Jan acquired his master’s degree in Automation & Robotics at TU Dortmund University in Germany. His research concentrates on digital manufacturing with a focus on developing affordable digital technologies to address contemporary challenges of Industry 4.0.
As part of the Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring project, he investigates how low-cost, readily available digital technologies can be implemented to support growth and productivity in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the construction sector. Since many digital manufacturing solutions are designed for large companies, the research group is collaborating with SMEs on a UK-wide and international project to identify common digital challenges for manufacturers and develop affordable solutions. For the purpose of generating a wide range of customisable solutions, such designs are based on commercially available technologies such as Raspberry Pi and Arduino.