Events 2026 (Archiv)

How can the German wine industry remain competitive, visible, and economically successful?

This webinar, featuring a high-caliber lineup of speakers, brings together research, market analysis, digitalization, and practical experience − in a concise, well-researched format that leaves room for discussion. It is organized by the Association of German Oenologists-BDO.

We are represented by one presentation:

🍇 Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Viticulture

Speaker: Grunar, Robin, Group Manager of Spectral Imaging, will discuss, among other topics, the DigiVine project—optics and Image Exploitation for digitization in viticulture.

Ellipsometry as a Tool for Studying Surfaces

The 12th general assembly of the Ellipsometry Working Group (AKE–Paul Drude e.V.) was also held as part of the workshop. Our colleague Matthias Hartrumpf attended the meeting as a representative of Fraunhofer IOSB.

The working group promotes scientific and technical understanding of optical measurement systems, particularly ellipsometry, and, through this workshop and other initiatives, provides a platform for disseminating new scientific findings and experiences in these fields.

A scientific forum for the exchange of ideas on current research and methodological approaches at the intersection of computer science, agricultural sciences, forestry, and food sciences. The annual conference focuses on concepts, methods, and framework conditions for the development and use of data spaces in the agricultural, forestry, and food sectors, as well as their significance for data-driven decision-making processes in research and practice.

We are present with a poster presentation:

🍇 Eliminating External Interferences in Handheld NIR Spectroscopy for Grape Quality Assessment

Speaker: Pascal Gauweiler

What distinguishes a good wine from a top-quality wine is the quality of the grape. Sugar and acidity levels are the key parameters here. Measuring these typically requires a time-consuming and costly laboratory analysis during transport to the winery. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) offers a faster alternative. Conventional methods are costly and time-consuming, whereas portable NIR spectroscopy, combined with chemometric methods, provides fast and non-destructive measurements.

Georg Maier and his team: Paul Bäcker, Felix Kronenwett, and Lukas Roming are the experts at Fraunhofer IOSB when it comes to sensor-based sorting systems for the sorting of bulk goods and recycling.
As part of the “Waste4Future” project, a prototype sorting plant has been set up to test various sensor technologies aimed at more reliably distinguishing between different types of plastic waste.

“If we can separate these materials cleanly, they can be reused to make high-quality components”, says Maier. “This allows us to keep more valuable raw materials in Europe.”

Read more about it in the article below, in the current issue of Fraunhofer magazine, or visit our website for more information.

Over the course of two conference days, presentations from industry and academia will showcase new developments and applications in the field of sensor-based sorting and process control, covering the entire process chain from extraction to processing, for both primary and secondary raw materials. Organizer: RWTH Aachen University.

🗣️ We will be presenting three talks at SBSC 2026: Paul Bäcker, Felix Kronenwett, and Lukas Roming. Sensor-based technologies have become a crucial factor for efficient and quality-oriented raw material processing and recycling.

♻️ One of our research topics at Fraunhofer IOSB is “Sensor-Based Sorting Systems for the Sorting of Bulk Goods and Recycling”. Find out more on the website.

At this interdisciplinary conference, you’ll learn about the latest research findings on cutting-edge technologies in the fields of optics and photonics—ranging from digital optics and quantum technology to optical imaging, sensor technology, and metrology. Other topics include THz photonics, 3D-printed optics, photonic glasses, light-sensitive materials, and biophotonics.

🗣️ We’ll be presenting four papers:

"End-to-end learning of signal-to-noise ratio for Wiener-filter-based image deconvolution"

Speaker: Meyer, Johannes

"Transformer-based inverse-design model for artificial electromagnetic materials"

Speaker: Chia-Wei Chen

"Tailoring object-specific light fields for the inspection of transparent materials"

Speaker: Christian Kludt

"Optimizing phase modulators within fabrication constraints of resin 3D printing"

Speaker: Dippon, Lukas

Girls'Day aims to make technical, scientific, trade and IT professions in particular more attractive to girls and young women.

In addition to practical experience, female role models in STEM subjects are the key to encouraging girls to learn a profession in this field. The key message of the 2017 Microsoft study was that girls can be inspired to pursue STEM disciplines through female role models and more practical experience.

Fraunhofer IOSB will be represented again this year with five workshops.
We are participating with a workshop:

👉 Become a technical tinkerer and start soldering! 🔧✨ 

"Solder your own nameplate and build an astable tilt stage (flashing circuit)."
  Supervisor: Marcel Göttel and Britta Ost 

Reliably inspecting glossy surfaces – a process that has often been tedious and time-consuming. But by combining optical simulation and neural networks, inspection machines can be put into operation much faster and optimized more comprehensively.

