Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI

2022

Final event »5G Lab Germany Lausitz Research Field«

The project »5G Lab Germany Lausitz Research Field« (5GFoLa), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV), was dedicated to current challenges in the introduction of the new mobile communications generation 5G. The aim of the project, coordinated by TU Dresden, was to establish Lusatia as a cross-state 5G model region for researching and testing corresponding technologies and applications for automated construction, driving and flying. Within the 5G Driving subproject, the focus was on researching a wide range of scenarios in the field of connected driving. A particular focus was on the testing of automated driving concepts under the condition that the driving functions are not exclusively in the vehicle itself, but are assisted or also realized by the infrastructure.

The final event was took place on December 13, 2022. During a lecture session, the numerous external guests were given a brief insight into the main topics of the research project. In the afternoon, there were live demonstrations of infrastructure-assisted and teleoperated driving at the Fraunhofer IVI test site in glorious winter weather. An accompanying exhibition of the partners TU Dresden, Vodafone Chair, Barkhausen Institute, meshmerize and Fraunhofer IVI rounded off the conference program.

to the flyer (German)
to the webseite (German)

Kick-off meeting of the SOTERIA project in Athens

Development of smart solutions for road safety

Last week, the kick-off meeting for the SOTERIA project took place in Athens. Within the project, smart solutions for road safety of vulnerable road users and for new forms of mobility will be developed together with scientists, traffic data providers and traffic organizations over the next 3.5 years.

Fraunhofer IVI is developing the psychological framework for age-appropriate traffic education programs as well as models for predicting accident risks of individual forms of mobility with different infrastructures.

Fraunhofer lighthouse project ALBACOPTER^® shows first results on scalable drone concept

Interim evaluation on 13-14 October 2022 with impressive technology marketplace in Dresden

On the occasion of the interim evaluation after more than half of the runtime of the Fraunhofer lighthouse project ALBACOPTER^®, Fraunhofer IVI invited the project partners, members of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft headquarters as well as the advisory board with representatives from industry and science to Dresden. The six institutes involved in the project provided information on their progress to date in the subprojects »Experimental aircraft«, »Autonomous Flying«, »Materials and Structures«, »Energy and Propulsion« and »Digital Twin« and gave an outlook on the further development steps in the next two years. The advisory board was impressed by the results and demonstrators presented.

An extensive technology marketplace offered the opportunity for professional exchange and exciting insights into the developments at the partner institutes. Using numerous exhibits, including for example a mockup of the energy interface between e-hover and aircraft, the ALBACOPTER^® Flight Controller and a hardware-in-the-loop simulation consisting of a digital and a real model, the guests were able to experience the project innovations up close. A handmade 1:3 scale model of the flying test platform hovered above the audience.

to the Albacopter website

Fraunhofer IVI as new national relay within the European Road Safety Charter

Since September, Fraunhofer IVI has been acting as the new national relay for Germany within the European Road Safety Charter (ERSC)

The European Road Safety Charter (ERSC) is led by the EU Commission and has over 3,800 members, which means that it is the largest road safety platform in civil society.

On October 17, the annual National Relay Meeting took place in Brussels to exchange the newest research results and measures in the field of road safety. The event also included a ceremony during which the »Excellence in Road Safety Awards« for outstanding projects in road safety work were given out. The award in the category »Technology« was granted to the German FeGIS+ project. The award was accepted by representatives of Initiative für sichere Straßen GmbH (Safe Roads Initiative GmbH) and ISAC – Institut für Straßenwesen (Institute of Highway Engineering) at RWTH Aachen University.

For questions about the ERSC and its activities, we are always available as a national contact. In addition, we will gladly assist you in joining the organization.

website Road Safety Charter

YES! crowdfunding campaign starts on Oktober 6

Safety concept for e-bikes and pedelecs developed within the scope of the Fraunhofer Future Foundation crowdfunding campaign

Every byciclist encounters dangerous traffic situations on a regular basis. Under the title »YES! – Your e-bike & pedelec safety«, Fraunhofer IVI is developing a safety concept for e-bikes and pedelecs as part of the Fraunhofer Future Foundation crowdfunding campaign.

