fortiss scientist José Cabral

Scientists in focus

José navigates novel software-based mechanisms used in dynamic Industrial IoT Edge systems.

Can you give us some insights into your work at fortiss?

Nowadays more and more objects of our daily life are connected to the Internet. This increase in connected devices requires research into new network architectures, security, languages and methods for detecting and smoothly integrating these new devices.

I work as a research associate in the IIoT competence field and my research focuses on maintaining a robust architecture by detecting failures and the recovery to maintain system availability.

How did you become aware of fortiss?

I was looking to do a PhD and therefore contacted the head of one of the schools at Technical University Munich. These professors maintain close working relationships with fortiss through the institute directors and research fellows. At that time there were no open positions at school, so they recommended that I apply to fortiss and established the contact.

What special success have you achieved over the past several months?

OPC UA is a communication protocol widely used in the industry. We had software that supported the protocol, but it was neither stable nor reliable. With colleagues who used the protocol, I then organized a group to fix the problems in the software and add features. So over the last few months I have been working to make the software reliable. With the tested code that we have meanwhile shown in several projects, the VDMA demonstrator among them, that the code can be trusted.

"I know that everything we do is important and why not, avant-garde.."

[Translate to English:] fortiss Wissenschaftler José Cabral

How did you get into programming?

I learned the basics during my bachelor's studies and later learned some basics in C on my own. When I did my master's in Darmstadt, one of the main courses was C++ programming. It was the course I enjoyed the most and I could hardly wait to do new projects at home. I really love programming, because the quality of the executed code always reflects the skills of the person who wrote it. And besides, clean and structured code can simply be beautiful.

What does the working environment at fortiss offer you?

fortiss offers me the opportunity to pursue new challenges. New projects, research topics and working together with different companies all results in a very dynamic work environment. Each day there are new challenges that arise that have to be overcome and which allow me to grow.

What are your colleagues like?

They are the best. During working hours, communication really runs smoothly. You can turn to anyone to discuss a problem or a new idea. During the lunch break, eating together is the rule, and of course a few foosball games afterwards to show everyone else at fortiss IIoT is the best at it. The Watchdog Timer for a beer after work is also available. All of these months without the chance to get together at a beer garden are difficult for us.

„I want my research to be meaningful and improve the field I’m working in.“

What motivates you in your job?

I know that everything we do is important and why not, avant-garde. Today, we're already we're working on tomorrow's technologies such as cloud computing for mobile use, smart cities and data management for various end devices. We're exploring techniques and tools to improve some areas, and we can see the results.

What do you want to achieve through your research?

I want my research to be meaningful and improve the field I’m working in. I want to be in position to progress my research activities in order to constantly keep pace with the latest developments.

What is the biggest challenge for you and what motivates you to continue?

My biggest challenge is to stay up-to-date and discover new areas that haven't been explored yet. The community sometimes moves so fast that it is difficult to keep up with the latest developments.

There are still many things to explore, program, test and try out. New challenges motivate me to break out of the same day-to-day routine. The IIoT field is a very good testing ground for this and I hope to see the first real scenarios implemented there.

What advice can you give fortiss applicants?

During the interview, show that you are interested in and enjoy the field of research. After all, people with the motivation and passion to do something are much better at their jobs.