Fraunhofer IPK

Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology

Automation Technology

The Automation Technology division develops flexible machine concepts and automation systems that, thanks to their adaptability and versatility, can meet the demands of increasingly individualized production. One example is our research into new technologies and systems that combine innovative kinematic and control concepts with machine vision techniques. Central to this are systems for optical testing in industrial quality control and for the protection of individuals, objects, documents and processes. These developments are aimed at the growing markets of process automation, robotics, security technology and logistics.

Our core competencies are robotics and process control, digital image processing and pattern recognition. Technologies for image capture (active vision) and system instruction (soft comput­ing) are here closely interwoven with new technologies in control technology and robot system technology. We apply image segmentation, character and document interpretation methods as well as motion analysis and object classification in industrial verification technology, individual and object protection, forensics, information and communication security, and document security. Our primary goal here is securing, reproducing and analyzing documents based on automatic image interpretation.

Our research and development topics:

  • Process automation and robotics
  • Security technology
  • Process control and simulation
  • Automatic optical testing

"Our vision is human-centered automation, in which man and machine can work together closely, but also flexibly."