Photonics focuses on the use of light with all its possibilities. From light control to laser technologies and data transmission, photonics is used in many fields such as medicine, industry, astronomy, microscopy or traffic safety. One of the leading research institutes in this field is the Dresden Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS.

Fraunhofer researchers will demonstrate how virtual prototyping can be used for simulations to detect errors and problems in complex electronic control systems.

People use their eyes and ears to pick up on traffic situations involving potential hazards. For self-driving vehicles to do the same thing, they need a whole host of sensors. As the number of sensors they contain increases, however, so too does the amount of space required to fit them in – something that is often incompatible with the vision of designers.

Using grey box models, on which researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM are working, it will be possible to detect signs of wear or manipulation in electronic systems at an early stage, before an actual failure occurs. The new process is being initially developed and tested for safety-critical applications in the automotive and rail sectors.

Everyone hears differently – this applies inside a vehicle too. That is why Fraunhofer IDMT in Oldenburg has developed a technological concept for fast and individual sound adaptation, which has been integrated into the multimedia system of vehicles from the Mercedes-Benz Group AG. At the heart of the development is an algorithm that easily adjusts the sound of music according to passengers’ wishes.

Until now, the most common way to dispose of green waste and sewage sludge has been to compost or incinerate it. However, using these materials to produce the valuable energy source hydrogen would make far more sense. A team of researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA is working towards this very goal.

Modern vehicles have a large number of electronic systems that are networked with each other. Since these systems are at risk from cyber attacks, Fraunhofer IPMS developed a CANsec IP core that makes vehicle systems more secure. The IP core is already being evaluated in a demonstration by partner Renesas Electronics Corporation, a leading semiconductor company that delivers embedded processors together with analog and power products.

Forming presses are widely used as key elements of industrial production processes. From automotive technology to refrigerators, almost every product we encounter contains formed parts. The purchasing costs of these machines can reach double-digit millions, and it takes a great deal of time to set up and adjust precisely as needed. Given such a high level of investment, buyers expect machinery of this kind to keep running efficiently for a long time without any loss in quality.

The quality of industrial production processes is ensured by a large number of sensor-based individual inspections. This generates large amounts of data. However, until now, the information from the individual sensors has generally only been looked at in isolation.

In the Fraunhofer lighthouse project NeurOSmart, Fraunhofer IPMS together with four other institutes (ISIT, IMS, IWU, IAIS) under the leadership of Fraunhofer ISIT are jointly researching particularly energy-efficient and intelligent sensors for the next generation of autonomous systems. In the process, the bridges between perception and information processing are being redefined by innovative electronics.