Models and Systems (M&S)

Topic Cluster Chair: Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Mag. Dr. techn. Edgar Weippl

Research Agenda

The research cluster Models and Systems is based on the observation that the real and digital world will increasingly converge in the future. In this context, our focus will primarily be on intelligent systems which are required in this transformation process.
One challenge here is to research and develop methods and procedures about knowledge in and about intelligent systems while taking new approaches into account.
This leads among others to the following research questions: How can systems be designed and modelled according to a “design-oriented approach” so that new architectures emerge in a disruptive environment (sustainability)? How can domain-specific knowledge be formalised and how can a representation of it be made “machine-understandable” (operationalizable, intelligent)? How can the behaviour of these intelligent systems be made comprehensible (explainability)? How can security and privacy be guaranteed in this context (secure systems)? How can we deal with the challenges of the ever-increasing distribution of information systems (distributed systems)?

The complexity and diversity of digitisation topics is not only addressed by appropriately positioned research approaches, but also by the design-oriented approach that takes disruptive technologies into account. The research questions mentioned above are of central importance for core Computer Science and are also an integral part of the modern, system- and design-oriented Business Informatics, which is an integral part of the Faculty of Computer Science.

This research cluster includes research on as well as the development of approaches, methods and tools for the areas cloud computing, flexible and distributed processes, parallel computing, conceptual modelling, intelligent and agile agents, DevOps, semantic technologies, Internet of the Future, service-oriented systems, cooperative systems, IT infrastructure for the industry 4.0, cyber-physical systems (CPS), Internet of Things, and blockchain systems.
The semantics of specific application domains are particularly relevant so that new technologies can be used appropriately. Conceptual modelling serves as the basis for this. By merging different basic technologies and those still in development, feasibility and solution approaches can be illustrated and made verifiable within the framework of prototype systems.

As part of design-oriented research, prototype implementations are designed, executed and validated using emergent technologies. By using specific Use Cases, it is possible to evaluate the developed models in an “experimental environment”. This will also give the opportunity to make the symbiosis of the virtual and real world, which happened through digitisation, more accessible.