The priority research areas of Széchenyi István University include autonomous systems and artificial intelligence. The institution presented its achievements and recent innovations in the development of modern technologies at the AI&Aut Expo in Budapest to considerable interest. The Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems Open  Day was attended by renowned experts in the field, both nationally and internationally.

Organised by the SZTAKI National Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and the National Laboratory of Autonomous Systems, with the support of the Neumann János Nonprofit Ltd., the AI&Aut Expo featured presentations on exciting topics such as self-driving vehicles, industrial automation, robotics, drone technology, machine learning and language technology applications.

More than sixty speakers presented the latest industrial applications, research topics and results to an audience of around 300 representatives from the field. Participants had the opportunity to learn about R&D activities within institutions and companies, and to meet directly with experts and researchers of the field.

János Hollósi, research engineer at the Vehicle Industry Research Centre of Széchenyi István University (second from left) at the AI&Aut Expo (Photo: Bankó József/Paradignow Photography)

"We took one of our cars with us to the exhibition, which we are gradually adapting and equipping with various self-driving functions. We also presented our real-time, artificial intelligence-based environment sensing system at the SZE Vehicle Industry Research Centre's stand. Our solution detects vehicles and pedestrians on the road through a camera integrated on the car. Visitors could follow what the machine sees, i.e. what objects it detects, via a screen." – explained János Hollósi, research engineer at the Vehicle Industry Research Centre and lecturer at the Department of Informatics at Széchenyi István University. He added that the Lidar sensor on the vehicle on display will also help the system to determine the real spatial position of shapes detected by the camera. These functions form an important basis for the implementation of a self-driving system.

Several technological innovations were presented at the Széchenyi István University's stand (Photo: Bankó József Bankó/Paradignow Photography)

"In our work, it is important that our solutions not only meet the expectations of academia, but also work reliably in real-world applications. In this respect, our AI-based detection and segmentation solutions and research based on visual perception are a step in the right direction," he concluded. He emphasised that the forum gave the opportunity to show the technological innovations of Széchenyi István University to a number of renowned experts, and the event was also highly successful in terms of professional networking. "Discussions have been held with several industry players, which could lead to future collaborations"

- he concluded.

Dr. József Bokor, Professor, Academician, President of the Vehicle Industry Research Centre, Vice President for Research and Innovation at Széchenyi István University (Photo: József Bankó/Paradignow Photography)

Dr. József Bokor, Professor, Academician, President of the Vehicle Industry Research Centre, Vice President for Research and Innovation of Széchenyi István University, welcomed the experts as the chairman of the Machine Learning and Control section. The opening presentation of the session was given by Ernő Horváth, Head of the Centre for Autonomous Transport Systems at Széchenyi University, on the research on self-driving vehicles at the institution. He said that students can already get involved in the university's major technological research during their undergraduate studies.

"We offer them a unique opportunity to participate in research from undergraduate to master's and doctoral programmes, and to gain valuable practical experience alongside their theoretical knowledge."

- he said.

Presentation by Ernő Horváth, Head of the Centre for Autonomous Transport Systems at Széchenyi University (Photo: József Bankó/Paradignow Photography)

He added that the Széchenyi University has several vehicles, robots and drones for the development, research and teaching of autonomous systems, and the ZalaZONE Automotive Test Track provides an excellent testing ground. He stressed that the SZEnergy Team student team is also an important platform for acquiring practical knowledge. This is proven by the fact that last year the team from Győr won a silver medal in the Shell Eco-marathon Autonomous Challenge competition for teams developing self-driving cars.

In his presentation, Ernő Horváth also referred to the research of the Vehicle Industry Research Centre, which covers the fields of perception (i.e. the collection of sensor data), sensing (i.e. the recognition of different objects), as well as design, implementation and control.

There was considerable interest in the technological innovations of Széchenyi István University (Photo: Bankó József/Paradignow Photography)