EU-WBC RESEARCH AREAS OF COMMON INTEREST · EU-WBC RESEARCH AREAS OF COMMON INTEREST TOWARDS...

EU-WBC RESEARCH AREAS OF COMMON INTEREST

TOWARDS FP7-ICT 2013 IN THE FIELD OF

COMPLEX SYSTEMS AND ADVANCED COMPUTING

AUGUST 2012

Background document for the 2nd meeting of the

“Advisory Group for EU-WBC research collaboration in the field of Monitoring and Control”

EU-WBC RESEARCH AREAS OF COMMON INTEREST TOWARDS FP7-ICT 2013

IN THE FIELD OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS AND ADVANCED COMPUTING AUGUST 2012

Supported by the by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme

for Research in “Information and Communication Technologies” (FP7-ICT)

BALCON project identity

Title: “Boosting EU-Western Balkan Countries research collaboration in the Monitoring and Control area” (Contract No 288076)

Duration: September 1, 2011 – August 31, 2013 (24 months)

Website: http://www.balcon-project.eu

Coordinator: International Environment and Quality Services North Greece Ltd

(Q-PLAN N.G., Greece, www.qplanng.gr)

Person responsible: Mr Iakovos DELIOGLANIS

+30-2310-411-191 - [email protected]

Project Overview:

BALCON is a Support Action funded by the European Commission under the FP7-ICT programme aiming to:

reinforce the research cooperation between the academic and industrial communities from the EU and the Western Balkan Countries (WBC) for the design, development and implementation of systems and applications for Monitoring and Control (M&C);

facilitate the preparation of joint R&D initiatives;

promote the research capacity and achievements of competent WBC research actors; and

foster collaboration and bring into contact researchers from EU and WBC.

Consortium:

1. Q-PLAN North Greece Ltd (www.qplanng.gr) - Greece

2. Inno TSD (www.inno-group.com) - France

3. European Embedded Control Institute (www.eeci-institute.eu) - France

4. School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade (www.etf.bg.ac.rs) – Serbia

5. Croatian Institute of Technology (www.hit.hr) - Croatia

6. Agency for Electronic Communications (www.aec.mk) - FYROM

7. Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Sarajevo (www.etf.unsa.ba) – Bosnia and Herzegovina

http://www.balcon-project.eu/

http://www.qplanng.gr/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.qplanng.gr/

http://www.inno-group.com/

http://www.eeci-institute.eu/

http://www.etf.bg.ac.rs/

http://www.hit.hr/

http://www.aec.mk/

http://www.etf.unsa.ba/





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Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1

2. M&C RESEARCH LANDSCAPE IN EU .................................................................. 2

2.1 M&C relevant R&D priorities under FP7 2013 workprogrammes ..................... 2 2.1.1 FP7-ICT 2013 workpogramme ..................................................................................... 2 2.1.2 FP7-Energy 2013 workprogramme ............................................................................... 4 2.1.3 FP7-Transport 2013 workprogramme ........................................................................... 5 2.1.4 FP7-NMP 2013 workprogramme .................................................................................. 7

2.2 Relevant European Technology Platforms ....................................................... 9

2.3 HYCON2 NoE - Future challenges for European M&C research ...................... 10

3. M&C RESEARCH PRIORITIES IN THE WESTERN BALKANS.................................... 13

4. EU/WBC RESEARCH COLLABORATION POTENTIAL – M&C AREAS OF COMMON

INTEREST ................................................................................................. 19

4.1 EU/WBC collaboration potential under FP7-ICT 2013 ................................... 19

4.2 EU/WBC collaboration potential towards HORIZON2020 .............................. 20

5. WBC PARTICIPATION IN EU-FUNDED COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ........................ 22

5.1 Level of WBC participation in M&C relevant FP7 Themes .............................. 22

5.2 Indicative actions to improve EU-WBC research collaboration in the field

of M&C .......................................................................................................... 23

ANNEX I: RESEARCH TEAMS IN WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES ................................. 25

I. Serbia ........................................................................................................... 25

II. Croatia .......................................................................................................... 26

III. FYROM .......................................................................................................... 27

IV. Bosnia and Herzegovina ............................................................................... 28

V. Montenegro .................................................................................................. 29





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1. Introduction This document outlines the results of the analysis on the collaboration potential among research teams

from the EU and the Western Balkan Countries (WBC) active in the design, development and implementation of systems and applications for Monitoring and Control (M&C). The aim is to highlight emerging collaboration opportunities under FP7-ICT (and eventually HORIZON2020) by identifying the “EU-WBC research areas of common interest in the field of M&C” and suggesting actions on how to enhance the participation of Western Balkan teams into EU-funded research activities.

This document incorporates:

the BALCON partners’ findings during the project first semester;

the comments and recommendations of the Advisory Group members during the 1st meeting of the BALCON Advisory Group (19 March 2012, Athens, GR);

the research orientation of the FP7-ICT 2013 workprogramme (lunched in July 2012) as well as the available information on HORIZON2020; and

the HYCON2 Network of Excellence position paper Systems and Control: Recommendations for a European Research Agenda towards Horizon 2020.

The document is structured as follows:

Section 2 presents the EU-set priorities and the challenges for the R&D actors active in the domain of Monitoring and Control. Primary focus is placed on the FP7-ICT Theme, as it is the major target of the BALCON project and is the native field of the Monitoring and Control domain. However, a number of other Themes (i.e. ENERGY, TRANSPORT and NMP) have also been examined for opportunities for R&D teams with Monitoring and Control related knowhow.

Section 3 examines the WBC priorities and capacities related to the field of Monitoring and Control. This document gives only a brief overview, grouped into several broader categories (for a more detailed analysis of the Monitoring and Control sector in each Western Balkan County refer to the respective documents available through BALCON web portal (http://www.balcon-project.eu/useful_material “EU-WBC research collaboration potential” category).

Section 4 aims to provide a mapping between the needs and the priorities in the two regions,

presented in the Sections 2 and 3. Furthermore, a mapping is provided between the WBC

challenges and those laid out as near-future challenges in the EU. This section should provide guidance to the WBC research teams as to what topics and challenges in the ERA might prove the closest to their interests.

Section 5 summarizes a set of suggested actions for increasing the level of participation of the WBC research actors in the EU-based research projects and initiatives. These suggestions are based on a set of discussions that were undertaken during project meetings, direct contacts with

the researchers in both areas, as well as the expertise within the BALCON project consortium.

http://www.balcon-project.eu/news/1st_meeting_eu-wbc_advisory_group


http://www.balcon-project.eu/uploads/files/Reports_and_Studies/HYCON2_Systems_and_Control_in_Horison2020_March12.pdf


http://www.balcon-project.eu/useful_material

http://www.balcon-project.eu/useful_material





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2. M&C research landscape in EU

2.1 M&C relevant R&D priorities under FP7 2013 workprogrammes

Current research trends in the EU can be observed through the targets and challenges laid out in the on-going research project and initiatives funded by the European Union under the 7th Framework

Programme. In the following sub-sections, the BALCON partners analysed the workprogrammes of the FP7-Capacities Themes for the period 2013 with a view to highlight the most relevant to the Monitoring and Control domain research priorities and topics, which are outlined below.

2.1.1 FP7-ICT 2013 workpogramme

The “Information and Communication Technologies” (ICT) Theme is the most relevant with the

Monitoring and Control field. In the FP7-ICT 2013 workprogramme (published on July 2012), topics related to M&C take centre stage in four out of eight Challenges.

(http://www.balcon-project.eu/uploads/files/EU_documents/FP7-ICT_2013_workprogramme.pdf)

Challenge 2: “Cognitive systems and robotics”

Development of artificial cognitive systems and robots capable of autonomous operation in highly dynamic environments with high degrees of uncertainty. The aim is to move away from pre-programmed robots and systems to those programmable through teaching and learning.

Two major objectives are set with the Challenge 2:

ICT-2013.2.1 “Robotics, Cognitive Systems & Smart Spaces, Symbiotic Interaction”

Topics of this objective include: Intelligent robotics systems (advanced robotics functionalities,

new capabilities in perception, understanding and action, various form factors, etc.); Cognitive systems and smart spaces (advanced cognitive systems, sensing, perception, understanding, learning, smart spaces consisting of infrastructures, intelligent interfaces and robots, novel immersive interactions between the environment, objects in the environment, machines and users; and Symbiotic human-machine interaction (interactive technologies based on new theories and

models of human cognition and emotion, non-rational decision-making, social behaviour and spatial

and temporal perception and processing)

ICT-2013.2.2 “Robotics use cases & Accompanying measures”

This objective is focused around Use-cases in service robots (testing and validating promising robotics applications, and evaluating new industry sectors which have not used robotics so far).

