Today microcontrollers can be found in almost any technical device, from washing machines to blood pressure meters and wearables. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS have developed AIfES, an artificial intelligence (AI) concept for microcontrollers and sensors that contains a completely configurable artificial neural network. AIfES is a platform-independent machine…
Virtual Human Body Models Supplement Crash-Test Dummies
Countless people die every year in road accidents. To improve the safety of vehicle occupants, it has been customary for decades to carry out crash-tests using dummies. These crash-test dummies are increasingly getting virtual support in the form of computer models that simulate the defensive behavior of humans before a collision. Researchers at the Fraunhofer…
Greater Comfort for the Cyclist
Cycling is healthy, keeps the body supple, exercises the joints and strengthens the back. A company that places great value on comfort is Ergon International GmbH, which manufactures ergonomic bicycle accessories. Handlebar grips play an important role in cycling comfort. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF are working with…
High-Speed 3D Printer for High-Performance Plastics
The additive manufacture of large-volume plastic components is a time-consuming undertaking. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU have now developed Screw Extrusion Additive Manufacturing (SEAM), a system and process that is eight times faster than conventional 3D printing. Three-dimensional printers that build small souvenirs layer by layer from melted plastic are…
Directly Cooled Electric Motor Made From Polymer Materials
Making electric cars lighter also involves reducing the weight of the motor. One way to do that is by constructing it from fiber-reinforced polymer materials. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT are working together with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT to develop a new cooling concept that will enable polymers to…
Interactive Control to Guide Industrial Robots
Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU have developed an innovative technology enabling people and large industrial robots to work together in an intuitive way that feels a lot like human teamwork. Using the benefit of this technology, robots can recognize gestures, faces and postures to make this collaboration that…
Energy-Efficient Means of Water Damage Restoration
Over a million cases of water damage due to rotten pipes are reported in Germany every year. Infrared heating panels and plastic enclosures are used to restore damaged walls, but they consume large amounts of energy. A new electric, vapor-permeable, flexible drying system developed by Fraunhofer researchers reduces the moisture evenly throughout building components in…
Pliable Micro-Batteries for Wearables
There is a new technology gripping the markets of the future – technology to wear. Wearables, as they are known, are portable systems that contain sensors to collect measurement data from our bodies. Powering these sensors without wires calls for pliable batteries that can adapt to the specific material and deliver the power the system…
Wood-Metal Hybrid for Lightweight Construction
Wood foam and metal sponge – can they be combined? That was the question that experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI delved into in a project entitled “HoMe Foam” – with HoMe being a German acronym for wood-metal – together with scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming…
Controlling Drones Via Voice Channels
The future is airborne. Drones may soon become the key to relieving the burden of traffic on our streets, optimizing deliveries, and improving the safety and efficiency of firefighting. But there are still a few hurdles to cross before the technology reaches the maturity required for large-scale commercial roll-out. In particular, a suitable communication system…
New Kinematics For Customized, High-Precision Milling
Manufacturers generally must offer high-quality products at low prices in order to remain competitive. Three Fraunhofer Institutes are therefore working on the next generation of industrial robots which will facilitate cost-effective production processes. The researchers are focusing on developing a new kinematics for milling lightweight materials, metals, and steels. The aim: achieving a production tolerance…
Automated Lightweight Construction Reduces Weight And Costs
The aircraft of the future flies electrically and autonomously, is feather-light and can be conveniently produced in a fully automated manner. While the electrification and permanent autopilot are still in their infancy, lightweight construction is already indispensable today. Digital manufacturing processes are about to be applied. Fraunhofer will present new automated production technologies for lightweight…
Transmitting Measuring Data Wireless In Real Time
