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After numerous planning sessions, the day has finally arrived: the construction cranes have been moving opposite the F60 exhibition mine at the Lake Bergheide since mid-August! During several building phases fixed for the coming weeks, the autartec^®-FreiLichtHaus will be constructed there. The beginning was made on August 21, 2018 with the immersion of its "basement": The house's floating substructure consists of a pontoon system that weighs about 50 metric tons. It was gently lowered into the water by two truck-mounted synchronized cranes operating at their maximum capacities. The next steps comprise the casting of the foundation, basic construction work and technical installations. Through both its form and function, the building will set a visible example of the modern utilization of renewable energies in a region that is primarily characterized by the traditional generation of energy.

Last week, the European Commission (EC) published an article about the EU-funded TRANSFORMERS project on their websites. In the article, the project and its results were recognized as a great success.

The aim of TRANSFORMERS was to increase the energy efficiency of semi-trailers. Through the development of a distributed hybrid-on-demand (HoD) propulsion system, the aerodynamic improvement of the vehicle’s shape and optimized loading, CO₂ savings of up to 25 percent were reached.

The prototype semitrailer by Schmitz Cargobull that was equipped with the innovations developed within the project was recently awarded with the European Transport Award for Sustainability 2018. The corresponding trucks were provided by Volvo and DAF.

• link to the article
• more information

On July 28, 28 alumni of the Deutsche Telekom Stiftung (DTS) doctoral program followed the invitation of Florian Funke to meet at the Fraunhofer IVI. With its program, the DTS has supported more than 100 doctoral students both financially and non-financially until 2018.

The alumni got insights into the organization of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the scope of activities of the Fraunhofer IVI. The major focus was on applications concerning big data and machine learning technologies. During a lively dialogue, the guests took the chance to discuss their points of view from science and industry about the limits, opportunities and perspectives of autonomous driving.

In close cooperation with non-university research institutions, the TU Dresden Summer University offers prospective students of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) a first insight into the day-to-day life on campus and gives information on academic subjects and job perspectives at the scientific location Dresden.

On July 17 and 24, nearly 30 adolescents from all over Germany visited the Fraunhofer IVI. Several Institute employees introduced the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft as employer and presented some of the institute’s current projects. In small groups, students and researchers had the opportunity to exchange information on jobs offered to students, but also on topics such as family and career. At the close of the event, there was the opportunity to get into the passenger seat of an electric car and drive a few laps on the test track.

• More information on the TU Dresden Summer University (in German)

Since the visit of a delegation led by the Governor of Nevada to the Fraunhofer IVI in 2015, preparations for a cooperation between Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED), University of Nevada in Las Vegas (UNLV) and the Fraunhofer IVI had been going on. Now, all details are settled and the cooperation was made official through a statement of work agreement on July 3.

The aim of the cooperation is to establish digital test beds for autonomous driving in Saxony and Nevada. Over the next few years, German and American scholars will promote the development and improvement of technologies for transportation and mobility within several research projects. The transatlantic cooperation also comprises the exchange of scholars: a Fraunhofer IVI employee will continue work on the AutoTruck project at the UNLV Transport Research Center. A colleague from Las Vegas will contribute his expertise in the field of computer vision to the work conducted at the Fraunhofer IVI.

For the Fraunhofer IVI, Nevada is a perfect place for a research collaboration, because the Las Vegas region already features infrastructures for autonomous driving and is ready to provide routes for the pilot operation of autonomous vehicles. Nevada, in turn, will be able to confirm its position as a leading center for research on autonomous driving.

• Link to the press release

The long-standing cooperation of Hübner GmbH and the Fraunhofer IVI resulted in the establishment of ECUtronic GmbH, which aims to ensure that the newest safety requirements in the commercial vehicles sector are met. The enterprise was founded in May and is presently taking up its work supporting the partners in their ongoing projects.

The Fraunhofer IVI contributes its considerable experience and professional expertise in order to promote the development and marketing of currently unavailable functionally safe control units for commercial vehicles that comply with the current ISO 26262 standard.