Challenge 3 “Alternative paths to components and systems”

This challenge primarily relates to nano-electronic and photonic technologies, as well as advanced computing and control systems at a higher level. The M&C expertise is required across the objectives, and is linked to the heterogeneous integration of these key enabling technologies and related components and systems, as well as advanced computing and control systems at a higher level. Emphases include energy efficiency and cost effectiveness, and cross-fertilization with the high-performance computing segment.

From the BALCON perspective, the most relevant topics within the Challenge 3 are grouped under the following objectives:

ICT-2013.3.3 ”Heterogeneous Integration and take-up of Key Enabling Technologies for Components and Systems”

This objective is focused around integration of diverse systems, including standalone and networked devices, wireless sensor networks, smart distributed systems, and smart environments.

ICT-2011.3.4 “Advanced computing, embedded and control systems”

The goal f this objective is related to cross-fertilization of the technology from the field of high-performance systems and embedded and large-scale systems. Topics include techniques for achieving energy efficiency, load balancing, distributed computation, etc.

http://www.balcon-project.eu/uploads/files/EU_documents/FP7-ICT_2013_workprogramme.pdf





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Challenge 6 “ICT for a lower carbon economy”

Smart electricity distribution grids, enabling for management, communication and coordination between producers, networks and consumers, along with suitable simulation and decision support tools.

ICT water management systems for smart control of water production, distribution and consumption, including predictive capabilities, demand forecasting, advanced metering, real-time communication of consumption patterns. Integrating energy and water management schemes is encouraged.

Development of smart, energy efficient and eco-friendly transportation systems, with the focus on road traffic. The principal challenge is seen in the topic of cooperative systems, utilizing vehicle-to-vehicle, road-to-vehicle, and vehicle to infrastructure, enabling for novel traffic management and

control schemes. A wide research initiative related to different aspects of Full Electric Vehicles is also foreseen. Challenge 6 is organized through the following calls:

ICT-2013.6.1 “Smart Energy Grids”

This objective is primarily aimed at communication and coordination infrastructure for smart grid systems. This includes real time monitoring, control, and communication, as well as load balancing and active network management.

ICT-2013.6.2 “Data Centres in an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly Internet”

This objective is focused around the infrastructure for Data Centers. The topics include energy supply and consumption, cooling systems and dissipation, and the efficient integration of Data Centers into Smart Grids.

ICT-2013.6.3 “ICT for water resources management”

Focus of this objective is on ICT support for water resource management. This includes supply and consumption of water in private, public, and industrial settings, as well as waste water

management.

EEB-ICT-2013.6.4 “Optimising Energy Systems in Smart Cities”

The focus of this objective is on management and control of Smart Energy Systems and their

integration with smart cooling and heating systems, and renewable sources of energy. The research should be based around different types of demands and employment of load balancing and demand responsive services.

ICT-2013.6.5 “Co-operative mobility”

This objective is focused around smart transportation systems. The topics include supervised automated driving systems, driving assisting systems, as well as city scale integrated multimodal personal transporting systems.

Challenge 7 “ICT for manufacturing & factories of the future”

Actions within this challenge will be carried out in the form of Application experiments that will target advanced robot solutions for new manufacturing applications, as well as Assessment experiments will target innovative sensor-based equipment solutions in manufacturing and control. Challenge 7 is

organized through two challenges:

FoF-ICT-2011.7.1 “Application experiments for robotics and simulation”

The Application experiments are expected to target key functionalities such as mobility, dexterity,

safety and human-robot interaction, and focus on downstream activities like systems integration, testing and validation under realistic manufacturing conditions.

FoF-ICT-2011.7.2 “Equipment assessment for sensor and laser based applications”

The Assessment experiments are aimed at sensor-/actuator-driven equipment targeting smart production flexibly through an effective monitoring and control of small volume manufacturing operations.





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2.1.2 FP7-Energy 2013 workprogramme

The Energy sector is in general highly related and dependent on Monitoring and Control knowledge and

expertise. The FP7-Energy 2013 program places the overall emphases on utilization of renewable energy sources, rational use and storage of energy, and security of supply. Following is a list of selected topics for the year 2013 that are relevant to the M&C domain.

(http://www.balcon-project.eu/uploads/files/EU_documents/FP7-Energy_2013_workprogramme.pdf)

ENERGY 2013.2.3.2 “Small to medium size wind turbines”

New control systems and methods for optimization of operation and maintenance; projects are expected to substantially improve performance, ease of integration and penetration of small to medium size wind turbines in urban and peri-urban areas. The projects are expected to deliver low

cost, high performance, reliable, durable and safe systems.

ENERGY 2013.2.4.1 “Exploration and assessment of geothermal reservoirs”

The project will investigate all accessible information from resource location, structural geology and

estimation of the in-situ stresses, to geophysical and geochemical data. The potential of supercritical fluids should also be explored.

ENERGY 2013.2.6.1 “Design tools, enabling technologies and underpinning research to facilitate ocean energy converter arrays”

The objective of the research is therefore to develop optimal designs, enabling technologies and underpinning research to facilitates the development of ocean energy converter arrays. Research and development are needed at all levels, from moorings and foundations, operation and maintenance, power take off and electrical systems development, through to array and control system modeling and environmental impacts.

ENERGY 2013.5.2.1 “Mitigation and remediation of leakage from geological storage”

Safe, long-term geological storage - both onshore and offshore - therefore brings the need for sophisticated methods for the detection, characterization, mitigation and remediation of leakage from CO2 storage sites and complexes, as well as for sound approaches to safety assessment.

ENERGY 2013.7.1.1 “Development and validation of methods and tools for network integration of distributed renewable resources”

The aim is to develop and validate methodologies and tools to enable Distribution System Operators (DSOs) to take on new roles and evolve existing roles required by the increased number and volume

of distributed energy resources connected to distribution networks. An important new role is observing and balancing of variable renewable generation and loads with decentralized flexible generation, active demand and local storage. It may also require congestion management and the provision of ancillary

services. Network operations and grid maintenance will need to be upgraded.

ENERGY 2013.7.2.1 “Advanced concepts for reliability assessment of the pan- European

transmission network”

The aim of this topic is to identify, develop, assess and recommend innovative strategies, methods and tools to evolve current security criteria into more flexible criteria for the future pan-European electricity transmission system while maintaining present-day reliability levels.

http://www.balcon-project.eu/uploads/files/EU_documents/FP7-Energy_2013_workprogramme.pdf





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ENERGY 2013.7.2.2 “Advanced tools and mechanisms for capacity calculation and congestion management”

The aim is to develop new capacity calculation methods for medium- to long- time horizons (week, month, year, multi-year ahead) and congestion management approaches in accordance with a new comprehensive reliability methodology being developed for the pan-European transmission network.

The work should also develop the relevant tools supporting capacity allocation and congestion management

ENERGY 2013.8.8.1 “Demonstration of optimised energy systems for high performance-energy districts”

Retrofitting of a district towards zero energy buildings. The proposed measures should aim to demonstrate innovative technical, economic and financial solutions, which significantly increase overall energy efficiency. All types of buildings can be addressed, with a focus on residential buildings.

Proposing innovative solutions for the medium and low voltage electricity distribution grid, with the objective to improve the integration of a large share of power generated from renewable energy

sources (for example photovoltaic installations) with the power supplied a conventional centralized installation (for example a Combined Heat and Power plant), and to increase energy efficiency of the distribution grid by implementing smart solutions and new efficient network components.

Proposing innovative solutions for district heating and cooling energy supply, with the objective of improving the overall efficiency of the system (heat generation, distribution and final use). The applicants should propose district heating and/or cooling systems based primarily on recovering waste heat and adapting the temperature levels of the grid to the applications.

2.1.3 FP7-Transport 2013 workprogramme

Many aspects of the transportation domain are highly reliant on the Monitoring and Control technology, ranging from systems within single vehicles, to the management of complex transportation

networks. The FP7-Transport 2013 workprogram has the overall objective of developing integrated, safer, “greener” and “smarter” pan-European transport systems. Following is a list of selected

topics that are relevant to the M&C domain.

(http://www.balcon-project.eu/uploads/files/EU_documents/FP7-Transport_2013_workprogramme.pdf)

The ‘European Green Cars Initiative’ Private-Public Partnership (EGGI)

The three components of the EGCI are covered in Work Programme 2013: 1) development of electric vehicles for road transport; 2) medium and long distance road transport; and 3) logistics and co-modality, in line with the roadmaps adopted by the Industrial Advisory Group of the PPP.