The system consists of a bike handle and a helmet. Comprehensive integrated lighting and sensor equipment supports maximum accident prevention for bicyclists. If an accident occurs after all, the system will arrange for help by making an emergency call and alerting immediate family members.

Through a crowdfunding campaign hosted on the StartNext platform, the projet representatives aim to raise funds for the development of a series prototype that can be presented to potential industrial clients and be the basis for series production.

Crowdfunding campaign on StartNext(German)
project website(German)

Fraunhofer IVI at the CAR 2 CAR Forum in Dresden

The Dresden digital test bed: A building block of tomorrow's connected mobility

The »CAR 2 CAR Forum«, a two-day international conference organized by the CAR-2-CAR Communication Consortium (C2C-CC), was held on September 28 and 29 in Dresden. The C2C-CC aims being one of the earliest contributors to the vision zero goal and to efficient mobility by using intelligent, connected and cooperative transport systems (C-ITS).

At the event, Fraunhofer IVI representatives introduced their solutions for connected and assisted connected driving. Their main focus was on the digital C-ROADS – Urban Nodes pilot test bed in Dresden. Several services developed within the scope of this project were presented at the forum, including a GLOSA (Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory) service and an EVA (Emergency Vehicle Approaching) service. Another highlight showcased at the conference was the »Smart Intersection« system developed by the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Internet Technologies CCIT. The smart intersection uses infrastructure to capture all aspects of complex traffic situations and gives assistance to automated vehicles via networking. This way, cooperative mobility solutions help improve the flow of traffic, and they also make a significant contribution to increasing the safety of all traffic participants.

Fraunhofer lighthouse project COGNAC makes important contribution to digital transformation in agriculture

Closing event of the Smart Farming project with experts from agriculture, science and industry

© Fraunhofer IESE
Demonstration of the CERES field robot

Over the past four years, in the Fraunhofer lighthouse project »Cognitive Agriculture (COGNAC)« seven other Fraunhofer institutes in addition to Fraunhofer IVI under the consortium leadership of Fraunhofer IESE have jointly investigated the challenges and the state of the art in agriculture and developed solution modules in the areas of sensor technology, robotics, automation, digital data space, and cognitive services. The project results were presented to the public at the closing event on September 29, 2022 in Dresden. The highlight of the event was the demonstration of the field robot CERES developed by Fraunhofer IVI, which has a fully automated high-current charging system and is thus able to work as a carrier of sensor systems as well as agricultural equipment in 24/7 operation.

The COGNAC project explored concepts and technologies for digital transformation in agriculture. During the project period from October 2018 to September 2022, the eight Fraunhofer institutes developed interdisciplinary solutions for smart farming applications to enable farmers to achieve high productivity in line with sustainability, resource efficiency or product quality in a digitalized world. As a project result, COGNAC stands for a digitally transformed agriculture: For farms and service providers, technological developments should create offers that are easy to use and universally applicable.

press release(German)

AuRa project grant notification handed over

Automation of the risk assessment procedure for flights of unmanned aircraft systems

© BMDV
Jan-Eric Putze (Droniq GmbH), Federal Minister Dr. Volker Wissing, Susanne Theresa Günther (Fraunhofer IVI)

At a handing over celebration on September 28 held at the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV), Fraunhofer IVI and Droniq GmbH received their AuRa project grant notifications from Federal Minister Dr. Volker Wissing. The project, which had its kick-off in August of 2022, aims at creating foundations for the automated risk assessment for scheduled drone flights.

Especially for drone flights that fall into the so-called »special category«, pre-flight risk assessment is absolutely necessary for their approval. Currently, this assessment process can only be carried out manually and individually for each scheduled flight, which is expensive and time-consuming. However, fast approval procedures are required in order to imrove the integration of drone flights into general air traffic. Through the introduction of automated and digital processes, costs can be reduced and time saved. As a consquence, it will be possible to issue more operating licenses in a shorter time frame, and the attractiveness of drone traffic can will be raised.

