Activities 2024

The rapid development of automation and robotics has been driven by advances in key technologies such as sensors, actuators, control systems, machine learning, computer vision and human-robot interaction. These technologies have enabled the development of autonomous systems that can perceive their environment, make decisions and perform tasks efficiently. ICARA 2025 provides a platform for researchers, engineers and industry professionals to exchange knowledge, share research results and discuss the latest advances in the field. 

The MRD department is participating with the presentation on February 23, 2024:

👉 Extending Reward-based Hierarchical Task Network Planning to Partially Observable Environments

Referent: Robert Zimmermann

The 7th ML4CPS offers a platform for exchange between researchers and users from various fields. Cyber-physical systems have the ability to adapt to changing requirements. In conjunction with machine learning, various areas such as predictive maintenance, self-optimisation and fault diagnosis are conceivable. An essential prerequisite for utilising this potential is the accessibility of machine learning techniques for engineers.

The organisers are:  Fraunhofer IOSB and Helmut-Schmidt-Universität (HSU).

We are involved with the following contribution:

Retrofitting cyber-physical production systems with radio-based sensors and ML

Referent: Christian Kühnert, on 03/21/2024 from 4:00 – 4:30 pm

The most important international trade event for all topics relating to measurement and testing technology as well as vision technology, image processing and sensor technology is the annual Control trade fair in Stuttgart.

Machine learning as a key technology for quality assurance with image processing

This time, Fraunhofer IOSB and its Visual Inspection Systems department are presenting the exhibit 

Inspection of (partially) reflective surfaces with deflectometry for quality assurance

However, the inspection of reflective surfaces poses special challenges in practice: On the one hand, most common surface inspection methods, such as fringe projection, rely on diffuse reflection. On the other hand, the results of such methods cannot easily be used to evaluate reflective surfaces, as the customer assesses the quality based on reflections of the surroundings in the surface. The deflectometry method closes this gap in measurement and testing technology and offers the possibility of applying objective standards in quality assurance using simple means.

Joint stand of the Fraunhofer Vision Business Unit

We would like to invite you to get an overview of the new developments of the Fraunhofer Vision Business Unit and the exhibits at the joint booth of the Fraunhofer Vision Business Unit.

Visit us: Hall 8/Stand 8201.
Your contact person: Jan Burke

The theme of this year's forum is »Together for a safe life in a resilient society«. With this in mind, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) invites you to exciting specialist forums, extensive networking opportunities and a diverse project exhibition, where results and demonstrators from over twenty projects will be presented for you to touch.

The Fraunhofer IOSB and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are represented as joint partners of ROBDEKON with the following exhibits:

Gripping barrels with the autonomous excavator ALICE (indoor exhibition)

Milling robot for decontaminating surfaces (outdoor exhibition)

Your contact person on site: Janko Petereit

An event organised by Stadtwerke Karlsruhe to offer regional players in the municipal water supply sector an opportunity to exchange expertise. In the morning, representatives from industry and business will talk about new products and trends in the sector, while in the afternoon water experts will report on current water management topics. The event is aimed in particular at specialists and managers from smaller water supply companies, employees of local engineering firms and the responsible managers of municipal utilities in the region.

The department MRD is involved with the following presentation:

Digitalisierungsprojekte: W-Net 4.0 und 2. TwinOptPRO

Referent: Thomas Bernard on 3:00 pm

To the presentation as download German only

Flyer: Trinkwasser-Forum German only

KERNTECHNIK 2024 addresses these topics in the context of the energy transition and climate protection in an extensive program of lectures and on the exhibition area:

• Competence and security
• International trends and development
• Decommissioning and waste treatment
• Interim and final storage

ROBDEKON will be presenting autonomous robot systems for complex decontamination tasks at the exhibition area. ROBDEKON is a competence center funded by the BMBF and develops autonomous and semi-autonomous robot systems that are to be used in practical applications where work has so far been associated with a considerable risk potential for humans.

Equipped with sensors and AI, the robots are able to map their environment (semi-)autonomously, determine the level of contamination, locate and manipulate objects, decontaminate surfaces, recover hazardous substances and transport them away. 

Visit us at our exhibition stand 16 - 18.
Your contact person on site: Janko Petereit

At the first »AI-based Robotics 2024« conference of the BMBF and BMWK, the ROBDEKON competence center will present its specially developed autonomous robot systems for complex decontamination tasks. The public can find out more about ROBDEKON in the topic-specific presentation and carry out a teleoperation of an autonomous excavator in the exhibition. 

An excavator teleoperation to try out

At the KIRO 2024 exhibition in Berlin, the public can get an impression of the maturity of the systems with the autonomous excavator ALICE.

A lecture on ROBDEKON on June 18, 2024

On the first day of the conference, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Jürgen Beyerer, Institute Director at Fraunhofer IOSB and spokesperson for ROBDEKON, will present the »Competence Center Robotic systems for decontamination in hazardous environments ROBDEKON« in a lecture during the technical parallel sessions from 4:30 to 5:00 pm.  

