New MARC Project Receives 3.3 MSEK in KKS Early Academic Career Call

18/5/2026

A new project within MARC has been awarded funding through the first KKS Early Academic Career call. The project, Enabling Deterministic and Reliable Wireless Communication for Future Production Systems (WiTech), led by Dr. Zenepe Satka, has received 3.3 MSEK to advance research on reliable wireless communication for future smart production systems.l Paper (MIP) Award.

The award marks another important milestone for Dr. Satka, who officially received her doctoral degree during the academic ceremony (Akademisk högtid) at Mälardalen University only two weeks ago.

The KKS Early Academic Career programme supports promising early-career researchers in establishing independent research projects in collaboration with industry partners. The initiative aims to strengthen and renew research and educational environments within strategic profile areas.

Dr. Satka joined MDU in 2020 as a PhD student. Her research focuses on wireless communications and heterogeneous networks, particularly real-time distributed systems and their applications in industrial automation and vehicular technologies.

Reliable Wireless Communication for Future Production Systems

The rapid development of Industry 4.0 is increasing the demand for wireless communication that can provide high reliability, predictable performance, and low latency. Applications such as real-time machine monitoring and control, predictive maintenance, and portable automation units enabled by Software-Defined Automation (SDA) require communication systems capable of supporting time-critical operations.

However, industrial environments pose significant challenges for wireless technologies due to metallic reflections, multipath fading, high device density, and mobility requirements.

The WiTech project aims to develop and evaluate new methods that improve the reliability and low-latency performance of industrial wireless communication. The project will also investigate the role of different wireless technologies—including advanced Wi-Fi solutions and 5G and beyond—in future production environments and analyse their capabilities, limitations, and cost–benefit trade-offs.

In addition, WiTech will explore wireless-enabled Software-Defined Automation architectures that support smart and portable automation systems.

Project Facts

Project title: Enabling Deterministic and Reliable Wireless Communication for Future Production Systems (WiTech)

Call: KKS Early Academic Career 2025

Funding: 3.3 MSEK

Project period: October 2026 – September 2028

Project leader: Dr. Zenepe Satka

Industrial partners:

• Scania
• Arcticus Systems

Reference group members:

• Jessica Bruch, MDU
• Moris Behnam, MDU
• Karl-Johan Grinnemo, KAU

Research focus:
Wireless communication for smart production systems and wireless networks as enablers of Software-Defined Automation (SDA).