Activities 2026 (Archive)

Applied Research for Defense and Security in Germany

Shaping the Future Through Research and Technology – this is the theme of our conference on Applied Research for Defense and Security in Germany, to be held in March 2026.

To ensure that we are and remain capable of defending ourselves and achieving victory, we must strengthen our capacity for innovation and the relevant research, and consistently align them with the future needs of the Bundeswehr.

We are involved:

Wednesday, March 4, 2026 | Session A3: AI in the OODA Loop
4:00 p.m.: Introduction and moderation by the session chair,

Almuth Müller.

🎯This is where the future of defense and security meets photonics

𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗘 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 + 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 is a leading conference on innovations and technologies in sensor technology and optical systems. It brings together experts from around the world who work on advanced sensors, infrared and laser systems, spectral imaging, radar, lidar, and autonomous systems.
Wir sind mit 3 Vorträgen 2026 vor Ort vertreten:

"Contributing to situation awareness by LLM-based tactical symbol extraction"

Speaker: Tobias Schiebel, April 27, 2026 | Potomac 4

"Bridging the semantic gap: RAG-enhanced search for heterogeneous ISR data in coalition shared data"

Speaker: Jan-Vincent Mock, April 29, 2026 | Potomac 4

"Flexible mission planning and dynamic reactive autonomy for heterogeneous unmanned vehicles operating in teams"

Speaker: Florian Segor, April 28, 2026 | Chesapeake 9

Please read the abstracts via the speaker link.

The theme of this year's trade exhibition is:

Networked thinking & secure action as a response to national defense

More than 200 renowned specialist companies from 17 nations will be exhibiting. This makes the AFCEA the most important exhibition for information technology in the field of defense and public security in Germany.
The Fraunhofer IOSB is represented with exhibits.  

Your local contacts: Barbara Essendorfer and Achim Kuwertz.

Stop by - we look forward to seeing you!

At the Aviation Day event held at the Karlsruhe Research Factory, industry representatives, suppliers, and academics came together to listen to keynote speeches and pitches, network, and gain exciting insights into civil aviation and defense.

👍 Our team was there
We gave a presentation on the topic »Automation in Logistics« and our »𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗵𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗱« was on display at the FoFa.
Contact: Jennifer Sander, Florian Segor, Wilmuth Müller, Matthias Kollmann.

Would you like to learn more about this? Then check out our website, for example, »AMFIS Monitoring Using a Network of Mobile and Fixed Sensors«.

AI has the potential to significantly improve efficiency and effectiveness in the domains of reconnaissance and command. However, the tools used must be designed in such a way that humans can evaluate information obtained through AI and the decisions derived from it, and are able to retain control when necessary. AI is undoubtedly a key technology, but it also introduces new threats and attack vectors that must be addressed.

This seminar offers a basic introduction and an overview of selected aspects of this topic. Current developments and research findings will also be presented.

We are involved:
Scientific management: Jennifer Sander

Speakers:

• Almuth Müller
• Jennifer Sander
• Alexander Streicher
• Achim Kuwertz-Wolf
• Igor Tchouchenkov
• Florian Segor

Interested industry professionals will gain an overview of Fraunhofer IOSB’s current research and technology tailored to the needs of the armed forces. Presentations, an exhibition, and live demonstrations will illustrate the current state and future developments of support systems for the acquisition, integration, distribution, and use of information in defense operations.

We're in on this!
Jennifer Sander is the deputy spokesperson for the Defense and Security Business Unit and will give a presentation titled »Defense Research at Fraunhofer IOSB: An Overview«.

In addition, our team will be participating in the lecture session »Property Security: KIOBS« with Christian Zaschke and Segor, Florian involved.

And we'll be there with a demonstration:»RAG-Supported Search in the Reconnaissance/Defense Sector« with Jan-Vincent Mock and Achim Kuwertz-Wolf.

The seminar "Use and control of small drones" provides easy access to the technical and scientific basics and areas of application of drones, with a focus on small drones.

• Features and technology of small drones
• Technical features of modern drones
• Possible uses and dangers of small drones
• Mission management: from individual drones to heterogeneous groups
• Detection and classification of small drones
• Situationally appropriate protective and defensive measures against small drones 
• Excerpt from current research at Fraunhofer IOSB