“I believe in hydrogen” An interview with Nico Rosberg 1 2 | 1 Climate stress Heavy rain, storms, high temperatures: How we are making our towns and cities more resilient What, as Chancellor, would Scholz do for research? An interview with the candidate “Campus of the senses” Whiskey & science: A meeting of enjoyments

A spring of new beginnings We are leaving behind a time that has demanded so much of so many, before us lies a spring of new begin- nings. At the very start of the year, the TMP branch of Fraunhofer IME became the independent Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main with loca- tions in Hamburg and Göttingen. The key scientific objective of this new institute, which currently employees over 120 people, is to transfer innovative ideas, technologies and methods from biomedical research for use in medical applications and industry. Transfer is the backbone of the German innovation system and the envy of so many other countries world- wide. Our innovative strength has remained intact. The European Patent Office EPO recently reported that last year, German companies and German inventors regis- tered more patents than any other country in Europe. The EPO registered almost 26,000 patent applications for the year 2020. But this is also about getting the ideas into the markets. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is set apart by its mind transfer, by its expertise and knowl- edge when researchers move into industry, when they patent, license and create spin-offs. We have seen 480 successful spin-offs since the year 2000. Each year, we have registered 600 high-tech pat- ents in our Fraunhofer Institutes, more than two per working day on average. When our Fraunhofer Venture celebrates its 20th anniversary this April, it will also be applauding 20 years of practical support for young companies and enterprise founders through access to Fraunhofer technologies, infrastructure and knowl- edge. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has committed to technology transfer with a passion. Spin-offs also fea- ture in this edition of the Fraunhofer magazine. The first quantum technology spin-off from Fraunhofer, Quantum Optics Jena, is about to start (p. 68) making 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine Editorial Prof. Reimund Neugebauer our communication networks more secure with quan- tum encryption. In the spin-off Volucap, researchers from Fraunhofer HHI are creating undreamed of 3D possibilities for film production (p. 72). And it’s surely no coincidence when former Formula One world cham- pion turned investor Nico Rosberg categorically states in an interview with this magazine that the Fraun- hofer-Gesellschaft, with its strategy papers and studies, had been extremely valuable to his investment deci- sions in sustainable startups (p. 92). Combining research and applications is what Fraun- hofer does best. It is our intention to steadfastly keep to this path. Only by doing so can we address the key challenges, such as the coronavirus pandemic, digitali- zation, the climate and mobility crisis, global trade conflicts and the regional structural transformation, that face our society today. And only then will we hold our own in the international competition. Outstanding research and technology are key to our shaping a posi- tive future. Let us work towards this together. Sincerely, Reimund Neugebauer President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft 3 r e b u H d r a h n r e B / r e f o h n u a r F : o t o h P

28 Big Data – Big Privacy The medical world is benefiting — but how do we protect the data? 30 DNA origami to fight infection New therapies for viruses and antibiotic-resistant germs 34 “Attack surfaces have got bigger” An interview: Dr. Haya Shulman, Winner of the IT Security Award 35 “Campus of the senses” How technology is learning to smell and hear — and what this will change 54 A voice from the business world Peter Körte, Chief Technology & Strategy Officer, Siemens AG 56 Our ecological recall Not everything used to be better: The Environmental Specimen Bank proves this is the case 60 Innovation leap with quantum computers The new age has begun — the first experiences at Fraunhofer in Germany 62 Teamwork post-corona What we are learning about working at home 30 DNA origami to fight infection Artistically folded strips are being used as a basis for new drugs. 64 New emergence from the forest Plan for Tokyo: A skyscraper from 90 percent wood — building megatrend. 64 New emergence from the forest Higher, faster, further: Record- breaking architecture with wood as the building material Quantum Optics Jena, the first quantum technology spin-off from Fraunhofer 68 Series: Start-ups with Fraunhofer 70 Nerve cells off the production line 72 It feels like I’m in the film! Hope for common ailments Dementia The Fraunhofer spin-off Volucap revolutionizes 3D Quality, interdisciplinarity and relevance for the economy: three award winners and their achievements 74 Hugo Geiger Prize 78 Economical wireless communication The Internet of Things and its immense energy requirement 80 Fraunhofer worldwide 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine 92 “I believe in hydrogen” Combustion engines made him world champion. As investor, he sees the future in a new light. An interview with Nico Rosberg. 82 Too good to throw away A world without waste, products in an eternal cycle 88 Reducing food waste with AI Intelligent algorithms help prevent twelve million tonnes of waste Technology from Fraunhofer IST on Mars 90 Fraunhofer & photo 92 “I believe in hydrogen” World Champion Nico Rosberg 95 Fraunhofer on the road An interview with ex-Formula One #homeoffice Requests are piling up at Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO (p. 60): What will work look like? What will the coronavirus have changed forever? Let’s start with the comforting news: 43 percent of people are just as productive working from home as they are in the office. 5 i a r o Z m o T , i e k k e S n e k k N i , i n i s o r o M a l e h c i M , s s i e H z n e H i , g a n f u H e n n A : s o t o h P

