Dobrila Grujikj is from Tetovo in the Republic of North Macedonia and is studying Computer Science and Engineering at the “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje. From August through October, she completed an internship with us at the Institute for Process Engineering, Process Automation, and Measurement Technology (IPM) as part of the IAESTE exchange program. There, as part of the Measurement Technology and Process Automation (MTPA) group, she worked on creating an animated multimedia presentation about a novel prototype measurement system designed for radiation measurements on transport and storage containers for radioactive waste. This system was developed as part of the DCS-Monitor II research project and has already been used in measurement campaigns at the North Interim Storage Facility of the Waste Management Facility for Nuclear Facilities (EWN) in Lubmin.

As a highly experienced 3D designer, Dobrija used Autodesk Maya software. She independently handled all production steps, from the storyboard through rendering to post-production.
The finished animation now provides a visually striking and easy-to-understand depiction not only of the measurement campaign’s proceedings but also of the structure of a CASTOR container. In addition to being used in the IPM’s public relations efforts, this video will now also support the acquisition of a follow-up project for DCS-Monitor II.

Rohan Saklani is from Jharkhand, in northern India. He is studying computer science and engineering at Manipal University Jaipur. During his two-month IAESTE internship at the IPM, he worked in the MTPA research group on automation solutions for modern horticulture—using advanced cable-driven robot technology and sensor-based AI support.

As part of the “LandÜber” project, he developed a software extension that performs real-time plausibility checks on data from a gardening robot and recorded data for later offline analysis. He also created a 3D representation of the entire robot platform and visualized the forces acting on the cable-driven robot’s suspension. He accomplished all of this using tools such as Foxglove and the Robot Operating System (ROS2), as well as the programming languages Bash, C++, and TypeScript. In addition to his extensive programming skills, he demonstrated his ability to develop software solutions and visualizations for complex problems.

Both IAESTE students mastered the challenge of familiarizing themselves with partly unfamiliar subject areas within a few weeks and developing a sufficient technical understanding with flying colors. This was made possible not least thanks to a lively exchange with the IPM staff. Dobrija and Rohan were also very enterprising in their free time: Both often set off on weekends to explore Zittau, Germany and Europe and attended various IAESTE events.

On October 29th, Dobrila and Rohan finally presented the impressive results of their successful work at the IPM and gave the auditorium beautiful and impressive insights into their home country in a separate presentation. We at the IPM are very proud of their success and wish them all the best for the future.

Text: Daniel Fiß / André Seeliger
Picture: Daniel Fiß

The goal of the DCS-Monitor II project is to conduct an in-depth investigation of approaches to radiation-field-based diagnostics of gamma radiation, neutron flux, and muons in the form of simulations and experiments, with the ultimate goal of developing a validated and practical monitoring method specifically for CASTOR containers. This is being carried out in cooperation between the Institute for Process Engineering, Process Automation, and Measurement Technology (IPM) at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and the Chair of Imaging Measurement Techniques for Energy and Process Engineering (PBM) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR).

The DCS-Monitor II project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

Click here for more information.

The goal of the LandÜber project —“Robotic Gardening from Above” —is to develop an automation solution for vegetable gardens based on a cable-guided robot designed to perform gardening tasks such as seeding and weed management in mixed-crop systems. The development of a demonstrator is intended to lay the groundwork for a subsequent spin-off.

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Click here for more information.