What can you expect?

🔹Insights into the technology

🔹Opportunity to address your specific needs and questions

🔹The opportunity to work directly with us on implementation

🗣️ Do you work with glossy or reflective surfaces and want to take your inspection processes to the next level?

Then get in touch with us—we’d be happy to invite you and work with you to make all the necessary plans.

Your contact is Jan Burke jan.burke@iosb.fraunhofer.de

🌈 Where is hyperspectral imaging headed – and what does the industry really need today?
From market insights to scalable technologies to energy-driven applications – this conference brings together key perspectives from across the entire ecosystem.

Our colleague Robin Gruna will be there to give a presentation.
Session 1: Market Trends, Sustainability & Future Roadmaps

"Spectral Computer Vision: Hyperspectral Imaging Beyond the Lab and the Production Line"

Learn more about our research mission on our hyperspectral and multispectral image processing website.

🎯 Concentrated Competence

Here, representatives from industry, suppliers, and academia came together to listen to keynote speeches and pitches, to network, and to gain exciting insights into civil aviation and defense.

At the event held at the Karlsruhe Research Factory, during the “lab tour” we had the opportunity to present our research project, “AutoInspect” :

3D measurement of large objects using self-calibrating laser lines via a triangulation-based autonomous guided vehicle (AGV) system.

🚗 Read more about it on our project website.

Our colleague Chia-Wei Chen led a workshop and met 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳. 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗵-𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗴, who heads the Plasmonics Laboratory at National Central University as well as at the 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 (NCIR) in Hsinchu.

The goal of the workshops was to facilitate knowledge exchange between research groups from Germany and Taiwan, including in the areas of AI technology, polarization methods, metasurface design, electromagnetic simulation, and nanofabrication.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) and NSTC − National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan − are jointly developing a compact, high-speed sensor system for capturing quantitative spatial, spectral, and polarization-related images using a multifunctional metagrid.

We are very pleased that our team took first place in the “𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 – 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲" at the Visual Anomaly and Novelty Detection 2026 Challenge.
 

🗣️ Congratulations to our colleagues at SPR Lukas Roming, Felix Lehnerer, and Jonas Vilho Funk (former master’s student), as well as Andreas Michel (SZA) for this outstanding achievement!

SuperADD: Training-free Class-agnostic Anomaly Segmentation– CVPR 2026 VAND 4.0 Workshop Challenge Industrial Track

SuperADD revolutionizes anomaly detection: Errors in images are detected without the system first being trained on error images. Instead, it relies exclusively on “good” examples, as well as DINOv3 embeddings and an intelligent nearest-neighbor search.
Special enhancements such as class-agnostic, overlapping patch processing and optimized post-processing significantly increase accuracy.

FUSION 2026 is organized by the “International Society of Information Fusion”. It is an exciting forum for discussing the latest developments in the fields of sensor, data, information, and knowledge fusion.

👉 Paul Bäcker was there to give a presentation:

Multi-Rate Sensor Fusion of Line-Scan and Event-Based Vision for Low-Latency Sensor-Based Sorting

Lecture No. 138 on June 25, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. / Section: 5G - Computer Vision 2: Decision support, haptics, and human-in-the-loop estimation

In sensor-based sorting, unknown foreign objects − such as a small piece of foam − in the seed stream pose a major problem. Although they are reliably detected, they are not correctly targeted due to their different motion characteristics. Paul Bäcker demonstrates that, with the help of a special event-based camera, it is possible to reliably track and sort out precisely such objects while also achieving significant energy savings.

The meeting provides an overview of current developments in the waste wood recycling industry. Another highlight is the company tour at 𝗕𝗘𝗕 𝗕𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗚𝗺𝗯𝗛 in Kehl.

➡️ Lukas Roming was there to give a presentation:

Al based recovery of waste wood from bulk waste

In his presentation, he explores how artificial intelligence can revolutionize the detection and sorting of waste wood in bulky waste streams. The goal: higher recovery rates, greater resource efficiency, and more sustainable waste wood recycling in Europe.

BEW – The Training Center for the Water and Waste Management Industry: They offer continuing education programs ranging from inter-company training in environmental technology professions to seminars covering the entire value chain in the areas of (waste)water, soil protection, industrial environmental protection, air pollution control, circular economy, energy, climate protection and adaptation, as well as topics related to procurement, management, and organization.

