If computer-based processes fail, this often has serious consequences. The problem: safety-critical systems are irreplaceable in many areas. Oldenburg scientists are researching this as part of a newly funded joint project.
What role do humans play in the control of complex transport systems on land and water? How can the resulting risks to people and nature be minimised? The "Interdisciplinary Research Centre for the Design of Safety-Critical Socio-Technical Systems" at the University of Oldenburg is addressing these questions. A joint project in which the University and the affiliated OFFIS Institute are cooperating with the Braunschweig DLR Institute of Transportation Systems and the SafeTRANS competence network. Computing Science experts are working closely with scientists from the fields of neurocognition, cognitive psychology and marine technology.
One focus is the development of infrastructures to test new applications in real environments. In the automotive sector, this is being done in co-operation with the DLR's Intelligent Mobility Application Platform (AIM), and in the maritime sector by setting up a research and testing platform in the Weser estuary for maritime traffic and environmental monitoring and traffic control.
The core objectives of the second, one-and-a-half-year funding phase, which has now been approved with an initial one million euros, are further findings in basic research and the establishment of a research infrastructure in the field of safety-critical systems that is unique in Europe. "The interdisciplinary set-up of the network - soon to be expanded to include a new field of application from medicine - is unique in this form. Sustainable impulses are already emerging, such as the development of a new international Master's degree programme and further research projects. The second funding phase is therefore of fundamental importance to us," explains Prof. Dr Werner Damm, Computing Science expert and spokesperson for the research centre.
The spectrum of basic research is already broad: one project, for example, is investigating how motor vehicles can proactively deal with drivers' weaknesses, while another is dedicated to the possible risks of new procedures for safe ship navigation. Another project focuses on safety issues relating to highly networked socio-technical systems. In addition, there are research projects on the safe design of offshore operations and adaptive integrated ship bridges that adapt to the respective nautical task.