AuRa is one of seven projects that receive funding from the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport within the »Innovative Luftmobilität« (»Innovative Air Mobility«) funding program.

press relase issued by BMDV(German)
project outline(German)

Test and pilot track for connected and automated driving opened

After four years of construction, Saxony's Minister of Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport Martin Dulig officially opened the upgraded B 170 highway between the Dresden-Südvorstadt freeway junction and Bannewitz to traffic on September 23, 2022. This also created a test and pilot route for connected and automated driving, which significantly expands the already existing Digital Test Field Dresden.

Fraunhofer IVI presented its comprehensive activities of the project C-Roads Urban Nodes for the Europe-wide harmonization of the new C-ITS services in the field of connected driving on the one hand and the Smart Intersection for intelligent infrastructure assistance for automated driving of the Fraunhofer CCIT cluster on the other hand. The new test track directly in front of the institute's »front door« enables the rapid development and efficient testing of new applications for connected and automated driving.

Website C-Roads Germany

ON/OFF Road Safety

Safer road traffic due to modern communication between cars and agricultural machinery

When driving a car on rural roads in summer and encountering a combine harvester, it is often necessary to stop and maneuver so that the extra-wide agricultural machine can pass your own vehicle without causing an accident.

Such scenarios in road traffic were the topic of the ON/OFF Road Safety event, which took place as part of the LANDNETZ research project on September 20, 2022 at the Köllitsch Teaching and Research Estate. Scientists from TU Dresden and Fraunhofer IVI demonstrated a potential accident scenario on site and showed how accidents can be avoided through appropriate communication between agricultural machinery and passenger cars. As part of the ON/OFF Road Safety subproject of the LANDNETZ joint project, researchers are working on new communication infrastructures and information systems that can be used to send and receive warnings as needed. The 5G campus network of the Köllitsch teaching and experimental farm is also being used for this purpose.

LANDNETZ is a joint research project of TU Dresden, the Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LfULG) and Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI. The German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) is funding LANDNETZ as one of 14 digital experiment fields across Germany as part of the Future Digital Policy in Agriculture program. The aim is to provide targeted support for the further development of digitalization in the field of agriculture. The implementation of the research and development projects in LANDNETZ is supervised by the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE).

press release(German)

An innovative multi-axle steering system for high-capacity buses

Fraunhofer IVI and Hübner at InnoTrans 2022

From September 20 to 23, 2022, the InnoTrans was held in Berlin. At the leading international trade fair for transport technology, renowned exhibitors presented their solutions and technologies in the fields of railway technology, railway infrastructure, public transport, interiors and tunnel construction to the expert audience.

At the Hübner Group booth, Fraunhofer IVI introduced an innovative steering system for long articulated buses developed in cooperation with Hübner and Mobil Elektronik. The system comprises six steerable axles and complex control software. Through the interaction of both components, buses with multiple axles are able to navigate tight traffic routes precisely and safely. This way, the operating areas for high-capacity buses are expanded and both transport providers and passengers can enjoy the advantages of trams without having to pay the high costs of establishing or maintaining tram rail infrastructure systems.

State Minister catches up on research for civil security

Armin Schuster visits Fraunhofer IVI

On September 9, 2022, the Saxon State Minister of the Interior, Armin Schuster, visited the Fraunhofer IVI together with the Saxon Chief of Police, Jörg Kubiessa, and other high-ranking guests. The two-hour meeting was dedicated to an intensive exchange on current security-related topics and the continuous expansion of the cooperation.

In addition to the presentation of the institute’s research results in the field of civil security by the responsible head of department, Dr. Kamen Danowski, Director Prof. Dr. Matthias Klingner outlined next steps regarding an even closer cooperation between police, other authorities and organizations with safety- and security-related tasks (BOS) as well as Fraunhofer IVI in the development of digital systems for communication and operational command. The meeting marks another important step on the successful way towards the nationwide establishment of technologies »made in Saxony«.

© Fraunhofer IVI
Saxon State Minister of the Interior, Armin Schuster, at Fraunhofer IVI.

© Fraunhofer IVI
Presentation of the latest research results by Director Matthias Klingner.