• Link to the press release by HÜBNER GmbH

The TU Dresden Robotics Club (TURAG) designs and engineers autonomous robots. With these robots, the club competes very successfully in various contests. This year, they were able to beat all their competitors in the Eurobot National Finals, thus winning first prize. The Fraunhofer IVI has been promoting the robotics club since 2016 and supports the students not only by providing professional expertise, but also in the expansion and enhancement of their lab equipment. Thanks to the institute’s participation, TURAG’S entire work process – from planning the robot machinery up to the finishing touches – is now much smoother and more motivated.

Furthermore, the students’ expertise is vital for the Fraunhofer IVI: the tasks set by the automation industry that are solved by the robots can be abstracted to be of use in the field of autonomous utility vehicles.

The annual congress of the Federal Association of the German Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) is one of the most important networking events of the sector. This year’s event was held on June 13 and 14 in Berlin and attracted over 1600 participants from politics, industry and science. The program featured lectures by high-profile politicians and executives, panel discussions on six different key topics, and a large exhibition that allowed enterprises and institutions to present their work in the fields of energy and water.

Next to digitalization, energy policy and problems of grid stability and flexibility, electromobility was one of the congress’s key topics. In this context, Sven Klausner presented an innovative underfloor charging system for electric vehicles, which was developed at the Fraunhofer IVI and displayed at the joint booth of the Fraunhofer ICT Group. The great advantage of this system is that it does not rely on charging cables and plugs, which allows the fast charging of vehicles in public spaces, for instance, at charging stations. The same vehicle interface is used for slow recharging in private spaces, such as garages. In addition, it is possible to automate the entire recharging process. With these characteristics, the underfloor charging system is especially well-suited to promote the spread of electromobility.

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Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems improve transport safety. They help use the available transport infrastructure more effectively and reduce traffic-related emissions. Technologies for vehicle-to-infrastructure communication (V2X) thereby play an important role. The introduction of these new systems is challenging for cities and municipalities when modernizing their transport infrastructure.

Commissioned by the city of Berlin and in cooperation with the Fraunhofer FOKUS and IVM – Institut für vernetzte Mobilität, the Fraunhofer IVI has produced a study that shows options and strategies of cities/municipalities for exploiting the potentials of V2X. Based on a technology assessment, V2X introduction strategies are derived, the costs of the overall system and the use case Berlin are analyzed and operator models are discussed. The main result of the study is an approach for cities /municipalities to determine suitable strategies and measures for the exploitation of V2X potentials.

• Study document (in German language only)
• Short summary (in German language only)

On May 22 and 23, the second General Assembly within the AEROFLEX „Aerodynamic and Flexible Trucks for Next Generation of Long Distance Road Transport“ research project was held in Berlin.

The project’s aim is the development and implementation of novel technologies and concepts that take the entire vehicle into account and that increase its safety, comfort, as well as energy and cost efficiency. At the same time, the different requirements of users and providers in various fields of intermodal freight transport are to be fulfilled through the application of flexibly adaptable solutions.

The key development areas are:

• An Advanced Energy Management Powertrain (AEMPT) architecture and control for distributed electric hybrid powertrains, including a smart steerable dolly,
• A wide range of Aerodynamic Features and devices for the Complete Vehicle, a selection will be made from: Active / passive geometry and Active / passive flow control,
• Smart Loading Units for overall efficiency gains for volume and weight freight,
• A study on Innovative Front End Design to ensure survivability of vulnerable road users in crashes up to 50 km/h.

The consortium consisting of 23 renowned partners from industry, component suppliers and research institutions met at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin in order to discuss the current development status, as well as the state of implementation of the innovations planned within the project. The consortium receives support in these matters from a sounding board consisting of representatives of (European) politics, vehicle industry and the logistics sector.

The Fraunhofer IVI contributed their expertise in the field of hybrid propulsion systems and was responsible for the development of an electric dolly. This dolly helps to reduce CO₂ emissions through electric drive support and the recovery of braking energy, as well as to implement autonomous, locally emission-free maneuvering without a conventional tractor unit.

