The 2000s: Joining Technology, Medicine, Safety, and More

2000: The start of a new millennium

© Fraunhofer IPK
In 1985, a bombing attack on the construction site of the half-finished test area hall destroyed parts of the glass facade and bent steel supports, …

© Fraunhofer IPK
… and after another attack on Professor Spur, the building was fenced in. The fence was removed in the 2000s.

Hooray, still alive!

Let’s do a thought experiment: What would it have meant for a production company with a strong digital focus if the Year 2000 bug had struck? The so-called Y2K problem arose because, in the early days of the computer age, year numbers were represented as two digits to save memory – »99« instead of »1999«. Since this practice had become deeply ingrained in the systems and could not be reliably corrected everywhere, there was concern that the transition from »99« to »00« would be mistakenly interpreted as a change to 1900, which would have had serious consequences for data-driven and computer-controlled processes.

At Fraunhofer IPK, with its numerous, highly sensitive machine systems, even a simple power outage is a problem, as a sudden shutdown can result in serious machine damage. For the many digital projects, such as those involving pattern recognition or condition monitoring, the threat was even greater: Data sets could have become corrupted and uninterpretable. In an extreme crisis scenario, machines might also have failed to respond to inputs or reacted incorrectly, resulting in damage. We will not speculate further, as events fortunately unfolded differently. The transition from 1999 to 2000 went just as smoothly at Fraunhofer IPK as it did elsewhere – and the new millennium brought changes for the institute, both internally and externally, that paved the way for a successful decade in which the institute’s cumulative annual results rose again, as did its staff numbers.

Fence gone, doors open: Check out what we are doing!

Speaking of paving the way: Older photos show that the PTZ was fenced in for many years. The fence enclosed the entire site and made Pascalstraße impassable at the intersection with Kucharskistraße. Access was via a gatehouse in front of Schlesingerstraße. The fencing was a security measure: During the construction phase, on April 29, 1985, an explosive device detonated in the shell of the test area, and another went off on Professor Spur’s private property shortly before the building was inaugurated in 1986. The circumstances were never fully resolved, but criticism of a presumed nature of the institute’s research is the most plausible explanation.

Not least because of this, the way the institute communicated with the public had changed by the early 2000s. Following the attacks, Professor Spur had already admitted to »probably not having communicated enough with the public.« Work on the institute’s public relations efforts continued steadily thereafter, culminating in Professor Eckart Uhlmann’s launch of the institute’s magazine »FUTUR – Vision, Innovation, and Realization« in 1999. Its primary purpose was to inform potential R&D partners about the institute’s activities, thereby offering a more up-to-date and targeted supplement to the institute’s annual reports.

The research at the PTZ became even more accessible to outsiders through a new event format that launched in 2001: During the annual »Long Night of Science,« scientific institutions in Berlin and Potsdam open the doors to their laboratories and testing facilities and explain to anyone who walks in what their researchers are currently working on. The institutes at the Production Technology Center Berlin also participated from the very first edition. Almost at the same time, initiatives to promote young talent were launched, such as the »Girls’ Day« event, which is regularly fully booked at Fraunhofer IPK.

Such openness does not go well with a fence, which is why the gatehouse disappeared during the 2000s, and the fence was moved back so far that it now only surrounds the PTZ parking lot.

© Fraunhofer IPK
FUTUR, the PTZ’s customer magazine, has been providing partners and interested parties with up-to-date and detailed information on research conducted by the IWF and Fraunhofer IPK since 1999.

2000: In the OR with Charité

Bringing manufacturing expertise to medical engineering

One of the areas of development that Professor Eckart Uhlmann had proposed to the Fraunhofer executive board in 1997 for refocussing Fraunhofer IPK was medical engineering. The idea is quite straightforward: Certain manufacturing processes can greatly benefit medical applications – applying them in this field requires combining knowledge from production science, medicine, and medical engineering. In addition, Fraunhofer IPK already possessed expertise in numerous areas that were relevant to medicine: microtechnology and control engineering, imaging and image processing, as well as aspects of quality management. This expertise enabled applications such as implants, mechatronic surgical assistance systems and robotics, as well as developments in endoscopy, CT and MRI.

On the initiative of Professor Uhlmann and the director of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery as well as Clinical Navigation and Robotics at Charité, Professor Jürgen Bier, a collaboration between Fraunhofer IPK and Charité was launched in 2000. At the same time, in September 2000, the »Assistive Systems for Medicine« division was launched at Fraunhofer IPK, subsequently headed by Professor Tim Lüth. A graduate in electrical engineering with a Ph.D. in robotics manufacturing, he was working on clinical navigation and robotics at Charité at the time and was thus the ideal expert to transfer Fraunhofer IPK’s manufacturing expertise to the field of medical engineering.

