Press releases and news

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB have developed a technology that uses AI to automatically log and analyze human movements inside vehicles. Their innovation, called the AktiMeter, is ideal for market research, user-centered product development and ergonomic studies.

Cars are still the number one mode of transportation in Germany, in spite of their high carbon emissions. To make eco-friendler alternatives more attractive, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB are working with partners in the DAKIMO project to develop intelligent, intermodal transportation. An AI for multimodal route planning is being developed to help get people to where they are going seamlessly, conveniently, and reliably — and all without privately owned cars.

The Düsseldorf district government, together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB in Karlsruhe, has carried out a pioneering pilot project to survey the river Ruhr. For the first time, an autonomous water drone developed by Fraunhofer IOSB was used to collect high-resolution data from both deep and shallow areas of the river over a six-kilometer stretch of the Ruhr near Essen.

Satellite-based electro-optical sensors are intended to detect missile launches early on, gaining valuable time for initiating countermeasures in case of an attack. The Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB is developing design concepts for sensors like these on behalf of the German Ministry of Defense. In this interview, Caroline Schweitzer, a research scientist at Fraunhofer IOSB, explains what electro-optical sensors can do and how they work.

From manufacturing to medicine, from quantum technology to nuclear fusion — lasers are the basis for many critical applications. However, without rare-earth elements and crystals from third countries, it is becoming increasingly difficult to produce them. Not only are export restrictions, war and restrictive customs policies putting pressure on industry, but they are also threatening Germany's technological sovereignty. Fraunhofer is researching alternatives in crystal growing and processing as well as glass fiber development. They will be on display at the LASER trade show in Munich from June 24–27.

Eight Fraunhofer Institutes have developed new solutions for waste management and the circular economy of plastics in the lighthouse project "Waste4Future". With their expertise, they are improving aspects such as recycling, sorting, recipe development, utilization paths and the minimization of waste streams. In particular, this makes it possible to use waste containing plastic that was previously incinerated. The results have now been presented to industry representatives at a final meeting.