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine The system whisperer Avoiding production outages and optimizing maintenance routines — a mathematical model developed by experts at Fraunhofer ITWM makes this possible. By Marina Babl W ear and contamination are part and parcel of working with production system and machin- ery — as is the question: Is preventive mainte- nance better than risking an abnormal termination? The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM uses a model to consider this trade-off more precisely and to help cut costs. “Condition Monitoring”, meaning a permanent monitoring of a machine’s state, and “Predic- tive Maintenance”, a machine learning-based prognosis, support the decision with data. “Because of the immense variability of machines, systems and sensors, we have yet to see a standard product that can be conveniently used in every instance,” explains Dr. Benjamin Adrian, Project Manager in the “System Analysis, Prognosis and Control Department.” “We therefore offer custom solutions that address specific issues, which we then devise together with our customers.” A project with Berger Holding GmbH & Co. KG, a manufacturer of turned and milled parts, is focusing on the ball screw. These components are typically installed in machine tools. Ball screws are designed to last for an average of 10,000 operating hours, though their life span can be much more or less depending on the intensity of usage. Adrian, Project Manager: “A company that leases machine tools wants to calculate the wear on the ball screw caused by actual usage. A tool machine supplier can use this analysis to bill against usage intensity rather than intensity duration, for example.” No matter what the project requirements, the proce- dure is similar. The number of individual steps required depends on the issue being addressed. “The data watering can principle does not work here. Our procedure instead is focused and hypothesis-based. In other words, we make assumptions and check whether the data can support them,” explains Adrian. He and his team examine and process the data until an interpretable system status emerges, i.e. until all those involved understand exactly what the displayed values mean. G A i d u A , k c o t S e b o d A , a p d : s o t o h P If we have well-founded prognoses, we can plan the service and maintenance schedules for systems in line with requirements. Various analyses are used to determine which variables are relevant to the issue being addressed. The next step is to build a condition monitor, which uses the charac- teristics identified to monitor the condition of the system at the current operating point. As a result, critical events can be recognized instantly and the cause of the problem rectified. “Our great advantage here, being a mathemat- ical institute, is that we have a very broad knowledge of the most diverse new and also long-standing processes. This helps us find the best possible evaluation methods for each project, so in the end we have a very well-func- tioning condition monitor,” says Adrian summing up. In yet another step, the constantly collected data are searched for trends in order to derive prognoses for the rest of the operation. 7