Increasing railway attractiveness, efficiency and capacity

Railway R&I in WP 2013 focuses on contributing to safe and seamless mobility by focusing on train control systems, and railway infrastructure and operation, while taking also into account eco-innovation and competitiveness aspects such as noise reduction and certification of new materials for railway rolling stock

Improving the efficiency of waterborne transport

The focus of WP 2013 will be on the reduction of ship emissions through energy systems integration, on safety aspects of ships in operation and risk management, and on strengthening competitiveness by focusing on innovative vessel designs and automatic manufacturing techniques.

http://www.balcon-project.eu/uploads/files/EU_documents/FP7-Transport_2013_workprogramme.pdf





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Urban transport, ITS, safety and road infrastructure

R&D topics on these areas are included in WP 2013 to address the three challenges, particularly on managing integrated multimodal urban transport networks, virtual testing to design innovative vehicle safety systems, and on advanced materials and cost-effective construction and maintenance for greener, safer and reliable road infrastructure.

AAT.2013.2-1. Airports

Research and innovation on airports will focus on increasing time efficiency while taking into account the environmental related aspects. Advanced concepts and techniques for: time efficient passenger

and luggage flow in the terminal area and for passenger, boarding patterns, including multi-door embarking and disembarking; time efficient freight operations, including comprehensive planning of airport operations; and new environmentally friendly approach for aircraft de-icing, real time detection, monitoring and modeling of local air quality and aircraft noise around airports.

AAT.2013.3-1. Human factors

Research and innovation will focus on aircraft customer safety (vehicle and operations) while taking into account the cost efficiency related aspects. Proposals could address the following subjects: improved human centered design of cockpit displays; improved understanding of the human factor in support of human-machine interaction.

SST.2013.1-2. Towards the zero emission ship

Research will focus on the optimisation of the energy chain of a ship (maritime or inland waterway), including the integration of renewable energy systems, on energy recovery systems from the main and auxiliary engines with the aim to significantly reduce CO2 emissions as well as SOx, NOx,

particulate matter (PM), etc.

SST.2013.2-1. Next generation of train control systems in the domain of urban and main line European railway systems

The research focuses on the next generations of train control systems for the two domains of urban

and main line European railway systems. The goal of the project is to deliver specifications describing the new features of these next generations, leading to common technical architecture and associated standard interfaces within each of the two domains.

SST.2013.3-1. Managing integrated multimodal urban transport network

Research will aim at developing, demonstrating and validating strategies and tools (technological and methodological), which contribute to integrated multimodal network management for cities and their hinterland. Strategies can address the movements of goods and people on the network as well as the improvement of the accessibility.





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2.1.4 FP7-NMP 2013 workprogramme

The “Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials And New Production Technologies” (NMP) Theme is

aiming at advanced and future materials, and production technologies. Many of the industrial processes targeted by th2 FP7-NMP 2013 Workprogramme are reliant on development of novel control techniques. Following is a list of selected objectives for the year 2013 that are relevant to the M&C domain.

(http://www.balcon-project.eu/uploads/files/EU_documents/FP7-NMP-2013_workprogramme.pdf)

NMP.2013.1.1-2 Self-assembly of naturally occurring nanosystems

The objective of the topic is to exploit the possibilities of biomass of plant origin (including aquatic plants and seaweed) in order to develop new innovative added value products from plant based nanosystems, such as glycopolymers, nanocrystals and nanofibres. These systems will, after self-

assembly at nano-scale and functionalisation, present high added value properties, e.g. for flexible organic electronics, smart papers and surfaces, nanocomposites, glycosensors, self-healing materials, high thermal insulation materials etc.

NMP.2013.1.2-1 Nanotechnology-based sensors for environmental monitoring

The specific objective of this topic is to exploit progress in nanosciences to deploy nanotechnology in affordable, mass-produced sensors, and to integrate these into components and systems (including portable ones) for mass market applications in environmental monitoring. Sensing may include chemical, micro-biological and radiological parameters. Deliverables are expected to include the sensor design and fabrication considerations (including the use or development of modeling tools), a technology demonstrator and a positive production capacity feasibility study (including economic

assessment) and plans for their commercial implementation.

NMP.2013.1.4-1 Development of an integrated multi-scale modeling environment for nanomaterials and systems by design

This objective is aimed at development of modeling tools and frameworks for nano-technologies. Part

of the effort should be on the key and transverse issues of code modularity and reusability. These modules should connect a variety of models, which might range from ab initio codes, molecular dynamics and other discrete particle models up to Finite Element simulations at the continuum scale. The application of topology optimization techniques and modeling and optimization with uncertainties may also be included.

NMP.2013.3.0-1 Tools for Monitoring and Assessing Resource-efficiency in the Value Chain of Process Industries

The focus is on continuous processes, with a precise control of conditions, which also ensure product quality and safety of operation.

Research activities should address all of the following areas: Status of existing monitoring and modeling tools; Re-usability and valorisation of resources as input-sources; Integration of the tools into the process control systems; Resource-specific indicators to evaluate how negative environmental

impacts have been decoupled from resource use; Integration of the value chain and include impact assessment studies to evaluate environmental and economic impacts as well as the suitability of the innovative technologies for application within the EU; and Innovation in the analytical systems.

OCEAN 2013.4 Innovative transport and deployment systems for the offshore wind energy sector

Development of innovative and cost-effective deployment strategies for large-scale turbines, including building and testing onshore; Elaboration of optimal logistical processes and on-land transport links for large offshore structures; Design of novel vessel types and equipment for installation, maintenance

and decommissioning and validation at reduced scale; Development of safety procedures for installation, operation and maintenance activities, regarding both offshore wind structures and the

http://www.balcon-project.eu/uploads/files/EU_documents/FP7-NMP-2013_workprogramme.pdf





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vessels; Improved operations and maintenance including the enhanced role of remote condition

monitoring and systems with reduced human intervention; Development of new business models at European level for large offshore systems based on integrated life-cycle approaches; Development of

methods and tools to assess the field performance of offshore wind farms servicing vessels and for optimized service activities in terms of lead time and energy usage.

FoF.NMP.2013-1 Improved use of renewable resources at factory level

Methodologies and tools for eco-efficient design or re-adaptation of production facilities based on co-evolving product-process-production systems including the integration of technologies for energy scavenging and recovery; Seamless integration of renewable energy harvesting in production systems for high productivity and maximum energy efficiency in the factories; Simulation and optimization tools for assessing both environmental and economic costs linked with the use of renewable materials

and energy resources, as well as technologies for energy recovery with reliable predictive analytics to guide decision- making.

FoF.NMP.2013-6 Mini-factories for customised products using local flexible production

Scale reduction and increased flexibility of production systems in order to satisfy the special requirements of the local flexible mini-production units, which have to show a competitive advantage compared to the traditional larger factories in terms of space, complexity and operator skills; Adaptive control and auto-configurable automation systems for local flexible production with high customisation capabilities, where manufacturing operations and sequences need to accommodate to the highly unpredictable customer demands; New and integrated product/process engineering solutions, including CAD-CAM systems, able to automatically adapt product features to specific customer

demands and accordingly configure processes and machines for local production.

FoF.NMP.2013-7 New hybrid production systems in advanced factory environments based on new human-robot interactive cooperation

Technologies for a reliable and safe machine/robot-human and machine/robot-robot interactive

cooperation in applications where the equipment will carry out the tasks which provide power, repeatability and extended work-space while the human operators will provide accuracy, flexibility and problem solving capacity; Methodologies for the improved planning of the shared tasks, based on analysis and simulation of real-time collaboration at the production site and by the user-friendly programming of complex tasks, using information from factory sensor networks, and taking into account the constraints from factory environments in predefined automatic or semi-automatic

assembly/disassembly operations, e.g. using advanced real-time augmented reality in complex operations; Novel methods of programming for fast-teaching and guided-learning in order to adapt robot work tasks dynamically during operation to the changeable production requirements (e.g. in hybrid assembly of serial products such as automotive, white goods, airplanes, where frequent changes of production require regular updates of the assembly tasks as well as adjustment of workplaces, fixtures and tools); Technologies on mobile robots for improved intra-factory logistics, based on enhanced safe navigation in non-structured environments. Dynamic planning methodologies,

coordination control and path reconfiguration strategies, taking into account wireless communication, in a safe interaction with operators have to be addressed.





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2.2 Relevant European Technology Platforms

The above-presented analysis of the FP7 Workprogramme objectives gives an outline of the short-term

EU priorities in the M&C domain. For a medium to long-term assessment, a survey of reports and strategies by relevant European Technology Platforms (ETPs) was carried out. European Technology Platforms that indicate a strong need for M&C expertise include:

TPWind – “European Technology Platform for Wind Energy” (www.windplatform.eu)

New measurement techniques to acquire data with sufficient spatial and temporal resolution both for onshore and offshore; Advanced models, developed in parallel, involving the use of

Computational Fluid Dynamics software and, in the long-term, the integration of all aspects into a comprehensive numerical wind atlas; Short-term forecasting for market integration and grid operation providing improved accuracy and integration with meteorological models, improved uncertainty assessment and more effective integration with Energy Management Systems; Development of sensors and computers could provide opportunities to realize multi-parameter, adaptive control strategies that can optimize the turbine’s operation; etc.