• More information

The AEROFLEX project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No 769658

The International Transport Forum Summit was held from May 23 to 25 in Leipzig this year. Under the topic of »Transport Safety and Security«, more than 1400 transport and logistics experts, researchers and politicians participated in the summit to exchange ideas and opinions regarding the increasingly complex challenges in transport.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI gave a poster presentation at the joint booth of the Saxon Energy Agency SAENA. Institute representatives were available for discussions about various topics such as the digital test field Dresden and real traffic conditions for automated and connected driving functions. Fraunhofer IVI researcher Rico Auerswald held a presentation at the Open Sage Café on May 24, providing insights into the scientific work of the institute in the fields of autonomous driving and Intelligent Transport Systems.

One of the most important aspects of development towards self-driving systems is the connectedness of different actors, such as traffic lights and vehicles. »Bevor a traffic light turns red or green, it can broadcast this information to traffic participants. Drivers can prepare for this situation and adapt their speed,« said Richard Fritzsche of the Fraunhofer IVI in an interview with the Leipzig-based newspaper LVZ. The advantages are not only visible in the increased security for other traffic participants, but also in traffic flow and reduced emissions.

The battery life of electric vehicles still presents a financial challenge for the electrification of the transport sector. That is why the Fraunhofer institute for Transportation and Infrastructure IVI, expert in the field of Lithium-Ion batteries, and real-time electric vehicle data specialist ViriCiti, have started a unique collaboration. This collaboration aims to prolong battery life and lower total cost of ownership of electric buses and trucks. Over the past months, they researched how battery life can be extended by altering specific aspects of operations. The outcome is a battery stress report that gives operation-specific advice on how to prolong the battery life.

Link to the press release

At the picturesque Landshut castle in Bernkastel-Kues, numerous guests had been invited to follow a very special event: The new E 180 AX was presented to the public for the first time and officially handed over to the Fraunhofer IVI.

• More Information
• Link to the press release
• Link to Fraunhofer Research News article

On April 12, the final event for the EU-funded ECOCHAMPS project took place. The main objective of the three year project was to develop compact and cost-effective hybrid power trains for all vehicle classes.

At the RAI Convention Centre in Amsterdam, the 25 partners including research institutes, universities, suppliers and vehicle OEMs, presented how standardization and modularization have been applied to improve the feasibility of hybrid vehicles and higher CO₂ reduction can be reached.

The highlight of the event was the unveiling of the hybrid ECOCHAMPS demonstrator vehicles: two passenger cars, a medium duty truck, a city bus and a heavy-duty truck. The program of the day also included keynote speeches from industry and standardization authorities.

The Fraunhofer IVI researchers contributed their expertise in the field of hybrid propulsion systems. The institute has been responsible for the development of a modular system and standardization framework (MSF) for hybrid components of heavy commercial vehicles. This aims at a less expensive production of powertrain components such as electric engines, inverter, air compressors, electronic power steering and a faster integration in vehicles.

• More information

The new Framo electric truck has been touring the streets of Berlin since February 2018. The 12-ton vehicle is integrated with the regular operations processes of DB Schenker AG and runs its daily delivery tours.

During this campaign organized by the iHub project, a new e-truck navigation and a comprehensive measuring program support the truck’s tours. The battery data are of particular interest to the researchers. They are collected in real time, transmitted and analyzed. Suitable mathematical algorithms are detecting important parameters of the daily use as well as information on the battery strain.

German Mobility Award Winner Under Further Development

The Fraunhofer Accident Prevention School and the Martin-Andersen-Nexö high school collaborated for the third time in raising the students’ awareness regarding traffic safety. Many high-ranking representatives from police and the Saxon Prevention Council have joined the Fraunhofer IVI’s project week. With the TraceTronic GmbH and the Institute for Traffic Accident Research at Dresden University of Technology, FAPS has won two additional partners who are integrating new interesting topics and aspects around accident research into the project. The students benefited from the expertise of the guests and used the simulation table to independently work on realistic accidents and present them in the virtual space.