Editorial notes Fraunhofer. The magazine, magazine for research, technology and innovation. ISSN 1868-3428 (print edition) ISSN 1868-3436 (online edition) Published by: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Hansastrasse 27c, 80686 Munich Editorial office address as above Phone +49 89 1205 1301 magazin@zv.fraunhofer.de www.fraunhofer.de/magazin Free subscription: Phone +49 89 1205 1301 publikationen@fraunhofer.de Editorial team: Janis Eitner (responsible for content), Josef Oskar Seitz (editor-in-chief), Dr. Sonja Endres, Roman Möhlmann Editorial assistants: Dr. Janine van Ackeren, Marina Babl, Mandy Bartel, Christine Broll, Meike Grewe, Sirka Henning, Dr. Monika Offenberger, Andrea Pletz, Stefan Ruzas, Moritz Schmerbeck, Tim Schröder, Franziska Sell, Beate Strobel, Mehmet Toprak, Britta Widmann Graphic design: Sibylle Schmitt, Eric Schütz (2issue) Layout + lithography: Vierthaler & Braun Cover image and cover story photography: Heinz Heiss Photographer for “Campus of the senses”: Michela Morosini Printed by: hofmann infocom GmbH, Nuremberg © Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft e.V. Munich 2021 Fraunhofer on Social Media: @Fraunhofer www.facebook.com/ fraunhoferde www.instagram.com/ fraunhofergesellschaft www.linkedin.com/company/ fraunhofer-gesellschaft k c o t S e b o d A , k a r o H p p i l i h P : s o t o h P 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine Until now, individual cells have had to be extracted from tissue samples by hand using enzymes, which leave behind traces on the surface of the cell. Effortless extraction of living cells The TissueGrinder is able to extract living cells from a sample of tissue by an automated process. T he technology was originally developed by Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA. A spin-off has now placed the product on the market ready for production. Because no two tumors are alike, an optimal treatment regime has to be tailored to each individual patient. But to be able to test which chemotherapeutic agent is best on a case-by-case basis, we need living cells. So far, it has not been possible to isolate these cells from a tissue sample undamaged and largely unchanged. “Recovering individual cells from tissue samples remains one of the barriers to personalized tumor diagnosis and treat- ment,” says Jens Langejürgen, Head of the Biomedical Sensors and Microsystems Group at Fraunhofer IPA and co-founder of the start-up Fast Forward Discoveries GmbH. In an automated, enzyme-free process, the TissueGrinder quickly extracts living cells from tissue samples. It works similar to a spice mill: Thanks to specially shaped blades, which are rotated by a grinding mechanism, it gently breaks up the tissue without destroying or damaging any cells. The miniature mill is no bigger than a shoe box and is able to process four tissue samples at once. One cycle takes less than five minutes. After the milling operation, tissue remnants and blood are automatically filtered off, and the isolated cells migrate to a separate container. The device is con- trolled by a touchscreen, on which the laboratory staff can select from the presets for various types of tissue — lymph nodes, bladder tumors, melanomas or cartilage, for instance. At the push of a button, the device then delivers the living cells from fresh tissue samples or extracts cells from archived histological excisions. 9

1 | 21 1111 Flooding as a climate problem: Sophie Mok from the Fraunhofer IAO knows that there are no panaceas. Intelligent water manage- ment, however, can help many cities.

1 | 21 “Our newly developed system not only allows water to seep away, it also stores it, mainly in underground blind drains.” Michael Würth, Project Manager for Climate Simulation at Fraunhofer IBP Michael Würth is planning to integrate water storage facilities into roads. 13

Dr. Susanne Bieker, Head of the “Transformation and innovation systems in urban spaces” cross-cutting topic at Fraunhofer ISI. 1 | 21 15

