Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Tobias Pfandzelter, a scientific assistant at the Faculty of Scalable Software Systems at the Technische Universität Berlin. More specifically, I do research and teach in the fields of serverless and edge computing with the focus on satellite networks.
What is your IT-Project about – core topic – and how could it be used in the long run?
Although we may not realize it, most of us use cloud computing daily: Many websites and apps run on large clouds such as Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure. In fact, these “clouds” are just data centers located in Europe, the US or Asia that house thousands of computers running the software we use on a daily basis. However, a problem is: End users who do not live in particularly wealthy regions such as the EU or on the west and east coasts of the US can only access cloud services with a significant delay, due to the long distances the signals must overcome.
Therefore, we are researching whether and how such cloud services could be made available globally through satellite networks. For instance, the Starlink network already has more than 4,000 satellites that provide worldwide internet access, even on islands or ships. In this area, so-called “edge computing” can be used, in which computing resources within the network, i.e. on the satellites themselves, are rented out to service providers. Additionally, “serverless computing” is a programming paradigm with a high level of abstraction that could be used in edge computing, in particular.
This is why our Software Campus project has the extended title “Software Platform for Satellite-based Serverless Edge and In-Network Computing in Remote Regions,” or SPENCER for short.
Since when are You a participant at Software Campus what do you expect from Software Campus?
Since April 2024, I have been at the Software Campus, and my project will run for one year. What I find particularly interesting is finally being able to lead my own research project. Working with my student assistants is very exciting because they all have different prior knowledge, experience, and motivation. Thanks to the leadership training at the Software Campus, I also have the right tools needed to lead my research team.
Which app/technical invention is more than essential to you?
In my opinion, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) such as GPS or Galileo are still like magic. I can hardly imagine how shipping or aviation used to be possible without a computer being able to immediately calculate the exact coordinates of where you are. I may be able to navigate reasonably easily with a paper map, but I’m always impressed by how accurately my mobile phone can tell me exactly where, wherever, I am in the world. At the same time, I think it’s a great example of how much we already take space and satellite technology for granted.
Did a specific (public) figure of computer science or management impress you in a certain matter?
Here, of course, I must mention someone like Margaret Hamilton, who was not only responsible for the on-board flight software for the Apollo moon missions, but also co-founded the entire discipline of “software engineering”.
Source language of this interview: German
