Tero Kaarlela

Tero Kaarlela, D.Sc. (Tech.) earned his D.Sc. in Mechanical and Production Engineering from Tampere University in 2023 with a doctoral thesis on a common digital twin platform for education, training, and collaboration in robotics. He also holds an M.Sc. in wireless sensor networks from the University of Jyväskylä, a B.Sc. in robotics and production automation from Centria University of Applied Sciences, and an MBA in business management.

Kaarlela’s research focuses on digital manufacturing, robotics, and digital twins, with an emphasis on platforms and methods that support training, collaboration, and teleoperation using extended reality. His peer-reviewed work includes contributions on digital twins and extended reality for safety training, educational teleoperation platforms, metaverse-oriented control of robotic systems, and digital-twin-enabled applications in areas such as electric vehicle battery disassembly, CNC machining training, and underwater robotics.

Before joining the University of Oulu, he worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Florida International University and held research and teaching roles at Centria University of Applied Sciences. Earlier in his career, he was an entrepreneur and production engineer, overseeing machining shop operations and increasing productivity through automation.

His academic service includes reviewing for multiple journals and conferences, and his distinctions include a Fulbright Research Grant for Junior Scholars and an Editor’s Choice awards.