all” solution. Our experience shows: It is important to bring all stakeholders together and jointly develop, locally adapted and knowledge-based solutions. To achieve this aim, the Fraunhofer experts have compiled municipal gover- nance guidelines and alternative financing options for nature-based solutions. They have also collaborated with five other cities to develop individual roadmaps for improving resilience to climate change. What is the local vision for a climate-re- silient future in 2050? Where does the city stand right now — and which nature-based solutions would help reach the set goals? “Of course, a city in Finland faces different challenges than one in Spain,” explains Mok. “Therefore, we have different prob- lems to address, the visions also differ. However, most cities do face the important challenges in the areas of water manage- ment, urban heat islands and biodiversity.” In a further step, the researchers are planning to compile their results in an online database that will provide cities and municipalities with targeted knowledge about nature-based solutions and urban greening. How will room climates develop through to the year 2100? If we want to prevent heat stress for city dwellers, making streets of houses and squares prettier by urban greening is not enough. Another important aspect is the room climate inside buildings. A multidis- ciplinary team involving 27 partners from Europe and Egypt have been working on the “Climate for Culture” project, funded by the EU and coordinated by Fraunhofer IBP, to deliver a solid basis for assessing this issue. “We have coupled the hygrothermal building simulation model WUFI®Plus to climate models,” explains Dr. Johanna Leissner, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft representative in the research consortium. “This will allow us to simulate the room climate inside buildings through to the year 2100 and to analyze how climate change, but structural measures such as new windows, doors or shading too, is affecting the indoor climate and how much energy will be needed in the future for climate control in the building.” Coupling climate models to building simulation systems in this way has never been done before anywhere in the world — and has required a great deal of research work. First of all, the researchers had to define the parameters needed for the building simulation, and then calculate The research status on climate change in 20 words: 1. It is real. 2. We are the cause. 3. It is dangerous. 4. The experts are in agreement. 5. What else can we do. Klima wissen, Sept. 2020, published by the German Climate Consortium them out of the climate models. To achieve this, they needed to calculate the climate parameters with a resolution of ten by ten kilometers throughout Europe up to the year 2100. In fact, for two different scenarios since the true greenhouse gas emissions in the future can only be esti- mated. “There was a huge volume of data to process before we could feed it into the building simulation,” recalls Leissner. The research team validated the parameters 1 | 21 they had identified using climate data from the past. Although the project focused on historical buildings and cultural heritage, the simulation does lend itself to all kinds of buildings. Hurricanes and strong winds Although less sensational than droughts, heavy rain and rising temperatures, hurri- canes and strong winds are other relevant effects of climate change. The aim here is to systematically break through wind swaths without reducing the positive effects of ventilation used for cooling during the summer months. “Besides topography, the way the wind works its way through cities is also largely down to the man-made obstacles — in other words the buildings,” says Matthias Winkler from Fraunhofer IBP. “Meaning, there are only a few options open to us for buffering wind swaths because we can- not alter the existing building structure that much.” One such possibility is not to close gaps between buildings flush with other houses, but instead to erect the new building slightly higher. Another one is trees, shrubbery or works of art that are positioned at the start of a wind swath and break through the unimpeded wind passage. The urban climate model PALM-4U can be used to pinpoint the streets of houses in a city down which the wind whistles the strongest, and analyze the effects of such measures in especially windy corners in certain cities. The model is being devel- oped in the “Urban Climat Under Change” project by a research consortium, also belonging to Fraunhofer IBP. “PALM-4U will help us map temperature profiles up to building level and also to simulate wind swaths,” explains Winkler. The city of Berlin has already been simulated: We will be able to use this model in the future to reveal wind hotspots and examine approaches to counteract their effect. Will they have the desired effect? The researchers are also creating a model for Stuttgart, which they expect to be ready by the end of 2021. In the subproject ProPolis, the Fraunhofer researchers want to put the urban 17

climate model into practice and refine it so it meets the needs of municipalities and other users from practice. This includes developing a graphical user interface and training concepts. After all, the more practical and easier to use the model is, the more likely municipalities, cities and local communities are to take it on board. In the UCare4Citizen project, researchers are preparing the simulation results so that we can experience the complex infor- mation by wearing augmented reality glasses. In the KERES project, researchers are investigating the effects of extreme storms on cultural assets, focusing on both historical buildings and garden areas in the process. The technologies themselves? They are not the problem! A challenge running through most proj- ects for adapting to climate change like a common thread: For the most part, the technologies are in place. “The difficulty lies in getting them implemented,” says Dr. Susanne Bieker from Fraunhofer ISI. We would often hear the argument that the measures are too expensive. For Bieker, though, this does not hold: “There are numerous sources of funding. The ‘Water in the city of the future’ initiative, for example, covers up to 100 percent of the costs in some cases. Many cities also offer a ‘Green roofs program.’ Habits combined with ignorance and the will to create myths often stops the funding getting to where it needs to be,” Bieker knows only too well. As one such myth would have it: Photovoltaics and green roofs can’t be combined. Complete nonsense, in Bieker’s opinion. In fact, the exact opposite is true: Green roofs cool the photovoltaic elements from below, improving their performance by four to five percent. An important lever for climate-resilient urban planning, therefore, is allaying the fears of the decision makers, communi- cating more information about the indi- vidual measures and unraveling the host of possible remedies. Researchers at Fraunhofer ISI are pursuing this goal in a feasibility study in Bochum. The team approached a large housing association 1 | 21 “The solutions are intertwined. If we save some of the water the monsoon season brings, it will be available in the dry spells.” Dr. Marius Mohr, Head of Innovation Field Water Technologies and Resource Recovery at Fraunhofer IGB The proportion of hurricanes in the strongest categories 3, 4 und 5 increased from 1979 to 2017 by around a quarter, from 32 percent to 40 percent. 19