ERTRAC - “European Road Transport Research Advisory Council” (www.ertrac.org)

Improving the efficiency of conventional engines; Making electrically-powered mobility a reality for the European consumer; Road infrastructure networks and associated management structures

that is able to support the world’s highest traffic intensities, as well as providing the highest levels of accessibility and reliability; Logistical services that hold the highest operational levels of integration and collaboration throughout the entire chain; etc. More information regarding this ETP is available at:

SmartGrids - “European Technology Platform for the Electricity Networks of the Future” (www.smartgrids.eu)

This ETP is focused around the development and implementation of Smart Grids technology. Research challenges are grouped into five research areas: RA 1 – Smart Distribution Infrastructure (Small

Customers and Network Design); RA 2 – Smart Operation, Energy Flows and Customer Adaptation (Small Customers and Networks); RA 3 – SmartGrid Assets and Asset Management (Transmission and Distribution); RA 4 – European Interoperability of SmartGrids (Transmission and Distribution); RA 5 – Smart Grids Cross-Cutting Issues and Catalysts.

EUROP - “European Robotics Technology Platform” (www.robotics-platform.eu)

This ETP is focused around the development and wide-spread acceptance of robots robotic technologies. A set of future technological requirements have in defined by this ETP, including:

Sustainability (in terms of materials, production processes, power consumption, etc.), Configuration and Adaptation (from easy manual configuration to self-adapting and self-configuring and adapting systems), Autonomy (autonomous executions of missions, sensing coupled with planning, etc.), Positioning and Mobility, Grasping and Manipulation, Robot-Human and Robot-Robot interaction, Dependability, etc.

Net!Works – “Converged fixed and Wireless Communication Networks” (www.networks-etp.eu)

This ETP is aimed at developing future networks as the supporting infrastructure for the ICT supported society. A number of research priorities are defined, including: Cognitive Network Operation towards a SMART System Paradigm (Monitoring for multi- access and multi-path, Communication,

Cognitive, self- learning real time optimization, Autonomic adjustment based on application requirements) and In-bound Cognitive Network Management (management operations by the means of a highly distributed architecture where the management functions are located in or close to the managed network and service elements).

http://www.windplatform.eu/

http://www.ertrac.org/

http://www.smartgrids.eu/

http://www.robotics-platform.eu/

http://www.networks-etp.eu/

http://www.networks-etp.eu/





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ARTEMIS - “Advanced Research & Technology for EMbedded Intelligence and Systems” (www.artemis-ju.eu)

ARTEMIS is the European Technology Platform aimed at addressing the research and structural challenges faced by European science and industry in the field of Embedded Computing Systems. ARTEMIS produces a Strategic Research Agenda as “a Pan-European guideline for the research,

technology and innovation in the fields of ART EMIS”, which is periodically updated.

Remark: Besides the above mentioned, a number of other ETPs also exist, but currently lack recently-updated strategic documents. A comprehensive list can be found at: http://cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/energy_en.html

2.3 HYCON2 NoE - Future challenges for European M&C research

The most relevant EU strategic initiative for the domain of Monitoring and Control is the HYCON2 Network of Excellence. According to HYCON21 position paper “Systems and Control: Recommendations for a European Research Agenda towards Horizon 2020” the application areas of M&C stretch across a wide

variety of fields. While this study is a report by the HYCON2 consortium, and is not an official EC publication, it may be expected that it will heavily influence the future Workprogrammes. Within this context, the crucial needs of the society, which can and should be addressed by the Monitoring and Control research in the future include:

Smart traffic management – In ground transportation, high-density traffic and congestions have become common place in much of the European urban areas. Negative implications are manifold:

ranging from a decreased quality of life through increased travel times and fuel expenses, to environmental effects from the increased CO2 emissions. Mentioned problems can greatly be alleviated through development and application of smart traffic management systems, leading to a higher utilization of existing transformational infrastructure. These will need to incorporate vast amounts of information from sensor networks, traffic measurement, and in-car systems, in order to provide adaptive traffic management policies, leading to high complex M&C structures. Furthermore, a sharp increase in demand for air traffic is also evident. In order to sustain this trend, smart air traffic

management systems to optimise routs and mitigate congestion are needed.

Green electricity and Smart Grid – Growing demands, strain on resources and environmental implication of the traditional electricity production plants are driving the necessity for introduction of a large-scale production of energy from renewable sources. Such an addition, to what is already a highly complicated system will present a complex task. This is further underlined by the very nature of the renewable energy sources, as they are dispersed over large geographical areas and fluctuate over time. Challenges that will need to be addressed are both in monitoring the state and the trends in the

grid, as well as providing optimal control to manage power flows, minimize losses and maximise profits.

Increased energy efficiency in production systems – Manufacturing plays an important role in the European economy, with 70% of all jobs directly or indirectly dependent on some form of manufacturing activities. In order to maintain a high level of competitiveness, advanced control strategies and systems will need to be employed. This includes areas such as plant-wide energy

management and control of the production flow.

Security in decentralized automation - Ensuring the integrity in a presence of malfunction and malicious interferences is an important task with distributed M&C systems. Current State of the Art in security has been addressed in Industrial Automation protocols, at several levels, and is mostly based on centralized approaches, through existence of central supervisors. Future work will need to address development of an unified reference security architecture, encompassing the full range of M&C systems.

1 HYCON2 (“Highly-complex and networked control systems”, www.hycon2.eu) is a Network of Excellence initiated in 2010 and funded under the FP7-ICT programme. Foreseen as a four-year project, it is devoted to stimulating progress and establishing long-term cooperation in the area of control of complex, large-scale, and networked dynamical systems. The major goal is to facilitate an integration of the European research community, leading institutions and industry, through coordination of basic and applied research and development.

http://www.artemis-ju.eu/

http://cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/energy_en.html

http://cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/energy_en.html



http://www.hycon2.eu/





11

Mechatronics and control co-design and automation – Many of the modern mechanical systems

require ubiquitous control, implemented through a variety of embedded systems. However, in order to maintain competitiveness and ensure a high level to efficiency, there is a need for moving towards

and integrated system design. Current R&D offers only integration on the level of individual low-level components, leaving a wide ground for future research.

Analysis, control and adaptation of large infrastructures – The strain placed on infrastructures providing for the quality of life in the densely populated Europe can be mitigated through advanced

smart M&C systems. The application areas include water and waste management, distribution of electricity and gas, health care, etc. These R&D activates also need to include implementation of large-scale dynamic simulations, as analytical tools.

Autonomous systems – With the growing complexity of the different systems in place in the modern society, ranging from consumer products to industrial environments a need arises to make these systems autonomous to a high degree. This implies an ability to process data from the environment and react autonomously, without interference from a human.

Neurosciences – Many of the phenomena and problems encountered by the brain related sciences find their direct counterparts in the M&C theory. Building upon a synergy of the two fields, prospects open for significantly further our knowledge and understand in the both areas.

Health care – Electrical stimulation has been effectively used in treatment of many chronic diseases. Most of the systems used are, however, under open-loop control. Advanced simulation of the underlying mechanisms are needed to enable a new generation of devices, which would enable for closed-loop control, making these systems better adapted to human physiology and more

individualized.

Cellular and bimolecular research – A vast amount of information of the processes in living organisms has become available. Control theory offers some of the tools needed to analyse and understand these very complex behaviours. Furthering the research along these lines can provide outstanding results, from both the biological point (in developing a better understanding of the biomechanical processes), and in the control theory with possible applications elsewhere.

Based on the above outlined needs, a number of future challenges for the European M&C research have been defined:

1) System-wide coordination control of large-scale systems

The primary goal within this challenge is to provide integrated control and monitoring of distributed and disperse systems, where specific subsystems may feature very different characteristics and requirements.

Possible approaches include multi-level control structures and agent-based models that need to account for in-system uncertainty and different sources of variability, while providing robust and secure operation.

2) Autonomy, cognition, and control

This challenge focuses on enabling autonomous systems to operate in highly dynamic environments in presence of various sources of uncertainty. Such systems need to employ high levels of adaptability, and incorporate abilities to reason and learn. Dealing with the vast volumes of parameters and information

that these systems need to take into account may require development of new non-parametric models,

related to the filed of Machine Learning. Providing verification of safe and stable operation of these systems is also a very important challenge.

3) Model-based systems engineering

This challenge should provide methods and tools for integrating already complex systems into larger, and

even more complex systems of systems. The solution is foreseen through development of systems’ mathematical models, which can later be combined in a component-based fashion. A seamless integration of different models and formalisms needs to be facilitated, along with the ability of early detection of errors and inconsistencies.





