Projects

Technological advancements based on mixed reality (MR) offer various challenges for research and medical treatment. The project focuses on two objectives related to healthy subjects and hemiparetic patients after stroke. First, we will test the hypothesis whether cognitive training using appropriately designed MR environment will enhance perceptual and cognitive performance in healthy subjects. This will be tested by computerized psychological experiments as well as by measuring event-related potentials or ERPs. Second, we will test the hypothesis whether experience with training in MR (in combination with motor-imagery based brain-computer interface developed by us) will enhance oscillatory sensory-motor rhythms. This will be tested by measuring subject’s EEG activity before and after each training session, clinical testing, as well as by the questionnaires aiming to learn about human factors including mental fatigue, motivation, irritation or sleepiness due to training. In both objectives, we will design and implement a set of testing procedures, carry out a battery of dedicated experiments, and critically evaluate the results with the goal to validate MR designs.

The increasing development of information society and its globalization is growing proportionally with the need to appropriately secure information and communication technologies. In this context, in the area of computer security there is an increasing demand for highly qualified professionals, where the current demand exceeds the offers of the labor market. Such a disproportion exerts high requirements on education in the area of security of particular university study programs. In order to successfully handle such a task, it is necessary to consider specialized university courses within the educational process along with an arising need for a close relation between particular courses of the study program. It may be expected that the deepening of the mutual relation between Informatics courses and the computer and software engineering, regarding security issues of the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), will result in the increased quality of student preparation of the Informatics program. This is why the strategic goal of this project is to search for new methods, forms and technologies to transfer knowledge from the area of security to courses of the other study programs, using a suitable platform towards strategic requirements of the labor market. The solution will be implemented regarding the main goals, namely the innovation of the study Informatics program at the DCCI FEEI TUKE towards the issues of the ICT security, technical ensuring of the new education form in selected courses, and the creation of guides and examples for a practical application of the security knowledge towards the other courses. Students will be able to implement pragmatic project tasks, defined by the corresponding course, with a practical usethe result. As expected by the research team, this will have a positive impact on the quality of the education in the Informatics study program.

Nature-inspired search and optimisation heuristics are easy to implement and apply to new problems. However, in order to achieve good performance it is usually necessary to adjust them to the problem at hand. Theoretical foundations for the understanding of such approaches have been built very successfully in the past 20 years but there is a huge disconnect between the theoretical basis and practical applications. The development of powerful analytical tools, significant insights in general limitations of different types of nature-inspired optimisation methods and the development of more practically relevant perspectives for theoretical analysis have brought impressive advances to the theory-side of the field. However, so far impact on the application-side has been limited and few people in the diverse potential application areas have benefitted from these advances.

The main objective of the COST Action is to bridge this gap and improve the applicability of all kinds of nature-inspired optimisation methods. It aims at making theoretical insights more accessible and practical by creating a platform where theoreticians and practitioners can meet and exchange insights, ideas and needs; by developing robust guidelines and practical support for application development based on theoretical insights; by developing theoretical frameworks driven by actual needs arising from practical applications; by training Early Career Investigators in a theory of nature-inspired optimisation methods that clearly aims at practical applications; by broadening participation in the ongoing research of how to develop and apply robust nature-inspired optimisation methods in different application areas.

Hlavná technologická výzva sprevádzaná 5. generáciu mobilných komunikačných systémov je efektívne využitie dostupného frekvenčného spektra. Statické prideľovania frekvenčného spektra sa javí ako nedostatočné a jedno z možných riešení tohto problému je dynamické prideľovanie spektra pri použití technológie kognitívneho rádia. Technológia kognitívneho rádia je v súčasnosti mimoriadne diskutovaná oblasť, v ktorej sa otvára celé spektrum vyšetrovaných tém. Dynamické pridelovanie spektra je možné považovat za jednu z najvýznamnejších. Za základne funkčné bloky kognitívneho rádia je možné označiť blok monitorovania spektra, blok distribúcie a zdieľania spektra a nakoniec ekonomický blok distribúcie spektra. Súčasný stav poznania v oblasti dynamického prideľovania spektra sa výrazne limituje na analýzu vyšetrovania prevádzkových vlastností jednotlivých blokov, avšak ich vzájomná optimalizácia v dôsledku vysokej komplexity kognitívnej rádiovej siete je často obchádzaná. S cieľom riešiť tento problém, bude projekt IDR-KKS zameraný na vzájomnú optimalizáciu prevádzkových parametrov monitorovania a zdieľania spektra a ich dopad na navrhnuté ekonomické modely uvažovaných bezdrôtových štandardov 5G. Za účelom zachytenia vysokej dynamiky kognitívnej rádiovej siete, budeme v rámci projektu IDR-KKS uvažovať agentový prístup k modelovaniu a simulácií, ktorý sa ukázal ako veľmi efektívny v iných vedných odboroch (fyzika, ekonómia). Efektívnosť navrhnutých agentových modelov bude verifikovaná podľa vhodne zvolených scenárov. V rámci projektu IDR-KKS bude tiež realizovaná experimentálna kognitívna rádiová sieť umožňujúca verifikovať agentové modely aj v reálnej prevádzke.