1 | 21 charging the bodies of water would be to use the open channels that were created during the colonization period but are now clogged with garbage. “We want to exper- iment with the approach on a small district — our hope is that the city will embrace the idea and roll it out in other districts too,” says Mohr. Turning to Saltillo, Mexico — the sec- ond city lab. Defined by the automotive industry, this prosperous city lies in the Chihuahuan desert and is by nature very arid. Due to the effects of climate change, however, water scarcity is a growing prob- lem. Water efficiency is therefore becom- ing an important subject, especially for industry. Together with partners and associates, the researchers will decide in summer 2021 which projects are to be realized. “Research projects are often halted when recommended actions are devised for the customer. I think it’s wonderful that in the context of the city labs, we can implement tangible approaches in the form of pilot projects,” enthuses Jose Antonio Ordonez, scientist at Fraunhofer ISI and project manager. “We can then see whether the approach is reaping the desired suc- cesses, sort out the teething troubles and then replicate it or scale it up.” And by doing so, gradually better counteract the effects of climate change in the cities. “It is important to bring all stake- holders together and develop common, locally adapted and knowledge- based solutions.” Sophie Mok, scientist at Fraunhofer IAO Photographer Heinz Heiss traveled to the researchers for the pictures in this edition of the Fraunhofer Magazine with his specially designed photo wallpaper. To adjust the light, the award-winning photojournalist took hold of the umbrella himself. 21

Schmidt. Scharping. Schröder. Steinmeier. Steinbrück. Schulz. And the new chancellor hope- ful is called Scholz: What does the “S” in SPD stand for again? Scholz: For a social democratic policy that is shaped by respect, that has a clear plan for the 2020s and that stands for a strong and sovereign Europe. As the SPD, we are fighting for a strong result that will allow me to become chancellor. If you like, then: Schmidt. Schröder. Scholz. The coronavirus has changed our lives, and perhaps our society as well. Is solidarity more than just a nostalgic reminder for social democratic romantics? The pandemic is highlighting the importance of mutual respect and strong social cohesion. The only way to successfully overcome this historic challenge is to be there for one another, and sup- port and help one other. Giving up social contact and restricting public life and business activities to protect people’s lives and health is solidarity through action. Solidarity also involves us, as a state, assisting employees and organizations with massive rescue packages in this difficult time to make sure we all come through the crisis in the best possible shape. Indonesia decided to prioritize the younger population in its vaccination drive: Key players first. Is an economically powerful Germany squandering significant competitive advantages by protecting its older generation first — being expected to share its vaccines equally with other European countries as well? I am pleased that Germany is seeing a broad con- sensus for the decision by the Standing Committee on Immunization to vaccinate the most vulnerable first: The very old. And those exposed to a very high risk of infection because of their work in hospitals and care homes. We have a duty to protect the weakest members of society. And I wholly agree with the EU’s centralized approach to procuring the vaccines. However, I believe that the process could have been faster and more organized. Our only way out of this pandemic is to vaccinate — and I do understand the growing sense of impatience we are all feeling. Now it’s important for us to organize as much vaccine as possible, carry out mass testing and roll out the vaccine as quickly as we can. Which vulnerabilities has the coronavirus exposed in our economy? For a start, it has shown just how robust our econ- omy is as a whole, despite the pandemic. 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine “I plan to help our public research institutions, which includes those of the Fraunhofer- Gesellschaft, bring their ideas and innovations to the market.” Economic development last year did not turn out as bad as feared. This being in part due to the resolute financial steps we took early on. Thanks to a strong rescue package and an extensive economic program, we have held firm. Europe too has found a powerful joint response to the crisis. We engineered a vaccine in Germany and developed it in record time. Where do our country’s true strengths lie — and what brings you hope for the future? Our country is strong, united and has many capable and bright minds. The development of the coronavirus vaccine is a fine example. We have a sound industrial basis, competitive companies, a highly trained workforce, an extensive and superb research landscape and a solid, dependable welfare state. All this builds an excellent foundation for successfully overcoming the challenges of climate change and digitalization we are facing. What we now need is a clear plan, bold decisions and deter- mined effort. What could research and science expect from a Chancellor Scholz? Excellent science and research are key to our prosperity. We intend to successfully shape the transformation to a climate-neutral society and 23 l g a n f u H e n n A : o t o h P

