Humanoid Robots Experience Lab

With the Humanoid Robots Experience Lab, the Fraunhofer IOSB in Karlsruhe is creating a platform to systematically investigate the potential, limitations, and specific application scenarios of humanoid robots outside of traditional production environments.

The focus is on applications in safety-critical, dynamic, and human-centered environments – such as defense, civil security, urban infrastructure, disaster response, and construction – as well as the interaction of humanoid robots with humans and other robotic systems in hybrid teams.

Together with partners from government agencies, industry, and research, we develop, demonstrate, and evaluate use cases, technologies, and integration concepts for the responsible deployment of humanoid robot systems.

HREL in Karlsruhe:

• Application Focus: We focus on humanoid robots in situations where traditional automation reaches its limits – in unstructured, dangerous, hostile, or hard-to-reach environments that have traditionally been reserved for humans.
• Use Case Development and Evaluation: Together with users, we identify realistic use cases and evaluate technical feasibility, operational value, security requirements, and integration effort.
• Testing in relevant scenarios: The lab enables real-world testing for tasks such as inspection, reconnaissance, surveillance, manipulation, logistical support, infantry support, remote operation, human-robot interaction, and operations in urban or construction-site-like environments.
• Security and Resilience Perspective: A particular focus is placed on operations in the areas of defense, civil emergency response, critical infrastructure, disaster management, and urban environments.
• Intuitive human-robot interaction: Attention, activity, and environmental sensing will eventually make it possible to provide proactive support to people in their daily lives.
• Technology and Systems Expertise: Fraunhofer IOSB contributes expertise in sensor technology, perception, autonomy, situational awareness, human-machine interfaces, robotics, AI, and safety-critical systems.
• Transfer platform for partners: The Experience Lab serves as a platform for demonstration, evaluation, and exchange for end users, companies, research institutions, and public sector clients.

Humanoid robotics opens up new possibilities for assistance, inspection, and manipulation tasks in complex real-world operating environments. At our Ilmenau site, we focus in particular on the integration of humanoid systems with digital infrastructures, sensor platforms, and autonomous systems, as well as on robust navigation and physical interaction.

In the long term, such networked robot systems are expected to take on autonomous tasks in areas such as agriculture and municipal public services.

Our areas of focus:

• AI methods for data-driven learning, perception, and autonomous interaction
• Interconnection with sensor, infrastructure, and control center systems
• Simulation-based development and Sim2Real transfer
• Real-world laboratory for practical testing and validation in agricultural, municipal, and safety-related application scenarios