and solutions via an independent jury. Through pioneering approaches that meet the needs of the industry, this AIT technology has earned the Top Innovation 2019 award.
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STUDY BY AIT AND VIENNA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (TU WIEN)
ENORMOUS FLUCTUATIONS IN ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION FROM RENEWABLE ENERGIES A 99.99% secure supply of electricity, like the one we enjoy today, is becoming noticeably more dif cult to achieve with the expansion of renewable energies and the phasing out of fossil fuels. The large shares of wind energy and photovoltaics will lead to a seasonal shift requirement of approximately 10 terawatt hours in 2030. A way of
The AIT is researching the design of blockchain technology to reduce user reservations.
PROCHAIN
INCREASING USER ACCEPTANCE OF BLOCKCHAIN
For Wolfgang Hribernik, it is essential to continuously examine whether the security of supply is guaranteed for the foreseeable future, at both an European and an Austrian level.
compensating this must be found. If this is left to the market, Wolfgang Hribernik, Head of Center for Energy at the AIT explains in the „Trendforum” held by Oesterreichs Energie, Austria will most likely have to maintain the exchange of electricity with other countries. However, a new analysis by the AIT and the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) shows that there are certainly various feasible flexibility options available, such as heat and power co-generation systems, storage in various forms of pump storage through to lithium-ion batteries and power-to-gas, load management by conversion of electricity into heat (power-to-heat), through electromobility and the use of the flexibility of industrial plants. The use of these different technologies is largely dependent on the price structure. All plants are in competition and until 2030, this will result in a majority of the fluctuations in electricity production to be absorbed by electricity balancing across borders. Hribernik sees a market for the massive expansion of pump storage as planned by the e-economy: The storage facilities are a pre-requisite for the largely renewable electricity supply. However, it is also necessary to have thermal power plants that contribute significantly to the security of supply, especially in critical times such as prolonged periods of dark skies and no wind. The future level of CO2 prices plays a key role in their profitability.
Photos: Freepik, PicturePeople
At the AIT Center for Technology Experience, experts are exploring how blockchain-based services should be designed to be accepted by end users. To this end, we carried out the project „ProChain” in collaboration with FH Salzburg, GridSingularity, Verbund Solutions, Salzburg AG and Salzburg Netz, in which scientific insights on acceptance factors for selected blockchain-based applications were gained. Based on the evaluation of a self-developed blockchain UI demonstrator for the proof of energy origin, it was determined that blockchain aspects do not have to be hidden from users and that they even prefer having such information available. Additionally, AIT collaborates with Wien Energie and the start-up Riddle & Code in the project „Peer-to-Peer im Quartier,“ which examines options for how users can use blockchain technology to exchange energy directly with each other. The focus is on how to build and strengthen trust between stakeholders and the system.
INNOVATION CALENDAR 24 APRIL 2019 // DAY AGAINST NOISE Groundbreaking Projects from the field of acoustic research. Location: Vienna AIT contact: Florian Hainz Info: Laerminfo.at 27 APRIL 2019 // DAY OF ROAD SAFETY AIT is presenting solutions from r oad safety research as well as the AIT measuring vehicles. Location: Vienna AIT contact: Florian Hainz Info: kfv.at/event/tag-der-verkehrssicherheit-2019-i-karlsplatz/
Photo: Orion Publishing Group
Recommended reading: Richard Baldwin: “The Globotics Upheaval: Globalization, Robotics, and the Future of Work” Richard Baldwin is a Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute (Geneva) and founder of VoxEU. org. In his latest book, he discusses the connection between globalization, robotics and the future of work. His thesis: The cause of inequality, unemployment and populism are radical changes in the world economy. Digital technology enables completely new, globally available systems in the world of work. Thanks to machine support, language barriers, among other things, are melting away, which makes „telemigration“ possible: Computing power dissolves the thought monopoly of people and allows AI trained computers and people around the world to apply for jobs. The combination of globalization and robotics („globotics“) leads to global upheavals and threatens the foundations of the liberal welfare state. This will affect the lives of millions of professionals much faster than automation, industrialization and globalization „disrupted“ the lives of factory workers in earlier centuries. The result is a game characterized by an attempt to slow down the pace of development – by isolation, regulatory measures and other similar processes. But can this really stop the economic turnaround?
