Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI
Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI

Junior Research

Interview: Introducing our Junior Researchers

Photo of the junior researchers
© Fraunhofer IVI
Left to right: Dr. Felix Keppler, Max Ziermann, Kai Ciesielski, Max Leon Langer

What motivates young people to become a researcher at Fraunhofer?

After successfully completing their doctoral and master‘s theses, the institute was able to recruit Felix, Max Leon, Kai, and Max as committed young scientists. In the following interview, they provide insight into their projects and discuss the processes involved in finding their topics as well as the challenges of scientific work and writing.

What inspired you to choose the respective topics for your theses?

Felix: My group has extensive expertise in motion planning for individual vehicles. However, in order to operate three trucks simultaneously in mixed traffic at a logistics depot in the SAFE20 project, it was necessary to efficiently coordinate the movements of several vehicles in a very confined space.

Kai: The topic arose from a mixture of current trends and feedback from our clients. The team developed a concrete research approach that matched both the clients‘ needs and my professional profile.

Max Leon: The threat of cyber attacks has become a permanent companion for IT and engineering. As a system architect and robotics software developer, I consider this topic essential for the design of future-proof systems.

Max: From the outset, it was important to me to have a topic with clear practical relevance. Since I had already worked at Fraunhofer IVI as a student before starting my job, I sort of »slid into« the topic.

 

What specific challenges did you encounter in the course of conducting your research?

Max: For me, defining the scope of the thesis was a major challenge. It took me a long time to put the individual parts together in my head to form a coherent whole. Once I had a clear framework, the rest was much easier.

Kai: I encountered minor challenges during the conceptual development and technical integration. However, these were successfully overcome through structured analysis, targeted consultation, and independent solutions.

Felix: Due to the rapidly increasing complexity of motion planning in space and time, not every idea could be translated into functioning and quickly calculable algorithms right away. Instead, my imagination was often challenged.

Max Leon: I am fascinated by the interdisciplinary influences when looking at such complex systems as agricultural robots. One challenge was to estimate the vehicle-related and agronomic effects of a network-based cyberattack.

 

What advice would you give to other graduates who are just starting out their careers?

Max Leon: Future systems are becoming increasingly complex, which means that collaboration in interdisciplinary teams will be more and more important. No matter how great the topic sounds, I think it has to be a good fit on a personal level – that‘s what binds employees to an employer. My advice would be to pay attention to that. In summary: For me, Fraunhofer IVI ticks all the boxes.

Max: Do not hesitate to take on responsibility and just get involved!

Kai: Do not compare yourself too much to others. Follow your own path, be curious, ask questions – and above all, stay true to yourself.

Felix: Be curious and get involved in working together on complex tasks. Good cooperation with colleagues and students, and good relationships with alumni and partners can give you a lot in return.

Our Junior Researchers' theses

Dr. Felix Keppler, Dissertation

Cooperative trajectory planning for commercial vehicles and mobile work machines

 

In order to operate multiple automated vehicles efficiently in a limited working area such as a logistics depot, their movements must be precisely coordinated. Otherwise, mutual obstructions can occur at bottlenecks. As part of the dissertation, algorithms for coordinating multiple large vehicles such as trucks with semi-trailers were developed and expanded to robustly handle disruptions.
 

Kai Ciesielski, Master's thesis

Analysis of options for integrating push-to-talk functionality into an operations management system for authorities and organizations with civil security tasks

 

Push-to-talk (PTT) is an established communication method used by fire departments and police forces. The thesis identified requirements for integrating PTT functionality into modern incident management systems such as MobiKat®, evaluated various implementation options, and developed a prototype to assess practical suitability.

Max Leon Langer, Master's thesis

Aspects of cybersecurity to be considered when connecting a self-driving agricultural robot to a control system

 

The growing threat of cyber attacks has implications for the architectures, concepts, and prototypes developed by Fraunhofer IVI. The thesis  highlights vulnerabilities, points of attack, and their consequences for robots and processes in the future use of agricultural robots. In addition, a security concept for robots was developed that will serve as a basis for further investigations.

Max Ziermann, Master's thesis

Investigation of methods for the data-driven analysis of operational areas for automated public transport vehicles

 

Before implementing self-driving buses in public transport, the conditions in the operating area must be compared with the limitations of the driving system. This requires suitable data on the routes in the operating area. In the thesis, freely available data sources were examined in terms of their informative value and data quality for assessing the compatibility of the vehicle and the operating area.