Sensors continuously record measurements in plant and machinery to check that everything is running according to plan and to enable any errors in the industrial production environment to be recognized at an early stage. However, as a rule, evaluation of the data is decentralized and takes place after a time lag. In contrast to this,…
Defunct Satellites: Reliably Determine And Predict Attitude Motion
Uncontrollable flying objects in the Earth’s orbit are an enormous risk for active satellites and for spacecraft in general. Since April 2012, the European environmental satellite ENVISAT has also been adrift in orbit. Now, the Fraun-hofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR has developed pioneering methods to precisely determine the attitude rotation…
Defunct Satellites: Reliably Determine and Predict Attitude Motion
Uncontrollable flying objects in the Earth’s orbit are an enormous risk for active satellites and for spacecraft in general. Since April 2012, the European environmental satellite ENVISAT has also been adrift in orbit. Now, the Fraun-hofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR has developed pioneering methods to precisely determine the attitude rotation…
Precision Work: Defect-Free Coatings For Silicon Spheres
The prototype kilogram — to which all scales are calibrated to — is losing weight. International efforts are striving to redefine the base unit for measuring mass and, in future, redefine the kilogram on natural constants. For this purpose, the Avogadro experiment determines the number of atoms in almost perfect silicon spheres. Fraunhofer researchers have…
Holographic Measurement Technology At Production Speed
Fault tolerance in automobile production is increasingly diminishing. Until recently, this presented suppliers with a problem: There were no sufficient methods for detecting micro defects during production. Visual inspection was the solution of choice, but this is not suitable for in-line measurements in the production process. By developing digital holography to become suitable for production,…
Fast And Accurate Infrared 3-D Scanner
Infrared 3-D scanners have been used in video games for quite some time. Whereas in video games the scanners are, for example, only able to identify if a player throws his arms up in the air while playing virtual volleyball, the new 3-D scanner of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF…
New Safety Technology Enables Teamwork
Until now, heavy-duty robots have always been housed in separate work areas to safeguard factory employee safety. Researchers at Fraunhofer want to change that with an ingenious security concept and intelligent robot control. This technology will enable people and robots to collaborate as a team. The researchers will present this concept at the Hannover Messe…
The Energy-Saving Data Glasses
Data glasses mirror information to the eye without interfering with the wearer’s vision. However, the battery runs down quickly, because the electronics consume a great amount of electricity while playing back the images. Fraunhofer researchers have developed an energy-saving display that reduces the power consumption to a fraction. The new display will be presented at…
Better Forecasting for Solar and Wind Power Generation
The sun does not shine and the wind does not blow with constant intensity. This is a problem for the power grid, where the power supply must always match the power demand. In the EWeLiNE project, Fraunhofer and the German Weather Service have been working to develop better models for forecasting the generation of renewable…
Stepless Control Devices with Flexible Pressure Sensors
Silicone is so soft and flexible that it is easily deformed by the pressure of a finger. Researchers at Fraunhofer have recently created sensors made from this flexible material, making it easier to steplessly control devices. At the Hannover Messe, they are presenting a glove that can measure pressure and a steering wheel that lets…
Terahertz Technology Reaches Industrial Maturity
Terahertz is a new technology in which nondestructive testing of components and surfaces is possible. Until now, these devices and, in particular, the sensor heads have been expensive and unwieldy. Researchers at Fraunhofer have now succeeded in making sensor heads more compact and, thus, cheaper, which facilitates their handling considerably. First prototypes are already being…
Presswerk 4.0—Cutting Downtimes in Half, Making Manufacturing Flexible
It costs companies a lot of money to have machines out of operation due to failure. This applies to press shops, too, the focus of Fraunhofer’s Presswerk 4.0 project. Researchers want to employ targeted data networking in manufacturing to help employees recognize and correct failures more quickly – and reduce failure-related downtimes by at least…
Software Adapts Speech to Ambient Noise Level
Loudspeaker announcements at railway stations are often incomprehensible, since the surroundings are noisy. With new software, the clarity of such announcements can be considerably improved. A microphone picks up ambient noise and adjusts the spoken messages perfectly to the noise level. Even calls over mobile phones will be understood more easily with the help of…