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4) Distributed networked control systems

This challenge underlines a need for distributed control systems capable of operating in a network, which evolves and changes over time, and where communication links are established ad-hoc and for a limited period of time. Current research deals with these issues either by first examining the characteristics of the network at hand and developing an appropriate control mechanism, or by designing a network so that a developed control mechanism can be employed. Future directions may need to focus on integrated

development of both networks and the appropriate control mechanisms. Any such systems will also need to be accompanied with appropriate mechanisms to ensure security and robustness.

5) Human-machine interaction

As automated systems become more complex and powerful, there will be a need for new and innovative means of interactions of such systems with humans. The major challenge is in providing a human operator with the ability to control (parts of) the system, while maintaining proper operation of the

system and the autonomy.

Figure 1: Future challenges for the European M&C research

Source: Source: HYCON2 Network of Excellence (www.hycon2.eu)

http://www.hycon2.eu/





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3. M&C research priorities in the Western Balkans Research and development priorities show slight variations across the region, due to different geo-spatial

characteristics, resources available, and socio-economic orientations in the different countries. However, the outlined focuses are mostly in line with the Challenges set out by the EU, and can be summarized in the following topics:

Improvement of the energy efficiency in the production, transmission and utilization of energy.

Increase of the utilization of renewable energy sources.

Integrative management of disperse and diverse sources of energy.

Transport Infrastructure Management.

Proper and efficient road maintenance.

Robotics and flexible automation.

This report is based on the BALCON partners’ findings on the state, capacities, and interests of the WBC

research community in the domain of Monitoring and Control. Existing national and international studies and local development strategies were analysed, a survey of the recent publications was carried out and

direct contacts with the WBC research communities were organised.

Furthermore, this report incorporates the suggestions and remarks that have been gathered since those deliverables were published. A major source have been the comments made during the first meeting of the BALCON Advisory Group on 19 March 2012 in Athens (GR) and the subsequent communication with the members of the Advisory Group and the wider research community.

In general, the Monitoring and Control research communities in the Western Balkan Countries are relatively small and fragmented. However, they remain quite active in the field, and have achieved a

considerable number of scientific publications, as it is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Number of publications in Control and Systems Engineering

domain for the years 2008, 2009, 2010

Source: SCImago. (2007) SJR — SCImago Journal & Country Rank. Retrieved: November 17, 2011 from http://www.scimagojr.com

In addition, research carried out is in many cases of high quality. An indicative example of WBC with a good performance in M&C related research is the case of Serbia for which the Citation Index for years 2008, 2009, and 2010, exceeds the EU27 average and is second only to that of UK. These achievements are further appreciated when taking into account the chronic lack of funding and the problem of brain

drain, which plague the entire WBC region.



http://www.scimagojr.com/





14

Finally, it should also be noted that these results are produced on a fairly small number of publications,

while reaching a wider international impact in science requires a much higher critical mass, not present in Serbia or Croatia, or in any other Western Balkan Country.

Figure 3: Citation indices in Control and Systems Engineering domain for the years 2008- 2010

Source: SCImago. (2007). SJR — SCImago Journal & Country Rank. Retrieved: November 17, 2011 from http://www.scimagojr.com

The research priorities in each of the 5 targeted Western Balkan Countries in the broader field of Monitoring and Control are listed in Table 1 below.

No. Topic Serbia Croatia Bosnia and

Herzegovina FYROM Montenegro

1 Large scale systems control and management, and distributed

system control

2 Intelligent, autonomous and cognitive systems

3 Modelling and model-based engineering

4 ICT for clean and efficient energy

5 ICT for clean and efficient transport

Table 1: Overview of the research and development priorities in the domain of Monitoring and control for the Western Balkan Countries.

Source: BALCON consortium, 2012 (http://www.balcon-project.eu)

http://www.scimagojr.com/






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This topic is aimed at the range of problems dealing with integrated control and monitoring of distributed and disperse systems, and control systems capable of operating in networks which evolve and change over time. Within this domain, interests among R&D actors from WBC can be found in Serbia (with an emphases on Networked Monitoring and Control as well as a special emphases to applications related to Energy Distribution Systems), Croatia (with an emphases on Networked Monitoring and Control),

Montenegro (with an emphases on digital modulations in computer networks), Bosnia and Herzegovina (with an emphases on Networked Monitoring and Control) and FYROM (with an emphases on Networked Monitoring and Control).

A number of research teams from the WBC teams are active in the filed. The list includes:

Signals and Systems department, School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade (Serbia) (Monitoring and Control Networks, Statistical performance and process monitoring,

System identification)

High Performance and Intelligent Computing Group, Department for Computing, School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade (Serbia) (Wireless Sensor Networks, Systems'

Interoperability)

Division for Automatic Control and Systems, Department for Computing and Control Systems Engineering, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad (Serbia) (Monitoring and control networks, Software architecture for distributed control systems)

Mihajlo Pupin Institute (Serbia), (Energy efficiency and performance optimization in wireless communications and wireless sensor networks, QoS management)

Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technologies (LABUST), Control and Computer Engineering dpt, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb (Croatia) (Fault tolerant and reconfigurable control, Nonlinear control, Adaptive and robust control, Sensor fusion, Sonar and video image processing)

Control and Computer Engineering department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and

Computing, University of Zagreb (Croatia) (Nonlinear control, Adaptive and robust control, Optimal control, Predictive control, Fault-tolerant control)

Power System Department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering Strossmayer University Osijek (Croatia) (Monitoring and Control Networks, Feedback linearization, Multi-layer control, Statistical performance, Process monitoring, Parameter estimation, Genetic Algorithms)

Renewable energy section, Končar Electrical Engineering Institute (Croatia) (Monitoring and

Control Networks, Real-time monitoring and control, Performance and process monitoring)

Rotating Machines Department, Končar Electrical Engineering Institute (Croatia) (Monitoring and Control of Rotating Machines, Real-time monitoring and control, FEM calculation of Rotating Machines)

Automation and System Engineering Group, Institute for Automation and System Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, Skopje (FYROM) (Wireless Sensor Networks)

Institute of Telecommunications, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology dpt, The St. Cyril and Methodius University (FYROM) (Reconfigurable Networks, Cognitive Radio, Software Defined Radio, Radio Resource Management in future wireless systems, Wireless Sensor Networks)

Automatic Control and Electronics department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (PID, nonlinear and adaptive controllers, PLCs, distributed control systems)

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (Embedded and

networked control and sensor systems)

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (Industrial automation, Real time and Embedded systems, Robotics)

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Montenegro (Digital modulations Computer networks)

1) Large scale systems control and management, and distributed system control





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2) Intelligent, autonomous and cognitive systems

This priority is focused around systems that can autonomously operate and react in unpredictable or semi-predictable environments. Topic include autonomous robots, ambient intelligence, machine learning techniques, and agent and multi-agent systems. Furthermore, there is a strong expertise related to development of underwater autonomous vehicles, as well as intelligent wireless communication systems.


High Performance and Intelligent Computing Group, Department for Computing, School of

Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade (Serbia) (Machine Learning from Big Data and Dynamic Systems)

LAS-Laboratory for machine tools LIPS-Laboratory for Intelligent Production Systems, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb (Croatia) (Open Architecture Control Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Adaptive Control, Optimal Control)

Incident Management Group - IMG Intelligent Transportation Systems Department, Faculty of Traffic and Transport Sciences University of Zagreb (Croatia) (UI, Decision Support

System)

Institute for Informational technologies, Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Skopje (FYROM) (Verification and validation, Genetic Algorithms)

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Banja Luka (Bosnia & Herzegovina) (Adaptive control, Robust control, Application of neural networks in system identification and control)

Control Engineering department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Tuzla (Bosnia & Herzegovina) (Intelligent systems, Automation and robotization of industrial, energetic and process

systems)

Time Frequency Signal Analysis Group, Faculty of Electrical Engineering University of

Montenegro (Adaptive filters, time-frequency analysis)

3) Modelling and model-based engineering

This topic is aimed at developing models and modelling tools for various complex systems, subsystems and processes. The solution is foreseen through development of systems’ mathematical models, which can later be combined in a component-based fashion. Within this domain, interests among WBC R&D actors interests can be found in Serbia (related to Systems and Components Modelling), Croatia (related to the applications in Transport Development Modelling), FYROM (related to Wireless Sensor Networks) and Bosnia & Herzegovina (related to Systems and Components Modelling).


