About the Faculty

Faculty Profile

Faculty of Applied Informatics

The establishment of the Faculty of Applied Informatics as an independent part of Tomas Bata University in Zlín on 1 January 2006 was a logical conclusion of the University´s efforts to make its mark in the field of information technologies. The Faculty of Applied Informatics (FAI) was transformed from the Institute of Process Control and Applied Informatics (IPCAI) at the Faculty of Technology. The Institute was established in the first half of 2004 through restructuring the Institute of Information Technologies, which had arisen from the Department of Automation and Control Engineering. That had been part of the Faculty of Technology for more than 14 years. The Department of Automation was established on 1 September 1986.

Research and Development

As regards the sphere of research and development, the main focus is on modern methods of automatic control theory, monitoring and control of technological processes, measurement technology, artificial intelligence methods, information technologies, software engineering, mathematical modelling of technological processes with respect to their automatic control and last but not least, research solutions for the automatic control of combined heat and power production.

Research and Development Directions

Principal research and development directions at the TBU Faculty of Applied Informatics are as follows:

1. Application of modern automatic control methods in dealing with problems connected with the control of continuous linear and non-linear technological processes
   • Problems of non-standard recursive identification methods suitable for the design of intelligent adaptive control systems.
   • New modifications of automatic regulators especially aimed at multidimensional system synthesis.
   • Approaches using the minimization of linear quadratic (LQ) criteria.
   • Design of regulators used for the control of systems with transport delay.
   • Problems of robust control algorithms, i.e. the design of one-dimensional continuous regulators within stable and pure rational functions.
   • Study of systems with changing parameters.
   • Decentralized access to multidimensional system control and implementation into programme toolboxes created in the MATLAB - SIMULINK programme system.
   
   
2. Research solutions for decentralized monitoring and control systems on the basis of microcomputers and industrial computers
   • Research solutions for single-purpose devices used in embedded control systems and systems with different communication levels focused on single-chip microcomputers, programmable automatons and industrial personal computers.
   • Application of intelligent sensors and actuators in industrial buses.
   • Research solutions for real-time software used for monitoring and control systems on technological level.
   • Application of commercial supervision systems for visualization and control of technological processes on supervision level (InTouch, Control Web, WizCon etc.).
   • Research solutions for and implementation of single-purpose microcomputer regulators.
   
   
3. Modelling and control of real technological processes
   • Process optimization with respect to production cost minimization.
   • Simulation of designed models and their control systems.
   • Control systems used for tannery processes.
   • Energy processes focused on centralized heat supply, controlled combined heat and power production, and heat distribution control.
   • Building technology.
   
   
4. Plant instrumentation, scanning of non-electric quantities and signal processing
   • Sensors for very low flow rates of liquids.
   • Sensors for measuring collagen-based polymer cross-linking degrees.
   • Sensors for detecting and measuring the informative function of electrically conductive admixtures in polymers.
   • Sensors for measuring the mean radiant temperature.
   • Sensors for measuring solution colourity.
   • Problems of electromagnetic compatibility of small-scale measurement and automation technology.
   
   
5. Application of artificial intelligence methods within the control of technological processes
   • Dealing with difficult optimization problems.
   
   
6. Software engineering
   • Creation of static and dynamic WEB applications.
   • Information transfer and processing.
   • Application of gate arrays.

Focus of Research Interests

Up to 2004 the following MEYS research projects were undertaken at individual departments:

• Automation of technologies and manufacturing processes.
• New technology trends in natural polymer processing.

Since 2005 the following MEYS research projects have been underway:

• Modelling and control of natural and synthetic polymer processing (to full extent).
• Multifunctional composite systems based on natural and synthetic polymers (partly).

Faculty's Achievements

In the field of research and development the Faculty is involved in regional, national and international activities. It participates in a number of research projects of both national and international grant agencies. Members of its research staff work on their own projects and, at the same time, they participate in others. Also, FAI works together in partnership with the Research Centre - CAC (Centre for Applied Cybernetics). One of the most remarkable international achievements was awarding prof. Ing. Karel Kolomaznk, DrSc. a Rolex Award for the discovery of the enzymatic hydrolysis of tannery waste (put into practice) in 1999.

Educational Activities

The Faculty of Applied Informatics grants academic degrees at all levels as given by the Bologna Declaration. Students can obtain their qualification by successfully completing one of the following:

• Bachelor's degree
• follow-up Master's degree
• Doctoral degree

The Faculty of Applied Informatics offers degree level studies in 9 degree courses and 2 accredited degree programmes:

• Chemical and Process Engineering
• Engineering Informatics

Besides Bachelor's and the follow-up Master's programmes, FAI offers a degree course entitled Technical Cybernetics within a Doctoral programme in Chemical and Process Engineering. The Faculty also has the right to carry out habilitation procedures and procedures for the appointment of Professors for a course entitled Machine and Process Control.

FAI Structure

The Faculty of Applied Informatics is comprised of the following departments:

• Department of Informatics and Artificial Intelligence
• Department of Computer and Communication Systems
• Department of Automation and Control Engineering
• Department of Electronics and Measurements
• Department of Security Engineering
• Department of Mathematics
• Department of Process Control