Software and hardware solutions
The Software and Hardware Solutions Research Group operates as part of our Digitalisation Team and its RDI activities. Our work focuses on applied research, development, and innovation. We support project implementation and collaboration with companies through software, electronics, and measurement technologies.
In practice, our work is closely connected to pilots, prototypes, experiments, and demonstrations. We create new expertise by testing operating models and solutions in real-world environments together with project partners. Our particular strengths lie in our understanding of agriculture and forestry, industry, and the wellbeing sector.
The impact of our work is reflected not only in tangible technical solutions but also in new forms of collaboration and changes in ways of thinking. Often, the greatest value is created through pilot projects that open up new development pathways for companies and stakeholders in our region.
Programming Connects Ideas, People, and Practice
Our research group operates as a unified whole, but internally our work is organised into areas of expertise. These areas bring together specialists and software developers from different fields, supporting continuity across projects, the accumulation of expertise, and collaborative learning.
Our research group includes several programming experts whose skills enable multidisciplinary collaboration across project and team boundaries. Software development takes place as part of RDI projects and is typically related to solutions built around devices, systems, and data.
Programming activities include, among other things:
- measurement and control software
- web and user interface solutions
- data collection, processing, and visualisation
- proof-of-concept and demonstration implementations
Software development emphasises the ability to align technical solutions with project needs, define an appropriate scope, and support experimentation.
Our Areas of Expertise
Electronics
Our Electronics area of expertise focuses on measurement and experimental hardware development as part of RDI projects. The work is particularly related to integrating sensors, embedded systems, and electronics into broader digital solutions.
Key themes:
- sensors and measurement systems
- embedded platforms and supporting electronics
- prototype development and hardware testing
- hardware-software integration
Contact:
Tomi Tuomaala
Ylivieska
Logistics
Our Logistics area of expertise focuses on developing material, information, and process flows through digital solutions. The work is centred on projects that require improved situational awareness, information sharing, and operational forecasting, particularly within business networks.
Key themes:
- supply chain visibility and information sharing
- experimental digital solutions for logistics
- location-based and event-driven data
- cloud-based and lightweight system solutions
Contact:
Jyri Mäkelä
Digital Twins
Our Digital Twins area of expertise focuses on developing and utilising virtual models that represent physical objects, processes, and systems. Digital twins are used particularly to support situational awareness, analysis, and decision-making.
Key themes:
- integration of physical and digital systems
- simulation and visualisation
- real-time measurement data and its utilisation
- pilots and demonstrations in RDI environments
Contact: Heikki Kaakinen, RDI Manager
Geospatial Information
Our Geospatial Information area of expertise focuses on the utilisation of location-based information as part of digital solutions. Geospatial information is often combined with sensor, logistics, and situational awareness solutions.
Key themes:
- geospatial datasets and map-based views
- situational awareness solutions and regional analysis
- integration of geospatial information with measurement and IoT data
- user interfaces and visualisation
Contact: Heikki Kaakinen, RDI Manager
Future Research Focus Areas
In the future, our research group will focus particularly on electronics, logistics, digital twins, and geospatial information, as well as the enabling technologies that connect these domains.
In electronics, our priority areas include flexible and hybrid electronics as well as integrated circuit design. In logistics, development work focuses especially on simulation, currently with an emphasis on traffic simulation. Within digital twins and geospatial information, simulation and the utilisation of satellite data play a central role.
In addition, our research group develops enabling technologies such as enhanced user interfaces and user experiences for both web and mobile environments, distributed computing, and solutions for high availability and load balancing.