Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer
Home / technology

Linjemontage's operators are trained in future technology

By Lukman Kurniawan



Half of the company's operators have now taken the Power Utility Communication training course (IEC61850). An important step in meeting the technology of the future.


  • For us, it is very important to keep up to date and ensure that our technicians are at the forefront, says Tommy Alkefjärd, commissioning manager at Linjemontage.


The three-day training was conducted by Omicron, which is one of Linjemontage's suppliers of test equipment. The course focused on IEC 61850, an international standard that specifies communication protocols between the substation's intelligent units.


  • It was a very good training where we learned more about programming the 61850, as well as analyzing and troubleshooting the communication system. We stay at the forefront of technology, which is important for us to be able to do a good job and help our customers in the best possible way, says operator Michael Danielsson, who was one of eight participants in the course held in Västerås in April.


During the autumn, another eight operators at Linjemontage will undergo the same training. Part of the fact that technology is becoming increasingly digitized.


  • Yes, the interest in the training was so great that we had to plan another course. It is positive that so many people want to learn more. It gives breadth and a good team feeling, says Tommy Alkefjärd.



Future technology for a sustainable Swedish sugar beet industry


Summary


The goal of the project is to provide the applicant with industry experience through research collaboration with Syngenta Seeds AB in Landskrona, a global center for sugar beet research and breeding within Syngenta. We will develop better management and control of rhizomania disease of sugar beet caused by a virus.


We will use ChIP-seq (next generation sequencing, NGS) to identify the targets of the virus virulence factor, a transcriptional activator. The frequent occurrence of resistance breaking strains of the virus has pointed out to the weakness of the virus resistance gene pool.


Novel knowledge is needed to allow scientists and breeders to develop long-term resistance to the virus. NGS approach proposed in this project enhances the probability of generating more rapidly innovative and competitive genetic solutions against the virus to ensure the stable and sustainable production of sugar beet. 


Enabling a network between sugar beet breeders and virus research would stimulate competitiveness of stakeholders of the sugar beet industry. The proposed research will enhance the company’s competitiveness in terms of better resistance varieties, increased intellectual property and expansion of genetic resources for breeding.


The collaboration between BioCenter SLU and Syngenta Seeds AB will contribute to the further growth and development of the company. The educational environment at BioCenter SLU will benefit from the research cooperation and link with Syngenta Seeds AB.


Popular science description


Many RNA viruses cause economically important diseases in cultivated crops, including rhizomania (literally - ‘root madness’) disease caused by Beet Necrotic Yellow Vein Virus (BNYVV). BNYVV is transmitted in soil by spores of fungus-like organism Polymyxa betae.


The distribution of infested soil is responsible for the dissemination of both the vector and the virus. Eradicating the disease is nowadays impossible as no treatment except fumigation with methyl bromide is efficient against the virus-carrying spores that remain viable for decades in infested soil. Such treatment was prohibited for safety reasons. 


Alternative strategies to control the viruses include the use of resistant varieties, which contain resistance genes. The resistant plants usually restrict the virus in the initially infected cells.In fields infested with rhizomania it is essential to grow BNYVV-resistant varieties to maintain high yields of sugar beet. However, the resistance breaking strains of the virus have started to emerge and spread in different parts of US and Europe during the last years.


The conventional varieties carrying resistance genes get infected by the more aggressive strains of BNYVV which can be a considerable problem in the future. Therefore, novel strategies aiming to combat viral diseases need to be investigated. Syngenta Seeds AB is an innovative agricultural company in Southern Sweden and one of the key global centers for sugar beet research and breeding.


The project intends to increase applicant's experience by conducting biotech industry research through collaboration between BioCenter SLU and Syngenta Seeds AB.The project aims to find novel genetic sources of resistance for sustainable control of the virus. Methods will be developed to identify genetic entities, which determine susceptibility of sugar beet to the virus.


The proposed collaboration will increase the candidate's knowledge of the sugar beet biotechnology industry sector. The project will also expand genetic resources for the company's breeding-for-resistance programs. During this fellowship period the applicant will establish research cooperation between BioCenter SLU and Syngenta Seeds AB, which will further contribute to development of the research and educational environment at BioCenter SLU.


This activity will be essential to improve understanding of the rhizomania disease and for the development of control options through crop management and sugar beet breeding in the future.Methods will be developed to identify genetic entities, which determine susceptibility of sugar beet to the virus. The proposed collaboration will increase the candidate's knowledge of the sugar beet biotechnology industry sector.


