New research centre will promote research and development of autonomous systems

Autonomous devices, such as self-driving cars, unmanned aerial and marine vehicles, and smart factory robots, are rapidly entering the mainstream. When these objects are connected, they form networked autonomous systems that need to coordinate their actions and function interactively with human users in a seamless way.

The development of autonomous systems requires excellence in many fields of technology and human-machine interaction. Aalto University's new research centre, the Aalto Center for Autonomous Systems (ACAS), combines research across disciplines to develop secure and intelligent autonomous systems.

‘Autonomous systems is a rapidly developing field that contributes to further digitalisation of society by facilitating new services, increasing productivity, improving safety, and using resources more efficiently’ says the director of ACAS, professor Riku Jäntti from the Department of Communications and Networking.

 ‘Aalto is conducting internationally acclaimed research in many areas linked to autonomous systems. With the new centre, we will be able to strengthen collaboration between research teams and companies in the industry and make great strides forwards’ Jäntti adds.

The new research centre includes research groups in areas such as automation systems, usability design, communications engineering, machine intelligence, mechanical engineering and game design. Collaboration is built around multidisciplinary research projects.

‘All Aalto University research groups in fields related to autonomous systems can participate in ACAS. We are also looking for companies for collaboration’ says Reino Virrankoski, ACAS coordinator.

See more on ACAS’s website: acas.fi