BioIRC Ltd, Bioengineering R&D centre, Kragujevac (Serbia) (Multi-scale, Discrete, and Continuum modelling, Dissipative particle dynamics, Integrating clinical recording with computer modelling)

Model-Based Software Engineering Group, Department of Computing, School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade (Serbia) (Model-Driven Software Engineering)

Traffic Estimation And Simulation Group – TES-G Intelligent Transportation Systems

Department Faculty of Traffic and Transport Sciences University of Zagreb (Croatia) (Traffic

simulations, Public transportation priority)

Urban Logistic Group – ULG, Department of transportation logistics, Faculty of Traffic and Transport Sciences, University of Zagreb (Croatia) (City logistics, Freight delivery regulation, Warehousing and distribution)

Institute of Telecommunications, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology dpt, The St. Cyril and Methodius University (FYROM) (Mobility models in WSN)

Computer Science and Informatics department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina) (Model based development)

Control Engineering department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Tuzla (Bosnia & Herzegovina) (Stochastic systems and estimation)





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4) ICT for clean and efficient energy

This topic is aimed at enabling the introduction of a large-scale production of energy from renewable sources. Issues that need to be addressed include: monitoring the state and the trends in the grid, as well as providing optimal control to manage power flows, minimize losses and maximise profits. Among R&D actors in WBC countries interests can be found in Serbia (related to Monitoring and Control of Renewable Energy Sources and ICT for Energy Efficiency), Croatia (related to Smart Grids and

Distribution Systems, as well as Monitoring, Control and Integration of Renewable Energy sources), FYROM (related to Smart Grids and Distribution Systems, as well as Monitoring, Control and Integration of Renewable Energy Sources) and Bosnia & Herzegovina (related to Profit Maximization, Smart Grids and Distribution Systems, as well as Monitoring, control and integration of Renewable Energy sources).


Division for Automatic Control and Systems, Department for Computing and Control Systems Engineering, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad (Serbia) (Smart Grids, Smart

Buildings, Energy efficiency, Renewable energy and refineries)

Control and Computer Engineering department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb (Croatia) (Cooperative control of renewable energy sources, Estimation in renewable energy systems)

ISEMIC team, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb (Croatia) (Energy efficiency, Energy management, Monitoring energy and water consumption, Smart meters)

Renewable energy section, Končar Electrical Engineering Institute (Croatia) (Smart energy

management)

Automation and System Engineering Group, Institute for Automation and System Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, Skopje (FYROM) (Smart buildings)

Automatic Control and Electronics department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (Industrial process monitoring and control, HMI/SCADA systems and Fire & gas systems for refineries)

5) ICT for clean and efficient transport

This topic is aimed at developing ICT-supported transport systems. With the goal of providing safer, greener, and more efficient transportation, the elements to be addressed include: processing the vast amounts of information from sensor networks, traffic measurement, and in-car systems, as well as implementing adaptive traffic management policies. Among R&D actors in WBC countries interests can be found in Serbia (related to Intelligent and Intermodal Transportation Systems), Croatia (related to

Intelligent Transportation Systems and Intermodal Transportation Support, including Marine-time Transport), Bosnia & Herzegovina (related to Automated Vehicle Guidance, Optimizing Intermodal Means of Transportation, and Intelligent Transportation Systems), FYROM (related to Intelligent Transportation Systems and ICT for Road Safety), and Montenegro (related to Intermodal Transportation Support, including marine time transport and ICT Support for Transportation Safety).


Division for Automatic Control and Systems, Department for Computing and Control Systems

Engineering, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad (Serbia) (Road traffic management)

Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technologies (LABUST), Control and Computer Engineering dpt, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb (Croatia) (Cooperative control of unmanned marine vehicles, Guidance and navigation)

Traffic Estimation And Simulation Group – TES-G Intelligent Transportation Systems

Department Faculty of Traffic and Transport Sciences University of Zagreb (Croatia) (Traffic parameter estimation and forecasting, Traffic simulations, Public transportation priority, Statistical performance)





18

Incident Management Group - IMG Intelligent Transportation Systems Department,

Faculty of Traffic and Transport Sciences University of Zagreb (Croatia) (Automatic Incident Detection, Mobile Telecommunication Technology in IM, Traffic sensors technologies)

Urban Logistic Group – ULG, Department of transportation logistics, Faculty of Traffic and Transport Sciences, University of Zagreb (Croatia) (City logistics, Freight delivery regulation, Warehousing and distribution)

Automation and System Engineering Group, Institute for Automation and System Engineering,

Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, Skopje (FYROM) (Road traffic management)

Computer Science and Informatics department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina) (Transportation management Information systems)

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (Research and development of networked automotive electronic control units for industrial)

Control Engineering department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Tuzla (Bosnia &

Herzegovina) (Mobile and nano robotics)

Automatic Control Research Group, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Banja Luka (Bosnia & Herzegovina) (Robot control and robot vision, Adaptive control)





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4. EU/WBC research collaboration potential – M&C areas of common interest

4.1 EU/WBC collaboration potential under FP7-ICT 2013

The WBC research priorities, as outlined in the Table 1 can be linked to a number of the FP7-ICT 2013 Challenges as those are outlined in Section 2.

The objectives of the WBC challenge Intelligent, autonomous and cognitive systems closely relate to the FP7-ICT 2013 Challenge 2 “Cognitive systems and robotics”, placed in the field

specifically related to robotics and robotic systems.

WBC challenges ICT for clean and efficient energy and ICT for clean and efficient transport are summed under the FP7-ICT 2013 Challenge 6 “ICT for a lower carbon economy”, with the intersect being related to integration of renewable energy sources, smart grids, as well optimising the transportation networks and lowering CO2 emissions, both in energy and transport.

WBC challenge Large scale systems control and management, and distributed system control, has some overlap with the current FP7-ICT 2013 Challenge 3 “Alternative paths to components

and systems”, mostly related to cross-fertilization of large system control and high performance computing.

FP7-ICT 2013

Challenge

WBC M&C

RTD priority

#2

Cognitive systems and

robotics

#3

Alternative paths to components and systems

#6

ICT for a lower carbon economy

#7

ICT for manufacturing & factories of the

future

Intelligent,

autonomous and cognitive systems

Intelligent robotics systems;

Cognitive systems;

Autonomous operation

ICT for clean and efficient energy

Smart electricity distribution grids,

Integration of renewable sources of

energy

ICT for clean and efficient transport

Integrated multimodal

personal transport; novel traffic

management and control schemes.

Large scale systems

control and management, and distributed control

Integration of

diverse systems, smart

environments

Complex production

systems, production flow optimization

Modeling and

model-based engineering

Component

modeling, high performance computing

Table 2: Mapping of the WBC priorities to the FP7-ICT 2013 Workprogramme.







20

Figure 4: Mapping of the WBC priorities to the FP7-ICT 2013 Workprogramme.


4.2 EU/WBC collaboration potential towards HORIZON2020

The WBC research priorities, as outlined in the Table 1 can also be reflected to the societal needs for M&C research as those were identified under the HYCON2 Network of Excellence (section 2.3) as well as

mapped to the foreseen under HORIZON 2020 research priorities. More specifically:

WBC challenge Intelligent, autonomous and cognitive systems relates directly to the societal

need for Autonomous systems (HYCON2), and more specifically the foreseen Horizon2020 challenge “Autonomy, cognition, and control”. This topic, both through the EU and WBC perspectives, focuses on autonomous systems capable of operation dynamic environments, with high levels of adaptability, and incorporating abilities to reason and learn.

WBC challenge ICT for clean and efficient energy overlaps with the societal needs for Green

electricity and Smart Grid and Increased energy efficiency in production systems (HYCON2). A variety of issues that need to be covered include monitoring states, trends, control of power flow in energy grids, linking renewable energy sources, as well as energy management in production systems. From the standpoint of the Horizon2020 challenges, these issues relate to System-wide coordination control of large-scale systems and Distributed networked control systems.

WBC challenge ICT for clean and efficient transport relates to the EU society need for Smart traffic management (HYCON2), both aimed at reducing ecological footprint of different forms of

transportation, while maximizing the utilization of infrastructure, and reducing transportation times. From the standpoint of the Horizon2020 challenges, these issues relate to System-wide coordination control of large-scale systems and Distributed networked control systems.

WBC challenge Large scale systems control and management, and distributed system control overlaps with the foreseen Horizon2020 challenges System-wide coordination control of large-scale systems and Distributed networked control systems, refereeing to integrated and/or

multilevel control of complex and networked systems.

WBC challenge Modelling and model-based engineering directly relates to the foreseen Horizon2020 challenge Model-based systems engineering, referring to tools and methods for creating mathematical and function models and systems, and their integration.






21

Figure 5: Mapping of the WBC priorities to the foreseen Horizon2020 priorities.







