THESIS WORK: VERIFICATION, MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADE OF THE STRESSOMETER SYSTEM TEST ENVIRONMENT

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This Position reports to:
Technology Manager
ABB Measurement & Analytics is a global leader in smart instrumentation and analysers, serving industrial and energy sectors with cutting-edge measurement solutions. With thousands of experts worldwide and a strong foundation in high-performance digital technologies, ABB is committed to helping customers operate more efficiently and profitably through precise and reliable data.
This thesis project is embedded within ABB's Strategic Thrust — an ambitious initiative focused on advancing electromagnetic force and dimension sensors. As part of this effort, ABB is seeking innovative minds to tackle complex challenges at the heart of its product development.
Your role and responsibilities
Within the Force Measurement business line (BL), this thesis focuses on the Stressometer — ABB's flagship system for measuring strip flatness in rolling mills. The primary goal of this work is to verify, document, and upgrade the Stressometer system test environment to a state of the art environment allowing a high degree of automation and enabling use of AI. This requires ensuring it remains stable, reliable, and representative of real customer installations. The test environment is used to verify new features of the flatness measurement and control applications before they are introduced to our customers.
You will work closely with the development team to remove legacy components, modernise the control architecture, and define a clear long-term vision for the test environment.
Description
Level
M.Sc. thesis project, 30 ECTS, one student
Duration
approx. 1 year
Business line
Force Measurement, Västerås, Sweden
Credits
30 ECTS / högskolepoäng (Master thesis, one semester)
Number of students
One
Language
English
Background and Motivation
The Stressometer system is used in rolling mills worldwide to measure the flatness profile across a metal strip with high precision, enabling real-time shape control. To validate the wide range of customer configurations, ABB maintains a dedicated system test environment that must closely mirror actual field installations.
The current system test environment is rather complex and contains some legacy solutions and requires a high degree of detailed understanding of both the system under test as well as the system test environmetn itself. Testing is a key to ensure high quality of our products when new features and patches are to be applied. We need to increase our testing by automation on a higher degree using both traditional automation as well as usage of generative AI.
Objectives / Content
The thesis work is divided into coordinated phases:
Phase 1 – Verification and Documentation: Audit the current hardware, network topology, and software configuration of the Stressometer test environment. Document deviations from the intended setup and produce a structured baseline report.
Phase 2 –Simulator Update: Collaborate with the development team to update simulators according to identified needs, verify proper connectivity between the simulators and the system.
Phase 3 – Removal of Legacy solutions: Implement the communication changes required for the simulators to operate with existing system test environment PLC. Once validated, remove the legacy solutions dependency entirely .
Phase 4 – PLC Migration: replace the system test environment PLC with a more modern solution offering greater flexibility and maintainability. Define and implement a new concept for predefined test schedules utilizing ex. AI agents.
Phase 5 – Vision Definition and Signal Platform Evaluation: Define a clear architectural vision for the upgraded test environment, identifying which components should be modernized and which retained.
Qualifications for the role
M.Sc. student in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Automation, or a related field.
Solid understanding of control systems, embedded software as well as usage of AI agents as a natural tool in your work.
Experience with industrial communication protocols (e.g., Ethernet/IP, Profibus, or similar).
Familiarity with firmware development or low-level hardware configuration is a merit.
Ability to work structured and methodically, with strong documentation skills.
Good collaborative and communication skills — you will work closely with experienced engineers.
Proficiency in English (written and spoken) is required. Swedish is an advantage, since parts of the documentation are in Swedish.
More about us
Recruiting Manager Mats Kuoppa, +46 70 600 50 49, will answer your questions about the position. We kindly decline direct contact with staffing and recruitment agencies as well as sellers of additional job advertisements.
Positions are filled continuously. Please apply with your CV, academic transcripts, and a cover letter in English. We look forward to receiving your application.
A future opportunity
This role is part of our talent pipeline, which means it’s not currently open, but we’re always looking for curious minds, bold thinkers, and people who want to make an impact.
Click Apply to express your interest and be considered for future opportunities that match your experience and aspirations.
At ABB, we welcome people from all backgrounds and believe that diverse perspectives help us build a cleaner, smarter future.
Apply today or visit https://www.abb.com to learn more about how we help run what runs the world.

Skills
Generative AI, PLC, Documentation