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TOMORROW TODAY MANFRED HAIDER, DENITSA OSICHENKO, VERONIKA PRÄNDL-ZIKA, CHRISTIAN CHIMANI THE AIT PROGRAMME COMMITTEE OF TRA 2018
Andreas Vrabl, Head of Center for Vision, Automation & Control, Nicole Brosch, Junior Scientist und Petra Thanner, Research Engineer (r.).
COOPERATION OF AIT AND ETH ZÜRICH // Rapidly processable magnesium alloys OPTIMIZATION OF TOUR OFFERS // New paths in Schönbrunn Palace with SIMULATE MAKING PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS SAFER // Evaluation with the AIT Mobility Observation Box
TRANSPORT RESEARCH CONFERENCE IN VIENNA
TRA 2018: A DIGITAL ERA FOR TRANSPORT
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DIGITALISATION
DECARBONISATION TRANSPORT LOGISTICS
E-MOBILITY & ENERGY • • •
Battery of the future Power electronics ASSURED – Quick recharging infrastructure
DIGITAL SAFETY & SECURITY
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EMILIA (Cargo Bike) Location planning of bike sharing systems Routing & tour planning Fleet management SEAMLESS
• • •
Secure and reliable cyber- physical systems Protection of critical infra structures and networks 5G wireless communication IoT4CPS – Secure Internet of Things (networked vehicles, Industry 4.0)
HUMAN DIMENSIONS WELCOME DESK
NEW MATERIALS • • •
Additive manufacturing welding Fire-resistant magnesium alloys KryoAlu
EXPERIMENTS NEXT GEN.INFRASTR. • • • • •
AIT@TRA 2018
MoSeS Acoustics: Development of noise barriers Building dynamics: Numerical methods Long-Stroke Shaker xposure
ROAD SAFETY • • • • •
MoProVe RoadSafety portfolio Sub-micro simulation Nano-simulation vehicle / roadway Guided Tour: Auto nomous Systems / Autonomous Driving
The areas of mobility, traffic and transport are facing major upheavals. The TRA (Transport Research Arena) 2018, the largest European transport research and technology conference, will take place this year in Vienna for the first time and will be addressing future development trends. AIT is responsible for the contents.
NEW MOBILITY LANDSCAPE SMART CITY • • • •
Urban Development & Infrastructure Demand Assessment Urban Analyses Urban Mobility Decarbonisation and low-emission strategies for cities
WELCOME DESK
VR
Digitisation, decarbonisation and automation require new approaches in the areas of mobility, traffic and transport in order to tackle the grand challenges. „A digital era for transport – solutions for society, economy and environment“ is the motto of the TRA 2018, which will take place for the seventh time and be held in Vienna for the first time. Scientists, researchers and engineers as well as transport and mobility companies and stakeholders are working together on future-oriented scenarios with breakthrough digital and low-emission technologies that will have a positive impact on people‘s lives, transportation systems and the environment. Christian Chimani, Head of Center for Low-Emission Transport: „From basic research to market implementation, the TRA bundles a unique research and discussion programme in 12 subject areas, which will make Vienna into the European centre for transport research for a week.“ Many AIT employees have contributed to the success of the TRA: A case in point is the conference management tool configured and maintained by Stephan Wittmann and Helmut Toplitzer of the Center for Mobility Systems.
FUTURE-ORIENTED SCENARIOS • •
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Fotos und Coverfoto:
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Interfaces of the future Augmented reality based human augmentation Dynamic Crowd Solutions/Simulate/ Experience Impact Assessment for Transformative Mobility System
FUTURE-PROOF POLICIES • • •
Innovation Strategies Foresight for Policy Mobility 2040
The Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (bmvit) is hosting and organizing the TRA 2018 with the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and AustriaTech in cooperation with the European Commission and the European technology platforms ERTRAC (European Road Transport Research Advisory Council), ERRAC (European Rail Research Advisory Council), WATERBORNE, ALICE (Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration), ECTP (European Construction Technology Platform), ACARE (Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation in Europe) and CEDR (Conference of European Directors of Roads) and ETRA (European Transport Research Alliance). As Chair of the Programme Committee, AIT is responsible for the contents of the TRA 2018. More than 90 session are being organized from the areas of transport and mobility, which are expec-
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At the TRA 2018, the AIT will be showing work around the topic of mobility, for example in the area of VR or safety (pictured below: the Probe Vehicle motorcycle).
