Tampere University (TAU, Tampereen korkeakoulusaatio sr) is Finland’s second-largest university with over 21.500 students and 4000 staff members. Tampere University is a multidisciplinary, foundation-based University conducting scientific research in technology, health and society providing the highest education within these fields. University’s seven faculties award annually over 4000 degrees. In 2021 Tampere University was the university with the most applicants in Finland.

In 2021, the total income of the university was 336 M€ of which 41 % was external R&I funding. TAU ranks fourth among all Finnish participants in Horizon Europe and H2020 funding. The university researcher community and support services have long experience on different national and international funding instruments including EU funding. TAU has an EU support team dealing with legal, financial, and administrative issues. TAU has received the European Commission’s “HR Excellence in Research” award.

FUTURE AUTOMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES LABORATORY (FAST-Lab) RESEARCH GROUP

The Future Automation Systems and Technologies Laboratory research group (FAST-Lab.) at Tampere University aims to promote industrial efficiency and productivity through automation and robotics. The research group is known for its numerous international projects, for which it has received millions of euros in funding from the European Commission. FAST-Lab. focuses on factory automation, industrial informatics, industrial cyber-physical systems, robotics, and artificial intelligence. The intelligent industrial environments developed in the lab focus on seamless human-machine collaboration, supported by the latest information and communication technologies. The main application domains of FAST-Lab’s research are factory automation, healthcare automation and smart mobility, building the future smart factories, smart healthcare, and smart cities.

The FAST-Lab research group is led by Professor Jose L. Martinez Lastra, and it consists of about 25 members including teaching and research staff. To date, the FAST-Lab research group has been involved in more than 30 European (from FP5 to Horizon Europe) and international research projects, where business cooperation is an integral part of the whole. Currently, there are nine ongoing projects, each with about 9–38 partners. In addition to companies of all sizes, the project partners include research institutes, universities, and associations, mainly from abroad (currently European, Japanese, and Korean partners).

Key personnel in the AIDEAS project:

	Professor Jose L. Martinez Lastra joined the Tampere University of Technology in 1997 and became University Full Professor in 2006. His research interest is in applying Information and Communication Technologies to the field of Automation. He leads the FAST-Lab with the goal of seamlessly integrating the knowledge of humans and machines to create smart environments. Prof. Lastra has co/authored over 300+ articles and holds several patents in the field of Industrial Informatics and Automation. Prof. Lastra is an active member of the international research scene with a track record of over 30 funded European Research projects. In AIDEAS, besides being the principal investigator, he is involved in the concept development of technical solutions, innovation and dissemination activities, and analysis of business and technical requirements for the AIDEAS solutions.
	Samuel Olaiya Afolaranmi is a researcher at Tampere University. He received a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mechanical Engineering from the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria in 2008, B.Sc. in Systems Engineering from the University of Lagos, Nigeria in 2010, and M.Sc. in Automation Engineering from Tampere University of Technology, Finland in 2018. Samuel worked in the telecommunications and Industrial automation sector in Nigeria between 2011 and 2014. He is currently working in different EU-funded research projects, and he is also involved in collaborating with researchers from different European countries for the purpose of writing proposals to seek funding from published EU calls within the domains of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Circular Economy. His research interests include Robotics, AI, Cyber-physical systems, Smart environments, and Security. In AIDEAS project, he is the organizational and technical lead for all TAU related activities and is primarily involved the development of AI models for optimizing the manufacturing phase of the industrial equipment lifecycle.
	Wael M. Mohammed is a doctoral researcher at Tampere University. He received a M.Sc. in Automation Engineering from the Tampere University of Technology in 2017 and a B.Sc. in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Jordan in 2010. As he is currently pursuing a Doctoral Degree in Engineering Sciences, his research interests include Robotics, Digital Twins, Knowledge-based Reasoning Engines and Factory Automation. In addition, Mr. Mohammed has been involved in writing proposals for research and innovation projects funded by the EU commission. In 2015, Mr. Mohammed joined FAST-Lab, and he has been working in the lab since then. In AIDEAS project, Mr. Mohammed is involved in concept development and technical support for the development of AI models.
	Mahboob Elahi is a doctoral researcher at Tampere University. He received a M.Sc. in Factory Automation and Industrial Informatics from the Tampere University of Technology in 2020 and a B.Sc. degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila Pakistan in 2014. As he is currently pursuing a Doctoral Degree in Engineering Sciences, Mr. Mahboob’s research interests include Robotics, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Knowledge-based Reasoning Engines and Factory Automation. In 2020, Mr. Mahboob joined FAST-Lab, and he has been working in the lab since then. In AIDEAS project, Mr. Mahboob is involved in development of the Delivery optimizer, one of the toolkits in the AIDEAS industrial equipment manufacturing suite.
	Yasir Rathore is a researcher at Tampere University. He received an M.Sc. in Information Technology from Tampere University in 2019 and a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from COMSATS University, Pakistan in 2014. His research interests include, IoT, ubiquitous computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Yasir joined FAST-Lab in 2022 and has been working on different EU-funded research projects with software development as the major focus. In AIDEAS project, Yasir is involved in development of the Fabrication and Delivery optimizers, which are part of the toolkits in the AIDEAS industrial equipment manufacturing suite.

Contributions to the AIDEAS project:

• Coordination of the “AIDEAS industrial Equipment Manufacturing Suite” development
• Development of the Delivery optimizer, which includes AI algorithms for optimizing packaging, storage, and delivery of industrial equipment
• Providing support for the development of AI models for the Fabrication and Procurement optimizers
• Providing technical support for the validation of the AIDEAS solutions in the different AIDEAS use cases.
• Contribution towards project dissemination, exploitation, and standardization activities.

Expectations from the AIDEAS project:

• In depth knowledge from the AI models to be deployed in the AIDEAS uses cases to address their business and sustainability needs in the industrial equipment sector
• Enhancement/enrichment of B.Sc./M.Sc. university curriculum with AIDEAS project results
• Analysis of the project results and clear methods to disseminate the results