Working Together for Progress: Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft Visits Research Projects at UAS Technikum Wien

On February 26, 2024, the managing director Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Elvira Welzig, MSc. and Susanne Leeb, MSc. (Director Career Center) of the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft visited the faculties of Computer Science & Applied Mathematics with faculty head Dipl.-Ing. Alexander Mense and Life Science Engineering with faculty head Dr. Carina Huber-Gries of the UAS Technikum Wien. The Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft is a non-university research organization and, with Ms. Elvira Welzig, part of the Executive Board of the UAS Technikum Wien.

During the visit, research projects of the interdisciplinary research focus Data-Driven, Smart & Secure Systems were presented. Various projects from the fields of artificial intelligence and eHealth were presented. One highlight was certainly the opportunity to experience VR/AR applications from the MedTech-mR in the Intensive Care Unit, a laboratory at UAS Technikum Wien. Here, medical technology planning and clinical and research-related workflows are implemented in virtual and augmented reality. This makes it possible to experience first-hand what a not-yet-built intensive care unit looks like, for example, and to test it digitally in advance.

The Point of Sale of the future was also presented. This showroom demonstrates how modern technologies can enhance sales areas and provides a glimpse into the future of shopping. For example, a smart shopping cart can show users the shortest route to the products they are looking for and image recognition will make scanning products for payment obsolete.

The visit was also impressed by the research projects of the Tissue Engineering and Molecular Life Science Technologies research focus area. While employees from the Chemical Engineering and Ecotoxicology competence field provided an insight into the importance of model organisms for testing the effects of substances on the environment and humans, researchers from the Cell Technologies and Biomaterials competence field showed how a bioreactor developed at UAS Technikum Wien can be used to generate functional skeletal muscle and nerve constructs and how biomaterials such as silk can be used in the cultivation of tissue.

In addition to discussions about possible opportunities for cooperation in teaching and research, Dr. Kurt Sohm and Dr. Günter Essl also presented their approaches and processes for expanding the university-wide portfolio in research and teaching during the visit.

We would like to thank them for the interesting discussions and look forward to their next visit!