Press / Newsroom

The Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD has a new leader: Matthias Unbescheiden has taken over as the new director of the research institute in Darmstadt. He plans to specifically increase dialogue with science and research, business and industry and the public sector in order to drive further advances in transferring research findings into practice.

Existing video codecs involve accepting longer lag times or quality losses during transmission of image data in production environments. They also require a relatively large amount of computing power to decode the data, which means expensive hardware must be used and more energy is consumed. A team of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen has now developed JPEG XS, a state-of-the-art and forward-looking image compression format that transfers high-quality images with minimal latency, low resource use and almost lossless image quality. For this innovative project, the researchers were presented with the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize for 2025 at the Fraunhofer annual assembly.

Around the world, there is a lack of comprehensive medical care for people living in remote areas. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have devised a solution for this in the PreCare project: a flexible, modular health platform that can be installed on the bed of a pickup truck. It is already in use in South Africa and Namibia. The team was presented with the Innovations for a Better Future award from the Fraunhofer-Zukunftsstiftung (Fraunhofer Future Foundation) for this development.

Thanks to its physical properties, aluminum plays a major role in the circular economy and achieving climate neutrality. High material quality is crucial during processing, as any contamination present in the aluminum during smelting diminishes the quality of finished components. Unlike existing methods of analysis, the ultrasound-based AloX measuring system from the Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing IZFP can detect existing inclusions not only reliably but also quickly and at low cost. The team of researchers was presented with the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize for 2025 for developing this innovative tool.

Electric mobility is making great strides in Germany and across Europe. Building further momentum will require an extensive build-out of production capacity for battery cells in this country. Production methods will also have to use little energy and be much less expensive. A team of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden has developed DRYtraec, a revolutionary method that permits cost-effective, eco-friendly manufacturing of battery electrodes. For this pioneering technology, the research scientists were presented with the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize for 2025 at the Fraunhofer annual assembly.

In the KIOptiPack innovation lab, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV are working with 51 partners from industry and the research sector to develop innovative AI-driven optimization tools and a data space that connects all of the stakeholders in the packaging industry and their data. The goal is to use AI tools to recycle plastic packaging in the future.

Fraunhofer researchers have succeeded in developing sustainable new seals that are free from environmentally harmful substances like PFAS and suitable for water-based lubricants. They will be presenting their solution at the joint Fraunhofer booth (Booth 431, Hall A3) at Laser World of Photonics 2025 from June 24 to 27.

From manufacturing to medicine, from quantum technology to nuclear fusion — lasers are the basis for many critical applications. However, without rare-earth elements and crystals from third countries, it is becoming increasingly difficult to produce them. Not only are export restrictions, war and restrictive customs policies putting pressure on industry, but they are also threatening Germany's technological sovereignty. Fraunhofer is researching alternatives in crystal growing and processing as well as glass fiber development. They will be on display at the LASER trade show in Munich from June 24–27.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF have developed cognitive robot capabilities that can handle complex tasks in manufacturing that were previously impossible to automate. In addition, they are also unveiling PARU and computer-aided safety (CAS), the first safety technologies and planning tools for close human-machine collaboration that can also ensure safety in AI-generated robot movements. The researchers will be demonstrating what cognitive robotics can do and how dynamic workspace monitoring works at the automatica event in Munich from June 24 to 27, 2025 (Hall A4, Booth 319).

Satellite-based electro-optical sensors are intended to detect missile launches early on, gaining valuable time for initiating countermeasures in case of an attack. The Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB is developing design concepts for sensors like these on behalf of the German Ministry of Defense. In this interview, Caroline Schweitzer, a research scientist at Fraunhofer IOSB, explains what electro-optical sensors can do and how they work.