New forms of mobility: AIT is coordinator of the project EMILIA.
Top-Story
EACH DAY ONE FOCAL POINT The TRA 2018 will be opened by Transport Minister Norbert Hofer and EU Commissioner Violeta Bulc. Each day is dedicated to a specific topic that is dealt with in a plenary session. The 1st day’s topic is „Shaping the new mobility landscape – a Vision for Transport & Mobility for Europe“. The sessions will cover a wide range of specialist topics, such as new mobility services and solutions, as well as the social aspects of innovative mobility. The 2nd day will focus on the following topic: „How Digitisation is Transforming the Transport & Mobility System“, with a focus on mobility measurements and user needs or automated driving, respectively, digitized transport systems as well as technologies for improving traffic safety. „Decarbonisation & Future Growth: How to change our Mobility System & remain competitive“ is the topic of the plenary session on the 3rd day. Innovative battery and material technologies and the reduction of pollutant emissions in all modes of transport will be some of the priorities. The final day‘s motto is: „Shaping Future Transport Research in Europe“. Robert-Jan Smits, Director General DG Research of the European Commission is expected to attend the podium, among others. It addresses questions about infrastructure and intelligent traffic and transport maThe RoadSTAR allows nagement of the future. the road condition to be recorded continuously and with high precision.
Photos: PicturePeople, AIT/Zinner, Austrian Mobile Power
ted to attract more than 3,000 visitors. Particular attention is paid to the active exchange of information among industry, politics and research on the latest developments and innovations in the design of future mobility systems. The „Interactive Zone“ allows various research projects to present their mobility solutions and products live and give visitors insights into the current state of development. The sessions address the following topics: • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Environment and energy efficiency Vehicles & Vessels Advanced Propulsion Systems Smart Urban Mobility & Logistics People Mobility (Systems and Services) Freight Transport and Logistics Transport Infrastructure Connected and Automated Transport Digital Technologies for Transport Safe, Secure and Resilient Transport Systems Human Dimension in Transport Socio-Economics, Innovation and Policy
APPEALING PROGRAMME OF ACCOMPANYING EVENTS
Around the TRA, many platforms and organizations hold annual meetings and general assemblies. The conference also focuses on the topics of talent and women in transport research. In addition, the Austrian Competence Corner is to provide in-depth insights into the Austrian research and competence landscape in individual presentation and exchange formats. Initiated by the bmvit, this Competence Corner is part of the „Austrian Village“. The Interactive Zone, on the other hand, focuses on the presentation and the experience of European research and technology competence for visitors and specialized media. And more than 600 scientists present their current research results as part of poster, scientific and technical sessions. „A total of more than 650 papers from 40 countries were selected by a review process from over 1,200 abstracts,“ emphasizes DI Manfred Haider, Head of Competence Unit for Transport Infrastructure Technologies in the AIT Center for Mobility Systems. An impressive proof of the global importance of the TRA. Find more about TRA 2018 here: https://www.traconference.eu/.
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The second Vienna Cyber Security Week (VSCW) was recently held on the initia tive of the AIT Austrian Institute of Tech nology and the Energypact Foundation. The AIT thus underscored its leading role in security research.