“Quantum technology is the next great technological leap. The Fraunhofer- Gesellschaft is playing a key role in this.” 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine The comeback guy Hopes for a tailwind 2020 Comeback Scholz strikes again: The SPD elects him as chancellor candidate. Nine months before, he was still in the runoff election for party chairman. 2015 On the way to the top Olaf Scholz after the Hamburg council election together with his wife Britta Ernst, then minster of eduction, now Brandenburg minister of education, youth and sport. He runs and runs and runs 2003 German Federal Minister of Labor Olaf Scholz spends time during his visit to Munich jogging in the Englischen Garten with Franz Maget, the then Group Chairman of the Bavarian SPD. solve the chicken and egg situation facing electric cars: There are too few electric cars because we do not have enough charging points. And there are not enough charging points because there are too few electric cars to make operation commercially viable. And if we are to have CO2-free heavy goods vehicles, we need to establish a network of hydro- gen gas stations. We also need much more power from renewable energies and a far more efficient supply grid. Not only that, we should be focusing on hydrogen technology big time. The “Handelsblatt” newspaper, not usually considered a forum for lay psychology, has analyzed a German state of mind: “After 16 years of Angela Merkel, citizens see themselves as a male version of the long-standing chancellor.” Will the winning formula Merkel used in her election campaign: “You know me” be any help to you?” As people well know, I don’t tend to psychoanalyze. However, it’s no bad thing that people know who I am and that, as Lord Mayor of Hamburg, German federal minister and vice chancellor, I know how to govern and lead. 2003 Comeback Scholz Despite having lost the election in Hamburg, Gerhard Schröder made him General Secretary of the SPD. The comeback qualities remain: In 2004, he stepped down due to the agenda reforms, but in 2007 became federal minister of labor who can turn the financial crisis into a chance to raise his profile as crisis manager. 2001 Well-armed As senator of the interior in Hamburg, Olaf Scholz faces the police dog team well-armed. Ruffling not only his hair 1982 From 1982 to 1984, Olaf Scholz was Deputy Juso Chair, criticizing the “aggressive imperialistic NATO” and the Federal Republic as a “European stronghold of big business.” 25 a p d : s e g a m i r e h t o l l a ; i i k w e d - e n o t s d a G / 0 4 - l . A S - Y B - C C : 2 8 9 1 : s o t o h P

