Industrial Digitalization

Industrial digitalization combines industrial systems with advanced computing and large-scale data management, data analytics, sensors and connectivity through the Internet. By increasing the digital content in industrial processes and products, digitalization is expected to transform industry by delivering new efficiency gains and accelerating productivity growth.

For example, imagine autonomous vehicles that can safely navigate to their goal without any manual supervision. Energy savings are gained due to automatic optimization of operation of the vehicles and sensor-based data is collected and monitored over the mobile network to improve maintenance. In parallel, there are automization of the industrial processes for producing these vehicles and for servicing them throughout their life-time. Industrial digitalization scenarios can further be found in all types of industrial systems such as machinery in manufacturing processes, power plants, process industry, buildings and infrastructure and in all types of products such as vehicles, robotics, machines, instruments, medical equipment, goods and appliances. Some of these scenarios are already starting to happen now while others are not in place yet.

The Department of Information Technology at Uppsala University is active in many research areas relevant to digitalization of industrial systems. For example, research is carried out in IoT, mobile networks, sensor systems, optimization, signal processing, control theory, machine learning, information system security, cyber security, image analysis, human computer interaction and methods and software for simulation and management of large data sets.