Press

Against the backdrop of an unstable geopolitical environment, defence and security have become a major focus of activities in politics, the public sphere and research. It was with these areas foremost in mind that Fraunhofer President Professor Holger Hanselka paid a visit to the two Wachtberg institutes FKIE and FHR, which together represent the largest defence location within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

Bundeswehr Command and Staff College, Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE, and Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Armed Forces Hamburg sign agreement.

The long-standing research group leader for software-defined radio at the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE, Dr. Marc Adrat, has been appointed honorary professor at RWTH Aachen University. The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology is gaining “an excellent and committed colleague who will enhance the department's teaching program with his cutting-edge expertise,” RWTH Aachen University said in its press release. The university stated that this appointment will also further strengthen collaboration with Fraunhofer FKIE.

It’s almost completely dark in the tunnel. The ground is uneven and slippery in places. A robot slowly makes its way toward a car, across pallets, past crates and tipped-over barrels. Its task: find and “rescue” two dummies and bring them outside. Some hundred meters or so away, Patrick Weiss is focused on remotely controlling the robot’s movements and its overlong gripper arm, while his colleagues Oliver Schulz and Patrik Bylin are glued to their monitors, watching the action unfold in the tunnel. The three of them, all from southern Germany, made up one of 17 teams from all over the world who entered the 12th European Land Robot Trial (ELROB), held on the grounds of Bundeswehr Technical Center for Land-Based Vehicle Systems, Engineer and General Field Equipment (WTD 41) in Trier in late June. Across five challenging disciplines with a military focus, the competitors tested their robotic systems to see how they would perform in real-world settings — and the results were mixed.

Preparation is almost complete, all the scenarios have been planned and the tasks have been finalised: From 24–28 June this year, the elite of military robotics will gather for the 12th European Land Robot Trial (ELROB), which will take place in Trier, Germany for the first time.

Locked Shields is the largest NATO cybersecurity exercise and is currently bringing together IT experts from across the globe. During the exercise, cyberattacks are mounted on simulated computer networks and IT systems of critical infrastructures in real time. Multinational teams comprising military and civilian IT experts and administrators are tasked with fighting off these attacks. Around 3,500 participants from 32 NATO countries — the highest number ever — have risen to this year’s complex challenge, which runs until 26 April. These include researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE, which is based in Bonn.

When communication in tactical settings needs to be made secure in highly sensitive and continuously changing environments, how can it be improved? This is the question that has been engaging scientists Johannes Loevenich and Dr Roberto Rigolin F. Lopes. Their work on it has been a success: The European Defence Agency (EDA) has presented the two former Fraunhofer FKIE employees, who now work at Thales Germany, with the "EDA Research, Technology, and Innovation Papers Award 2023" for their newly developed method for solving complex optimisation problems in modern tactical communication systems.

The German Army Headquarters (KdoH) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE are intensifying their cooperation. The Chief of the German Army, Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, and institute director Professor Peter Martini signed a cooperation agreement at the FKIE office in Wachtberg, Germany. The partners concluded the agreement in pursuit of a common goal – the continual and, especially, rapid development of new potential and technology for the armed forces.

Only just under a third of those working in science worldwide are women. Particularly in the so-called MINT subjects - mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology - men are still clearly in the majority, both at university and in the professional world. On the "International Day of Girls and Women in Science" on 11 February, female researchers from the Fraunhofer FKIE will report on their experiences.

More success for the Fraunhofer FKIE scientists in Wachtberg: The NLytics system was declared the winner of the newest shared-task competition CLAIMSCAN 2023, organized by the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. The system is the result of a joint research project in collaboration with the University of the Bundeswehr Munich and aims to detect propaganda and misinformation campaigns on social media using AI.