7-9 MAY 2019 // PCIM NUREMBERG Conference for Power Electronics Drive Technology and Energy. Location: Nuremberg AIT contacts: Johannes Stöckl, Peter Scheuermann Info: pcim.mesago.com/events/en.html 7-9 MAY 2019 // THE BATTERY SHOW EUROPE 2019 The subject of the presentations are technologies for the production of modern batteries. The AIT will present ongoing research work. Location: Stuttgart AIT contact: Marcus Jahn Info: thebatteryshow.eu/ 7-10 MAY 2019 // CONTROL 2019 International trade fair for Quality A ssurance Location: Stuttgart AIT contact: Petra Thanner Info: control-messe.de/en/ 8 MAY 2019 // WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY Public discussions on a central topic of RTI policy. Location: IBM, Vienna AIT contact: Michael Mürling Info: report.at/index.php/termine 13-17 MAY 2019 // INTERSOLAR World‘s leading trade fair for the solar industry. Location: Munich AIT contact: Christoph Mayr
Info: intersolar.de/en/ 21-23 MAY 2019 // MEDTEC LIVE Event for the value chain of medical technology products. Location: Nuremberg AIT contact: Laszlo Sajti Info: medteclive.com/en 27-28 MAY 2019 // MI-4: MISSION INNOVATION MINISTERIAL The MI-4 discusses sustainable solutions for clean energy. Location: Vancouver AIT contact: Bernhard Gahleitner Info: mission-innovation.net 28-29 MAY 2019 // DHEALTH New approaches in e-medicine. Location: Vienna AIT contact: Günter Schreier Info: dhealth.at 5-7 JUNE 2019 // QOMEX 2019 11th international conference on the “Quality of Multimedia Experience”. Location: Berlin AIT contact: Raimund Schatz Info: qomex2019.de/ 6-7 JUNE 2019 // ADDKON 2019 Specialist conference for additive manufacturing. Location: St. Wolfgang, Austria AIT contact: Rudolf Gradinger Info: addkon.at/ 8-12 JUNE 2019 // ECSCW 2019 17th European Conference on Computer - Supported Cooperative Work. Location: Salzburg AIT contact: Markus Garschall Info: ecscw.eusset.eu/2019/ 9-12 JUNE 19 // UITP GLOBAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT SUMMIT Leading trade fair for public transport. Location: Stockholm AIT contact: Stefan Seer Info: uitpsummit.org YOUR CONTACT AT AIT: FIRST NAME.SURNAME@AIT.AC.AT
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SUSTAINABLE DESIGN OF THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS The AIT is researching water-based manufacturing processes for thin-film photovoltaics. This should, among other things, reduce the use of rare materials.
In order to increase the attractiveness and cost-effectiveness of generating electricity from solar energy, solar cells and modules made from them must become even more cost- effective and intelligently integrable into buildings or mobile applications. “Thin-film technologies”, such as CdTe (cadmium telluride) or CIGS (copper indium gallium sulphide), offer more potential applications than the established silicon-based technologies, particularly in areas where light weight, flexible shapes, transparency or additional functionalities (shading, thermal insulation, attractive colors, etc.) are required. The record energy conversion efficiency rates for thin-film photovoltaic cells are currently around 23% for solar cells with
CIGS or perovskite absorber materials. While solar cells and modules based on CIGS technology are available to buy, there are still no commercial products for perovskite technologies.
“SMART COATINGS” AT THE FOCUS OF RESEARCH In order to achieve higher efficiency rates, better stability and additional functionalities, one of the most important research topics in thin-film photovoltaics is the development of multifunctional coatings, known as “smart coatings“. „Many of the materials currently used in commercial thin-film technologies
Material research
method for metal oxide coatings and is also a method that has great potential in the cost-effective roll-to-roll production of modules. In this procedure, a solution containing suitable metal salts is sprayed onto a heated surface. After that, the oxidation to the desired metal oxide layer takes place there. The use of water as a solvent in spray pyrolysis is challenging because of its high vaporization energy and high boiling point. The choice of solvent is critical for producing high quality materials. However, a skilful choice of the chemical solution composition makes it possible to produce layers of corresponding quality even from water-based solutions. The group led by Senior Scientist Theodoros Dimopoulos thus succeeded in efficiently producing a range of materials from „green“ starting solutions, for example doped zinc oxides or gallium oxide. Nina Winkler is a PhD student at the AIT. In the
HIGH-PROFILE PUBLICATIONS
v acuum process laboratory, she is looking into the
Photo: Sophie Menegaldo/AIT
application of spray pyrolysis, among other things.
consist of rare chemical elements such as indium, cadmium or tellurium. Our goal is to make thin-film solar cells as sustainable as possible, replace rare materials by abundantly available ones with comparable properties, reduce the proportion of critical materials and use manufacturing processes with efficient material utilization,“ says Nina Winkler, PhD student at the Center for Energy. For example, metal oxides, which have excellent electronic properties, allow for low cost and efficient manufacturing processes, since they are available in sufficient amounts and there is a wide variety of them. In this area, the focus at AIT is on the use of water-based, „green“ solutions as the starting materials as well as on scalable coating technologies for a wide variety of applications.
