Lukas Pirl

Lukas Pirl is a researcher at the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI), University of Potsdam, working within the Department of Operating Systems and Middleware. His research focuses on dependability, fault tolerance, and experimental assessments of distributed systems with particular applications in railway technology and IoT systems.

His research interests span multiple domains including:

• Dependability and fault tolerance architectures & protocols
• Experimental assessments using software fault injection
• Environmentally aware computing and information management
• Symmetric peer-to-peer systems and storage operating systems
• Railway digitalization and safety-critical systems

Lukas's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on applying distributed systems research to railway technology. His work spans from digital train control systems (FlexiDug project) to railway crossing safety (Digital St. Andrew's Cross), and from blockchain applications in railway systems (RailChain, ZugChain) to IoT testing methodologies. A significant portion of his research involves using SUMO for railway simulations and developing test automation frameworks for railway components, showing an evolution from general distributed systems research toward specialized applications in critical infrastructure.

He has co-supervised numerous Master's theses at HPI, working with students on topics ranging from railway simulation architectures to blockchain implementations for railway systems. His teaching activities include serving as a teaching assistant for courses on distributed systems, embedded operating systems, and trends in operating systems across multiple semesters.

Lukas is actively involved in several major research projects:

• FlexiDug: Investigating reuse of rail infrastructures in former brown coal mining areas, focusing on software architectures for dependable digital train control and signaling systems
• RailChain: Exploring distributed ledger technologies for the railway sector with focus on timing predictability and resource constraints
• DiAK: Digitalization of railway crossings for increased safety through bridging V2X and C-V2X technologies
• Rail2X: Investigating vehicle-to-everything technologies for the railway sector with focus on wireless technology assessments