Tribology that studies friction, wear, and lubrication is of great practical importance in mechanical engineering, design and for efficient and reliable operation of components, assemblies, etc. Despite a long history of research, a thorough understanding of friction is still deficient. In fact, due to the large number of microcontacts, the contact of two seemingly smooth solid surfaces is dependent on the atomic interactions and the elastic and plastic deformations that determine the morphology and stress distribution in the contacts. The proposed project will contribute to the further development of the current research of friction by combining experimental and numerical methods as well as applying novel methods of machine learning to deepen the fundamental knowledge about friction, about the parameters affecting friction and finding the appropriate models of these phenomena. The proposed research will expand the ongoing activities of the research group operating within the Centre for Micro- and Nanosciences and Technologies (NANORI), the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Mechatronics at the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity (AIRI), and at the Precision Engineering Laboratory of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Rijeka. The proposed project will also contribute to current cooperation with foreign institutions such as the Molecular Biology and Nanotechnology Laboratory (MolBNL) of the University of Trieste, with whom we already have published preliminary results at multiple international conferences, and the Laboratory for Tribology and Interface Technology (TINT) of the University of Ljubljana, with whom we have an active bilateral scientific project and have submitted a joint ARRS – HRZZ project. This application will further extend these collaborations with studies by molecular dynamics and via experimental measurements at the micro- and macro-level, as well as via application to competitive research grants. The proposed research will enable an interdisciplinary synergy of the obtained results and lay the foundations for future cooperation between the constituents and centres of the University of Rijeka with eminent foreign institutions and contribute to the global visibility by dissemination of results.