22

5. WBC participation in EU-funded collaborative research

5.1 Level of WBC participation in M&C relevant FP7 Themes

Important notice

The information presented below is based on the CORDIS on-line project database, as well as on the feedback the BALCON partners got from R&D teams from the region. The projects mentioned include both “collaborative research projects” and “support actions”. Therefore, the data must be considered as ‘indicative’ aiming to highlight the general involvement of Western Balkan teams in FP7. An exhaustive analysis of the FP7 projects (type of project, scientific orientation and relevance to the Monitoring and Control field, type of organisations involved, etc) is out of the scope of BALCON.

The Western Balkan organisations’ involvement in FP7 programmes were knowledge and expertise in Monitoring and Control area is critical, is relatively low.

FP7 Programmes Bosnia &

Herzegovina Croatia Montenegro Serbia FYROM TOTAL

“Cooperation” programme

ICT 4 17 5 28 9 48

ENERGY 2 11 - 7 6 16

ENVIRONMENT 4 21 3 12 5 32

SECURITY - 5 1 3 1 8

TRANSPORT 1 14 - 8 1 20

“Capacities” programme

Research

Infrastructures 4 13 6 13 5 41

Regions of Knowledge

“REGIONS” 2 5 - 20 1 28

Research Potential

“REGPOT” - 10 2 - 1 13

Research for the benefit of SMEs

“SME”

1 28 - 7 6 42

Activities of

International Cooperation

“INCO”

3 3 3 3 2 14

“People” programme

“PEOPLE” 1 17 4 16 9 47

Table 3: WBC participation in key FP7 Themes (No of projects)

Source: CORDIS FP7 projects database

Respectively, the participation in M&C relevant EU-funded projects is outlined in the following table.

Bosnia & Herzegovina Croatia Montenegro Serbia FYROM TOTAL

ICT 2 4 - 14 5 25

Energy - 2 - 1 - 3

Environment - - - - - -

Security - - - 1 - 1

Transport - 1 - 3 - 4

Other 4 2 - - 6

Total 6 9 - 19 5 39

Table 4: WBC participation in M&C related projects (No of projects)


http://cordis.europa.eu/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=proj.advSearch






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5.2 Indicative actions to improve EU-WBC research collaboration in the field of M&C

During the discussions of the 1st BALCON Advisory Group meeting, and the subsequent communications with the Advisory Group members and the wider research community, a number of barriers towards the participation on Western Balkan research teams in EU-funded projects were mentioned. Indicatively the following barriers were outlined:

The limited national funding in the WBC for research activities has a negative impact on infrastructure development and human resources (e.g. young researchers). The main part of the

funding is aiming at ‘operational’ activities and not ‘research’.

Many young scientists from the WBC are attracted by the private sector or prefer to be integrated into EU based academic institutions, which affects the availability of human resources for research in the academic institutions.

There is a limited interest on behalf of many researchers to ‘invest’ in EU-funded projects mainly due to the lack of incentives and the extra workload associated with setting up such activities.

A number of actions were mentioned to improve the EU-WBC research collaboration especially in the broader field of Monitoring and Control:

Rec. #1 Exploit several ‘international collaboration instruments’ (beyond the ICT Theme under FP7 and HORIZON2020)

WBC institutions are legible for support through various areas of the FP7-Capacities programme (e.g. Research for the benefit of SMEs “FP7-SME”, Research potential of Convergence Regions “FP7- REGPOT”, Research infrastructures “FP7-INFRASTRUCTURES”, Activities of International Cooperation “INCO”, etc). Although these programs do not directly support collaborative research activities, they constitute a perfect opportunity to advance research infrastructure, increase ‘visibility’ and promote scientific expertise of Western Balkan R&D teams and offer EU actors a

unique opportunity to ‘learn’ their potential future research partners.

Expertise and knowledge in the design and development of systems for Monitoring and Control is critical in other than the ICT research domains, like Energy, Environment, Transport, Security, etc. Therefore, it is important that Western Balkan teams consider other Themes of the FP7-Cooperations program focusing on these domains.

FP7-People programme facilitates the ‘mobility’ of scientists. Through bilateral agreements between academic institutions young scientists from one can be integrated and work in the other for a specific period. Such projects provide (among others) financial support for young scientists to

increase their collaboration level and build long-term collaborations.

Rec. #2: Mobilize and create incentives for young scientists.

Young scientists and PhD students constitute the future scientific capital of a country. Therefore, it is

critical to stimulate, encourage and support them to be integrated into international research teams. To do so, indicative actions include:

Organizing training modules in the Western Balkans focusing on M&C sub-topic(s) led by key experts in the field, such as those 1-week training modules already been organized by the European Embedded Control Institute (EECI) within the “Graduate School on Control” (www.eeci-institute.eu/GSC2012).

Organize the exchange of PhD students within the context of bilateral agreements between academic institutions from the EU and Western Balkans. Several EU universities implement such programmes, which include joint courses and even lead to joint certificates or degrees in case of

joint PhD programs.


http://www.eeci-institute.eu/GSC2012

http://www.eeci-institute.eu/GSC2012





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Rec. #3: Organise brokerage/networking activities to promote the research competencies of

WBC M&C actors and support building international research consortia

Direct contacts among key actors from both regions are of outmost importance to allow discussions on their research achievements, expertise and areas of interest towards building long-term collaborations. Indicative actions may include:

Organization of scientific workshops (and meetings with local teams) in the Western Balkans, with speakers from the EU. Such workshops should be hosted by local research organizations or any

organization interested/supporting in strengthening the research collaborations with EU.

Elaboration of a list of SMEs from different EU-27 Member States highlighting their expertise and areas of interest, which could collaborate with Western Balkan research teams towards future FP7 Calls for Proposals.

Exploitation of the support services of EU funded initiatives (e.g. BALCON), especially for networking and ‘match-making’. The creation of a ‘meeting point’ will allow research teams and SMEs from both the EU and the Western Balkans to promote their competencies and ideas for

research projects supporting the creation of research consortia, especially towards the future FP7-

ICT Calls.

Rec. #4: Assistance in preparing proposals for EU-funded projects

The intensive international competition in EU-funded activities results to very low success rates (in some cases 1 out of 20 proposals are funded!), which in turn discourages inexperienced in proposal writing teams to ‘invest’ in these activities and try again. Even though the coordinator (leading organization) of a

proposal undertakes most of the preparation work, key members of the consortium play a key role in preparing several parts based on their area of expertise. In addition, in order to promote their idea(s), Western Balkan research teams must first ‘shape’ / adapt it (them) to the objectives of the Call, while accompanied with an initial work plan is critical to attract partners allowing the Western Balkan team to play a key scientific role in the consortium. Therefore, the importance to ask or support and collaborate with experts in proposal preparation was highlighted, especially during the first phase of idea

formation/adaptation to the objectives of the open Call, but also during the proposal writing process (i.e.

addressing all evaluation criteria). For example most researchers focus mainly on the idea and scientific description/justification of the proposal, while neglect the proposal management and impact.



Supported by the by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme for Research in “Information and Communication

Technologies” (FP7-ICT)

25

ANNEX I: Research teams in Western Balkan Countries The following table offers an overview of research teams from the Western Balkan region active in the design, development and implementation of systems and applications for Monitoring and control.

Important notice: The list below is not exhaustive and, thus, can not be considered that it fully represents the research capacity of each country. It aims at providing a glimpse of the sub-areas in the broader field of Monitoring and Control where competent research teams from the region are active.

I. Serbia

Team Areas of Expertise Website Contact

BioIRC Ltd Bioengineering R&D centre, Kragujevac

Bio-nano-device, Multi-scale, Discrete, Continuum

modelling, Dissipative particle dynamics, Integrating clinical recording with computer modelling

www.bioirc.ac.rs Prof. Nenad Filipovic

[email protected]

Model-Based Software Engineering Group, Dep. for Computing, School of Electrical Engineering, Uni. of

Belgrade

Industrial automation, Real time systems, Embedded systems, Model-Driven Software Engineering

http://rcub.bg.ac.rs/~dmilicev

www.soloist4uml.com

Prof. Dragan Milicev

[email protected]

Signals and Systems department,

School of Electrical Engineering,

University of Belgrade

Monitoring and Control Networks, Feedback linearization,

Multi-layer control, Statistical performance and process

monitoring, System identification, Parameter estimation

http://automatika.etf.bg.ac.rs Prof. Zeljko Đurović,

[email protected]

High Performance and Intelligent Computing Group, Dep. for Computing, School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade

Hybrid and custom computer systems, Semantic networks and systems’ interoperability, Data mining from Big Data and dynamic systems, WSN, Social Networks and Reality Mining

http://kondor.etf.rs/~vm

Prof. Veljko Milutinovic

[email protected]

Division for Automatic Control and

Systems, Department for Computing and Control Systems Engineering, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad

Smart Grids, Smart Buildings, Energy efficiency, Renewable

energy and refineries, Road traffic management, Real time systems, Monitoring and control networks, Software architecture for distributed control systems, Spatial information infrastructure, Geosensors and Geonetworks

www.ftn.uns.ac.rs Prof Dušan Petrovački

[email protected]

Mihajlo Pupin Institute

Energy efficiency and performance optimization in wireless

communications and wireless sensor networks, QoS management, network resources allocation, network

management systems and MANETs, Network planning and traffic engineering in wireless and optical networks, Architectures for adaptive computing, Reconfigurable processor design techniques

www.pupin.rs Dr. Goran Dimic

[email protected]

http://www.bioirc.ac.rs/


http://rcub.bg.ac.rs/~dmilicev

http://www.soloist4uml.com/


http://automatika.etf.bg.ac.rs/


http://kondor.etf.rs/~vm


http://www.ftn.uns.ac.rs/


http://www.pupin.rs/






26

II. Croatia


Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technologies (LABUST), Control and Computer Engineering dpt, Faculty of

Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb

Cooperative control of unmanned marine vehicles, Fault tolerant and reconfigurable control, Nonlinear control, Adaptive and robust control, Guidance and

navigation, Sensor fusion, Sonar and video image processing, Widget oriented consumer programming

www.fer.unizg.hr/zari/labust Prof Zoran Vukić

[email protected]

Control and Computer Engineering department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University

of Zagreb

Cooperative control of renewable energy sources, Nonlinear control, Adaptive and robust control, Optimal control, Predictive control, Fault-tolerant

control, Estimation in renewable energy systems

www.fer.unizg.hr Prof. Željko Ban

[email protected]

ISEMIC team, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb

Software systems, Web applications, Energy

management, Monitoring energy and water consumption, Smart meters, Data analysis, Energy efficiency

www.fer.unizg.hr/isemic Prof. Zeljko Tomsic,

[email protected]

LAS-Laboratory for machine tools LIPS-Laboratory for Intelligent Production Systems, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb

Machining process monitoring and control, Open

architecture control systems, Artificial intelligence, System identification, Parameter estimation, Repetitive control, Adaptive control, Optimal control

www.fsb.hr Prof. Danko Brezak,

[email protected]

Power System Department, Faculty of

Electrical Engineering Strossmayer University Osijek

Monitoring and Control Networks, Feedback

linearization, Multi-layer control, Statistical performance, Process monitoring, Parameter estimation, Genetic Algorithms

www.etfos.hr Prof. Srete Nikoloviski

[email protected]

Traffic Estimation And Simulation Group – TES-G Intelligent Transportation Systems Department Faculty of Traffic

and Transport Sciences University of Zagreb

Monitoring and Control Networks, Traffic parameter

estimation and forecasting, kNN and SVM methods, Traffic simulations, Public transportation priority, Statistical performance

www.fpz.unizg.hr/itslab Prof. Ivana Cavar

[email protected]

Incident Management Group - IMG Intelligent Transportation Systems

Department Faculty of Traffic and

Transport Sciences University of Zagreb

Automatic Incident Detection, Knowledge Based

Verification, Decision Support System, Mobile Telecommunication Technology in IM, Traffic sensors,

Telematics solution for natural disasters, IM Simulators

http://its.fpz.hr Prof. Sadko Mandzuka

[email protected]

Urban Logistic Group – ULG,

Department of transportation logistics, Faculty of Traffic and Transport Sciences, University of Zagreb

City logistics, Freight delivery regulation, Warehousing and distribution, Supply chain management

www.fpz.hr Prof. Kristijan Rogic

[email protected]

http://www.fer.unizg.hr/zari/labust


http://www.fer.unizg.hr/


http://www.fer.unizg.hr/isemic


http://www.fsb.hr/


http://www.etfos.hr/


http://www.fpz.unizg.hr/itslab


http://its.fpz.hr/


http://www.fpz.hr/






27


Renewable energy section, Končar

Electrical Engineering Institute

Monitoring and Control Networks, Real-time

monitoring and control, Performance and process monitoring, Smart energy management, Parameter estimation

www.koncar-institut.hr

Mate Jelavic

[email protected]

Rotating Machines Department, Končar Electrical Engineering Institute

Monitoring and Control of Rotating Machines, Real-time monitoring and control, FEM calculation of Rotating Machines, Asset management, Early fault

detection of Rotating Machines (hydro generators, turbo generators, wind generators, induction motors)

www.koncar-institut.hr Ante Elez

[email protected]

III. FYROM


Automation and System Engineering Group, Institute for Automation and System Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information

Technology, The St. Cyril and Methodius

University

Smart buildings, Road traffic management, Robots,

WSN, Flexible manufacturing systems, Real time systems, MPC, Genetic Algorithms

www.feit.ukim.edu.mk Dean Mile Stankovski

[email protected]

Institute of Telecommunications, Faculty

of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, The St. Cyril and Methodius University

Defined Radio, Radio Resource Management in future

wireless systems, Wireless Sensor Networks, Mobility models in WSN

http://wingroup.feit.ukim.edu.mk/index.html

www.feit.ukim.edu.mk

Prof Liljana Gavrilovska

[email protected]

Institute for Informational technologies, Faculty of Computer Science and

Engineering, he St. Cyril and Methodius University

Verification and validation, Genetic Algorithms,

Multivariate statistics, Multiway PCA www.finki.ukim.mk

Prof. Margita Kon-Popovska

[email protected]

Institute for Informational Technologies,

Faculty of Computer Science and

Engineering, The St. Cyril and Methodius University

Verification and validation, Genetic Algorithms www.finki.ukim.mk Prof. Goran Velinov

[email protected]

Institute for Automation and System Engineering, Faculty of Electrical

Engineering and Information Technology, The St. Cyril and Methodius

Developing SCADA System for Hydro-System Zletovica (biggest hydro-system in Macedonia), On-

line Monitoring and Diagnostics of Errors in Industrial Systems, Integrated Two Area Control Systems with

www.finki.ukim.edu.mk MSc. Goran Stojanovski

[email protected]

http://www.koncar-institut.hr/



http://www.koncar-institut.hr/


http://www.feit.ukim.edu.mk/




http://www.feit.ukim.edu.mk/


http://www.finki.ukim.mk/


http://www.finki.ukim.mk/


http://www.finki.ukim.edu.mk/






28


University Decentralized Control of Linked Objects, Development of Control Kits for education in primary and vocational

schools, Optimization Methods in System Control, Hybrid system modeling

IV. Bosnia and Herzegovina


Computer Science and Informatics department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Sarajevo

Advanced computer architectures, Software

Engineering

www.etf.unsa.ba/index.php?id

=42

Prof Novica Nosović

[email protected]

Automatic Control and Electronics department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Sarajevo

Industrial process monitoring and control, PID, nonlinear and adaptive controllers, PLCs, and

distributed control systems, HMI/SCADA systems and Fire & gas systems for refineries

www.etf.unsa.ba/index.php?id

=42

Prof Adnan Salihbegović

[email protected]

Faculty Electrical Engineering,

University of Tuzla

Embedded and networked control and sensor systems, Research and development of networked automotive electronic control units for industrial

www.fe.untz.ba Prof Naser Prljača

[email protected]

Faculty of Electrical Engineering,

University of Banja Luka

Adaptive control, Robust control, Application of neural networks in system identification and control, Non-

linear control

http://etfbl.net Dr. Milorad Božić

[email protected]

Control Engineering department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Tuzla

Intelligent systems, Mobile and nano robotics

Stochastic systems and estimation, Real-time and Embedded systems, Automation and robotization of industrial, energetic and process systems

www.lejla-

bm.com.ba/default.html

Dr. Lejla Banjanović-Mehmedović

[email protected]

Faculty of Electrical Engineering,

University of Banja Luka

System identification, Parameter estimation, Industrial automation, Real time and Embedded systems, Robotics

http://etfbl.net Dr. Petar Marić

[email protected]

Automatic Control Research Group,

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Banja Luka

Robot control and robot vision, Adaptive control,

Industrial robotics, Neural networks in identification and control, Genetic algorithms

www.etfbl.net Prof. Milorad Bozic

[email protected]

http://www.etf.unsa.ba/index.php?id=42






http://www.fe.untz.ba/


http://etfbl.net/


http://www.lejla-bm.com.ba/default.html

http://www.lejla-bm.com.ba/default.html

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Kontakt%20sa%20web%20stranice%20mobilna%20robotika%20kao%20edukacioni%20alat

http://etfbl.net/


http://www.etfbl.net/






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V. Montenegro


Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Montenegro

Digital modulations Computer networks www.etf.ac.me Prof Milica Pejanović-Đurišić

[email protected]

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Montenegro

Adaptive filters, time-frequency analysis www.etf.ac.me Prof. Zdravko Uskoković

[email protected]

http://www.etf.ac.me/


http://www.etf.ac.me/


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