The project will also expand genetic resources for the company's breeding-for-resistance programs. During this fellowship period the applicant will establish research cooperation between BioCenter SLU and Syngenta Seeds AB, which will further contribute to development of the research and educational environment at BioCenter SLU. This activity will be essential to improve understanding of the rhizomania disease and for the development of control options through crop management and sugar beet breeding in the future.


Methods will be developed to identify genetic entities, which determine susceptibility of sugar beet to the virus. The proposed collaboration will increase the candidate's knowledge of the sugar beet biotechnology industry sector. The project will also expand genetic resources for the company's breeding-for-resistance programs. During this fellowship period the applicant will establish research cooperation between BioCenter SLU and Syngenta Seeds AB, which will further contribute to development of the research and educational environment at BioCenter SLU.


This activity will be essential to improve understanding of the rhizomania disease and for the development of control options through crop management and sugar beet breeding in the future.The proposed collaboration will increase the candidate's knowledge of the sugar beet biotechnology industry sector. The project will also expand genetic resources for the company's breeding-for-resistance programs. 


During this fellowship period the applicant will establish research cooperation between BioCenter SLU and Syngenta Seeds AB, which will further contribute to development of the research and educational environment at BioCenter SLU. This activity will be essential to improve understanding of the rhizomania disease and for the development of control options through crop management and sugar beet breeding in the future.


The proposed collaboration will increase the candidate's knowledge of the sugar beet biotechnology industry sector. The project will also expand genetic resources for the company's breeding-for-resistance programs. During this fellowship period the applicant will establish research cooperation between BioCenter SLU and Syngenta Seeds AB, which will further contribute to development of the research and educational environment at BioCenter SLU.


This activity will be essential to improve understanding of the rhizomania disease and for the development of control options through crop management and sugar beet breeding in the future.During this fellowship period the applicant will established research cooperation between BioCenter SLU and Syngenta Seeds AB, which will further contribute to development of research and educational environment at BioCenter SLU.


This activity will be essential to improve understanding of the rhizomania disease and for the development of control options through crop management and sugar beet breeding in the future.During this fellowship period the applicant will established research cooperation between BioCenter SLU and Syngenta Seeds AB, which will further contribute to development of research and educational environment at BioCenter SLU. 


This activity will be essential to improve understanding of the rhizomania disease and for the development of control options through crop management and sugar beet breeding in the future.

Lund Swedish champion in future technology


Lund Swedish champion in future technology Lund University of Technology is once again Swedish champion in future technology. The team defended its title in the fifth edition of the Teknik-SM, whose final was decided on Tuesday in the Royal Tennis Hall, Stockholm. - Great fun to win, because it has been a tough but fun competition that has really put us to the test, says Gustav Lindström in the winning team from Lund. It is Saab that, in collaboration with the country's technical colleges and universities, organizes the Engineering Championship.


This year's edition broke records with 150 participating teams from 20 universities. The final in Stockholm was preceded by a selection competition on the Internet and a nationwide tour with regional finals. The final was dramatic at times. During the crowd's cheers, the law was tested in both theoretical and practical aspects. One of these was building and programming LEGO robots.


  • Saab is an important engine in Swedish technological and social development. We have reached that position through the courage and ability to think in new ways. Teknik-SM encourages innovative thinking and creative problem solving - things that are everyday at Saab, says Åke Svensson, President and CEO. Results: 1 Lund University of Technology Tel. 0705-531279 Toivo Perby.


Henningsson, Gustav Lindström, Fredrik Andersson 2 Chalmers University of Technology Tel. 0706-701704 Andreas Karvonen, Magnus Persson, Thomas Beckman 3 Luleå University of Technology Tel. 0706-862583 Jonatan Westman, Camilla Sandström, Jonas Fransson Technology-SM - Swedish championships in future technology Technology-SM gives all of Sweden's technologists, regardless of their field of study, the opportunity to challenge each other in future technology. The purpose of the competition is to promote interest in technology by showing that high-level technology can be both exciting and fun. This year, 450 technologists from 20 universities participated in the fight for the prestigious title and the winning trip to the USA, which includes a visit to the Kennedy Space Center.


Interview about future technology and defence


In a recent report from the Total Defense Research Institute, Göran Kindvall and Bo Tarras-Wahlberg look at technology development towards 2050. They do so mainly from a military perspective, and the report will primarily form the basis for the Swedish Armed Forces' long-term analysis work. In order to find out more about various technology trends that are of relevance to defense and security policy, People and Defense's security policy program manager Zebulon Carlander interviewed one of the report's authors, Göran Kindvall, about their conclusions and findings.Göran Kindvall is the first analyst at FOI's Strategy and Policy unit. He has a civil engineering degree in Technical Physics and is a Technical Licentiate in atomic and molecular physics. His main tasks are long-term planning, technology evaluation and exploration of new concepts. In recent years, he has mostly worked with defense consequences of ongoing and future technology development.