Hlavná technologická výzva sprevádzaná 5. generáciu mobilných komunikačných systémov je efektívne využitie dostupného frekvenčného spektra. Statické prideľovania frekvenčného spektra sa javí ako nedostatočné a jedno z možných riešení tohto problému je dynamické prideľovanie spektra pri použití technológie kognitívneho rádia. Technológia kognitívneho rádia je v súčasnosti mimoriadne diskutovaná oblasť, v ktorej sa otvára celé spektrum vyšetrovaných tém. Dynamické pridelovanie spektra je možné považovat za jednu z najvýznamnejších. Za základne funkčné bloky kognitívneho rádia je možné označiť blok monitorovania spektra, blok distribúcie a zdieľania spektra a nakoniec ekonomický blok distribúcie spektra. Súčasný stav poznania v oblasti dynamického prideľovania spektra sa výrazne limituje na analýzu vyšetrovania prevádzkových vlastností jednotlivých blokov, avšak ich vzájomná optimalizácia v dôsledku vysokej komplexity kognitívnej rádiovej siete je často obchádzaná. S cieľom riešiť tento problém, bude projekt IDR-KKS zameraný na vzájomnú optimalizáciu prevádzkových parametrov monitorovania a zdieľania spektra a ich dopad na navrhnuté ekonomické modely uvažovaných bezdrôtových štandardov 5G. Za účelom zachytenia vysokej dynamiky kognitívnej rádiovej siete, budeme v rámci projektu IDR-KKS uvažovať agentový prístup k modelovaniu a simulácií, ktorý sa ukázal ako veľmi efektívny v iných vedných odboroch (fyzika, ekonómia). Efektívnosť navrhnutých agentových modelov bude verifikovaná podľa vhodne zvolených scenárov. V rámci projektu IDR-KKS bude tiež realizovaná experimentálna kognitívna rádiová sieť umožňujúca verifikovať agentové modely aj v reálnej prevádzke.

MIDIH "Manufacturing Industry Digital Innovation Hubs", is a "one stop shop" of services, providing industry with access to the most advanced digital solutions, the most advanced industrial experiments, pools of human and industrial competencies and access to "ICT for Manufacturing" market and financial opportunities.

MIDIHs will leverage networks of local Competence Centres, each specialised in peculiar aspects of the CPPS/IIOT (Cyber Physical Production System / Industrial Internet of Things) technologies and able to attract, mentor and nurture local Manufacturing SMEs towards Industry 4.0 projects, experiments and business. A common platform of knowledge, methods and collaboration tools will be shared among the MIDIHs network and allow cross-border fertilisation, continuous improvement, open innovation.

The strategic objective of the project is to search for new methods, forms and technologies enabling integration of teaching of software engineering processes into the programming courses at universities in computer science and information technology curricula. Currently, in the information technology courses, teaching of programming is often separated from the procedural aspect of software development. However, in practice, when developing software systems the technologies, principles and processes are inseparable and they are applied systematically throughout the whole software development process. Based on the current state of teaching at universities, in this project we will systematically focus on exploring new methods and forms of teaching software development courses, which would allow teaching of programming, technologies and processes of software development as a single harmonious unit. Building on the previous statements, we propose that the innovation of content of many software development courses is equally important as the creation of tool support that relieves teachers from uncreative and time-consuming tasks. To support programming teaching methods in the area of designing and developing tools, we will focus on the issue of simulation of software engineering process during student’s development of a software product. In the project solution, the simulation will represent members of the project team, including project manager, who will monitor and supervise the completion of tasks and procedures in the context of the defined process. The tool support will enable automation of providing immediate feedback for students, thus providing the teacher more time for individual approach to the student.

The objective of this project is to update computer networks curricula at three Slovak technical Universities based on actual needs of practice. A dynamic development in the fields of network technologies and updated needs of industrial certification require a change of the content scope of lecturing and practical trainings. The secondary goal of this project is to create a cooperation platform among FIIT STU, FRI UNIZA, and FEI TUKE for exchanging content bases, knowledge, pedagogues, and students by means of common courses, summer schools, and practically oriented seminars and trainings. The achievement of this project and cooperation is a higher quality product -student with a high level of proficiency, better prepared for practice. The mutual exchanging of pedagogues and PhD students will support mutual ties and will reinforce the possibilities of the future scientific and pedagogical cooperation. This project will establish a new shared educational content for university students, implement into the education new items of multimedia content, collaborative tools and it will improve practical trainings as a precondition of better preparation of graduates for practice.