Reports

A new Smart Driving Solutions research center has been created at the Department of Control Engineering. A team of 13 scientists led by Ing. Tomáš Haniš, Ph.D., aims to change the paradigm and to prepare the ground for the new technology of active dynamic driving, which has long been used in aviation industry. Experts from the department have been focusing on a long-term drive-by-wire concept, in which the driver does not control the wheels or car engine directly, but through an electronic control unit that has full control over the chassis. It is a technological revolution already underway by the aviation industry (so-called fly by wire systems are common in transport aircraft and fighters), but the automotive industry has not yet done so because of the conservative approach of the carmakers. Ing. Tomáš Haniš, Ph.D., is a researcher and developer who is coming to CTU with experience from Porsche Engineering Services and Rolls-Royce (aerospace division).

The WAVE microelectric power plant has proven itself in live operation and is headed to the market. It was first used in Mikolajice village near Opava, where it provides heat and electricity to the municipal office, the shop, and the fire brigade. As a wood-fired power plant, the plant uses wood pellets, and after minor adjustment the wood can be of worse quality. A device that achieves a thermal output of up to 50 kilowatts can operate independently of the distribution network. It's the first device of its kind in the world. Its development lasted over 10 years, and the results of the pilot testing fulfilled our expectations. The microelectric power plant reaches 80% of the total operational efficiency. The Authorized Emission Measurement has confirmed the achievement of the EcoDesign requirements, which must be met by all boilers sold by 1 January 2020 at the latest. It is also possible to draw subsidies on installations that already meet the EcoDesign parameters even today.

January 15th witnessed the successful defence of dissertation thesis before International Committee in doctoral study program ‘History of Technology’ within the double degree / co-tutelle program in which CTU in Prague cooperates with the Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne. The author of the thesis is doc. Ing. Martin Pospíšil, Ph.D., who elaborated a study ‘Graphical structural engineering in the Czech Lands’, covering 2nd half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century.

‘Transformation of ethical aspects with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence Journalism (UI)’ is a new project that builds on the interdisciplinary concept of journalism and computer science. Collaborators on this project are The Department of Journalism at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Charles University, the Department of Computer Science at CTU Electrical Engineering Faculty, Department of Information Technology at the Faculty of Applied Sciences of the West Bohemian University in Pilsen and Czech Press Agency. The primary objective of the research is the emergence of a UI system that will generate texts for further use in journalism.

The new Internet application for controlling the interactive facade at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Dejvice was developed by students from the Center for Knowledge Management (CZM). Visitors to the site will learn about the graphics it is currently displaying, or they can change it according to the selected template. The LINKY facade also provides information on public transport departures, displays binary hours, or can even launch a simplified version of the world-famous Space Invaders arcade game.

The jury of the largest international student design contest in the world (TISDC 2018) has appreciated the bachelor work of student Tereza Vacková from the Studio of Tvarůžek of the Institute of Industrial Design at the Faculty of Architecture. The jury awarded her a special award in the International Design Association category for the CleS tool - Clever Seek. This is an unobtrusive device that helps the visually impaired in orientation. The device is reminiscent of headphones, but it does not fit in the ears, but around the neck.

CTU in Prague succeeded in appealing to the Supreme Court in a dispute with entrepreneur Ing. Radim Jančura. In the debate about the repair of the D1 motorway he accused the CTU in Prague of participating in a criminal plot. Ing. Jančura is obliged to publish the apology contained in the verdict of the court of first instance and also to pay for the costs of the proceedings.

On Thursday, 17 January, a total of six original structures were presented to the public with participation of the Faculty leadership, CTU Rector doc. Vojtěch Petráček and partner of the project, the Administration of the Krkonoše National Park. The shelters will be moved to the mountains in the spring, until then they will be displayed in front of the building of the Faculty of Architecture in Dejvice.

A great public and academic interest was raised by the memorial act at the Jan Palach Memorial Plaque on the building of the Charles University's Faculty of Philosophy at Jan Palach Square on 16 January 2019. This was organized by the Student Council of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Charles University on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of burning of student Jan Palach on Wenceslas Square in protest against the increasing passivity of the society in regard to the soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in January 1969.

Questions about breathing of a person trapped in an avalanche or how quickly oxygen is lost are being investigated at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at CTU by a team of scientists from the Department of Biomedical Technology in cooperation with the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport at the Charles University and the Czech Army. Within the avalanche research, they focus on breathing of victims under the snow.