New ways of living and working in energy-conscious functional buildings

Presentation of joint projects at the 7th simul+ Future Forum on September 1st, 2022

© Fraunhofer IVI
Matthias Klingner (Director of Fraunhofer IVI) and Volker Tolkmitt (Dean of Mittweida University of Applied Sciences) presenting at the simul+ Future Forum.

Living and working in rural areas: This concept should become more attractive for a well-educated young generation in the future. From reliable, renewable energy supplies to the cyber security of digital infrastructures and social issues of living and working together – there are many aspects to consider. At this year's Future Forum of the simul+ initiative, players from business, science and administration had the opportunity to present their approaches.

Together with Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, Volksbank Mittweida and medium-sized companies from Saxony, Fraunhofer IVI is working on sustainable concepts for regional change within the »Telewerk« project. As a so-called Reallabor (»real laboratory«), the project aims to support application-oriented research and training and thus promote sustainable ways of living in rural areas. These goals are optimally complemented by cooperating with the »AMSEL« project, in which Fraunhofer IVI is investigating networked micro-settlement structures based on Tiny House concepts, with a special focus on multifunctional timber construction. In addition to supporting the projects financially, the Saxon State Ministry for Regional Development provides a platform for the networking of the projects in hosting the Future Forum.

»LAURIN« project kick-off

July 08, 2022

© DEKRA
Handover of the funding agreement

© DEKRA
Digital kick-off event for LAURIN

Following the handover of the funding agreement on June 21, 2022, the kick-off event for the long-awaited LAURIN project took place on July 8, 2022, as part of the »Modernity Fund - Digitization and Data-Based Innovations for Mobility 4.0 and Services of General Interest in the Lignite Mining Areas" funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV). Together with representatives of BMDV, the project sponsor VDI/VDE as well as the project partners, the goals for testing of cooperative and automated driving maneuvers as well as the swarm automation of the target platforms were discussed and debated.

As a result, the research project initiated by Fraunhofer IVI together with DEKRA is to raise the test automation of DEKRA Lausitzring to a new level. The complexity and quantity of necessary test scenarios for approval or for tests accompanying the development of automated vehicles are extraordinarily high, with the testing of cooperative, interacting driving functions in a swarm increasing this effort many times over. Such scenarios can only be experienced on digital test fields in continuous test operation.

The project has a volume of around €4.2 million, 58 percent of which is funded by the BMDV. The consortium bundles the competencies of companies from the entire test and inspection chain. DEKRA has one of the most modern test sites, ibeo contributes high-precision environmental sensor technology to the project, and the test items are controlled via the iMAR control station. SmartMobile Labs implements the 5G communication and TraceTronic is an expert in virtual continuous testing.

Fraunhofer IVI focuses on communication and maneuver control in the course of realizing test scenarios of highly automated connected driving functions in a swarm of vehicles at high speeds. For this purpose, the traversable platforms of the company AB Dynamics available at the institute will be used and extensively expanded for the application. In spring 2025, the results are to be presented within the framework of a demonstrator.

to the press release (German)
more information about project LAURIN(German)

Additive manufacturing forum 2022

July 05 - 06, 2022

Under the motto »Industrial 3D printing on the rise«, Fraunhofer IVI presented itself at the 6th Additive Manufacturing Forum 2022, the leading conference for additive manufacturing with trade exhibition, in Berlin from July 5 to 6, 2022. The institute presented the AMCOCS project - a platform for digital testing and certification procedures in additive manufacturing.

In order to be allowed to use such a process, providing proof of strength is a necessary prerequisite. Currently, only very time-consuming and cost-intensive quality assurance processes exist for this area, which represent a high hurdle for the widespread use of this methodology. AMCOCS aims to accelerate the test and certification process by developing a digital, self-learning testing and certification platform. This will bundle data from the production phases of additive manufacturing, post-processing and material parameter determination.

As part of this project, AMCOCS will be piloted with use cases from the aerospace industry. Complex algorithms can be used to derive predictions about the strength of the objects to be printed. In the future, it should be possible to make reliable statements about the strength of the objects to be printed in advance, i.e. before printing. The material parameters determined on this basis will enable the user to carry out a professional design. Manual testing and certification procedures can thus be shortened.

