Taking Control Research to Practice Workshop

From theory to practice, from invention to innovation, from research to implementation . . . the chasm between these processes is often referred to as “the valley of death.” This opening talk will give a high-level perspective on technology-driven innovation, with subsequent presentations delving in depth in selected areas. Topics covered will include: incremental versus breakthrough innovation, technology-forward and market-back approaches, corporate strategy and R&D execution, startup enterprises with and without venture capital, technology licensing and acquisition, strategic technology analysis frameworks, the role of policy and regulation, and connecting societal imperatives with business objectives.

Bringing control research into practice requires a framework to enable the collaboration between academic research and industry. Each focuses on different objectives, and the corresponding approach must be suitable. How do we bring the two together? In this talk, we discuss different mechanisms and types of collaboration and interaction that maximize the impact of control research by bringing it into practice, with several examples from collaborations with different types of industry organizations. We also summarize the valuable lessons learned from such collaborations that have helped integrate advanced methods into practical applications.

This talk covers enablers for individual academic researchers to increase the practical impact of their research when working with industrial collaborators. Drawing on lessons learned from a variety of such research collaborations, we will break down the overall collaboration cycle into logical stages – from defining and selecting the research to best practices for engaging with industry partners to maximize common understanding and increase the likelihood of transition to practical use. For each stage, we will identify specific steps that academic researchers can take to understand industry’s strategic interests and maintain alignment with company goals. We will also discuss how academic researchers can make the most of industry’s stage-gate (or other innovation management) processes to focus research activities on paths likely to result in practical implementations and/or favorable spinoffs. The overall discussion will take the perspective of a researcher in academia who wishes to understand the inner workings of industry to enable them to collaborate effectively.

Switzerland is famous as a successful example of a knowledge- and innovation-driven economy. However, the industry-academia collaborations within the control research community have been challenging. Currently, a large-scale research consortium, NCCR Automation, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, explores different models for technology transfer of its research results. Building on the widely adopted concept of living labs, we are looking for municipalities and local enterprises who are willing to engage in R&D collaborations. Activities range from scouting for new technologies, collecting datasets, supporting student projects, developing case-studies, leading to new advances for both the industry and academic partner. Sisslerfeld is a municipal region where we can demonstrate the first results, and a long-term vision for integration of research-driven technology, in an environment that serves as a living lab. Furthermore, NCCR Automation supports entrepreneurial activities by trainings for aspiring entrepreneurs, and research grants for supporting promising ideas. We showcase these efforts and demonstrate how innovation in a living lab can be implemented.

Regardless of your role as a technologist, you can benefit from gaining proficiency in tools for managing innovation. Tools, processes, and frameworks are available to help with the various stages of innovation, whether in the context of entrepreneurial start-ups or intrapreneurial technology management. These tools can enable innovators to evaluate the maturity of their research, to understand the ups-and-downs of emerging technologies, to assess technology portfolios, to capture business models, to plan for the future, and to appreciate risk-reward tradeoffs. Specific tools discussed in this presentation include the Gartner hype cycle, technology readiness levels, the Real-Win-Worth framework, business and mission model canvases, technology and product roadmaps, and technology platforming and architecting. Immediately following this presentation, the workshop audience will have the opportunity to practice some of the tools taught on innovations they are involved in.

And now for something completely different . . . Control science is the only rigorous approach for effective decision making in complex dynamical systems! This maxim is relevant beyond the realm of engineered systems, even if its universality is not appreciated by all control scientists and engineers. In this talk I discuss the application of control concepts to managerial decision making—which encompasses decision making for innovation, business strategy, social change, and more. Several “insights” derived from control science and engineering are presented, with applications to managing innovation and technology development. These insights refer to control concepts that are relevant beyond engineering: feedback and feedforward, robustness and performance, models and mental models, outputs and states, adaptation and identification, and more.

Tariq holds the Honeywell/W.R. Sweatt Chair at the Technological Leadership Institute, University of Minnesota. He was with Honeywell until 2016, retiring as Corporate Fellow and Global Innovation Leader.  His interests relate broadly to automation, intelligence, and autonomy for complex engineering systems. Dr. Samad was President of IEEE Control Systems Society in 2009 and of the American Automatic Control Council in 2014-15.  He is a Fellow of IEEE and IFAC. His publications include the Encyclopedia of Systems and Control (co-editor-in-chief, Springer, 2014, 2^nd ed. 2019). He is series editor for Wiley / IEEE Press books on “Technology Management, Innovation, and Leadership.” Dr. Samad holds a B.S. from Yale University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. He is the founding chair of the IFAC Industry Committee.

Alisa is a senior scientist at the Automatic Control Lab at ETH Zurich and Head of the Advanced Control group at Inspire, a technology transfer institute partnering with ETH Zurich. She leads research projects in the intersection between process optimization, industrial control, and machine learning for applications strongly connected to manufacturing. She supports the Swiss Innovation Agency as an expert and participates in many innovation-related efforts and initiatives in Switzerland, also as startup technology advisory board member. She is a member of the IFAC Industry Executive Committee.

Kingsley is Director, Technology Integration & IP at Lockheed Martin. In this role, he leads a broad portfolio of advanced technology development activities and intellectual property (IP) strategies and practices for the company. He has led many advanced technology development programs at Lockheed Martin and in his prior role at Honeywell, where he made important contributions to air vehicle autonomy. He has also held positions at Oak Ridge and Los Alamos National Labs. He has served as the chair of the IEEE-CSS Technical Committee on Aerospace Controls and the IEEE-CSS Industry Activities Committee. Dr. Fregene’s awards include the Lockheed Martin Nova Award and the AACC Control Engineering Practice Award. He is an IEEE Fellow. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo Canada.

Benjamin is the KTT officer at NCCR Automation, a National Centre of Competence in Research on automation in Switzerland. Ben dedicated 15 years to grow several high-tech start-ups and spin-offs in the fields related to cybersecurity of critical infrastructures, low-power embedded systems, and virtual power plants. He received the bachelor's degree in information and communication technology in 2007 at the Bern University of Applied Sciences and EMBA in 2019 at the EPFL. His research interests include innovation management and future business models combining mobility, energy, and sustainability.