According to Kindvall, the so-called fourth industrial revolution has a major impact on the defense sector:


  • The fourth industrial revolution is a collective name for, among other things, increased digitization in industry and society and an increased use of robotics in companies. It is an expression of the fact that civil technology development is a strong driving force in these areas. Basically, the fourth industrial revolution is about being able to control production in industry without too much human presence. The defense will have to implement much of the cutting-edge technology developed by commercial actors, says Kindvall.


He elaborates that there has always been an overspread between civilian and military competence, but that what is new now is that there are a number of large players who are particularly driving, for example the tech companies Google and Facebook. The areas that are in focus, such as artificial intelligence, are not something that the defense sector will be able to drive in, except possibly in some special niches that lack commercial interest. It places great demands on developing and maintaining competence and know-how in the defense sector, among other things to be able to identify technology niches that could be applied in the military environment. 


When asked if there is excessive technological optimism in parts of defense and security policy, he answers both yes and no. 


  • There are always people who are overly optimistic, but it is impossible to know how overoptimistic you are. Some of the technological developments that we see today could be extremely revolutionary, but at the same time we know that problems often arise that cannot be predicted. There are also people who believe that the only thing we need is a greater amount of everything we have today, which I don't believe either. We will need to have a combination of both older and newer technology, says Kindvall.


One issue that receives a lot of focus in the report is so-called disruptive technology. According to him, disruptiveness is about changes that change the conditions so that, for example, old systems are no longer reasonable to use. Another way to express it, says Kindvall, is to talk about game changers, i.e. something that changes the game and the rules of the game. He refers to a NATO document published last year in which they reason about combinations of technologies (for example, data, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems) that together create something that is new and disruptive.


  • The report highlights several examples of technology that could hypothetically be game changers. One such example is technology that enables transparent seas. This would mean that submarines could not be kept hidden. There are two developments that lie behind this reasoning. The first is to be able to detect changes in gravity using quantum sensors and that would help identify underwater objects. Others, however, claim that it will not be possible to see these changes in the "noise", says Kindvall. 


The other development path that is probably much more feasible for wider use is large amounts of sensors. Kindvall says: 


  • We may see lots of small underwater vehicles that will continuously collect information and build a picture of that part of the world. It can be possible to collect all those images in near real time and with the help of artificial intelligence analyze all that amount of data, which means that you achieve more or less total transparency. However, it is probably very computationally demanding and expensive, i.e. not realistic for smaller nations. Possibly one could create and maintain a 3D model of certain strategically important areas.


When it comes to autonomous systems and their use in a defense environment, Kindvall mentions something called meaningful human control, which is a common term when discussing international law and ethics. 


  • This means that you must always have a human in the decision chain, at least for systems that can somehow kill people. There have long been unmanned systems and systems controlled from longer distances. The question is how we look at a transition to actually going to fully autonomous systems in a military context. It may be less controversial, for example, for forward logistics, where you may want to avoid sending in manned platforms, he says. 


Kindvall continues: 


  • There is, at least in the Western world, a reluctance to allow autonomous systems that make their own decisions about interventions. It is possible to imagine systems that are sensor carriers or that defend themselves, but perhaps not more than that. Here you can look at civil technology development, for example with autonomous cars. There have been forecasts about when these will be introduced, but the time horizon is constantly pushed forward due to the discovery that a significantly lower risk of injury is required in an autonomous vehicle than expected in a vehicle controlled by a human. There is almost zero tolerance for personal injury when it comes to autonomous cars.


Another area that is of great interest from a defense perspective is materiel procurement and development processes. Kindvall mentions that at a conference he heard a representative from the Canadian defense say: "We cannot do procurement the old way." The old way of conducting procurement in the defense sector takes too long. It has to be faster, for example, continuous software updates and modularization of new systems will be required. Kindvall points out that when you deal with updates and software there are cyber threats that need to be dealt with and this threat also exists within additive manufacturing/3D printing. To print something, a model is needed and it may be exposed to some form of cyber attack/manipulation. What happens if you make a product that doesn't last? 


In conclusion, Kindvall says that we constantly need to scout to try to understand what will come in the future. 


  • We have to understand what is there, we have to see what military applications it can have and which areas are interesting to invest defense money in. Quite a lot of scouting is required to create a better picture of what is happening, both nationally and through international collaborations. It is very important that we relate to the various developments, try to understand them better and conduct our own research and analytical activities to understand what it may mean for us. We have good opportunities to do so because Sweden is a high-tech country.