RICERCA ITALIANA     

Research Center on Advanced Electronic Systems for Information and Communication Technologies

Università degli Studi di Bologna

Abstract

The goal of this proposal is to constitute an Excellence Center (EC) which aims at developing innovative electronic systems, and at carrying out the technology transfer of the more relevant research results to the National and European Industry.

The participants are 18 professors and research associates of the University of Bologna, belonging to 6 sectors of the Industrial and Information Engineering, Civil Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, namely: Electronics, Telecommunications, Automation, Computer Science, Geodesics and Geometry. The idea behind the EC is the integration of the activities that are presently carried out within each homogeneous group, and the exploitation of all possible synergies by letting the research objectives converge. Such a process is becoming more and more important because the level of integration made possible by the modern microelectronic technology requires a combination of system knowledge and design ability. For this reason the proponents believe that constituting the EC will give them a cultural and professional enrichment and, as a consequence, will also improve the quality of the technical skills made available to the students of Industrial and Information Engineering of the University of Bologna.

The EC will be managed by a Scientific Board made of 5 members (including the Coordinator), which will evaluate and select the research and development projects to be partly funded from the EC resources. The work will be organized on a project basis: each project will be coordinated by a Researcher appointed by the Scientific Board, based on the Researcher's competence and attitude to leadership. The project coordinator will be given the human, financial, and material resources, that are necessary to successfully pursue the project goals. The major research areas are going to be:



1. Optical, olfactory and tactile sensory systems;

2. Speech- and speaker-recognition systems;

3. Vision and image-processing systems;

4. Wireless communication systems for mobile/fixed access;

5. Satellite systems for air-navigation control and mobile mapping;

6. Bioelectronic systems for the detection of biological objects.



The research groups involved in this initiative are internationally well known in their respective fields, as demonstrated by the curricula of the proponents. Each group has shown a remarkable self-financing capability, not only through the customary sources (National Ministry of Education, National Council of Research, European Union), but also through a direct funding from the national and international industry. A conservative estimate of the self-financing capability of the proponents in year 1999 amounts to Lit. 1500 million (775000 Euros).

The proposed EC will be characterized by a polycentric organization model, with one seat in Bologna and one in Forlì-Cesena, in order to exploit the opportunities made available by the de-centralized University pole in Romagna, and the skills available thereof in the area of satellite technologies for air-navigation control. The foundation, in the near future, of the second Faculty of Engineering of the University of Bologna in the seat of Romagna, makes the choice of the second location of the EC appropriate, because it will ease the links of scientific and technological cooperation between the two seats. <<<

Principal Investigator

Giorgio BACCARANI Università degli Studi di BOLOGNA

International Relationship

As shown at points 2.1 and 2.3, the research groups submitting this proposal are deeply involved in different research activities, each in its own field. In particular, several research agreements exist with industries or public institutions, among these:



1. ST-Microelectronics (STM), one of the world leading Corporations in the field of microelectronics. (Annex no. 1)

2. Telital, one of the major national companies in the field of telecommunication systems.

3. Elsacom, a telecommunication company.

4. Bull, a major company in the area of information-processing systems.

5. Zilog, one of the US leading corporations in the field of microcontrollers.

6. Ducati energia, a local company. (Annex no. 2)

7. AUREL, a local company.

8. ENAV, the National Agency for Flight Assistance.

9. Romagna Institute of Oncology.

10. Scientific Police of Bologna.



Other forms of cooperation are carried out with small-medium enterprises (SME) in the Emilia-Romagna region.

The proponent groups participate in two international projects: the ESPRIT-31103 (INSPECT) Project and the "Electronic Nose" Project, which is supported by the Kerber Foundation. This project involves a collaboration among the Zurich Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ), the University of Tubingen and the University of Bologna.

Finally, the research groups are active in several national projects financed by the National Ministry of Research in the fields of Electronics, Computer Science, Automation, Geodesics and Geometry, as well as in projects launched by the National Council of Research.

A conservative estimate of the self-financing capability of the proponents in year 1999 amounts to 1500 million Italian Lire (750000 Euros). <<<

Research Objectives

The goal of this proposal is to constitute an Excellence Center (EC) which aims at developing innovative electronic systems, and at carrying out technology transfer of the more relevant research results to the National and European Industry.

The participants are 18 professors and research associates of the University of Bologna, belonging to 6 sectors of the Industrial and Information Engineering, Civil Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. These sectors are listed below, along with the reference label used by the National Ministry of Research:



1. K01X - Electronics

2. K03X - Telecommunications

3. K04X - Automation

4. K05X - Computer Science

5. H05X - Geodesics

6. A01C - Geometry



The idea behind the EC is the integration of the activities that are presently carried out within each homogeneous group, and to exploit all possible synergies by letting the research objectives converge. Such a process is becoming more and more important because the level of integration made possible by the modern microelectronic technology requires a combination of system knowledge and design skills. For this reason the proponents believe that constituting the EC will give them a cultural and professional enrichment and, as a consequence, will also improve the quality of teaching for the students of Industrial and Information Engineering of the University of Bologna.

The EC will be managed by a Scientific Board comprising 5 members (including the Coordinator), which will evaluate and select the research and development projects to be partly funded from the EC resources. The work will be organized on a project basis: each project will be coordinated by a Researcher appointed by the Scientific Board, based on the Researcher's competence and attitude to leadership. The project coordinator will be allocated the human, financial, and material resources that are necessary to successfully pursue the project goals.

The research groups involved in this initiative are internationally well known in their respective fields, as demonstrated by the curricula of the proponents. Each group has shown a remarkable self-financing capability, not only through the customary sources (National Ministry of Education, National Council of Research, European Union), but also through a direct funding from the national and international industry.

By way of example, ST-Microelectronics (STM), one of the world leading Corporations in the field of Microelectronics, has recently signed an agreement to build a joint laboratory with the University of Bologna. In this context, ST-Microelectronics alone has financed in 1999 R&D activity of one of the proponent groups in the field of innovative electronic systems, amounting to Lit. 500 million (250000 Euros), not including expenses for silicon fabrication and for their own personnel units working in Bologna. A conservative estimate of the self-financing capability of the proponents in year 1999 amounts to 1500 million Italian Lire (750000 Euros).

The proposed EC will have two main locations in Bologna and in Romagna, in accordance with the polycentric organization model of the University of Bologna, which has been widely praised, specifically by the National Ministry of Research (re: Forlì, June 6, 1999; Cesena, April 10, 2000). The second location will then be placed in the area of Forlì-Cesena, in order to better exploit the opportunities available in the seat of Romagna and, more specifically, the skills present there in the field of satellite technology for the control of air-navigation control. The foundation, in the near future, of the second Faculty of Engineering of the University of Bologna in the seat of Romagna, makes the choice of the second location of the EC appropriate, because it will ease the links of scientific and technological cooperation between the two seats, as well as those related to teaching. <<<