Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems - KK-stiftelsen

Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems
1 Executive summary
AASS (Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems) is a research profile at
Örebro University. The profile has received 36 MSEK in funding from the
Knowledge Foundation for the period 2002 to 2008. The purpose of the
profile has been to build a qualitative, long-term research environment of a
high international standard.
FBA has been commissioned to carry out the final evaluation of the
AASS profile. The evaluation is based on document studies and interviews
with the management, researchers and graduate students at the profile as
well as with representatives from the cooperating companies. The
evaluation has also included a workshop-based mapping of the profile’s
development process, a self-evaluation performed by the profile’s
management and a peer review with experts from Lisbon Technical
University, Portugal, R U Robots Limited, UK, and the University College
of Skövde.
The purpose of the evaluation is threefold. To verify that the activities
have been carried out as stated in the agreement between the profile
management and the Knowledge Foundation. To analyse the profile’s result
and the working process that led to it. To give feedback on experiences,
both to the profile and the Knowledge Foundation in order to contribute to
the understanding of opportunities and limitations in developing a strong
and co-producing research environment.
The research profile has involved the entire AASS research environment,
with its previously four, now three, research labs: Mobile robotics lab
(MRL), Intelligent control lab (ICL), Learning systems lab (LSL) and
Biologically inspired systems lab (BIS, which was merged with LSL in
2007). A management board has conducted management and strategy work
with the aid of a reference group comprising representatives from industry
and national and international research communities.
The aim of AASS was to develop academic excellence and a
commercially relevant research environment within the ‘Applied
autonomous systems’ research field. It was also important to create
prerequisites for the research environment to be strengthened and to
continue beyond completion of the financed six-year period.
These overarching goals were specified in a set of objectives. For the
university, these were:
• to achieve a leading role in the strategic research profile Human senses,
autonomous sensor systems and industrial processes
• to be a strong and well known partner, familiar to national and
international research communities
• to provide significant long-term contributions to undergraduate
education.
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