© Fraunhofer IPK
Prof. Tim Lüth (right) with a Navigated Control System for precise spinal drilling at the 2002 Hannover Messe

© Fraunhofer IPK
The AR endoscopy systems developed by Fraunhofer IPK used augmented reality (AR) to overlay information for the surgeon onto the endoscopic image.

© Fraunhofer IPK / Angela Salvo
ORBIT in the prototype stage at the Fraunhofer IPK medical technology laboratory in 2013. The robotic arm guides the X-ray source on an orbital path with the detector, which is moved by its own kinematic system beneath the operating table.

Cir.Log® in der AEMP des CBF, Charité — © Fraunhofer IPK
Sterile supply logistics of the future: The Cir.Log® project developed a solution that uses machine learning algorithms to identify and track surgical instruments without markers, i.e., based solely on their appearance.

Between clinical navigation and robotics

The collaboration with the Department of Navigation and Robotics at Charité operated under the name »Berlin Center for Mechatronic Medical Engineering (BZMM)«. BZMM focused primarily on developing solutions for image-guided and minimally invasive surgery. These included the world’s first interactive robot for performing surgical procedures on the human head, navigation systems for endoscopic surgeries with augmented reality support, and technologies for 3D X-ray imaging.

The technologies developed as a result were not only practice-oriented but also received acclaim. In 2004, Professor Lüth was awarded the BMBF Research Prize for Medical Engineering for developing a navigation system for use during bone grafts. The system was designed to ensure a better fit for bone grafting by capturing the geometry of the bone defect, calculating an optimal graft, and subsequently assisting the surgeon in milling out the replacement bone.

In 2007, Emanuel Jank, Dr. Timo Krüger, Professor Jörg Krüger, and Professor Uhlmann received an award in the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) innovation competition for the promotion of medical engineering. The project titled »Development and Evaluation of a 3D X-ray Scanner« was selected from the 92 concepts submitted. Results from the project led to the development of the intraoperative 3D X-ray scanner ORBIT in the following years. ORBIT implemented a novel imaging concept in which the X-ray source and detector were freed from the rigid C-arm arrangement and instead moved around the patient in tandem during the X-ray procedure. This was intended to allow for permanently installing the system on the operating table. However, ORBIT’s most distinctive feature was its ability to produce X-ray images free of artifacts. In 2014, the »ORBIT« project received the German High Tech Champions Award.

For organizational reasons, the Medical Technology division at the institute was dissolved in 2016. However, a significant part of the research work continued, particularly with regard to artifact-free imaging. In addition, new healthcare-related areas of research were explored, such as surface modification for implants, instrument recognition for sterile supply logistics, and research questions from the pharmaceutical industry.

2001: Center for Microsystems Engineering (ZEMI) Berlin

The tiniest production

Have you ever thought about just how small a micrometer is? Or a nanometer? A micrometer is one-thousandth of a millimeter; a nanometer just one-millionth. To put it in perspective, the ratio of a nanometer to a meter is like the ratio of a hazelnut’s diameter to that of our planet Earth. The fact that humans can create structures this small seems unimaginable – and yet it is both possible and necessary. Microsystems technology not only creates the tiniest components but also surfaces with the most precise structures and the highest surface quality. It is a fundamental prerequisite for products with miniaturized components, such as smartphones.

Microtechnological expertise found its way into the research activities of Fraunhofer IPK during the 1990s. This began with the integration of a research group from the former Academy of Sciences of the GDR that focused on ultraprecision measurement technology. Along with this group came Fraunhofer IPK’s first ultraprecision machine. The start of R&D work on micro manufacturing technology was marked in October 1995 by the DFG Priority Programme »Micromechanical Production Technology«. This was followed by the first industrial joint research projects, in which the results of basic research were translated into microtechnological applications.

Concentrated expertise in Berlin

With its micromanufacturing activities, Fraunhofer IPK was not alone in Berlin. At the end of the 1990s, Berlin was home to approximately 400 companies and 24 research institutions engaged in the development of microsystem components, processes, materials, and products – excellent conditions for establishing the capital as a competence center for microsystems engineering.

Against this backdrop, a research consortium of renowned Berlin-based non-university research institutions formed at the end of 1999 with the goal of consolidating research activities in the field of microsystems engineering – both in terms of expertise and physical space – within a »Center for Microsystems Engineering Berlin (ZEMI)«. Participants included the Fraunhofer institutes IPK and IZM, the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), the Ferdinand-Braun-Institute for High-Frequency Technology, BESSY GmbH, and the Technische Universität Berlin. The Berlin Senate provided financial support for the project through ERDF resources.

