WASP Research Arenas (WARA) offer increased research impact and potential for industrially significant breakthroughs. A unique opportunity to validate and refine scientific theories in real-world settings that are relevant to industries.
Being part of WASP since its inception in 2015, WARA has demonstrated an exemplary model of being a dynamic and evolving initiative. WARA contributes with research and collaborations that will strenghten Sweden in future societal and industrial challenges. Close cooperation with the industry is key to greater research impact and industrially relevant breakthroughs. In WARA, we seek to shorten knowledge transfer between academia and industry.
WARA Vision
Increase the value and relevance of research by strengthening and promoting collaboration between WASP researchers and industry partners.
Four Research Arenas
Today, WARA evolves around four research arenas with different focuses.
The arenas are divided into two concepts: either a scenario or a general-purpose technology. Scenario arenas are focusing on an industrially relevant scenario covering one or several defined research challenges. General-purpose technology arenas take their starting points in one or several defined research challenges but can also serve as infrastructure supporting other parts of WASP.
WARA Operational Data (Ops)
Ops is an ambitious research arena that seeks to bring together Swedish industry and academia to solve state-of-the-art challenges in data-driven operational research. It develops an advanced data storage and processing infrastructure enabling users to interactively store, annotate, process, and visualize large operational datasets. Importantly, it provide a collaborative environment allowing users to interact, share data and results, setting challenges and research questions.
WARA Robotics
Robotics includes a multitude of manipulation tasks to give a rich set of research problems in an environment that enables robots to navigate and perform manufacturing-relevant manipulation tasks. Under realistic deployment conditions this require robots to autonomously understand the world around them, to build knowledge incrementally, learn new skills, perform them safely and reliably, and adapt to changes in the environment and in humans’ behavior.
WARA Media and Language (M&L)
Media and Language’s mission is to build a multidisciplinary ecosystem around Media AI, connecting scientific fields and a diversity of industrial segments. It addresses research topics related to the generation and analysis of media data, and extrinsic effects of the same. Media and Language provides data management and benchmarking, together with engineering support and legal consultation on IP matters. The arena is horizontal, viewing Media AI as both an area for research and as an enabling technology that intersects with the scenario arena WARA PS.
WARA Public Safety (PS)
Public Safety focuses on heterogeneous system-of-systems in joint operation to handle complex scenarios around public safety. This includes unique autonomous vehicles and sensors in true multi-domain; in the air and space, on ground, on water and underwater. Collaboration between experienced engineers, researchers and real users ensures important use cases for industry and society as well as challenging research to be tested in real environment.
Values of Engaging in WASP Research Arenas
Engaging in WASP Research Arenas improve research impact and can be a crucial component for dissemination. There are however some specific key benefits for the different participants:
WASP PhD Students
- Validate the potential of your research results and improve impact
- Gain access to state-of-the-art resources
- Grow your network with others in the WASP community and Swedish industry
WASP Faculty
- Collaborate with leading industrial researchers
- Inspiration and well-grounded sense of relevance when formulating new research challenges
- Support WASP Graduate School Project Courses
Industries
- Influence research agendas
- Gain access to research results
- Visibility to brilliant WASP PhD students
Propose a New WARA
Proposals for starting new arenas can be initiated either by industry or academia. Ideas can always be discussed with the WARA Director, please see contact information in the bottom of this page.