First Design Conference of the Fraunhofer Network »Science, Art and Design«

July 06, 2022

With »Design in Focus Fraunhofer Research«, the Fraunhofer Network »Science, Art and Design« offered employees of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, partners from the national university landscape, artists and interested parties for the first time a conference and exhibition format for the exchange of internal design projects with external design practice and design research.

In three exciting sessions focusing on »Product Design & Interaction«, »Architecture & Workspace Design« and »Innovation Research & Design Integration« as well as an accompanying exhibition, best practice examples from the Fraunhofer Institutes were presented alongside successful networking projects.

The conference, which took place at the Fraunhofer Forum Berlin, also informed about the successful launch of the DesignLab, an initiative of the Fraunhofer Institutes IWU, IWS and IVI as well as Technical University of Dresden, which will be located at the Fraunhofer IVI in the future. We are looking forward to the cooperation and many interesting projects.

more information about Design at Fraunhofer IVI

Hannover Messe 2022

May 20 - June 02, 2022, Hannover

Flexible traffic data collection in compliance with data protection regulations under all weather conditions

In the context of connected and automated driving, many inner-city areas will be safeguarded in the future by sensors installed in the infrastructure. The reliable perception of road users under difficult weather conditions is one of the challenges that can only be met with cooperating and networked sensor systems.

In the KonSensData project (Cooperating Sensors for Data) of the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Internet Technologies CCIT, a hardware solution consisting of radar and infrared camera in combination with data fusion is currently being developed to detect different classes of road users in a flexible, data-protection-compliant and, above all, robust manner and to transmit the data to other road users. The Fraunhofer Application Center »Connected Mobility and Infrastructure« based in Ingolstadt is playing a leading role in the research work. Together with the Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences (THI), the institute contributes to research in the field of mobility in Bavaria.

Thank you for visiting us and our Sensorbox exhibit at Hannover Messe!

Experiment Field LANDNETZ Awarded »Innovation Prize Reallabore« by Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)

May 31, 2022

The digital experimental field LANDNETZ was awarded the »Innovation Award Reallabore: Test Spaces for Innovation and Regulation« in the category »Insights« on May 31, 2022. The competition, offered by the BMWK for the second time, aims to make reallabs visible, honor innovative ideas and promote new reallabs.

Since 2019, scientists from the Technical University of Dresden (TUD), together with the Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LfULG) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI, have been researching solutions for area-wide wireless data transmission and networking in order to advance digitalization in agriculture. In doing so, the three project participants are relying on a new type of communication infrastructure. With the help of fully portable campus networks with independent mobile network and servers, agricultural areas are supplied with 5G and digital applications in agriculture are designed and tested.

to the press release of TU Dresden(German)

Fraunhofer SIRIOS Ceremonially Opened

May 25, 2022

© Fraunhofer IVI
Opening event of Fraunhofer SIRIOS at the FUTURIUM in Berlin

The newly founded Fraunhofer Center for Security of Socio-Technical Systems SIRIOS was officially opened in Berlin's FUTURIUM with around 100 guests and high-ranking representatives from politics, security authorities, industry and research. The aim of the project is to comprehensively map complex crises such as a flash flood or a terrorist attack virtually as part of an inter-institute cooperation between the four Fraunhofer institutes EMI, FOKUS, IOSB and IVI.

Public safety and security is facing major challenges. Moreover, the manifold interdependencies between humans, technology and infrastructures in modern, highly networked societies - the sociotechnical systems - are extremely complex and have not yet been sufficiently analyzed for public safety issues. The opening of the new Fraunhofer SIRIOS therefore marked another milestone in German security research.

to the article of Fraunhofer SIRIOS

© Paul Hahn / Fraunhofer FOKUS
Discussion

© Paul Hahn / Fraunhofer FOKUS
Fraunhofer president Prof. Dr. Reimund Neugebauer

Ingolstadt Digital Test Field Starts with the »First Mile«

May 17, 2022

© THI
Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts, Markus Blume

© THI
State Secretary in the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, Roland Weigert

With a ceremony at Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI) and high-ranking guests, the so-called »First Mile« of the Ingolstadt digital test field for cooperative, connected and automated driving was opened on May 17, 2022. This is the connection of the future technology park »IN-Campus« with the 140-kilometer-long Digital Test Field Autobahn A9.

