As we move toward the “smart city”, sensors are set to also collect data on air quality, traffic, etc., and — in the long term — provide us with cleaner air and help us get where we want to be faster. The Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems IKS offers the necessary technologies for the safe operation of artificial intelligence (AI) and provides cities and communities with a framework to help them get started.

A sticker on a give way sign. Branches hanging in front of a stop sign. Graffiti on a speed limit sign. These are all completely normal sights on our roads, aren’t they? But things that wouldn’t generally be a problem for humans can really make life difficult for artificial intelligence.

Will packages be delivered by anonymous robots in the near future? And when will we be able to take an air taxi to town? We will encounter autonomous means of transport more and more frequently in our everyday lives as well. An overview of the current status of a variety of autonomous vehicles.

When we think about autonomous vehicles, we usually think of self-driving cars where people are mere passengers. In the business domain, however, their potential lies in logistics. New technologies could fundamentally change the transportation of goods, making it safer and more efficient. An overview of the current status of a variety of autonomous vehicles in industry.

A simulation designed by Fraunhofer IKS paves the way for robots and humans to interact safely — without reducing efficiency.

In modern perception applications, such as in medical engineering, models based on artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly being used due to their strong performance. However, this increasing performance often comes at the cost of the transparency of results. An online tool developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems IKS can help here.

Quantum computing has the potential to train artificial intelligence in medical diagnostics more efficiently. This could make diagnoses more accurate even when there is little data available. In the future, medical professionals expect to see improvements in the screening, diagnosis and progress monitoring of brain tumors, for example.

Safe intelligence is the central research topic of the Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems IKS. This topic is very important from a technology perspective as well as with regard to the economy and society. The two Chairs of the Advisory Board for the IKS development project see it the same way — each from their own perspective.

Fraunhofer IKS is part of the New Work@Fraunhofer initiative. It’s a topic everyone is talking about, but what does New Work actually mean? Together with our colleagues, we will explore this topic — and above all, the question of how Fraunhofer IKS is making meaningful work a reality.

As head of the Business Development group, Anna Guderitz leads a team that liaises between science and industry. In part eight of our employee profile series, she explains what particularly appeals to her about her role.