Master´s thesis – Bridging the protocol gap: Network independent industrial drive configuration

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This Position reports to:

R&D Team Lead

Industrial connectivity plays a pivotal role in assuring that control messages between industrial drives and programmable logic controllers are correctly exchanged. Depending on the use case, industrial communication protocols need to ensure deterministic and reliable communications with strict timing requirements, that can range from micro to milliseconds. However, the existence of multiple alternatives for fieldbus communication protocols may require specific software and hardware drive adaptations to be compatible with the deployed communication protocols.

Internally, the drive also needs to be configured to be able to operate with its desired behavior, which can impact, for example, the networking stack or the applications that run in the drive. Such configuration requirements raise additional challenges when designing the drive architecture, since data models may vary between vendors and drive models, but also persistence, validation, and the application of configuration data need to be accounted for.

This thesis explores how internal industrial drives architectures can be designed to enable remote configuration, while consolidating communications using different fieldbus protocols. The student will study existing fieldbus communication protocols, how industrial drives are configured, and implement a protocol-agnostic drive configuration mapping layer. The developed solution will be tested and validated in a proof of concept using real-time microcontroller units.

Recommended research questions are (can be some of the following):

• To what extent can a common abstract interface support drive configuration across different fieldbus protocols without losing required functionality or imposing unacceptable complexity and overhead?
• How can high-level software abstractions be implemented in embedded platforms with constrained resources?

• How should a protocol-independent drive configuration interface represent capabilities, errors, and unsupported operations across those protocols?

Details:

• Spring 2027, commonly between January - June
• 30 ECTS/högskolepoäng (hp)
• 1-2 students
• In Västerås. Possibility for hybrid workplace

Your responsibilities

• Conduct a literature review on industrial communication protocols and existing drive profiles;

• Contribute to the design of a software architecture that builds an abstraction layer between drive control and industrial communication protocols;
• Investigate key performance metrics that can be used to evaluate the designed solution;
• Implement and validate a prototype of the developed architecture in a testbed using real-time microcontroller units.

Your background

We are looking for motivated master's students interested in designing future industrial communication solutions.

Candidates could have:

• Academic Background in one or more of the following fields:
  • Computer Science
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Network Engineering
• Computer networks knowledge, e.g. Ethernet, TCP/IP
• Programming skills in C/C++ with embedded systems and/or real-time operating systems;
• Python programming is a nice-to-have for data analysis;
• Interest in software engineering.

More about us

We value people from different backgrounds. Could this be your story? Apply today or visit www.abb.com to read more about us and learn about the impact of our solutions across the globe.

Recruiting Manager Dawid Ziobro, dawid.ziobro@se.abb.com, will answer your questions.

Apply with your CV, academic transcripts and a cover letter in English.

We look forward to receiving your application!

A future opportunity

This role is part of our talent pipeline, which means it’s not currently open, but we’re always looking for curious minds, bold thinkers, and people who want to make an impact.

Click Apply to express your interest and be considered for future opportunities that match your experience and aspirations.

At ABB, we welcome people from all backgrounds and believe that diverse perspectives help us build a cleaner, smarter future.

Apply today or visit https://www.abb.com to learn more about how we help run what runs the world.

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