It was a veritable who‘s who meeting in Vienna for dialogue: International agency representatives, industry and research as well as experts from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) made this year‘s Vienna Cyber Security Week 2018 (VCSW) into more than a high-caliber multi-stakeholder conference. It also saw the analysis of current and future challenges surrounding the protection of critical digital infrastructures against new threat scenarios in the context of „Crime & Terrorism“. 90 expert lectures and discussion groups, a technology exhibition and special training sessions made the VSCW a unique combination of application-oriented research and industry and practice-oriented areas of application. Bet-
Photos: AIT/Raimund Appel/Arman Rastegar
VIENNA AS HOTSPOT OF IT SECURITY
Cyber Security
Helmut Leopold, Head of Center for Digital Safety & Security, emphasized the leading role of AIT.
WORKING TOGETHER FOR MORE SECURITY The topics being researched today are quite diverse. It is thus all the more important that people work together, says Dr. Thomas Stubbings, Chairman of the CSP: „The comprehensive coverage of topics ranging from cyber diplomacy to research & innovation spread over 5 days as well as the high quality and diversity of the speakers make the Vienna Cyber Security Week unique.“ Alexandre Dimitrijevic, presidentof the Energypact Foundation, is thrilled by the success of the event: The protection of critical infra „The strong participation of leading structures is a central aspect of the experts and the extraordinary disbroad discussions on cyber security. cussions confirm the need for such dialogue platforms in order to promote the exchange of the international energy community and thereby raise the global awareness and build confidence with regards to energy security and the cyber threat.“ The Vienna Cyber Security Week ween 29 January and 2 February, Vienna thus became a real has quickly become a central forum for international discyber security hotspot and a global centre for energy security course and information exchange. Accordingly, the planning and protection against cybercrime. The conference was jointly for a continuation of activities has already begun – including organized by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and the the Vienna Cyber Security Week 2019. DI Helmut Leopold, Energypact Foundation, which is involved in raising awareHead of Center for Digital Safety & Security at AIT: „An intenness of cyber security in a global context. The VCSW 2018 sive dialogue between research, industry and government was supported by the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration is essential to enable a high cyber security protection and to and Foreign Affairs (BMEIA), the Federal Ministry of Defense effectively counteract the future global cyber threats.“ With (BMLV), the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), the Federal the VSCW as a trend-setting international multi-stakeholder Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (bmvit) as conference, Austria has been able to successfully strengtwell as the Cyber Security Platform of the Austrian Federal hen its position as a high-tech cyber security location on the Government (CSP) and the AIT Austrian Institute of Technolointernational stage. gy as scientific partner.
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CYBER SECURITY CLUSTER AUSTRIA PRESENTS SECURITY SOLUTIONS As part of the VCSW, the first-ever technology exhibition for internationally active companies created quite a stir. It was organized by the Cyber Security Cluster Austria, a joint initiative of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (ASW, AW and FEEI), the Kuratorium Sicheres Österreich (KSÖ), [Board of Trustees Safe Austria], the security software specialist IKARUS, and AIT. Austrian and international companies from business, industry and research presented their portfolio. The conference participants were able to familiarize themselves
Digital security is a central topic in a wide variety of industries today.
More than 300 high-ranking participants from 41 countries accepted the invitation to Vienna to exchange views on cyber security issues in the
with and try out the latest high-tech solutions and services and make important personal contacts. The technology exhibition was rounded off by special trainings for the international guests. The AIT presented possibilities for an advanced cyber security protection for critical infrastructures through the AIT Cyber Range training and simulation platform. In addition, the IAEA presented concepts and backgrounds for policy making measures. Exhibiting companies included A1 Security Services, Advenica, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Antares-NetlogiX, Cryptas, Cyberbit, CyberTrap, Desoma, Energypact Foundation, HuemerIT, IKARUS, iQSol, MASS, RadarServices, SBA Research, SecureGUARD, Sezame, Synack, Timewarp, Wiener Städtische as well as X-Net.