SPRAY PYROLYSIS FOR THE MANU FACTURE OF METAL OXIDE COATINGS Taking into account the aspects discussed above, the process known as spray pyrolysis is an attractive manufacturing
The results of the production of such „smart coatings“ from gallium oxide and zinc-magnesium oxide layers from water-based solutions were published in two articles in the „Journal of Materials Chemistry C“ in cooperation with the University of Vienna and the Humboldt University in Berlin. The results were presented at international conferences in France (European Material Research Symposium) and in Greece (Transparent Conductive Materials Symposium). The interest in the cost-effective and efficient production of such oxide layers is enormous, since these materials show great potential for a variety of applications, even beyond the field of photovoltaics, such as in optoelectronics, photocatalysis or sensor technology. N. Winkler, R. A. Wibowo, W. Kautek, G. Ligorio, E. J. W. List-Kratochvil and T. Dimopoulos, Nanocrystalline Ga2O3 films deposited by spray pyrolysis from water-based solutions on glass and TCO substrates, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2018, 7, 69–77 N. Winkler, R. A. Wibowo, W. Kautek and T. Dimopoulos, Influence of the aqueous solution composition on the morphology of Zn1-xMgxO films deposited by spray pyrolysis, J. Mater. Chem. C, (in press)
PUBLICATIONS
SMART VEHICLE DETECTION
HEALTH IN ALL POLICY AREAS
USER-CENTRED DESIGN IN AAL
We present a solution for the Sussex– Huawei Locomotion Transportation (SHL) Challenge for the automatic detection of traffic and transport activities from smartphone sensors. Our experiments show two possible pitfalls in the evaluation of machine learning algorithms: 1) unintentional overfitting due to autocorrelations (i.e. dependencies between sensor data gathered within a short time frame) and 2) the compromise between accuracy and generalization capability due to idealized conditions and lack of variation in the data. We show that the evaluation suggests a highly accurate recognition of eight different traffic modes with an average F1 score of 96% for a single participant with a fixed smartphone wearing position if the SHL dataset is randomly split between training and test data, while the F1 score drops to 84% with correct back-testing, to 61% for several participants in the SHL data set and to 54% for different wearing positions. Our experiments show that evaluation reviews „in the lab“ can easily be distorted upwards and may not always serve as a reliable indicator of future performance „in the field“, where the ability to generalize and robustness are of crucial importance.
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular problems, diabetes, cancer, multi-skeletal disorders, depression, neurological disorders and many more are the main cause of health problems in OECD countries. However, chronic-degenerative diseases are largely preventable. The Foresight project FRESHER (FORESIGHT AND MODELLING FOR EUROPEAN HEALTH POLICY AND REGULATION) discussed policy options with stakeholders that go beyond the usual activities and identify alternatives with health, research, nursing, patient organizations, insurance and policymaking. Using an analysis of trends that influence the development of NCDs well beyond the usual determinants of tobacco and alcohol consumption, salt, sugar and fat intake, or sedentary behavior, the most relevant and significant trends have been combined into four scenarios that represent possible futures. The alternatives presented here contribute to the discussion on policy for the future in a comprehensive approach to “health in all policies” in the EU. NCDs are not just a matter of medicine and health. Therefore, the traditional approach to health policy needs to be broadened. A systematic and holistic approach is required in order to address all drivers and determinants that lead to a healthy life and well-being.
This paper presents results from an online survey that analyzed the use of user-centered design (UCD) methods in projects to develop technologies to help older people in their everyday lives. Which methods are known, and which methods have been used in projects for the development of “active and assisted living” (AAL) technologies? The methods were studied for three different phases of the development process: gathering information about needs, communicating these needs to developers and evaluating systems. The paper also examined which stakeholders are involved in collecting necessary information and evaluating systems. The results show that general, non-UCD-specific methods such as interviews and questionnaires are widespread. Especially where evaluation is concerned, older users were included. However, there was an indication that the information on the needs collected could not be used successfully. Overall, the findings support the need to disseminate information about available methods and their suitability.
P. Widhalm, M. Leodolter, N. Brändle: “Top In The Lab, Flop In The Field? Evaluation Of A Sensor-based Travel Activity Classifier With The SHL Dataset”; “Proceedings of the 2018 ACM International Joint Conference and 2018 International Symposium on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing and Wearable Computers (UbiComp ‚18)”, ACM, (2018).
J.D. Hallewell Haslwanter, K. Neureiter, M. Garschall: “User-centered design in AAL. Usage, knowledge of and perceived suitability of methods”; Universal Access in the Information Society (2018), p. 1 - 11.
S. Giesecke, B. Wepner: “Drivers, Trends and Scenarios for the Future of Health in Europe. Impressions from the FRESHER project”; European Journal of Futures Research, 6 (2018), 2; p. 38 - 48.
Legal: Editorial management: Michael H. Hlava, Production management: Daniel Pepl, Editorial staff: Florian Hainz, Silvia Haselhuhn, Michael Mürling, Elisabeth Mrakotsky-Kolm, Fabian Purtscher, Vanessa Schuster, Pia Stangl, Juliane Thoß. Please send your feedback to: presse@ait.ac.at