Technological leap: VILNIUS TECH together with partners is creating a competence center for autonomous systems

 

"Lithuania is a leader in autonomous cars, unmanned aerial vehicles, underwater robots and smart tracking and monitoring systems. To make this vision a reality sooner, VILNIUS TECH University, together with Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) and international partners, is creating a competence center for autonomous systems "ComARC", which it plans to turn into a nucleus for science, innovation and technology cooperation in the region.

 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Artūras Medeišis, Dean of the Faculty of Electronics at VILNIUS TECH University and appointed head of the competence center, says that the "ComARC" (Competence Center for Autonomous, Remotely Operated, and Connected Systems) center will develop, test and improve autonomous, remotely controlled and connected air, land and water systems, such as drones, self-propelled platforms, autonomous boats, etc.

 

“In the first center of excellence of this kind in Lithuania, fellow scientists from various departments of our university and KTU will pool their knowledge and technological competencies in different fields to create advanced autonomous transport solutions - from materials to complete systems,” he says.

 

Currently, the center is in the development stage, and the idea creators are waiting for the decision of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports on possible co-financing.

 

The center of excellence is being developed by VILNIUS TECH and KTU in cooperation with one of the strongest European applied research institutes - Fraunhofer FKIE from Germany. Working relations are also being established with the Kiev Polytechnic Institute in Ukraine. According to the dean, it is expected to establish more partnerships with foreign research institutions, but special attention will be paid to cooperation with Lithuanian industry and public sector organizations in order to create an effective and dynamic science and business ecosystem of autonomous systems in Lithuania.

 

"We plan for ComARC to become a platform for world-class scientific research, the development of cutting-edge autonomous vehicle technologies, and the implementation of practical solutions. This space will provide significant benefits to industrial companies - they will be able to research, test, and improve their technologies and products in a specially designed, centrally located sandbox environment." This sandbox would allow testing any autonomous vehicle, from unmanned aerial vehicles in real conditions, using the “mobile airfield” solution, to underwater drones in a specialized deep-sea basin being built in Klaipėda, at the VILNIUS TECH Lithuanian Maritime Academy base,” says one of the authors of the idea.

 

The goal of the center is to focus on Lithuanian science and technology competencies and combine them with the international experience of partners. Other important competencies that will also be focused on are the regulation, standardization, and even ethical issues of autonomous technologies, which become especially important when the control of autonomous systems is transferred to artificial intelligence agents.

 

“We aim for Lithuania to be among the leaders in this field, it is necessary to mobilize both local and international capabilities and look at all these issues systematically, taking into account the emerging geopolitical challenges. The center being created will act as a bridge and facilitator between science, business and the public sector – it will be not only a knowledge platform, but also a real space to create and apply the latest technologies and commercialize them,” says Dr. Andrius Vilkauskas, co-author of the idea and responsible manager of the KTU Aviation Specialist Training Center.

 

Will create added value

 

According to the scientist, modern technologies are developing so rapidly that within the next decade, autonomous cars, unmanned aircraft or robotic systems will become an integral part of our everyday life and business.

 

“Such solutions will make life easier, transform the logistics, manufacturing and public service sectors, help optimize processes, reduce costs and increase the efficiency of operations – from self-driving vehicles in cities to unmanned aircraft capable of urgently delivering vital medicines or performing real-time monitoring tasks, which, by the way, is already being done today,” says A. Medeišis.

 

“Lithuanian scientists have been developing autonomous transport and related technologies for many years, such as artificial intelligence solutions or environmental perception and management algorithms. We already have examples of successful cooperation with industry,” adds Assoc. Prof. Dr. Viktor Skrickij, VILNIUS TECH Chief Researcher and one of the developers of the ComARC idea.

 

It is planned that the competence center will generate high-added-value innovations both domestically and internationally.

 

“If we want Lithuania to be among the leaders in this field, we need to focus on the country's science and technology competencies. Our expert knowledge and assistance will be useful to the country's industry and state institutions, including the Lithuanian military, because these technologies can be applied to both commerce or public needs, and to the country's defense,” A. Medeišis continues to emphasize the importance of the center.

 

According to the dean, the need for the center in Lithuania and its great national and international potential are determined by several factors. First, the increasingly rapidly growing need for autonomous solutions. Second, ComARC will focus on specific technological niches, which until now often remained outside the main research fields. These include not only autonomous land vehicles, but also air and water platforms, as well as connected swarms technologies, as well as a broad systemic approach not only to technological, but also to related regulatory and ethical aspects. Finally, the need for the center is directly related to today's geopolitical challenges.

 

"As the security situation in the region changes, reliable, highly mature autonomous defense solutions are necessary. They will allow Lithuania to strengthen its technological sovereignty and become a reliable partner in international defense cooperation projects," emphasizes A. Medeišis.

 

In addition, it is expected that ComARC will help create new jobs and attract more new investments in high technologies.

 

In whose hands is the future?

 

Speaking about Lithuanian business opportunities in this sector, A. Medeišis points out that the country already has a strong foundation: “We have not only startups, but also mature companies that produce excellent drones and experiment with self-propelled vehicles. I would single out two particularly interesting vectors of development in the near future – “last mile” logistics solutions that would use autonomous drones, and innovations in maritime technologies that are born in cooperation with the industry of the Klaipėda region.”

 

The interviewed scientists agree that the greatest potential lies in the areas of applied artificial intelligence, advanced electronics, sensor technology and software-defined vehicles - in which Lithuania has already accumulated research experience and achieved the first successful results.

 

When asked what competencies are most lacking today for Lithuania to become a leader in autonomous systems, A. Medeišis emphasizes the need for specialists with skills in different disciplines.

 

"We need more artificial intelligence, mechatronics and electronics engineers, programmers, as well as cybersecurity experts. Now and in the near future, the most sought-after in the labor market will be engineers and project managers and leaders with entrepreneurial competencies who are able to combine knowledge from individual scientific fields and use them to create working innovations. Only interdisciplinary teams formed from such talents will help Lithuania generate world-class solutions," he is convinced.” [1]