EARLY DIALOGUE CREATES ADVANTAGES The result was extremely positive. Dr. Reinhard Marak, Managing Director ARGE Security & Business, Austrian Fe-
deral Economic Chamber: „An early dialogue between public demand-side consumers and the supply side companies is essential to sustaining this strategically important sector of the economy.“ KSÖ Secretary General Dr. Alexander Janda adds: „In the global competition for the best and most innovative answers to cyber security threats, Europe needs more technological sovereignty and competence. Know-how from Austria can make an important contribution to this. The AIT as an interface between research and industry plays a key role here.“ And Joe Pichlmayr, CEO of IKARUS Security Software, sees the concept of the event as a call for action: „Smart cities are built by smart citizens – security is increasingly becoming part of every critical success factor consideration. However, without sufficiently qualified young security professionals, it will remain little more than theory. All the more urgent is the requirement not to leave the emergence of security excellence to chance, but to institutionalize it through targeted measures and programmes!“
Photos: AIT/Raimund Appel/Arman Rastegar
international energy sector.
Performance & Success
FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE & SUCCESS AWARD
TOUR’D EUROPE
FUTURE PRICE 2017 FOR AIT BATTERY RESEARCHER
RESEARCH POLICY OF TOMORROW
Junior Scientist Dr. Arlavinda Rezqita of the AIT Center for Low-Emission Transport won in the new category „Unfolding Future Potential“ of the „9th State Prize for Mobility 2017“. Outstanding dissertations with innovative approaches were honoured for the first time in this category. Arlavinda Rezqita is a Junior Scientist in the battery research team at AIT and has been developing an improved material for a traction battery for e-vehicles over the past three years. The aim of her research was to increase the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries, which increases the range of an e-vehicle and consequently reduces charging frequency.
In mid-January, Vienna saw a high-caliber expert workshop on the future direction of European research and innovation policy, in which representatives of the high-level Group RISE (Research, Innovation and Science Policy Experts) and members of several Austrian advisory bodies took part. The event was jointly organized by Matthias Weber, Head of Center for Innovation Systems and Policy, Andrea Höglinger, Head of FFG‘s European and International Programmes, and the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, which oversees RISE‘s work in terms of content and organization. The workshop was the sixth in a series of the RISE Group‘s „Tour d‘Europe“ workshops, in which the results and recommendations of the group are critically discussed and further developed on a national level together with comparable expert groups.
COOPERATION LKR AND ETH ZÜRICH
RAPIDLY PROCESSABLE MAGNESIUM ALLOYS FOR FORMING PROCESSES The LKR and the ETH Zurich are conducting joint research in magnesium alloys with particularly good processing properties for forming processes. These improved magnesium alloys can be processed in the extrusion process with speeds similar to those of aluminium materials, which means that profiles can be produced much more cost-effectively and thus become more competitive e.g. for automotive applications. The latest research results on this topic will be presented at the 10th Ranshofener Light Metal Days in Linz taking place 13–14 June 2018. Infos and registration at www.lmt.ait.ac.at
Arlavinda Rezqita is working on new components in the field of battery storage
Photos: AIT/Zinner, AIT/LKR
technologies.
LKR scientists are modifying the Mg-Al-Ca-Mn alloy by adding zinc to reduce the texture produced during the process
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SIMULATE
SCHÖNBRUNN: OPTIMIZATION OF TOUR OFFERS Schönbrunn Palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Austria with more than 2.5 million visitors a year. In order to increase the safety and satisfaction of the guests in the future, an intelligent, accurate and sustainable visitor management system is to be implemented. As part of an ideas competition held by the IÖB innovation partnership of AIT, AIT experts were able to convince with solutions for the analysis and optimization of pedestrian flows specially adapted to the museum sector: The detailed
Ofo successfully launched in Vienna. The city recently intro-
PLANBISS
EFFICIENT LOCATION PLANNING OF BIKE SHARING SYSTEMS As part of PlanBiSS, researchers at the AIT have developed a tool that takes into account the demand, redistribution and maintenance of rental bicycles – a topic that has recently gained in importance as a result of the increased activities of large Asian bicycle rental companies and the associated „disposal“ of bicycles in public spaces. Experts from the AIT Center for Mobility Systems have teamed up with the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Vienna University of Technology and Rosinak & Partner ZT GmbH to develop a system that enables the predictive planning of locations of a bike sharing system with fixed stations. Markus Straub, Scientist at the AIT Center for Mobility Systems: „Which area can a bike sharing system with a pre-defined budget reasonably cover? What is the demand for bike sharing trips in a specific location? Where should new stations be added? These and other complex questions of dayto-day planning could be answered with the help of PlanBiSS.“ The project was funded by FFG and bmvit as part of the 4th call for proposals of the Mobility of the Future (people mobility) programme.