© Fraunhofer IPK / Bernd Bresien
Pilot plant in Berlin-Adlershof in the late 2000s

© Fraunhofer IPK / Bernd Bresien
Microtechnology is not possible without microscopes: Dirk Oberschmidt, who later became head of the Microproduction Technology department at Fraunhofer IPK, at a computer workstation with a confocal laser-scanning microscope at ZEMI

ZEMI officially began operations at the Berlin-Adlershof Science Campus on January 1, 2001. Initially, six employees from Fraunhofer IPK and IWF were based in Adlershof. The focus of their work was on providing comprehensive support to industrial partners in the development of microproducts, micromanufacturing, and the testing of complex microsystems. To achieve this, the institutes established a joint pilot plant with climate-controlled manufacturing cells, where the partners’ microproduction equipment could be used collaboratively.

2001: Virtual meets reality

© Fraunhofer IPK
Collaborative development over the Internet, circa 2002

Making data tangible

In the iViP project led by Fraunhofer IPK, more than 50 partners had developed foundations for new software architectures for virtual product development, as well as workflows that would shape the day-to-day lives of developers and engineers. In the early 2000s, these workflows still envisioned very limited use of the Internet. However, with increasing globalization and continuous advancement of broadband technology, data exchange within distributed and networked companies became easier. And last but not least, advances in computing also provided the necessary processing power for complex graphical applications, as well as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in product development.

This made it possible to develop collaboratively across great distances, while sophisticated visualizations made the development process more tangible, intuitive, and realistic. The virtual product was now to be perceived not merely as a set of data, but as a genuine representation that could be worked on directly. The focus for researchers at Fraunhofer IPK was on human-centered research, i.e., taking into account the needs of users as well as how humans experience and process information, and on effective collaboration within teams – from initial development projects on tele-cooperation in the 1990s to collaborative VR in 2003.

Into the future with VR-CUBE, Holobench and data gloves

To demonstrate and research how humans would experience emerging technologies in product development, the VR lab began combining innovative hardware in September 2001. The highlight of the lab was the VR-CUBE, a five-sided projection display measuring two and a half meters in each direction. By using bright projectors and a PC-based visualization system, Fraunhofer IPK was breaking new technological ground at the time. Instead of purely graphical or geometric simulations, systems with haptic feedback also enabled users to immersively experience the physical properties of virtual prototypes. The Smart Hybrid Prototyping technology further combined virtual and real elements to achieve this.

Virtual clay modeling and rapid prototyping were also parts of these advances. They were designed to help companies evaluate intermediate results in the development of complex products more thoroughly. This became essential as products grew increasingly complex while development times needed to be shortened. In virtual clay modeling, all these approaches came together: The model is simulated and rendered realistically, while simultaneously providing haptic feedback that is intuitive and as lifelike as possible. The technology built upon the voxel modeler developed in the 1990s, in which 3D models were composed of discrete blocks rather than polygons. On the Holobench, which displayed the model in three dimensions for the user, these blocks could then be manipulated by hand just like real clay.

With VR-CUBE, PC clusters, the Holobench, force-feedback systems, VR headsets, data gloves, motion capture and tracking systems, and 3D surround audio, Fraunhofer IPK now had a state-of-the-art development environment at its disposal – one that was also intended for industrial use. At the same time, the Virtual Product and Production Development (ViPro) Demonstration Center was established, where Fraunhofer IPK and Fraunhofer institutes in Stuttgart, Bremen, Chemnitz, Darmstadt and Rostock aimed to pool their expertise and make it available primarily to small and medium-sized enterprises. Starting in October 2001, companies were able to test and verify new technologies here alongside their day-to-day operations. Through workshops, seminars and theme days, the ViPro institutes provided support in selecting software tools for virtual product development and in training employees.

© Fraunhofer / Volker Steger
Virtual clay modeling on the Holobench

2003: Wheel sets and paper shreds

© Hegenscheidt
The inspection system for train wheels was integrated into the track and automatically inspected running surfaces as soon as a train passed over it.

From faults in glass to wear on tracks

Under the leadership of Dr. Bertram Nickolay, machine vision continued to find new uses in quality assurance in industrial settings throughout the 2000s. Automated optical methods operate without physical contact, are fast and highly sensitive when using suitable cameras. In the early 2000s, Fraunhofer IPK researchers used so-called line-scan cameras and one of the first Ethernet-based multi-camera systems in Germany, for example, for in-process inspection of glass tubes. In collaboration with a manufacturer of specialty pharmaceutical glass, they developed a system that could reliably detect even the smallest bubbles and other material-specific defects in glass tubes and determine their size and location. Several line scan cameras inspected the glass from multiple angles using a transmitted light method. When defects were detected, an infrared synchronization flash was triggered so that the material could be cut off at exactly the right moment. This made it possible to perform reliable quality controls even in continuous production processes with speeds of up to five meters per second.

