Greater Västerås Metropolitan Area
Thomas Nolte is Professor of Computer Science at Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden. In 2010 he was awarded Future Research Leader by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF). He has published more than 350 papers in peer-reviewed fora (journals and conferences). His services to the research community include: Board Member of Elsevier's JSA; Guest Editor of IEEE TII; General Chair of IEEE SIES; Program Chair 15 times including SIES, IEEE ETFA and IEEE WFCS; PC-member of more than 120 technical program committees, including all top events in real-time systems: RTSS, ECRTS, RTAS and RTCSA, and factory automation: SIES, ETFA and WFCS. His research interests include predictable execution and performance of embedded systems, design, modeling, implementation and analysis of real-time systems, multi-core systems, distributed embedded real-time systems.
The research profile Mälardalen University Automation Research Center (MARC) is dedicated to advancing digitalisation and automation in industry through a comprehensive approach involving multiple research areas and industrial partnerships. The expected scientific achievements include the development of innovative solutions in portable and smart automation, robotics and control, as well as digital infrastructure. These advancements will enable significantly enhanced production flexibility, responsiveness, and sustainability, aligning with the vision of creating a leading research and education environment. MARC's overall objective is to enhance the level of digitalisation and automation in industry by addressing three major challenges: (1) improving the flexibility of automation systems and solutions, (2) advancing the application and automation of robotics and control, and (3) strengthening digital infrastructures. We will bring together academic and industrial experts, providing a unique opportunity for tangible impacts on academic and industrial practices. Collaboration with industrial partners is a central element of the research center, bringing together expertise from academia and industry. This partnership aims to tackle real-world challenges, to facilitate knowledge transfer, and to foster innovation as well as technology and competence transfer in both directions. The collaboration is expected to yield practical solutions applicable in various industrial contexts, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of Swedish and European industry. In summary, MARC aims to deliver significant scientific advancements, foster the development of MDU's research capabilities, and create impactful collaborations with industrial partners, all contributing to the broader goal of digital transformation and automation in the industry.
ECE@MDU conducts research with a focus on the (embedded) system's run-time platform, including execution of software, communication of data, and control and runtime adaptation mechanisms. Research addresses systems that are integrated into a physical, computing-, or electrical environment, and are of criticality that require high reliability, high degree of safety and security, predictable timing, and performance, and often have limited resources for computation, communication, and energy. Such systems typically combine analog and digital hardware interconnected by wired or wireless communications, as well as software for controlling the functionality of the system. Application areas include vehicular systems, process automation, and industrial robotics, where solutions to research challenges are developed in collaboration with our industrial partners. ECE@MDU is particularly active within 1) embedded and distributed systems, looking at predictable and efficient run-time platforms, protocols and mechanisms for execution of embedded systems' software, 2) data communication, looking at research towards dependable communication in time-critical applications through design, measurement and evaluation of theories and algorithms, and 3) automation and control systems, including research towards modeling, analysis, optimization, and design of control systems for industrial applications, with focus on automation, robotics, and distributed systems applications. The personnel composition (*fall 2023) is 68 people out of which 8 are full professors, 3 adjunct/affiliated professors, 6 senior researchers, 4 postdocs, 27 PhD students, 10 senior lectures, 9 adjuncts and 1 research engineer. The scientific production of ECE staff over the past 5 years includes 77 peer reviewed publications in international journals and 202 peer reviewed publications in international conference proceedings. In addition, the scientific production includes 8 PhD- and 14 Licentiate theses.
The ARRAY industrial PhD school will educate 15 PhD students in automation in collaboration between Mälardalen University and the industrial partners ABB AB, First Control Systems AB, Sandvik AB, Skanska AB, Volvo CE. ARRAY provides opportunities for industrially relevant research problems, together with a comprehensive set of post-graduate courses, and networking activities for cross-fertilization among students and partners. ARRAY builds on Mälardalen University's extensive track record from graduate education and postgraduate schools, while at the same time including several new elements. In addition to novel research addressing important challenges related to automation, ARRAY brings together top researchers from Mälardalen University's Engineering research along with a broad spectrum of industrial players focusing on Automation, including several Swedish engineering companies, related public initiatives such as Automation Region and Robotdalen, the Research Institute RISE SICS Västerås. ARRAY provides a solid platform for multi-partner synergy and value creation of substantial benefit for the partners as well as for Sweden.
This is a 2-year strategic mobility programme funded by SSF. The overarching objective of the programme is to stimulate mobility/cooperation between/among academia and industry in for Sweden strategically important industry and R&D. This particular initiative focus on next generation of robot controller software and architecture.
This is a 4-year strategic professorship position funded by ABB Corporate Research, The Knowledge Foundation (KKS) and Mälardalen University. The overarching objective of KKS's programme with strategic professorships is to develop the capacity for research in strategically important areas at Sweden's newer universities. This particular position covers the area of predictable multi-core systems.
I am Chair of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IES) Technical Committee on Factory Automation (TCFA). • This is an elected 2 year position. • More information is available at http://www.iestcfa.org
I was Vice Chair of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IES) Technical Committee on Factory Automation (TCFA). • This was an elected 2 year position. • More information is available at http://www.iestcfa.org
I am President of the Swedish National Real-Time Association (SNART); a non-profit organization for academic researchers, students and industrial practitioners, which are active or interested in real-time or embedded SW systems. SNART has the goals to: • increase the interest for conducting research in the area, • improve the interaction between academia and industry, • stimulate continuous competence development in industry, • actively work for increased funding for research and thereby support improved national education in the area, and • distribute information and arrange workshops and conferences. SNART was the main organization behind the ARTES initiative in 1996. ARTES is a national Swedish strategic research initiative in Real-Time Systems supported by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF).
I worked as postdoc at the University of Catania, Italy, conducting research on • stochastic analysis of real-time systems, • real-time communications, and • automotive communications and systems. My postdoc was funded by the Adaptive Real-Time Cluster, under the European Commission project ARTIST2 Network of Excellence on Embedded Systems, IST-004527.