AIT supports Schönbrunn Palace in a decisive step towards digitisation.
capture and simulation of the flow of visitors enables the calculation of valid data concerning the distribution of visitors in the palace, which in turn serves as the basis for optimising tour planning.
Photos: Ofo Austria/APA-Fotoservice/Schedl, Schloss Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H./Alexander Eugen Koller
duced stringent rules for rental bikes without stations.
COLD CHAMBER DIE CASTING MACHINE
LKR EXPANDS INDUSTRY-ORIENTED CASTING PORTFOLIO The fully automated casting cell is equipped with a high pressure die casting machine of the company Oskar Frech GmbH + Co. KG as well as all necessary peripherals. The cold chamber die casting machine with horizontal injection unit will produce aluminium die cast components with a casting weight of up to 20kg on a semi-industrial scale. With a clamping force
AIT‘s coin control technology is generating great market interest.
WORLD MONEY FAIR 2018
AIT AS A PIONEER IN INLINE COMPUTATIONAL IMAGING At this year‘s World Money Fair in Berlin, AIT caught people‘s attention with new developments. Scientist Svorad Stolc, specialist for Inline Computational Imaging at the Center for Vision, Automation & Control, delivered a presentation on „Coin inspection re-invented“. Inline Computational Imaging is a completely new approach that was developed at AIT and combines image capture technologies with smart algorithms. The goal here is to simultaneously generate both image information and 3D information that cannot be obtained with conventional image processing.
Photos: AIT/LKR, Designed by Freepik, Renault Group
Autonomous driving – here a development example by Renault – is gaining importance as a research topic.
In the course of this year, the casting cell will be extended by a magnesium dosage and smelting system.
of up to 12,000 kN and a mould height of up to 1,200 mm, structural components of the respective size can be cast. Current research is focusing on expanding the already existing portfolio at the Light Metals Technologies Ranshofen in order to meet existing and future customer requirements with this industry-oriented facility. This includes alloy development in the area of aluminum as well as process development and optimization. Projects include the improvement of tool cooling and thereby tool life by means of additive manufactured inserts as well as an optimized spraying process. DIGITRANS
AUTONOMOUS DRIVING IN UPPER AUSTRIA DigiTrans is a project to implement a test track for autonomous driving in Upper Austria. The aim of the project is to address requirements from industry and infrastructure operators, including digitisation and logistics aspects. DigiTrans is the second federally funded test region for autonomous driving – in addition to ALP.lab in Styria. The project is a prime example of a “cross-Center activity“ at AIT: Know-how and system competence from different Centers are pooled, which contributes to the success of the project.
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YOUNG TALENT AWARD
BERNADETTE FINA RECEIVES THE „YOUNG AUTHOR AWARD“ Bernadette Fina addresses the current topic of generating systems in multi-party buildings in her work „Economic Efficiency Assessment and Methods for Optimal Dimensioning of PV Systems and Storage Systems in Multi-Party Buildings“. In doing so, she takes into account the new legal situation, which allows end users in the household sector to use the energy generated from community generation systems for their own consumption. She also provides answers to the question of how e.g. the annual electricity costs of a household can be positively influenced by installing a PV system (and possibly an energy storage device) designed to meet the needs of the end user, i.e. which is optimally dimensioned.
