UM FERI · Maribor
Electrical Engineering · Automation and Robotics
Automation and robotics is the science of autonomous systems – from a robot arm in a factory and a smart home to a drone. At FERI in Maribor you learn how to design them, program them and bring them into the real world.
01 / What you will study
NATURE, ENGINEERING, INDUSTRY
They are built from similar building blocks and perform the same functions, but in three very different forms.
Nature, aviation and industry solve the same tasks: sensing, deciding, acting, connecting and providing energy. Choose a building block and see how a fly, a drone and a filling line implement it.
FLY
The smallest and the most economical. Agile, crash-resistant and it “recharges” itself.
DRONE
Carries a payload, knows where it is thanks to GPS and communicates with a remote human by radio.
FILLING LINE
Tireless and precise: it works day and night and checks every single product.
AND WHERE DO YOU COME IN?
Studying automation, you learn all the building blocks – and how to use them in a drone, a robot or a factory.
↻ Drag to rotate · click a part
Practicum in Automation and Robotics – Project
You bring it all together in your own project that runs through the whole programme.
The course list is based on presentation materials of the Institute of Automation. Courses of the master's programme Electrical Engineering, Automation and Robotics option, are based on the 2024/25 exam schedule; some of them are electives. The current curriculum is published at feri.um.si.
02 / How an autonomous system works
Autonomous systems sense their surroundings, make their own decisions and act on the world – without a human. Every autonomous system is built from sensors, actuators and a decision-making, or smart, system.
The flashing blocks are clickable
Closed loop
Each block in the loop has its own job: the reference sets the goal, the sensor measures, the controller decides, the actuator acts. The arrows show how the signals travel.
03 / Students' final theses
Final theses of automation and robotics students at UM FERI.
Design and implementation of an agile two-wheeled mobile robot with a movable upper body
The thesis designs and builds a two-wheeled robot with a movable upper body that balances itself, drives fast and overcomes obstacles. Balance is maintained by an LQI controller in a cascade loop on an STM32 microcontroller, and its operation is confirmed by simulations and tests on the real robot.
Simulation modelled on the interactive model at jontofant.github.io.
Fibre-optic tactile sensor with an application in harvesting small fruit
The thesis develops a fibre-optic touch sensor with four sensing units based on a Fabry–Pérot interferometer, embedded in a soft elastomer membrane that mimics the feel of human skin. The sensor reliably detects forces of up to 1.5 mN, so a robotic gripper holds raspberries firmly enough without crushing them.
Illustration: the force limits are approximate. The force compresses the membrane, the interferometer gap shortens and the spectrum shifts – this is how the sensor “feels” touch.
Control of a rotary inverted pendulum with a remote measuring point
The thesis builds a rotary inverted pendulum in which a microcontroller on the rotating part measures the rod angle and sends it via an NRF wireless module to the main controller. A PID controller, polynomial synthesis and a state-space controller are compared – the latter performed best, swinging the rod upright and holding it there.
Increase the delay of the wireless measurement and see when the controller can no longer handle the pendulum.
Optimisation of online tuning of controller parameters using hybrid fuzzy systems
The thesis investigates how hybrid fuzzy systems tune PID controller parameters online when the process is non-linear or changing. The best results came from combining fuzzy inference with particle swarm optimisation, which in simulations improved control compared with a classic PID controller.
Illustration: the process is more “sensitive” at high values. The classic PID overshoots there, while the fuzzy rules adapt the gain to the error and the operating point.
Use of a temperature controller with built-in artificial intelligence in industrial applications
The thesis tests an OMRON NX-TC industrial temperature controller with built-in artificial intelligence on a two-segment laboratory wind tunnel. On-off control, PID, 2-PID and adaptive control with self-tuning are compared; the work was supported by MIEL Elektronika.
Illustration: self-tuning first measures how the process oscillates with a short relay test, then computes the PID parameters by itself.
04 / From study to employment
Breaking into global markets is becoming harder not only because products are more complex, but also because of constant competition between manufacturers who want to bring their products to market as fast as possible. Successful global companies renew themselves by introducing multidisciplinary teams of experts who can adapt quickly to the development demands of the market.
Any student who has successfully completed the first year of the Electrical Engineering programme at FERI, regardless of whether they enrolled after a general upper secondary school (gimnazija), an electrical engineering secondary school or a similar technical secondary school.
After acquiring in-depth knowledge of the natural sciences and fundamental electrical engineering subjects, students go deeper into core professional subjects in systems theory, control, modelling, artificial intelligence, identification, computer science, informatics, etc. They can gain more specialised knowledge in two main areas:
Within these two main areas we also have suitable laboratories, which allow every student to work according to their abilities and interests. Alongside the professional courses, students gain knowledge of measurement and control engineering, robotics and, in particular, computer control of all kinds of processes.
Students acquire theoretical and practical knowledge of computer control of industrial processes. They are trained to design control technology and information systems for industrial processes, buildings and infrastructure facilities. Their knowledge meets the requirements for modernising existing facilities and building new automated plants. They are able to carry out a project according to the principles of the life cycle.
They acquire the following knowledge: sensors and measurement of non-electrical quantities, actuators, controllers, programmable logic controllers, supervisory and process computers, communications, industrial software, internet connectivity, basic and application programming languages, process value display units, documentation, process modelling and identification, and design of simpler control systems.
Students build on the knowledge acquired in the first cycle. They are trained to plan and carry out process informatisation projects covering the digital factory, digital buildings, and infrastructure and energy systems with full integration of processes and IT solutions.
They are qualified for independent work on development and research projects and on projects renovating facilities and process information systems, including modern SCADA, MES and ERP systems for supervising and managing integrated processes at a high level of management. They acquire knowledge of process control, monitoring and supervision, fault detection, and design of embedded systems combined with modern internet-based and wireless communications; they extend their knowledge of identification, modelling, simulation and control, and learn about the non-technical aspects of systems management and economics.
Graduates work wherever processes are automated and digitalised: in industry, energy, transport, research institutes and education – or they start their own company. Their competences also open the way to management positions.
Digital factory
Robots, PLCs, MES and ERP systems
Energy
Power plants, grids, renewables
Smart buildings
Monitoring, heating, infrastructure
Research and development
Sensors, photonics, embedded systems
Siemens · ABB · Yaskawa · National Instruments · Iskra · Kolektor · Domel · Metrel · Gorenje · Cinkarna · Impol · Corning · HSE · Seltron