Innovative solutions in Industry 4.0 and nuclear energy from FEE score in the Siemens award

Ondřej Carvan and Jiří Závorka excelled in the Werner von Siemens award. Carvan's project focused on electronic waste separation, and Závorka's work in the field of nuclear energy received recognition from the jury for their innovative approach to current technological challenges.

The University of West Bohemia can add another significant success thanks to its talented students. In the May announcement of the Werner von Siemens Award competition, a graduate of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at UWB, Ondřej Carvan, placed eighth in the category of Best Graduate Thesis on Industry 4.0, while a doctoral student at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Jiří Závorka, secured the tenth position in the TOP 10 Dissertation Works of 2023. This marks a historic achievement in this prestigious competition.

Ondřej Carvan's work titled "Separation of Electronic Waste Using Miniature Magnetic Robots" (supervisor Jiří Kuthan, consultant Martin Juřík) focuses on the pressing issue of electronic waste separation. The thesis offers a new perspective on the potential separation of this waste using miniature robots. It utilizes a robotic platform developed by the CIMRA team, enabling the movement of miniature robots in a plane. In the thesis, Ondřej Carvan developed an algorithm utilizing neural networks to recognize individual electronic components, determining the best route for them, and sending a control signal to the robotic platform. The robotic platform then removes the components to the respective separation bins; thus, the separation process is fully autonomous, and thanks to the use of neural networks, it is easily reconfigurable for various components.

Jiří Závorka presented his project "Optimization of Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage." This project, supervised by Prof. Radek Škoda, offers solutions for optimizing the storage of spent nuclear fuel, contributing to greater safety and efficiency in the field of nuclear energy.

These awards emphasize the quality of research work at our university and reflect active involvement in the development of innovative technologies and strategies that address current challenges in industry and energy. Congratulations to Ondřej Carvan and Jiří Závorka on their outstanding achievements, and we thank them for representing the University of West Bohemia at the national level.