➡️ Felix Kronenwett is being asked to give a presentation as a lecturer:

Sensor-Based Sorting and Automated Asbestos Detection

Read more about construction waste recycling on our project page. The goal of BauCycle is to sort and process demolition waste to produce recycled building materials, which are then returned to the original construction cycle.

A new, multimodal approach with promising results

AI and modern sensor technology can help recover wood from bulky waste more efficiently, at lower cost, and in larger quantities, thereby strengthening the principles of the circular economy. A research consortium coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technologies, and Image Processing IOSB developed a corresponding method based on four different sensor types and AI as part of the ASKIVIT project. In practical measurement series, the approach achieved a sorting accuracy of over 95 percent.

The ASKIVIT project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Home Affairs (BMLEH). The final report is available at projekte.fnr.de under grant number 2220HV048.

Read the full press release and learn more about our ASKIVIT project; see the links in the tiles on the right.

Identifying Asbestos – Demolishing Concrete – Conserving Resources: Buildings in the Circular Economy ♻️ 

Our project partner, the Technical University of Darmstadt, cordially invites you to attend. The focus will be on urban mining and the circular management of mineral building materials. The event will bring together experts from research and industry who will present current developments, challenges, and potential solutions related to demolition, hazardous substance assessment, and recycling. Participants will gain in-depth insights into innovative approaches, practical solutions, and the latest developments in this field.

👋 We are involved in:

Felix Kronenwett with a presentation on the topic of:

Sensor-Based Sorting and Automated Asbestos Detection

Read more about construction waste recycling on our project page. The goal of BauCycle is to sort and process demolition waste to produce recycled building materials, which are then returned to the original construction cycle.

This conference is a leading event organized by the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IES), with the goal of bringing together the international professional community to present the latest research findings, exchange new ideas and technical breakthroughs, and discuss current challenges and future developments in the fields of technology and innovation.

Felix Kronenwett is on the scene with a report:

Line-Scan Sensors and Convolutional Neural Networks: Unified Modelling, Parameter Selection and Row-Wise Inference

He presents a mathematically consistent system model for the real-time processing of line-scan camera data using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in industrial image processing, including precise latency and stability limits. By shifting line by line and reusing feature maps, only the image lines that have actually just arrived are recalculated. This efficient inference strategy yields mathematically identical results to those of classical batch processing.

The conference brings together two of Europe's leading photonics conferences – 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗘 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 and 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗘 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 + 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 
With a total of 17 technical conference topics, the event will showcase the latest sensor and photonics technologies for imaging and monitoring the Earth’s atmosphere and environment, as well as sensor technologies.

🗣️ We are represented by three entries:

End-to-end learning of screen pattern and network parameters for one-shot deflectometric surface inspection

Speaker: Meyer, Johannes  September 15, 2026, from 11:20 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. | Lowther
A new framework: significantly more robust and accurate defect detection, especially for complex geometries and fine defects.

Efficient mechanical-free acquisition of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function BRDF via computational illumination and sensing

Speaker: Meyer, Johannes September 15, 2026, from 11:40 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. | Lowther
This approach opens up new possibilities for material characterization, optical inspection, and realistic appearance capture.

Efficient primal-dual pattern generation for arbitrary light transport probing

Speaker: Dippon, Lukas September 15, 2026, from 4:40 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. | Lowther
High-resolution light patterns push the boundaries of optical material characterization. Higher resolution. More light. More insight.

👍Would you like to learn more? Read the abstracts; see the links in the box.

Image processing plays a key role in many areas of technology for fast and contactless data acquisition. For example, in the quality assurance of industrial production processes, in robotics and for driver assistance, image processing systems have gained an indispensable place. This development is supported by the availability of high-quality and inexpensive sensor systems, by the increase in the performance of computer systems, and by advances in the methodology for evaluating image data.

The "Image Processing forum" aims to report on current trends towards solutions in image processing and to contribute to the professional exchange between the participants.

Image Processing for Surfaces - Advances in technology not only enable ever higher inspection speeds and more compact systems, but also, in addition to the evaluation of two-dimensionally recorded textures, the complete recording of complex 3D surface structures down to the nanometer range. Furthermore, the rapid evaluation of colored, patterned, transparent, highly reflective or mirroring surfaces is possible. In the seminar, different inspection and analysis methods will be presented for this purpose.

This year, we are once again involved in the success of the event as co-organizers with lectures and workshops.