Press / Newsroom

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM have developed a new polymer patch that can significantly accelerate and simplify previously laborious, expensive, and time-consuming repair processes on damaged lightweight aircraft components. The thermoformable, recyclable repair patch is pressed onto the damaged area and fully sets in just 30 minutes. The innovative fiber-reinforced plastic is so versatile that it can be used in a wide range of different industries, from aviation to orthopedics.

Specific physical human-robot interactions are increasingly required in the manufacturing industry, the professional service sector, and healthcare. This necessitates improvements in comfort and convenience as well as in communication between humans and machines. Robots need to be able to predict human actions and recognize intentions. And that calls for flexible metamaterials, and more specifically, flat metasurface antennas with highly integrated electronics that allow for sensing of the near environment. The Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR has teamed up with six partners in the EU’s FITNESS project to develop these kinds of surfaces, which cover a robot like an adaptive, intelligent skin. The idea is that robots equipped with metasurface antennas will be able to scan their near-field environment with greater accuracy and communicate more effectively with their base station in the far field.

Electronic cigarettes, or vapes, are commonly viewed as less harmful to people’s health than tobacco cigarettes. And yet, they are not without health drawbacks. For many ingredients, it is unknown how they will behave when heated. Since the temperatures inside e-cigarettes vary widely, different products can be released during thermal decomposition. This makes it more difficult to gauge the potential risks of these tobacco alternatives. Until now, there has been no testing system that could be used to test the ingredients used across the entire relevant temperature range. Now, with EVape, the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM has developed a prototype device for controlled vaporization of e-liquids in a broad temperature range. The emissions released during the process can then be analyzed and subjected to a toxicological assessment. The findings are generally valid, regardless of which e-cigarette the liquid is used in.

A cornerstone of the energy transition, offshore wind energy supplies millions of consumers with green electricity. Export cables connect offshore wind farms to the grid onshore. The cable routes need to be surveyed regularly to ensure that the cable positions are precisely known — but the acoustic and magnetic methods that are currently used to do this are time-consuming, incur high costs and lack reliability. For this reason, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES are working with partners to develop a novel measuring system for cable localization as part of the SASACD project. It overcomes the hurdles that existing systems present and not only allows cables to be located over extensive areas but can also penetrate to sufficient depths in sediment.

A second institute director is joining the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin: Starting in August 2024, Prof. Ulrike Ganesh will work with Prof. Martin Schneider-Ramelow. The two of them will jointly further develop and shape the microelectronics institute’s strategic alignment.

The digital transformation means that more and more devices such as X-ray and ultrasound machines are being connected to networks in hospital settings, for example. These kinds of equipment have to be movable as needed. In the LINCNET project, Fraunhofer researchers are using light to transmit data to machines and robots in clinical settings and industrial production environments. Combining electrical networks with the ultra-fast 5G mobile network creates powerful and low-cost wireless networks for buildings. When deployed in hospitals, this solution means devices connect wirelessly to the network — with lower electromagnetic emissions. It also makes industrial production significantly more flexible.

Hydrogen generated with the power of the sun could largely replace fossil fuels in the future, helping to lower carbon emissions. In the Neo-PEC joint research project, Fraunhofer specialists have developed a tandem module that is self-sufficient and reliable at producing solar-generated green hydrogen.

Fraunhofer researchers have developed a method of creating biogenic construction materials based on cyanobacteria. The bacteria multiply in a nutrient solution, driven by photosynthesis. When aggregates and fillers such as sand, basalt, or renewable raw materials are added, rock-like solid structures are produced. Unlike traditional concrete production, this process does not emit any carbon dioxide, which is harmful to the environment. Instead, the carbon dioxide is bound inside the material itself.

From smart electric meters to tachometers, wherever consumption or mileage is read out electronically, the data transmitted should not be open to manipulation. That is especially true for verification of payment transfers made via credit card. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS have developed a solution that makes it possible to configure the functions of security elements to address this issue after manufacturing, reliably and cost-effectively providing them with multidimensional protection.

Optimizing communication between vehicle and driver as a function of the degree of automation is the objective of a research project conducted by Fraunhofer in collaboration with other companies. The researchers are combining sensors for monitoring the vehicle interior with language models to form what are known as vision language models. They are designed to increase the convenience and safety of cars in the future.