Universität zu Lübeck – WATCHPLANT Partner

Universität zu Lübeck

UzL is an internationally distinguished university located in Lübeck (North of Germany, close to Hamburg) and is known for its high-quality research and academic education. It consists of a medical department, a department of computer science/technology and a department of natural sciences, the common element of which is their emphasis in life sciences. UzL is a rather small university with about 4900 students, 155 faculty members, and a yearly budget of about 150 Mio EUR. UzL coordinated several EU projects in the area of computer science in the last years (e.g., flora robotica, RELYonIT, WISEBED, GAZECOM, and ARTTS).

UzL participates in this project with its Institute of Computer Engineering (ITI). The institute has great competence and a long history in mobile robotics and networked embedded systems. Currently, about 20 full-time scientific employees are working at the institute with special focus on mobile robotics and computer architecture. Most of the ongoing research projects follow an experimental approach either through the use of testbeds or by building and experimenting with prototypes. Research topics in the area of networked embedded systems include robust networking protocols, testbeds with realistic environmental effects, fault management, programming models, as well as discovery, search, and data mining.

The Service Robotics group within the Institute of Computer Engineering is led by Prof. Heiko Hamann. The main competence of the Service Robotics group is in mobile robotics, swarm robotics, swarm intelligence, machine learning, evolutionary robotics, and bio-hybrid systems. Particular focus is on models of collective systems, collective decision-making, and bio-hybrid systems, e.g. based on natural plants and robots.