Is the driver tired or even asleep? Cameras in the vehicle’s interior can already monitor this. Especially in the case of automated driving, interior cameras are important and prescribed by law. A new system developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB is the world’s first to be able to use image data to draw conclusions about the driver’s activity and analyze how quickly they would be able to take control of the vehicle.

Fraunhofer researchers have developed an intelligent coating for glass windows that darkens in the sun. This uses electrochromic and thermochromic materials that react to electricity and heat. In buildings with large glass façades, it stops the rooms from getting too hot because of solar radiation, thereby reducing the demand for energy-intensive air conditioning.

How can we shape mobility in an eco-friendly way? How are new mobility con-cepts changing our cities? How will we get from A to B in the future? At two Munich sites at the IAA 2021 from September 7 to 12, 2021, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s institutes will be showcasing their expertise and putting forward their concepts and solutions for tomorrow’s mobility.

As a partner of the Fraunhofer Competence Network Quantum Computing, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) is planning to use the quantum computer in Ehningen, Baden-Württemberg, to develop individually effective cancer treatment methods in the future.

AI systems can improve healthcare, increase recovery chances for patients and assist physicians in their diagnoses. The challenge is that artificial intelligence consumes an enormous amount of power. The Fraunhofer Institutes for Integrated Circuits IIS and for Industrial Mathematics ITWM have developed solutions for energy-saving AI chips that can help with early stage detection of atrial fibrillation – a special heart rhythm disorder – in the future. For their ideas, the two institutes were each awarded 1st place in the pilot innovation contest “Energy-efficient AI systems” from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The (computational) performance of quantum computers relies heavily on their core hardware element: the qubit. Several approaches to realize qubits exist, yet they still lack stable scalable fabrication value chains to become industrially viable technologies. Project MATQu aims to expand the European expertise in materials and processes and enables the European industry to further develop solid-state-based quantum computers. The two Fraunhofer institutes IPMS and IAF are contributing expertise in 300 mm manufacturing and low-temperature measurement technology.

Fast, lightweight and fuel efficient: RACER, the high-speed helicopter reaches flying speeds of up to 400 kilometers per hour. The components of its outer shell are made by an innovative, highly automated manufacturing process. A research team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV developed the innovative, sustainable method together with Airbus Helicopters.

Recognizing fake drugs? Testing water samples ourselves? Checking the quality of air? In the future, it could be possible to do all this using a smartphone in a quick, cost-effective and straightforward way. The process is being made possible by a spectrometer, weighing just one gram, from the Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS. The aim is to mass-produce this component for around a euro using conventional technologies.

The safety of people interacting with robots has top priority, especially when humans and robots are working side by side instead of being separated from each other by safety fencing. The Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF’s web-based design tool helps companies design their cobots. The Cobot Designer helps minimize the risk of accidents and increases employee safety. The tool is available as a free web application.

The Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE and its Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT have developed an advanced recycling process for used plastics. The pilot project with SABIC and Procter & Gamble serves to demonstrate the feasibility of closed-loop recycling for single-use facemasks.