Systems developed at Fraunhofer IPK also contributed to improving safety in rail transport. The inspection of ICE train wheels for damage and the measurement of tread profiles, which had previously been performed manually, were now fully automated through optical inspection stations. Whenever a train passes over the measuring station integrated into the track for this purpose, the system is automatically triggered. Lasers project a line pattern onto the treads of the wheels. Cameras capture these patterns and transmit them to an analysis system, which uses the image data to calculate the tread profiles and the diameter of the wheels. This not only prevents rail damage and switch malfunctions but also avoids having to replace wheel sets prematurely – all without interrupting regular railway operations. For his development, Dara Fatehi-Varkani received a Joseph von Fraunhofer Special Prize in 2002. By that time, the system had already been installed nine times around the world: not only in Germany but also in the U.S., Russia, Switzerland, and South Korea, including for Amtrak in Washington, D.C., Deutsche Bahn in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Munich, and Hamburg, as well as the Berlin S-Bahn.

© Fraunhofer / Volker Steger
Dara Fatehi-Varkani, recipient of the 2002 Joseph von Fraunhofer Special Prize

The world’s largest puzzle

Beyond the production context, Fraunhofer IPK became known in the 2000s transferring its pattern recognition expertise to a new field of application: the reconstruction of destroyed documents. Commissioned by the Office of the Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former GDR (BStU), they developed the ePuzzler, a software program designed to help restore the legibility of the vast quantities of shredded records left behind by the State Security Service of the GDR. The ePuzzler analyzed fragments that had been digitalized using high-performance scanners, extracted features such as color, tear patterns and handwriting to pre-sort them, and then virtually reassembled the individual pieces within the resulting subsets. The software was awarded the EARTO Innovation Prize in 2013.

This technology was also extensively used in numerous other projects with museums, archaeological institutions and art conservators. Fragments of centuries- and millennia-old documents, paintings and sculptures that had been torn, broken or otherwise damaged were digitalized and automatically reassembled through virtual reconstruction. In 2011, efforts also began on adapting the methodology to three-dimensional objects made of various materials, such as Babylonian cuneiform tablets and sculptures. The technologies developed as part of this reconstruction research formed the basis for new methods now used by the partner company MusterFabrik Berlin GmbH to recover fragile and damaged cultural heritage. Among others, archival materials stored in the Cologne City Archive building, which had collapsed in 2009, benefited from this work. Together with Fraunhofer IPK, MusterFabrik Berlin began developing scanning technology and a digital assistance system for reconstructing the archival holdings in 2012. By now, over 500,000 of the estimated three million fragments have been digitalized and used to assemble more than 4,500 reconstructions.

At the intersection of preserving cultural heritage and the department’s long-standing collaboration with law enforcement agencies, research focused on identifying artworks appearing in digital auction catalogs using computer vision technology. Not only were these developments intended to help determine the whereabouts of lost objects, but also to identify items that had been unlawfully acquired and trafficked – looted art. Additionally, expertise in this field was applied in a sensitive area: tracking down child pornography on the internet.

© Fraunhofer IPK
Systems for recognizing paintings and sculptures operate at the intersection of research in the cultural and criminal fields. (left: Public Domain, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; right: German Sales, Heidelberg University Library)

2003: Stronger together

© Fraunhofer IPK
CO₂ snow or dry ice blasting can not only remove contaminants but also, for example, strip old paint layers in preparation for repainting.

© Fraunhofer IPK / Gerold Baumhauer
From rapid prototyping to rapid tooling: Selective Laser Melting was the first additive manufacturing method for metal materials at Fraunhofer IPK that creates products »from powder and light«.

Fraunhofer alliances pool expertise

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is a very large research organization. By the time of its 45th anniversary in 1994, it already had 47 institutes. Today, more than 30,000 employees work at Fraunhofer across 74 institutes and research units. To outside observers, the organization often seems confusingly complex. This is reason enough for Fraunhofer to continually seek ways to make its research areas more accessible to customers and partners.

With the introduction of the »Leitbild 2000« in 1993, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft defined its strategic direction for the coming millennium following the end of the Cold War and in light of increasing globalization. This included, among other things, the goal of strengthening cross-institute collaboration. One result was the Fraunhofer alliances. They pool the expertise of different institutes to jointly address and market a specific topic area. Within these structures, a chemical engineering institute may well cooperate with one specializing in mechanical engineering. Although Fraunhofer IPK first joined an alliance – the Rapid Prototyping Alliance – as early as the mid-1990s, the concept did not gain real momentum until the early 2000s. During this period, four alliances were launched in which Fraunhofer IPK was involved from the very beginning.

Clean research: Fraunhofer Cleaning Technology Alliance

In December 2002, the Fraunhofer Cleaning Technology Alliance began its work. Its purpose was to coordinate customer inquiries in the business units of building cleaning, cleaning in hygiene-critical areas, cleaning in microsystems technology, pre-coating surface cleaning and component cleaning. Eight institutes were involved at the outset, and the alliance’s administrative office was located at Fraunhofer IPK during the early years. The institute was well-positioned for this: Innovative, eco-efficient cleaning processes for industrial applications, such as CO₂ snow or dry ice blasting, were already part of its portfolio at that time. In addition to research projects, the alliance developed other formats for knowledge transfer: Through several market and trend analyses, it assessed the state of development in industrial parts cleaning, most recently in 2020. The introductory seminar on cleaning technology is an annual in-person seminar that has been established for years and is highly valued by industry. It brings together the expertise of the member institutes and provides participants with a concise, scientifically sound insight into the possibilities and potential of industrial cleaning. The Fraunhofer Cleaning Technology Alliance now operates as the Fraunhofer Business Area Cleaning.

