A strong tradition in research
The institutes of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Stuttgart are traditionally strongly research-oriented. Research funding comes not only from the state of Baden-Württemberg, but also from European and national research programs (European Union, German Research Foundation, Federal Ministry of Education and Research) and from cooperation with companies from the private sector. External funding amounts of several million euros are raised annually, so that more than half of the scientific staff is not financed by budget funds.
Focused on long-term goals
Electrical Engineering is a classical discipline. The spectrum of its scientific methods ranges from physical experiments, measurement methods, technological processes and models, algorithms, system-, information- and coding theory, mathematical analysis, synthesis and optimization methods, computer-aided design methods, complex system and application software to project management. In Information Technology, the two fields of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science merge and cooperate in the research and development of new devices and techniques of information processing in hardware and software. It is undisputed that only research can provide the foundations and methods for new products of high quality.
Research in the fields of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology focuses on five core areas:
- Electrical power and solar technology
- Information technology and telecommunications
- Micro- and optoelectronics
- Automation and software engineering
- Mechatronics and sensor technology
These areas are characterized by a high degree of innovation. Research results from Electrical Engineering and Information Technology also provide the basis for many applications in mechanical engineering, production engineering, environmental technology, traffic engineering, automotive, aerospace, medicine and many other fields.
Importance of Industry 4.0
The topic Industry 4.0 has a lighthouse function in Germany and worldwide for the research and industrial production of the future. Driven by urgent requests for improvements in automated production in the user industry, this topic is concerned with questions of information and communication technology, the use of software technologies and new forms of ad hoc organisation in order to be able to react more quickly to changes within processes in the future.
The Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Stuttgart is conducting research in a number of technology areas that enable solutions in the area of Industry 4.0 in a novel way and would like to present a white paper on this subject. A presentation summarizes the status of the faculty-wide research topics in the area of Information Technology for Industry 4.0.