IAA 2023

How are new mobility concepts changing urban life? What progress has been made with developing sustainable and efficient mobility solutions? How can self-driving vehicles be made even safer? Under the theme of “Tomorrow’s mobility”, eight Fraunhofer entities will be presenting their expertise, concepts and solutions for the mobility of the future at the IAA Summit in Munich from September 5 to 8, 2023. At the joint Fraunhofer Booth D11 in Hall B1 experts will be showcasing the latest developments to the professional community.

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) does more than just open up new potential in terms of transporting goods: if some of urban traffic goes airborne, this will also offer completely new approaches when it comes to sustainable mobility solutions. In the Fraunhofer ALBACOPTER® Lighthouse Project, six Fraunhofer institutes are addressing the technical and social issues associated with UAM. 

Tomorrow’s vehicles will be equipped with a sense of hearing, which will enable them to perceive, for example, bicycle bells, children playing or the sirens of approaching emergency vehicles. Experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Oldenburg are working on The Hearing Car and developing AI-based system solutions for acoustic event recognition in the vicinity of vehicles. A mobile system for in-vehicle electroencephalography (EEG) for optimizing human-machine interaction and the YourSound assistant for personalizing sound experiences complete the system. 

The transport of tomorrow will not only be autonomous — it will also be comfortable and safe. At IAA MOBILITY 2023 in Munich, the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS will present AI algorithms that massively improve transportation safety and comfort. To achieve this, optical sensors record vital signs, such as heart and respiratory rates. This data is processed by specially developed AI algorithms.

In recent years, some car manufacturers have already presented the first vehicle models with photovoltaics integrated into the roof. The roof is the easiest surface to use for on-board solar power generation. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have now gone one step further. As part of two publicly funded research projects, they have integrated solar cells into the standard sheet metal hood of a regular passenger car. Coupled with the research institute’s MorphoColor® technology, the solar-active surface can be color-matched to that of the vehicle. Visitors to IAA MOBILITY can have a closer look at the photovoltaic hood from September 5-11, 2023, at the Fraunhofer booth (Hall B1.D11) in Munich.

The requirements for mobility solutions are becoming increasingly complex - and consequently the need for a systemic and interdisciplinary approach. Therefore the KAMO: Karlsruhe Mobility High Performance Center bundles the competencies of Karlsruhe's research, teaching and transfer institutions to support companies in developing innovative, ready-to-market solutions. Our spectrum is demonstrated by projects such as AVEAS, MobileCityGame, CBM Concept and other.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS has upgraded its LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) camera TinyOwl to 3072 pixels. A 3D integration has been technologically enhanced by Fraunhofer IMS for the SPAD-based (Single-Photon-Avalanche-Diode) camera demo. The advanced camera is particularly robust and can ensure accurate image capture even under harsh weather conditions or machine-induced vibration.

How do you decide whether a pedestrian needs to wait or it’s safe for them to cross the road in front of a car? In today’s world, car drivers and pedestrians simply exchange a brief eye contact or small hand gestures to express their intentions to one another. But how will future autonomous cars communicate? Researchers involved in the MaMeK project are seeking to answer that question.

In a joint research project with car manufacturer BMW, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have developed a miniaturized wide-angle 3D camera system. In the future, the camera will monitor the interior of autonomously driving vehicles using 3D sensors, thus ensuring greater safety on the roads of the future. The system will be presented at the K trade fair in Düsseldorf from October 19 to 26.