Expertise in additive manufacturing: Fraunhofer Additive Manufacturing Alliance

What is known today as additive manufacturing was still referred to by a number of semi-synonymous terms in the early 2000s, including »generative manufacturing«. Accordingly, an alliance which emerged from the Rapid Prototyping Alliance in 2003, adopted this term in it’s German name. It is hardly surprising that Fraunhofer IPK was a member from the very beginning: Additive processes had been a topic of interest at the institute since around 1990, particularly from the product development perspective, for example to rapidly produce prototypes. To research into these areas, the Design Technology division under Professor Frank-Lothar Krause possessed a DTM Sinter Station 2500 for laser sintering with nylon starting in the mid-1990s. Later, activities in rapid tooling with ceramic materials were added, followed in the 2010s by metal additive manufacturing – now one of the institute’s core areas of expertise.

Ceramic tools: Fraunhofer AdvanCer Alliance

Another alliance founded in 2003 was AdvanCer, a consortium of seven institutes focused on high-performance ceramics. The alliance’s scope of work ranged from materials research and production processes for manufacturing ceramic components and machining with ceramic tools to issues of structural durability and non-destructive testing methods. Components made of high-performance ceramics are used, for example, in vehicles, aircraft, material handling systems, elevators and wind turbines due to their low weight, high wear resistance, and consequently long service life.

© Fraunhofer IPK
Fraunhofer IPK contributed expertise in machining high-performance ceramic components to the Fraunhofer AdvanCer Alliance, for example through surface grinding with planetary kinematics.

High flyers in the fast lane: the Fraunhofer Transport, AutoMOBILE Production and Aviation & Space Alliances

The Fraunhofer Transport Alliance was also launched in 2003. Here, 16 institutes focused on the topics of mobility, vehicle systems, navigation, and logistics. A milestone was the opening of five Galileo Labs across Germany as part of a Fraunhofer initiative to develop positioning applications based on the European Galileo satellite system. One of these labs was located at Fraunhofer IPK, and one of its main focuses was measuring air pollutants.

Since the dissolution of its Transportation Technology department, Fraunhofer IPK is no longer a member of the Transportation Alliance. Instead, it became a founding member of the Fraunhofer autoMOBILE Production Alliance in 2010. The alliance’s goal at its inception was to support the German automotive industry in international competition and in implementing the mobility transition. Fraunhofer IPK contributed expertise on automotive bodywork, powertrains and vehicle assembly.

Since 2022, the institute has also been contributing to Fraunhofer AVIATION & SPACE, primarily with its digital engineering expertise, such as the design of data ecosystems and digital twins – a unique selling point among the alliance’s institutes. This brings us full circle: Just as with the rapid prototyping activities conducted during its initial alliance membership, Fraunhofer IPK’s latest contribution to this type of Fraunhofer network also stems from the field of product development.

2008: Cool, cooler, cobot

© Fraunhofer IPK
Unthinkable in the 1980s: humans and assembly robots working in close collaboration. The only possibility was to check assembly results while the robot was shut down.

© Fraunhofer IPK
One of the first true cobots at the institute was a passive manipulator for lifting heavy loads.

Robots learn consideration

Since the founding of Fraunhofer IPK, its researchers have viewed automation involving robots not as a replacement, but as an ever-improving supplement to human capabilities. The strengths of humans and machines lie in very different areas: Industrial robots are precise, fast and powerful, while humans are dexterous and clever. Consequently, the desire to have human workers collaborate with robots so that these skills could complement one another emerged early on.

However, this was no trivial matter in the early days: Industrial robots, especially those with high payloads, are not without risk to humans. To minimize the danger for workers, they exclusively operate in separate cells, which means they perform independent work processes as well. For a long time, direct collaboration between autonomously operating robots and humans in the same workspace was unthinkable.

With cobots, also known as cooperative or collaborative robots, the first attempts to overcome this separation were made in the 2000s. Early examples were passive systems for carrying heavy loads. Humans retained full control over the movements in the process while the cobot merely provided force assistance.

Perceive and yield

However, such passive solutions, in which the robot does not move independently, lacked essential characteristics that make robots valuable in manufacturing, such as their speed and precision. The next step in development was therefore to make it possible to work alongside robots that could perform autonomous movements.

Safety during interaction remained the highest priority – the robots’ capabilities and degrees of freedom had to be redundantly safeguarded. Since the late 1990s, force and compliance control systems had therefore been developed under the direction of Gerhard Schreck, for example using compliant »virtual walls«. This also brought attention to the controlled application of force by robots, for instance for »sensitive« grasping.