Like THI's president, Prof. Dr. Walter Schober, both the Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts, Markus Blume, and the State Secretary in the Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, Roland Weigert, emphasized the importance of THI within the Bavarian AI mobility node. The new test field offers the opportunity to research 5G-based mobility applications based on complex traffic situations in urban traffic and thus increasing both safety and efficiency in road traffic.

During the subsequent panel discussion, representatives from business, politics and science – among them the director of the Fraunhofer IVI, Prof. Dr. Matthias Klingner – discussed the topic »Digital test fields as an opportunity for innovation in research«.

The Fraunhofer Application Center is involved in the research work at the Digital Test Field Ingolstadt with the projects »In2Lab« (Ingolstadt Innovation Lab) and »5GoIng« (5G Innovation Concept Ingolstadt). The project is managed by Prof. Dr. Andreas Festag, who played a key role in designing the test field.

© THI
President of THI, Prof. Dr. Walter Schober

Bundled Competencies as a Prerequisite for the Electric Air Transport of the Future

May 4, 2022

At the press conference held in Munich on May 4, 2022, the foundation of the Air Mobility Initiative (AMI) was officially announced. The network brings together leading companies, universities, and research institutions as well as municipalities and organizations with the aim of advancing the development of Urban Air Mobility. At the same time, the German and especially the Bavarian aviation industry is to be further strengthened.

As consortium leader of the Fraunhofer lead project ALBACOPTER^®, which is dedicated to the development of autonomously operating cargo drones, the Fraunhofer IVI with its locations in Dresden and Ingolstadt contributes numerous competences - from the design of innovative UAS to research into highly automated and autonomous flight functions. In the latter area in particular, the institute focuses on the three key areas of environmental sensing, trajectory planning and mission AI, which are expected to completely replace pilots in all tasks in the future.

Institute director Prof. Dr. Matthias Klingner sees joining as a great opportunity: »The Air Mobility Initiative offers the opportunity to quickly share our innovative project ideas with the numerous partners and to jointly research the realization of tomorrow's urban mobility.«

press release

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the »TELEWERK – Teleworkshops for Rural Regions«

May 4, 2022

© Fraunhofer IVI
Groundbreaking ceremony for the »TELEWERK« real laboratory in Mittweida

In the immediate vicinity of Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, the »TELEWERK« a future-oriented real laboratory for innovation-based regional development with a total of 173 square meters of usable space on more than two floors and with workstations for 10 to 15 people will be built in the coming months on the premises of Werkbank 32.

The Fraunhofer IVI and the consortium leader Mittweida University of Applied Sciences bundle their research competences in a joint infrastructure and work together with the project partners Volksbank Mittweida eG, the innovation experts TeleskopEffekt GmbH Mittweida as well as the experts for sustainable construction with wood from Holzbau Lepski GmbH in Dresden. As part of the simul+ initiative, the Saxon State Ministry for Regional Development (SMR) is supporting the project. In addition to »TELEWERK«, the complex being built in Mittweida includes the research project »AMSEL – self-sufficient micro-settlement for energy-conscious living«, which is also funded by the SMR.

Prof. Dr. Matthias Klingner, head of the Fraunhofer IVI, thinks the constellation is a success: »It's simply fun to build a research infrastructure in Mittweida with such committed partners that impressively combines state-of-the-art technologies, appealing architecture and new forms of living and working.«

press release (German)

Virtual Change of Perspective Reveals Dangerous Traffic Situations

April 21, 2022

MEV122035 — © Fraunhofer IVI
Symbolic image: The »PAPS-XR« project raises awareness of dangerous traffic situations

In order to recognize potentially dangerous situations in road traffic as such, it is instructive to visualize the view of other road users and thus make it possible to experience them. As part of the »PAPS-XR« project, the Fraunhofer IVI is developing an immersive 3D system for accident prevention training. Actual accidents are recreated as high-resolution, detailed VR animations, which can then be recreated from the various perspectives of those directly involved or outsiders in a realistic yet safe manner. These accident simulations will initially be used at schools and driving schools in Saxony to raise awareness of typical, serious accident scenarios in order to avoid them in the future.

