Digital Library of the European Council for Modelling and Simulation

Title:	Enhancing Undergraduate Research And Learning Methods On Real-Time Processes By Cooperating With Maritime Industries
Authors:	Webjorn Rekdalsbakken, Filippo Sanfilippo
Published in:	(2014).ECMS 2014 Proceedings edited by: Flaminio Squazzoni, Fabio Baronio, Claudia Archetti, Marco Castellani  European Council for Modeling and Simulation. doi:10.7148/2014 ISBN: 978-0-9564944-8-1 28^th European Conference on Modelling and Simulation, Brescia, Italy, May 27^th – 30^th, 2014
Citation format:	Webjorn Rekdalsbakken, Filippo Sanfilippo (2014). Enhancing Undergraduate Research And Learning Methods On Real-Time Processes By Cooperating With Maritime Industries, ECMS 2014 Proceedings edited by: Flaminio Squazzoni, Fabio Baronio, Claudia Archetti, Marco Castellani  European Council for Modeling and Simulation. doi:10.7148/2014-0108
DOI:	http://dx.doi.org/10.7148/2014-0108
Abstract:	Building embedded real-time systems of guaranteed quality, in a cost-effective manner, raises challenging scientific and technological problems. For several years at Aalesund University College (AAUC), there has been ongoing activity in the development of embedded real time systems in close cooperation with private technology developers from the local industry. Much of this work is related to the design and development of systems for process control and camera surveillance of industrial processes, with an emphasis placed on operations on board ships. The main purpose is to maintain and improve safety and efficiency in industrial and ship operations. A very effective way to meet this goal consists of developing distributed embedded real time systems that independently monitor different dedicated tasks and are integrated in a common ubiquitous network. In this context, bachelor students at AAUC are involved in several research projects that give them the possibility of working in an industrial prospective scenario and under the supervision of both their professors and company-employed engineers. Most often, these activities are also part of an innovative educational and research loop, in which the projects evaluated as having the greatest innovative potential are followed up with new prototypes and research activities. By adopting a pedagogical prospective, this paper introduces an overview of the most promising student projects and methods for including bachelor students in real-time process control research activities is presented. The pedagogical and technological bases of this work are first discussed, and afterwards an analysis is done regarding the importance of COTS (Commercial Off- The-Shelf) products and system integration. Software and communication protocols are discussed from a system integration point of view. Finally, the results and conclusions of this approach are presented.
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