Clever minds: Friederich Kupzog (AIT) and Andreas Lugmaier (Siemens)
AWARD
“INVENTOR OF THE YEAR” FROM AUSTRIA
Bernadette Fina at the award ceremony in the Nikola Tesla Laboratory of Graz University of Technology with DI Markus Bauer, bmvit, and Univ. Prof. DI Dr. Horst Bischof, Vice-Rector for Research at Graz University of Technology.
IMPETUS
DISPOSABLE TEST STRIP FOR QUANTITATIVE BIO-SENSOR TECHNOLOGY The collaborative project IMPETUS combines paper, printing and microchip technologies to create a pilot line in an industrial environment that can produce fully integrated paper-based electrochemical biosensors which transmit the measured data directly to a user‘s smartphone. 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. IMPETUS thus meets the consumer need for a fast and cost-effective distinction between bacterial and viral infections on the smartphone. The IMPETUS pilot line will pave the way for the practical application of paper-based quantitative electrochemical diagnostic test strips and thus significantly advance the current state of the art, which has hitherto focused primarily on individual production processes and device concepts.
Photos: SIemens, Werner Friedl
Two Austrian researchers have been distinguished as „Inventor of the Year“ by Siemens: Friederich Kupzog from AIT and Andreas Lugmaier from Siemens have developed a method for quickly and easily detecting switching states in the power grid. Friederich Kupzog is a Senior Scientist at the AIT Center for Energy where he is the Thematic Coordinator Power Systems Digitisation and responsible for all digitisation topics relating to electrical energy systems. The award-winning invention collects voltage levels at various points in the grid in order to calculate the current state of the power grid. The successful trial run and the award show the great potential of the patented invention „Made in Austria“ as an important component of the Smart Grids of the future.
INNOVATION CALENDAR
AIT MOBILITY OBSERVATION BOX
MAKING PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS SAFER Every year, around 1,000 accidents involving personal injury occur on Austria‘s pedestrian crossings. Traffic safety researchers at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology have developed an innovative tool for evaluating pedestrian crossings as part of a research project: The Mobility Observation Box makes it possible to objectively measure the safety of pedestrian crossings and make them comparable. Based on complex algorithms, the Mobility Observation Box recognizes each vehicle and each pedestrian and evaluates their respective behaviour, with the car drivers‘ readiness to stop being the focal point. Before this, safety assessments had only been able to evaluate this by mere random sampling. However, thanks to the Mobility Observation Box, it is now possible to capture the readiness to stop objectively and over a longer period of time. This leads to a considerable increase in the data quality and a better comparability of the results.
17–19 April 2018 // CONHIT 2018 Europe‘s leading event for Healthcare IT. Location: Berlin AIT contact: Peter Kastner Info: www.conhit.de/ // 17–19 April 2018 // MEDTECEUROPE 2018 The leading B2B event for the European medical technology industry. Location: Stuttgart AIT contact: Walter Ettel Info: www.medteceurope.com/ // 23–27 April 2018 // HANNOVER MESSE INDUSTRY 2018 The most important industrial fair in the world will showcase, among other things, the latest LKR solutions on the subject of lightweight construction. Location: Hannover AIT contact: Andreas Kraly Info: www.hannovermesse.de // 24–27 April // CONTROL International trade fair on quality assurance with a top-class support programme as well as a comprehensive exhibition and information portfolio. Location: Stuttgart AIT contact: Petra Thanner Info: www.control-messe.de //
Photo: AIT/Skof
8–9 May 2018 // EHEALTH 2018 The motto of „eHealth2018 – Health Informatics meets eHealth“ is: „Biomedical meets eHealth – From Sensors to Decisions“. Location: Vienna AIT contacts: Günter Schreier, Dieter Hayn Info: www.ehealth2018.at/ // Peter Saleh, Senior Research Engineer at the AIT Center for Mobility Systems: “The Mobility Observation Box turns unregulated road crossings into real protection paths.”
21–24 May // BANKNOTE CONFERENCE Expert conference on groundbreaking technology trends in the banknote industry.
