The Eötvös Loránd Research Network Secretariat (ELKH) colleagues have made a visit on their professional development day to ZalaZONE where they also experienced first hand the progress of various contemporary research projects connected to Széchenyi István University’s JKK-Laboratories at the ZalaZONE Test Center on 2023. June 1. They were invited by Prof. Dr. Bokor József, holding positions of ELKH’s governing body’s vice president, SZTAKI’s scientific director, and Széchenyi István University’s research and innovation vice president.
ELKH Secretariat colleagues together with, Dr. Háry András, ZalaZONE Industry Park’s CEO were guided by Kovács Lóránt while they toured 250 hectare test track on a bus. The tour provided them with information about the different track modules, their technical parameters, and also about the various standard tests completed there. After the track tour a combined demonstration was made for them by researcher from SZE JKK, ELKH IT, SZTAKI regarding autonomous vehicles and drone usages held at ZalaZONE’s R&D track module located adjacent to the Research & Technology Center that is also the location for the JKK-ZalaZONE laboratories. The complex demonstration commentary and explaination was given by Dr. Szauter Ferenc, director of Széchenyi István University’s Vehicle Industry Research Center (JKK).
During the demonstartion the visitors were shown a Nissan Leaf’s trajectory tracking and a Toyota Prius’s high voltage battery diagnostics on the track module, while at the JKK-ZalaZONE laboratories they witnessed the digital-twin model of Volkswagen e-GOLF developed by SZE JKK researcher. A special highlight should be given top part of the demonstration, an autonomous overtaking simulation where vehicles with LIDAR sensors repeatedly watching their environment and sense relevant objects. The demonstration also used an industrial multirotored camera system which was attached to a flying drone. The demonstration was created by Dr. Horváth Ernő (SZE JKK), Bézi Patrik (SZE JKK), Szakállas Gábor (SZE JKK), Wellner András (SZE Digital Development Center), Korcz Miklós (SZE Digital Development Center), Dr. Aradi Szilárd (BME and SZTAKI), Barta Olivér (BME), Fehér Árpád (BME), Szabó Ádám (BME), Prof. Dr. Szirányi Tamás (SZTAKI), Tizedes László (SZTAKI) and Kégl Marcell (SZTAKI).
The ELKH guests later in the afternoon before their departure also visited both the BAY Institutes and BME simulation labs as well as Research & Technology Center’s material science lab. Within the framework of the professional day the colleagues have arranged potential further cooperations with the partners they visited.