The concept of the Karlsruhe Contaminated Sites Seminar is to address current topics and provide an overview of the current status of contaminated site management, as well as highlighting new developments, tendencies and trends. As the subtitle of the seminar suggests, we try to build a bridge from experience with contaminated sites and cases of damage to preventive soil and groundwater protection. 

The topics range from preventive soil protection through soil protection concepts and pedological construction monitoring, to the effect of microplastics in soils, the influence of conversion areas near city centres on the urban climate, the influence of sampling on the uncertainty of results and sustainability aspects in soil and groundwater remediation.

The MRD department is involved with the following presentation:

Intelligent robotics for landfill and contaminated site remediation - are autonomous construction machines ready for practical use?

Referent: Philipp Woock on 5:00 pm

With the AI toolbox for utility companies, the Fraunhofer IAO has developed a toolbox that makes it easier for utility companies to enter the future field of artificial intelligence in a structured way.

The nine-module toolbox covers the key topics for the successful implementation of AI at utility companies, from vision to AI technologies and use cases to business models.

Participants are given an overview of the areas of application and methods of the AI toolbox, with a focus on the "Use Cases" module.
 

The department MRD is involved with the following presentation:

W-Net 4.0: Platform for simulation, AI-based forecasting and operational optimisation of supply systems

Referent: Thomas Bernard

The WDSA/CCWI Joint Conference brings together industry professionals and researchers from around the world to solve problems in the field of urban water systems, modelling, and control. This Joint Conference focuses on themes covered by both the Computing and Control for the Water Industry (CCWI) series of conferences and the Water Distribution Systems Analysis (WDSA) series of Conferences.

The department MRD is involved with the following presentation:

Urban Water Demand Forecasting using DeepAR Models

Referent: Andreas Wunsch

TwinOptPRO—Digital Platform for Online Pump Scheduling Optimization

Referent: Thomas Bernard

💡»ML4Heat« as one of 3 highlight projects

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection published the »Federal Report on Energy Research 2024« in mid-July and issued a press release. In addition to the funding provided by the Federal Government in the 7th Energy Research Program, the publication also presents research funding by the federal states as well as European and international cooperation in the energy sector. The report also presents selected project successes that contribute in a special way to the progress of the energy transition - such as the »ML4Heat« research project carried out by Fraunhofer IOSB with Samson KT-Elektronik: Optimizing district heating networks using machine learning.

Find out more and read more 👇

Link to the Bundesbericht Energieforschung 2024 German only
Link to the Pressemitteilung des BMWK German only

👉 Your contact at the IOSB: Thomas Bernard, Group Manager Process Management and Data Analysis

The German Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Waste Management (bvse) has published an article about the new Robotics Institute Germany (RIG). It is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) that aims to connect leading robotics labs across Germany to increase their international visibility, attract talent and accelerate progress in AI-powered robotics. Fraunhofer IOSB will establish itself in the field of AI-based large-scale robotics - including autonomous construction machines, agricultural robots and other heavy-duty machines (clearing vehicles, refuse collection, etc.) that perform complex tasks autonomously.

In the article, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Jürgen Beyerer, Institute Director at Fraunhofer IOSB, reports on the focus on transfer and industrial cooperation in the field of large-scale robotics and Janko Petereit, Group Manager Autonomous Robotic Systemss, on the efficiency, relief and reduction of hazards through advanced robot systems.

🚜 Read the article of the bvse (German only):
bvse – Fraunhofer IOSB treibt das Thema Großraumrobotik im neuen Robotics Institute Germany voran

SPIE, one of the most important European events showcasing the latest sensor and photonics technologies for imaging and monitoring the Earth's atmosphere and environment, as well as sensor technologies.

We are represented with 2 contributions:

👉 MUSAL: towards multi-source 4D scene modeling by autonomous robot systems for the surveillance of critical infrastructure

Referent: Boitumelo Ruf on 09/16/2024 from 10:50 - 11:20 am

👉 Utilizing synthetic data for object segmentation on autonomous heavy machinery in dynamic unstructured environments

Referent: Miguel Granero on 09/16/2024 from 2:20 - 2:40 pm

An interview with Christian K. Karl from BauVolution: This is a blog, a platform to immerse yourself in the exciting world of BauVolution. BauVolution stands for both, the evolution in the construction industry that simultaneously entails a revolution. Janko Petereit, Group Leader Autonomous Robot Systems at MRD, reports on the ROBDEKON competence center, what exactly it is and how advanced robotic systems can help in potentially dangerous operations.
The focus is clearly on applying our results in real-life pilot projects. Anyone interested in testing our technologies is welcome to contact us. Fraunhofer IOSB will also promote AI-based large-scale robotics for other application scenarios through its involvement in the new Robotics Institute Germany. Autonomous construction machines, agricultural robots and other heavy-duty machines will be trained to carry out complex tasks independently. As the ROBDEKON competence center, we are also working on making the expertise built up in the two funding phases available in the long term: We are on the way to becoming permanent in the form of founding an association, so that ROBDEKON will continue to exist as a central point of contact for technological issues relating to decontamination tasks even after the BMBF funding ends.

