Institute of Reliable Embedded Systems and Communication Electronics (ivESK)

The Internet of Things is increasingly pervading industrial and personal applications, including, for example, smart meters and smart grids, industrial and process automation, car-to-car and car-to-X communication, home and building automation, telehealth and telecare applications. Wired and wireless networks of embedded systems, as well as their interconnection in “cyber-physical systems” (CPS) are playing an increasingly important role in this context. As more and more systems perform functionally critical tasks autonomously, their reliability and security are also continuing to gain in importance. Consequently, data security and privacy aspects need to be addressed.

The Institute of Reliable Embedded Systems and Communication Electronics (ivESK) at Hochschule Offenburg was formed to focus on these issues. We are especially active in the following areas:

Conception and implementation of efficient and modular, wired and wireless communications protocols using embedded systems
- e.g. 5G/6G/NB-IoT, LPWAN (LoRa/LoRaWAN, SIGFOX, MIOTY), 6LoWPAN, Wireless M-Bus
- e.g. TSN-Ethernet, TSN-over-anything
Conception and implementation of integrated security architectures for communications solutions using embedded systems
- e.g. with the help of optimized and verified embedded TLS1.2/1.3 protocol stacks
- eg. with PKI solutions for distributed applications guaranteeing end-to-end security over the complete product lifetime
- e.g. with blockchain technologies for industrial applications
Testing and verification of communications solutions
- e.g. with automated physical testbed (APTB)
- e.g. with network simulation and emulation