Another way to ensure safety was to monitor the workspace with cameras. A monitoring system developed by Oliver Schulz from Fraunhofer IPK and Stefan Thiemermann from Fraunhofer IPA and their teams identified the positions of people’s hands and heads and instructed robots to adjust the speed of their movements accordingly. For »team@work«, the two received the »HighTech in Occupational Safety« innovation award of the German employers' liability insurance associations in 2003, which came with a prize of 10,000 euros.

© Fraunhofer IPA
In the early 2000s, the first attempts were made to allow humans and robots to share workspaces, using camera systems and image analysis for monitoring.

© Fraunhofer IPK / Katharina Strohmeier, with permission from pi4_robotics
The cobot colleague: The humanoid pi4_workerbot learns quickly and can thus perform new assembly tasks in a short time.

To enable even closer collaboration between humans and robots, the latter needed to become more human-like in their design. In the »PISA« project, a team led by Dr. Dragoljub Surdilovic, in collaboration with the company pi4_robotics, developed the two-armed robot pi4_workerbot, which could step in during production bottlenecks and be quickly programmed for new assembly tasks. With a specially developed programming language for its dual-arm control that allowed it to mimic human movements, the Workerbot met the high demands for flexibility and quick setup times. Sensors on the grippers were also designed to detect contact with the environment and account for obstacles.

© Fraunhofer IPK
»String Man« was the first gait rehabilitation system developed by Fraunhofer IPK.

© Fraunhofer IPK / Norbert Michalke
The »HapticWalker« allowed people who had suffered a stroke to train a wide variety of gait patterns.

Patented and human-centered

As a special form of collaborative robotics, numerous activities in the field of rehabilitation and ergonomic robotics emerged in Henning Schmidt’s research group in the early 2000s. When patients learn to walk again after damage to the central nervous system, for example, a great deal of practice and repetition is required. This places a significant physical strain on patients as well as on therapists and caregivers. Gait rehabilitation devices therefore often use suspension systems that position the patient above a treadmill. However, these systems can only simulate a part of daily movement routines. Drawing on expertise from a rehabilitation clinic and Freie Universität Berlin, the »String Man« was developed, a robot-assisted suspension system with cable kinematics that would allow patients to also practice standing up, squatting, and various upper-body movements.

The »HapticWalker« developed in collaboration with Charité took a different approach. It was also designed to help people with neurological disorders or those recovering from a stroke relearn and practice gait patterns for various situations. But instead of the flat treadmill used in the String Man system, the HapticWalker used end-effectors to simulate a wide range of real-world movement patterns, such as stumbling, slipping, climbing stairs of various types, or even skiing. With the HapticWalker, patients could now practice in a safe environment and progress according to their needs and individual recovery process. Four patents were filed in connection with this research.

Wearable robotics and exoskeletons

The increasing workload for doctors, physical therapists and nursing staff also led to a growing emphasis on telehealth services accessible via the internet. With the »TeleStrokeRehab« system, developed around 2010, patients were able to continue their therapies started in a hospital or rehabilitation clinic at home, where they could not only be monitored via video conferencing but also interact haptically with a physical therapist or doctor using force feedback. Because the telehealth connection was optional, patients could also use the system for independent practice.

Finally, with innovations in the field of wearable robotics, the researchers were able to broaden their focus beyond rehabilitation to include the prevention of health risks. »CareJack«, for example, was designed to temporarily store kinetic energy using spring mechanisms and release it precisely when needed during strenuous physical tasks. The »ErgoJack« exosuit, equipped with sensors, AI and a vibration module, helped users learn ergonomic movement patterns. And with pneumatic systems like »PowerGrasp«, the still very stiff vests evolved into intelligent exoskeletons capable of providing both ergonomic support and power assistance.

2008: Innovation Clusters »Secure Identity« and »MRO in Energy and Transportation«

Pooling development resources

The »Pact for Research and Innovation« signed by the federal and state governments in 2005 provided Fraunhofer with a new form of strategic research cooperation: the innovation clusters. These clusters would systematically pool collaboration with universities and colleges, other non-university research institutions, companies, and regional stakeholders from politics and administration within a given region. The goal was to build on existing scientific and industrial strengths to create regional innovation ecosystems.

Fraunhofer IPK established two innovation clusters: The »Secure Identity Berlin-Brandenburg« cluster was the first to launch in 2008. It was followed in 2009 by »Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul in Energy and Transportation (MRO)«.

The »VisionID« project developed document verification methods for forgery-proof passports.