🚜 Read the article from BauVolution (German only):
Im Dialog: Dr. Petereit über autonome Technologien und Robotik - BauVolution

🌊 Our semi-automatic sounding system for rivers and lakes, TAPS for short, is in use for the first time!
Our colleagues used the Otter water drone for the pilot project with the Düsseldorf district government🦦. The small drone boat surveyed an approximately 6 km long section of the Ruhr. In doing so, it records water beds and banks largely autonomously, i.e. unmanned. The elevation relief is measured both above and below the water surface. The data collected is particularly important for the regular monitoring of the navigation channel in order to ensure the safe navigability of the Ruhr. ️🚢

👉 Read the full IOSB press release here (German onli): Link

👉 Click here for the press release from the Düsseldorf district government (German onli): Link

The 3rd participation event of the ROBDEKON competence center will take place over two days. Experience informative presentations and practical demonstrations by experts from science and industry. This time we welcome you to Bremen. The MRD department as a project partner: »In particular, we are contributing our algorithm toolbox for autonomous mobile robot systems to ROBDEKON«, explains the responsible department head Christian Frey. 
Contact person is on site for you: Janko Petereit and Phillipp Woock.

This year's event focuses on the collaboration of multiple robots:

👉 Robots in Action: See how robots explore their environment together and assist each other in mapping.

👉 Interactive Control and Visualization: Control the robots yourself and experience innovative visualizations of their work.

👉 Expert Lectures with Workshop Character: Deepen your knowledge in talks by experts and discuss current developments in decontamination robotics.

Information on the program can be found here.

Heavy construction machinery and robots that autonomously map the environment, pick up and transport objects: The ROBDEKON competence center presented its autonomous decontamination robotics technologies to a specialist audience on October 23 and 24. Around 50 experts from the energy and contaminated sites sector were able to experience the robots in live demonstrations, control them themselves and find out about the advanced state of development. This year, the industry meeting took place at the Robotics Innovation Center of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Bremen.

🖐 We were there: Assistance for construction machinery using mobile robot systems: The autonomous walking robot Spot explores the site and the building using various LiDAR sensors.

The next ROBDEKON participation event is expected to take place in fall 2025.

👉 Read the full IOSB press release (German onli): Link

On behalf of the International Federation of Hydrographic Societies (IFHS) the German Hydrographic Society (DHyG) will host the international hydrographic conference and exhibition HYDRO 2024.

Around 70% of the Earth's surface is made up of water, but our understanding of rivers, lakes and, above all, the oceans is still surprisingly limited. By using the latest mapping technologies, unmanned ships can efficiently survey the underwater terrain and collect valuable data.

We are involved with the following contributions:

Transfer of autonomous mapping concepts to a small uncrewed surface vehicle

Referent: Tom Schmidt on 11/06/2024 at 05:00 pm

More than 500 international experts will be coming to Mannheim for the AIRBAG Symposium 2024, with 30 lectures, 20 posters and 35 exhibiting companies, as well as a dedicated young talent program. Perfect for bringing the community together to learn, exchange ideas and network. The organizer is the Fraunhofer ICT.

We are involved with the following contributions:

Linking data and simulations

Referent: Jens R. Ziehn It provides an overview of the AVEAS project and shows how the systematic collection of real data at accident sites serves as the basis for data-driven simulations. In this way, scenarios and behavioral models for virtual tests are generated and provide detailed models for perception and action safety in AD functions under challenging conditions.

For most applications, a machine vision system is still not an off-the-shelf product, but requires application-specific customization. The seminar therefore aims to provide participants with an insight into the state of the art in the field of surface inspection and characterization. Participants will learn about the possibilities and current limitations of automatic surface inspection in order to derive guidelines for their own investment planning.

We are involved with the following contributions:

3D measurements on surfaces

Michael Heizmann, on 11/27/2024

Deflectometry for the inspection of reflective surfaces

Internship station with Jan Burke, on 11/28/2024 from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm.

The sixth international ASAM conference will focus on the future of automotive engineering and how standards facilitate interoperability, data exchange and toolchain integration, thereby improving processes and creating added value. This year, the topics have been expanded beyond ADAS/AD, with topics ranging from the early development phase to real-time interaction during operation, covering critical aspects such as over-the-air (OTA) updates and diagnostics.

We are represented by Jens Ziehn to meet new collaborators and discuss technical solutions and future opportunities for collaboration to improve the availability of data on critical traffic scenarios, in preparation for the next steps with the »AVEAS project«.

The DVWG-Forum offers a compact program and covers important transport sectors and topics. The focus is on shipping, ports and waterways, rail transport and road transport. Within these areas, an in-depth examination of these topics will take place: Sustainability, Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Resilience. The independence of science is at the heart of the DVWG FORUM 2024.

Here  Jens Ziehn reports on the project work and results for »DAKIMO«. In the panel discussion on »AI in road traffic« he will answer questions from trade visitors together with Martin Lorenz from the VDA and Thomas Drewes from DB Regio.