News from the institute

With the official kick-off of the German Competence Center for Underwater Munitions Clearance (BK Meer) at the Ocean Technology Campus in Rostock last week, Federal Minister for the Environment Carsten Schneider launched what he described as a "task for generations." Bringing together academia, industry, and public authorities, the new competence center aims to advance the recovery of approximately 1.6 million metric tons of legacy munitions from the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Fraunhofer IGD is supporting the establishment of BK Meer with its long-standing expertise in maritime digitalization and the development of intelligent technologies for the detection, inspection, and recovery of underwater objects.

Tire wear is one of the largest sources of traffic-related particulate matter and microplastic emissions. In the Fraunhofer TERIS project, four Fraunhofer institutes are developing a technology platform that will enable realistic tire wear to be generated, analyzed, and evaluated under standardized laboratory conditions. The goal is to accelerate the development of environmentally compatible tire materials and reliably predict emissions at early stages of product development.

At the 2nd Darmstadt Sensor Technology Day, the initiators presented their plans for a Hessian Sensor Technology Cluster. The aim is to strengthen collaboration between research institutions, industry, and start-ups, and to accelerate the transfer of new technologies into practical applications.

The University of Rostock, Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD, and University Medicine Rostock reaffirmed their close collaboration at NØRD 2026 for the use of artificial intelligence and digital tools in health research.

Limited personnel resources and increasingly complex operational scenarios are requiring new approaches in internal security. The Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD demonstrates how digital technologies can make investigations more efficient and provide targeted support for emergency personnel in analysis and decision-making.

Artificial intelligence, advanced sensor technologies and immersive simulation are opening new possibilities for law enforcement and public security agencies. From May 20 to 22, 2026, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will present new internal security solutions at the GPEC General Police Equipment Exhibitions & Conference in Leipzig. These will include technologies for analyzing digital evidence, identifying threats at an early stage and training personnel in realistic environments. Under the theme “Internal Security Made by Fraunhofer—Forensics · Surveillance · Training,” four Fraunhofer institutes will demonstrate how their developments can be applied in practice at Hall 2, Booth J32.

How can medical data be analyzed more effectively, documentation processes be handled more efficiently and how can the basis for clinical decision-making be improved? At DMEA 2026, which will be taking place in Berlin from April 21 to 23, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will be presenting technologies for analyzing health-related data that are designed to reduce the burden on medical staff and facilitate data-based applications in research and care. Five institutes will be presenting their latest developments at the joint Fraunhofer booth (Booth D-109, Hall 2.2). These range from AI-assisted symptom analysis and data spaces that allow for health data to be securely shared to assistance systems for medical documentation, data-based decision-making support and solutions for training and evaluating AI models for medical data.

How can digital technologies relieve caregivers while enabling older people to live independently at home for longer? Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD will present answers to this question at DMEA 2026 in Berlin, one of Europe’s leading events for digital health. The focus is on new developments in contactless vital data acquisition and AI-based assistance systems for care and healthcare.

Fraunhofer IGD and its spin-off Verus Digital are receiving funding from the state of Hesse as part of the LOEWE funding line for the project "FineArts3D – Autonomous 3D Digitisation of Paintings". The aim of the project is to further develop a globally unique system for contactless, high-precision and colour-calibrated 3D capture of large-format and fragile works of art.

How digital technologies can make the construction industry more efficient, sustainable and connected will be showcased by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft from 24 to 26 March 2026 at the digitalBau trade fair in Cologne. In Hall 8, Booth 534, four Fraunhofer institutes will present innovative solutions across the entire construction process chain – from data acquisition and planning to energy-efficient implementation and automated assembly.