I am myself – verifiably: secure identity

Verifying the identity of people and objects has been a research focus at Fraunhofer IPK since the 1990s. The Pattern Recognition department, led by Dr. Bertram Nickolay, had increasingly applied its expertise in computer vision to issues affecting society as a whole, such as counterfeit prevention, signature verification and fingerprint identification. Until 2009, the team collaborated with Bundesdruckerei GmbH on the »VisionID« project to focus on the visual identification of ID and security documents. To continue these activities, the partners opened a joint laboratory in April 2009.

This shared development background provided the ideal base for establishing the first Fraunhofer innovation cluster in Berlin. Five Fraunhofer institutes, five universities, twelve companies, and the states of Berlin and Brandenburg collaborated on the development of technologies, processes and products designed to uniquely verify the identity of individuals, objects and intellectual property. The applications ranged from the next generation of forgery-proof identity documents and securing electronic business processes to product and trademark protection and security in communication between machines and vehicles.

© Siemens AG
Siemens project »Inline«: As early as 2004, Fraunhofer IPK had supported the longstanding Berlin-based company in safeguarding its gas turbine manufacturing operations, gaining valuable experience with turbomachinery in the process.

© Siemens AG
Project meeting at Siemens Power Generation, Berlin, with site manager Andreas Fischer-Ludwig (center)

© Fraunhofer IPK
Kickoff event for the Fraunhofer MRO innovation cluster at the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin

Old becomes new, and even better: MRO

Turbomachinery and rail vehicles in the energy and transportation sectors are among those capital goods with high initial investment costs and long service lives, for which not only regular maintenance and repair but also continuous upgrades pay off in the long term. The »Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul in Energy and Transportation (MRO)« innovation cluster built on this idea: Appropriate condition monitoring, combined with a complete overhaul at the right time, not only restores a system to its original condition but can even improve it.

Fraunhofer IPK could build on an exceptionally well-suited development history in the field of maintenance. When it came to teleservices and condition monitoring, the institute possessed expertise dating back well into the 1990s. And to bring the corresponding solutions directly into industrial application, the right partners were also found: In 2004, Fraunhofer IPK had been commissioned by Siemens AG to make its gas turbine plant in Berlin-Moabit fit for the future in terms of both plant design and technology. The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), MTU Maintenance and Rolls-Royce were also on board, along with ten other companies and several scientific partners.

For over two years, the cluster worked on resource-saving and energy-efficient technologies to optimize MRO processes in four innovative fields: condition monitoring and diagnostics, MRO planning and digital support, repair technologies, and cleaning. The MRO innovation cluster was succeeded by the Fraunhofer »Life Cycle Engineering for Turbomachinery« innovation cluster starting in December 2012.

The collaboration had a lasting impact: In 2018, a joint project by Rolls-Royce, SCHÖLLY FIBEROPTIC and Fraunhofer IPK was awarded the German Aviation Innovation Award. The project focused on the endoscopic cleaning of turbine blades.

2009: The perfect connection

© Bundesanstalt für Material- forschung und -prüfung (BAM)
Joining Technology has been a division of its own at Fraunhofer IPK since 2009

© Fraunhofer IPK
TRUMPF laser cell in the PTZ test area

Joining and coating technology arrives at Fraunhofer IPK

The fact that nearly all products consist of multiple parts makes joining and coating one of the key phases in the production process. In the mid-2000s, the increasing use of complex materials and heterogeneous material combinations, such as steel-aluminum hybrid joints and new high-strength steels, put the strength of joints and coatings to the test. New methods and technologies were needed to process these materials in cost-effective ways and at the same time guarantee product safety.

When Fraunhofer IPK established a Jointing and Coating Technology division for the first time in 2009, the founding took place in close cooperation with the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). BAM addresses fundamental questions regarding safety in engineering and chemistry, while Fraunhofer focuses on issues related to the cost-effectiveness and productivity of processes. The collaboration enabled the partners to leverage synergies and provide comprehensive support to clients of both institutions.

Professor Michael Rethmeier’s team initially concentrated on difficult-to-process materials. New metals raised research needs even for established processes such as resistance spot welding. In addition to welding thin sheets, the division also turned its attention to applications involving large sheet thicknesses. Thanks to new developments in arc welding, even large wall thicknesses, such as those found in shipbuilding or in pipes, could be welded cost-effectively.

Machinery from industrial practice

Researching such topics requires appropriate equipment. The division’s machine park has therefore always been their pride. In 2011, a laser powder cladding system was put into operation, which significantly expanded the research team’s portfolio of capabilities: Protective coatings, for example on brake discs, or repairing worn part surfaces became possible with this technology. Since 2025, the division even possesses a system with an integrated scanner that greatly simplifies such repair work: The scanner digitalizes a component directly within the system. The areas to be repaired, including the CAM paths required, are derived directly from the scan, allowing the repair to be carried out immediately. Damaged components can thus be repaired along a digital process chain within a single system.