Location: Dallas, Texas AIT contact: Silvia Haselhuhn Info: www.banknoteconference.com/ // 29–31 May 2018 // QOMEX 2018 Leading Conference on the subject of Multimedia Quality & Quality of Experience. Location: Sardinia AIT contact: Raimund Schatz Info: www.qomex2018.org // 5–7 June 2018 // PCIM EUROPE 2018 Platform for power electronics with lectures from the R&D areas of leading companies and universities. Location: Nuremberg AIT contacts: Johannes Stöckl (Energy), Bernd Plassnegger Info: www.mesago.de/de/PCIM/home. htm // 13–14 June 2018 // 10TH RANSHOFEN LIGHT METAL DAYS 2018 For the 10th time, the LKR Leichtmetallkompetenzzentrum Ranshofen is inviting material scientists and experts from the light metal industry to a twoday knowledge exchange event. Location: Linz, Ursulinenhof AIT contact: Andreas Kraly Info: www.lmt.ait.ac.at // 14 June 2018 // FSV TRAFFIC DAY 2018 Leading discussion platform around the topic of traffic. Location: Vienna AIT contact: Manfred Haider Info: www.verkehrstag.at // 28 June 2018 // RISIS FINAL CONFERENCE Closing event of the workshop as part of RISIS for the development of a research infrastructure for Europe. Location: Brussels AIT contact: Thomas Scherngell Info: www.risis.eu
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WE LIVE IN THE DIGESTIVE TRACT OF FUNGI Fungi are fascinating creatures. At AIT, we are working to better understand them and to use their many positive qualities. This makes fungi our key partners for a sustainable, green future and a healthy life. By Monika Schmoll, Senior Scientist at the Center for Health & Bioresources
therefore practically live in their digestive tract. Fungi are fascinating creatures. At the AIT, we work to better understand them and to use their many positive qualities. One of the most important industrial moulds, Trichoderma reesei, with its efficient production of cellulose-degrading enzymes, is our model organism. The degradation of cellulose from plant waste products can provide valuable raw materials for the production of biofuels and bioplastics as well as for the chemical industry.
OPTIMUM ADAPTATION TO ENVIRONMENTS However, fungi do not produce these enzymes to serve us, but to best adapt to, replicate and survive in their natural environment. They determine the type and amount of enzymes according to which degradable and utilizable substances they In contrast to many delicious edible mushrooms, Masters of survival: encounter in the vicinity of their hyphae, mould generally has a rather bad reputation. It is Fungi produce enzymes to best i.e. the tubular cells of their body. It also unwanted on the bread that we wanted to eat, the adapt to, replicate and survive matters whether they grow on the surface towel we forgot to hang out to dry, and in particuin their natural environment. or deep within their substrate – i.e. wether lar on the walls in our apartment. it is light or dark. Like humans, fungi have a day-night rhythm and respond very quickly to light pulses that not only disturb Yet it is precisely these fungi that save countless lives every this rhythm. Trichoderma reesei also produces much less day by producing important antibiotics. They protect and promote our plants and thus ensure healthy food. The enzymes cellulose degrading enzymes in light than in darkness. The they produce improve our detergents, our food and, through production of so-called secondary metabolites – as signals their efficiency, contribute to the better environmental compa- but also chemical weapons of the fungus – is thereby changed tibility of chemical processes. Last but not least, their degraas well. Last but not least, Trichoderma reesei requires the dation of natural substances throughout the environment machange of day and night in order to multiply efficiently by croskes them important for the materials cycle of the earth – we sing. Neither steady light nor constant darkness are optimal.
Bioresources
For her work, Monika Schmoll was distinguished, e.g. with the Science Prize of the province of Lower Austria.
Photos: AIT/Harry Krischanz
Looking at all these processes which are controlled by the environment and the prevailing conditions, one quickly realizes that a fungus has to allocate its resources well. It needs enough energy to feed, to prevail against competitors and also to provide enough offspring. Since Trichoderma strains have long been known as symbiotic fungi of plants, we were interested in how they fit into the natural picture of the life of Trichoderma reesei. Our first results suggest that the Trichoderma reesei can sense glucose in the environment, but prefers a mating partner as soon as its signals are recognized. However, if a plant is nearby as well, Trichoderma preferentially targets the plant, suggesting that Trichoderma reesei prefers the association with the plant and aims at its optimal adaptation.