to the article of InnoVisions (German)

Trucks Work Autonomously in the Yard

March 17, 2022

Autonomous vehicles will soon be a natural part of the yard, says Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Wagner, group leader at the Fraunhofer IVI. In the future, trucks will independently transport cargo to the right ramp and swap bodies from A to B. In the AutoTruck project, Wagner, who has been working on the topic of »autonomous driving« since 2004, was involved in researching how vehicles can work independently in the yard. In an interview with logistics service provider Hermes Germany GmbH, he talks about the SAFE20 project, which is now adressing the major challenge of safety in connection with autonomous vehicles.

to the interview (German)

5G Standalone Innovation at Fraunhofer IVI

March 2, 2022

© Fraunhofer IVI
5G test field Fraunhofer IVI

As part of the research project 5G Lab Germany Research Field Lausitz (5G Lab Germany Forschungsfeld Lausitz – 5GFOLA), a pioneering step towards the implementation of 5G features was taken at the test oval of Fraunhofer IVI. 5GFOLA is part of the 5G innovation program of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV). With the installation of the 5G standalone network – consisting of a high-performance 5G infrastructure and an edge cloud – partially and highly automated driving can be developed, tested and evaluated through cooperation, networking and infrastructure-based assistance and control. In terms of bandwidth, reliability, latency and security, the newly specified services form the essential requirements for monitoring, remote control and teleoperated driving of automated vehicles.

The developments now following within the 5G edge cloud will in future make it possible to map central information from the entire vehicle network in real time within the infrastructure. This will enable vehicles to be controlled and cooperative driving maneuvers to be implemented safely. The intersection of data from the first-person perspective of the vehicle and the peripheral bird's-eye view of the infrastructure will enable completely new control algorithms. As a self-contained site, the Fraunhofer IVI's test oval offers unique opportunities to specify, initialize and test 5G technology as a pretests for the subsequent rural target area in the research field Lausitz.

iECO Lighthouse Project Launched

February 24-25, 2022

Virtual handing over of the funding agreement in February, 2022

During the opening event of GAIA-X's »Innovative and practical applications and data spaces in the Gaia-X digital ecosystem« funding competition, which was held on February 24 and 25, 2022, the 11 winning consortia were presented with their funding agreements. 130 consortia from science, industry and public bodies had applied with project sketches for all individual domains of the Gaia-X Hub Germany, as well as for cross-domain projects.

On behalf of the iECO consortium, Michael Brenner (RIB) and André Rauschert (Fraunhofer IVI) officially accepted the funding agreements from Dr. Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

iECO aims at creating a shared data space based on GAIA-X for the construction industry, which is one of Germany's key industry sectors. A digital twin representing the entire life cycles of buildings hosted on the GAIA-X data infrastructure will help dissolve data silos currently existing in the construction sector. As a result, inefficiencies will be reduced and advanced services for further optimizing the entire construction process will be developed.

The consortium covers the construction sector's complete value creation chain through members representing construction expertise (Implenia Hochbau GmbH), work scheduling (RIB Information Technology AG), general planning (IPRO Consult), standardization (TU Dresden) and building operation (N+P Informationssysteme GmbH). Additional members contribute their knowledge on interdisciplinary topics such as GAIA-X expertise (Software AG), IoT knowledge (A1 Digital), legal compliance (Hochschule Hof), digital approval procedures (LGA Bavaria), smart contracts (IOTA Foundation) and data management/ AI expertise (Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft).

»5Going« Project Kick-Off

February 16, 2022

© Fraunhofer IVI
Traffic circle equipped with intelligent traffic infrastructure

After two years of conceptualizing their project together with partners from science, industry and administration, the city of Ingolstadt was able to procure funding within the scope of the 5G innovation competition of the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) to ensure its implementation.