The Joining and Coating Technology division is also well-equipped to weld very large seams: Since 2014, it has operated a full-scale industrial system for longitudinal seam welding of large pipes. The research being conducted here is, in the truest sense of the word, heavy metal: For pipes up to six meters long with diameters of 90 centimeters and more, processes are being optimized to increase productivity and reduce the amount of filler material required.

Computing power makes simulation practical

Another key research field to this day is welding simulation. At the time the division was founded, computing power was advancing so rapidly that basic simulation solutions could be further developed into deployable tools. Calculations of distortion and residual stress could now be performed at a level suitable for supporting rapid and cost-effective implementation of new welding processes in industry. In collaboration with the car manufacturer Audi, the researchers optimized the welding of car doors, for example. These doors contain over 50 weld seams – the order in which they are applied plays a decisive role in determining how dimensionally accurate the door is. Through simulation, the collaborative project succeeded in reducing the experimental effort required during development while simultaneously minimizing distortion during welding.

Welding simulation was subsequently refined on an ongoing basis. Today, the team can simulate distortion in additively manufactured components with several hundred overlapping weld beads and, thanks to modern computing technology, address industrial challenges related to crack formation and welding distortion in entire assemblies.

© SMS group GmbH
The multi-wire submerged-arc welding system can be used to weld large, thick-walled pipes.

2009: The »Mehr Können« event program

Sharing knowledge, building networks, shaping the future

The global financial crisis of 2008 hit Germany’s export-oriented economy hard. Many companies, particularly automotive manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as mechanical and plant engineering manufacturers, scaled back investments and placed their employees on short-time work – supplemented by government-subsidized continuing education programs. »Train instead of laying off« was the motto of the German federal government’s labor market strategy to secure jobs, preserve expertise and support structural transformation within companies.

To contribute to this effort, Fraunhofer IPK developed an initial course catalog in 2009 featuring seven training programs for people on short-time work. The idea behind the training offers was for researchers to bring specialists and managers' knowledge up to date in their respective disciplines and to impart skills that not only improve individual employees’ career prospects but also secure decisive competitive advantages for their companies in the post-crisis era. At the start of 2010, the practice-oriented continuing education program was launched under the label »Mehr Können«.

© Fraunhofer IPK
Fraunhofer IPK has been offering a practice-oriented event program under the »Mehr Können« label since 2010.

Science to the shop floor

As early as 2011, the institute expanded its offerings significantly: What had at the start been purely a continuing education program evolved into a diversified event program. Part-time degree programs, seminars, in-house training sessions, meetings and conferences, technology days, industry workshops and industry working groups now formed the portfolio – in some cases in cooperation with the IWF and the Fraunhofer Academy as partner in the continuing education sector. In the years that followed, industry workshops such as »Practice of Micro-Manufacturing« and »Practice of Additive Manufacturing« became established, as did the »Berliner Runde« as a leading networking forum for manufacturers, suppliers, and users of machine tools, along with an intensive seminar on knowledge balance sheet reporting that combines the topic of knowledge management with moderating skills in a holistic approach.

The secret to the success of these programs: a balanced mix of cutting-edge scientific knowledge and relevance to industrial applications. The events thrive on real-world examples and hands-on exercises. The PTZ test area, as well as the numerous in-house research laboratories, offer participants the opportunity to try out processes and equipment for themselves. Theoretical insights are illustrated with case studies from development activities, providing inspiration on how to apply these technologies within the participant's own company.

Certificates for complex competencies

In 2013, a new certification program, »PLM Professional«, was introduced. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) – the efficient handling of product data and development knowledge throughout the entire product lifecycle – was a key challenge for companies at the time. However, they lacked specialists with the necessary prior knowledge. With this part-time continuing education program, initially three weeks long and later reduced to two weeks, Fraunhofer IPK addressed this urgent need. The training content was developed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institutes IAO and IPT, the Bremen Institute for Structural Mechanics and Production Systems (bime) and in cooperation with renowned companies. Today, the certificate program is offered jointly with Fraunhofer IAO and the Fraunhofer Academy.

Digital transformation and the circular economy

Later, starting in 2020, the focus of the »Mehr Können« program shifted: Whereas previously, all events were held in person, online formats were now introduced that centered on the digital transformation of production. For specialists and managers, the rapid technological developments meant that skill profiles had changed and new qualification requirements had emerged.

Fraunhofer IPK responded to this development, for example, by launching the modular online certificate program »Mastering Digital Twins,« which teaches the skills required for one of Industry 4.0’s key technologies. Beginning in 2021, the program initially offered training to become a Digital Twins Business Consultant. In July 2026, the courses »Digital Twins Solutions Architect« and »Digital Twins Technical Developer« followed. New additions to the »Mehr Können« program now also include blended-learning offers focused on the circular economy. Foundational training courses on the systematic development of circular business models and structured preparation for the digital product passport, as well as a series of workshops on climate protection management in companies, make it clear: »Mehr-Können« is continuously evolving and preparing specialists and managers for the challenges of tomorrow’s production.