LEARNING TO UNDERSTAND MOLECULAR PROCESSES By understanding the molecular processes that underlie the adaptation to the complex environment, we can selectively change them and adapt the environmental conditions to achieve optimal production of enzymes or secondary metabolites such as antibiotics. Insights into the interaction with plants enable us to harness and strengthen the beneficial effects of fungi on plant health. This makes fungi our key partners for a sustainable, green future and a healthy life.
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QUEUE MODEL FOR TRAFFIC SIMULATIONS Unexpected traffic events such as accidents, bad weather conditions or road obstacles cause delays and have a negative impact on safety and the environment. In the course of the CEDR-project PRIMA, proactive event management measures have been developed to help traffic managers reduce the impact and cost of events. This article describes the methodology used in PRIMA to investigate different measures for detecting and managing events with regard to their effects on event duration and travel time delays. Using a flexible and computationally efficient macroscopic queue model, traffic simulations of 178 variations from 13 baseline scenarios were performed, with a verification of the results using a rate-based Cell Transmission Model (CTM-v). The results of the different modelling methods are largely consistent. In scenarios with the highest traffic density, it could be shown that travel time delays depend to the largest degree on whether and for how long lanes are blocked. The comparison of both approaches confirms their consistency in all scenarios and demonstrates the applicability of the queue model. N. Taylor, P. Nitsche, V. Bernhardsson, J. Olstam: “Modelling delay saving through pro-active incident management techniques”; European Transport Research Review, Springer (2017), 9:48; P. 1-17.
RELUCTANCE MACHINES FOR ELECTRIC AND HYBRID VEHICLES This work presents a robust and novel torque control strategy for permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance machines for electric and hybrid vehicles. Conventional control methods are often highly dependent on machine parameters. Such regulations take no account of parameter changes and may even lead to unstable behaviour. Furthermore, a poor regulation in the field weakening range can lead to an unwanted recuperation. Advanced control methods are therefore desirable to ensure good controllability of the electric vehicle drive over the entire speed and torque range throughout its service life. To achieve this goal, a combination of a current-based second-order sliding-mode control and a look-up table based on compliance with the voltage limits is proposed for the field weakening. This increases the robustness of the control with parameter fluctuations. The proposed strategy was experimentally validated on a complete vehicle test bench (with a 51 kW prototype) to be able to be further implemented in real hybrid and electric vehicles. E. Trancho, E. Ibarra, A. Arias, I. Kortabarria, J. Jürgens, L. Marengo, A.Fricassè, J. Gragger: „PM-Assisted Synchronous Reluctance Machine Flux Weakening Control for EV and HEV Applications“; IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics (Volume: 65, Issue: 4, April 2018) 92 (2017), 92; p. 39–49.
INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE PUBLIC DISCOURSE Public infrastructures are central to the development of modern societies. Nevertheless, expansion plans e.g. for airports, power plant buildings or high-voltage grids regularly cause fierce conflicts. The importance of infrastructure for economic development often conflicts with the interests of neighbours in terms of quality of life, land prices and noise pollution. The most recent edition of Wiley‘s European Policy Analysis (EPA) journal on the subject of „Infrastructure Policies Between Regional Interests and Societal Goals“ was published by P. Biegelbauer, K. Lindloff and F. Sager. Recent research results, especially in the field of energy and transport infrastructure policy, were presented as part of this issue. Particular attention was paid to conflict resolution of disputes over infrastructure projects in democratic political processes. P. Biegelbauer, K. Lindloff, F. Sager: “Infrastructure Policy Between Regional Interests and Societal Goals.” European Policy Analysis, Wiley. Special Issue, (2017) 3(2), p. 212–225.
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