Within the »5Going« project, an »Open Innovation Lab« will be created for operating 5G technologies in the traffic sector. The aim is to significantly increase the safety and sustainability of road traffic as a whole by employing intelligent 5G-based networks, camera and Lidar systems, as well as cloud solutions. In addition to technological challenges, socially relevant aspects such as support for local businesses and acceptance through citizen participation will be addressed.

The kick-off meeting for the two-year research project was held on February 16, 2022 at Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt. Fraunhofer IVI is involved via its »Connected Mobility and Infrastructure« application center and will coordinate several work packages in the fields of infrastructure development, traffic safety and sustainability.

Data-Centric Solutions for the Mobility of the Future

January 25, 2022

On January 25, 2022, the »GAIA-X 4 Future Mobility« project family was kicked off in a virtual event. Under the leadership of the DLR Institute for AI Safety and Security, 80 partners from science and industry are currently carrying out basic research within five projects in the fields of intelligent traffic infrastructure systems, vehicle technology design and industrial applications.

Within the scope of the new project family, and together with the Fraunhofer Institutes IPK, FIT and ISST, Fraunhofer IVI is actively involved in creating the future Gaia-X data ecosystem on the basis of different use cases for automated and networked mobility services. The institute contributes its expertise as well as technologies from the Mobility Data Space and for connected automated mobility to the upcoming Gaia-X projects. Based on the aforementioned use cases, they will develop new services and subsystems for operation in the emerging Gaia-X data spaces.

Within »GAIA-X 4 AMS – Advanced Mobility Services«, the Fraunhofer IVI researchers work on fundamentals for the Gaia-X basic architecture and reference services. In addition, they design and develop data apps for monitoring the operational design domains of automated mobility services and for supporting self-driving vehicles through technical supervision in special situations, such as vacating emergency lanes.

Within »GAIA-X 4 ROMS – Support and Remote Operation of Automated and Networked Mobility Services«, the institute is involved primarily in the design and development of Gaia-X services for the remote operation of driverless mobility solutions in public transport.

Within »Gaia-X 4 PLC-AAD – Product Life Cycle - Across Automated Driving«, Fraunhofer IVI gives support for the development, testing and operation of automated driving functions and their interaction with their digital twins by creating Gaia-X services for the integration and variable linking of scenario catalogs, high-precision digital maps, as well as simulation and real-life data.

press release (German)

MePol – Modern Communication and Operations Control for the Police

© Fraunhofer IVI
»It´s an ongoing process in which users in the field and researchers continously exchange ideas and coordinate with each other. This close collaboration is the key to success.«

Since 2019, Fraunhofer IVI and Saxony´s police administration office (Polizeiverwaltungsamt, PVA) have been developing an innovative messenger service – MePol – for daily use in police operations. MePol is a comprehensive communication technology for the secure transfer of data-protected police information. Research and development are carried out in direct cooperation with users, so that the technology could be transferred into practice at an early stage.

The key functionalities include, among others: exchange of mission-specific messages, storage area for digital mission documents, intelligent algorithms for the optimal allocation of forces and resources, role and rights management. The complex technology is flexible and contains numerous networked components such as servers, end devices and mobile apps.

Several thousand police officers in Saxony already use MePol in their daily routine work, as well as in large-scale operations. Acceptance is very high, and the technology has become indispensable for its end-users. At the same time, MePol is improved continuously based on the experience and operational requirements of police officers. This year's transfer to the newly established Saxon police cloud marks another important step.

MePol has already aroused interest nationwide. The goal of Saxony’s police is to establish the system as a standard all across Germany.

article in the Fraunhofer-Magazine

Future initiative simul+ of the Saxon State Ministry of Regional Development publishes new podcast

Januar 5, 2022

© Fraunhofer IVI
Interview with Prof. Dr. Matthias Klingner

Connected in rural and urban areas

»Prof. Dr. Matthias Klingner, head of Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, is a mastermind of networking. At the institute, he and more than 100 researchers are tinkering with fast charging systems for e-cars, among other things, and developing a drone to test urban air mobility. In an interview with our moderator Stephan Bischof, Prof. Dr. Matthias Klingner explains what sustainable mobility could look like in rural areas and why development there could progress even faster than in cities.«

podcast episode (German)