Press releases

In most cases, network infrastructure operators still use analog methods to keep records where cables have been laid and lines have been drawn in the ground. This manual process is time-consuming and requires a lot of experience. Fraunhofer IPM has recently launched the »NEXT.TrenchLog« project in cooperation with Bayernwerk Netz GmbH, developing a digital solution for the documentation of underground infrastructure: Using artificial intelligence, the system automatically generates georeferenced 3D data of the components.

Critical infrastructure such as transport networks are the lifelines of modern society. Extreme weather events may cause damage to railway tracks, roads, tunnels and bridges. The Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM has developed a novel 3D laser scanner that can be used to closely monitor transport infrastructure and plan maintenance work in a timely manner. The multispectral sensor system measures surface structures as well as the surface moisture on objects, all in a single inspection process.

World War II left its mark on the seas, with around 1.6 million tons of ammunition and explosive ordnance from this period remaining in German marine waters alone. As part of the LUXOR research project, Fraunhofer IPM is teaming up with international research partners to develop an automated, digital system that will facilitate the identification of explosive ordnance on the seabed and improve the safety and efficiency of its removal.

Heat pumps play a decisive role in the energy transition: Sustainably generated electricity provides heat in winter and a good climate in summer. Nowadays, heat pumps work almost exclusively on the basis of compressor technology. Compressors require harmful refrigerants, the use of which will be restricted even more by law in the future. In the Fraunhofer ElKaWe lighthouse project, six Fraunhofer Institutes are developing highly efficient electrocaloric heat pumps, which do without harmful refrigerants.

The Pavement Profile Scanner PPS-Plus from Fraunhofer IPM is part of the latest measuring vehicle MESAS of the Federal Highway Research Institute BASt. The research vehicle records the condition of road surfaces and the substance of the asphalt surface and thus provides the basis for optimum maintenance planning. During test runs, MESAS has already successfully measured more than 11,000 kilometers of the federal trunk road network. Now regular operation starts.

A discovery from 1917 becomes viable for the future. A team of researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM is developing efficient magnetocaloric cooling systems that make do without harmful refrigerants. The esearchers hope to achieve 50 percent of the maximum efficiency level with their process. Comparable existing magnetocaloric systems reach only approximately 30 percent.

Secure, stable and fast data transmission requires an area-wide network of fiber optic cables. But where is the best place to put the cable ducts? Finding the optimal cable route is enormously complex and time-consuming. A Team led by Prof. Dr. Alexander Reiterer, Dominik Störk and Dr. Katharina Wäschle from the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM has developed a novel process chain based on machine learning that solves this issue. For this, the three mentioned scientists are awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize.

Fraunhofer IPM was able to prevail against global competition as one of the two winners at the Swedish SmartSteel Innovation Challenge. The competition looked for processes for label-free tracing of steel products. By the end of last year, 26 teams from all over the world had placed themselves to this task. Fraunhofer IPM convinced the jury with »Track & Trace FINGERPRINT«, a method for label-free tracing.

In the future, a compact multisensor system should provide precise and objective measurement data of tunnel constructions. The system will collect data on geometry, surface structure and water inlet in tunnels in a single measuring procedure and will provide the measurement data in digital format, compliant with BIM. The German AKG company group, Amberg Technologies AG from Switzerland and Elaborarium SL from Spain are working with Fraunhofer IPM as research partner in a joint project for the integrated inspections process for which a novel multisensor system will be developed.

Deutsche Telekom AG will optimize the planning for new fiber-optic cables in the future using infrastructure data it collects itself. To achieve this, the company is investing in optical measurement technology with automated data analysis. Fraunhofer IPM has developed software for the telecommunications group that automatically recognizes physical objects in measurement data and uses these results to relay reliable planning data for civil engineering works, one of the major risks implicit in the expansion of fiber-optic networks.