Angela Merkel, 66, German Chancellor Stefan Löfven, 63, Prime Minister of Sweden Sebastian Kurz, 34, Austrian Chancellor 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine 294 Measures for making masks mandatory in Germany 13 Measures for making masks mandatory in Sweden 138 Measures for restricting local public transport July 2020 October 2020 January 2021 deal with pandemics? Are there standards that demonstrably help? How can we get organizations such as the Federal Agency for Technical Relief involved? Müller: “The results could help build a higher resilience by helping the policy- makers better understand the implications of their decisions, and ultimately bolster- ing the crisis management system.” Data from various sources, including the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker or the CoronaNet, the world’s larg- est database containing over 50,000 coro- navirus-containing measures from 195 states, are set to be merged to create one standardized pool, which can then be used for analytical purposes. “Taken as a whole, our project delivers great added value. We are looking at consequences in all areas — from health, society and the economy to the feedback effects for the political system through to innovation, crisis man- agement and research institutions. We are also breaking new ground in terms of research data management,” explains Daniela Beyer from Fraunhofer ISI. “State of disbelief” The first evaluations of the political deci- sions show that Germany, having intro- duced 1848 official measures, is behind the USA (4020) in the world ranking but still ahead of China (1703). And while Sweden has implemented 13 measures to make mask wearing compulsory since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the figure here in Germany is 294. Conversely, Germany has implemented 51 measures to restrict local public transport whereas 138 such measures have been counted in Austria. A Fraunhofer study from 2013 shows that this kind of research work loses none of its relevance. The study reads like a blueprint for the present day. It reports millions of infections, tens of thousands of fatalities and the closure of schools and vaccination quotas. “Influenza pandemic in Germany 2020 — Scenarios and action options” is the title of the paper, written at Fraunhofer INT in Euskirchen. “The study was never really forgotten, but when the first lockdown came, we studied once again what our colleagues had described”, reports Larissa Müller. “So much was relevant. Once the coronavirus outbreak happened, we were rubbing our eyes in disbelief.” ) 3 ( a p d : s o t o h P 27

W ithin Europe, all aspects are in fact clearly regulated: Any party processing personal data in com- pliance with the law in big data environments has to consider data privacy when developing its solution. Clear so far — as far as the security of a person’s privacy is con- cerned. The fact that this issue always deserves a closer look is shown in the context of machine learning: Because the algorithms are usually trained and evaluated on data sets that have no common element, it has long been assumed that it is not possible to draw conclusions about the data used for training from the final model. Some security experts, however, such as Prof. Martin Steinebach, Head of IT Forensics at Fraunhofer SIT in Darmstadt, have been able to prove that certain technologies unexpectedly clearly recall the individual pieces of informa- tion and react more strongly to known data. We are also seeing more and more new processes that allow specific data to be extracted from the networks. Steinebach uses a fictitious example to outline the risks: A disease can be diagnosed by looking at a person’s face. There is now an app that can show people whether they are sick or vulnerable. The system used in the app is trained with portraits of sick people with a confirmed diagnosis. “If I want to release the app, I have to make the knowledge taken from this network available,” explains Steinebach. He believes there is a very real danger of the latest technology being able to trace the photos back to the patients and their data. Steinebach: If a system designed to provide people with more medical security on the basis of machine learning were to sud- denly become a mechanism that could expose them, “we would have a catastrophe on our hands.” How can we link big data analyses with data privacy? Privacy-preserving Machine Learning (PPML) is the name given to the relatively young research field that conveys the importance of this issue. It has set itself the goal of protecting the privacy of the individual, while allowing models to be trained on the data of large groups of people. The approaches already masterminded by the researchers are being applied in the “Pri- vacy and Big Data” study being conducted by Fraunhofer SIT. “What strategies will allow me to anonymize data to such an extent that I can still run big data analyses on them while pre- serving privacy at the same time?”, asks Martin Steinebach, as one of the authors, getting to the heart of the research work. In the study, the authors are evaluating the key encryption technologies using the process- ing sequences in big data systems: From secure transmission channels, “data in transit”, to secure storage, “data at rest” — through to secure pro- cessing, “data in use”. Steinebach generally believes developments in big data and data security to be on the right track: “All those involved have learned a lot and companies have become more candid. The General Data Protection Regulation has made it very clear to many that they cannot continue to ignore the issue. Those responsible are taking the issue far more seriously merely because data privacy violations are now quantifiable.” What do data lose in terms of value when they are anonymized? To what extent does privacy influence the results of big data analyses in reality? “To have a well- founded basis for making decisions, a company has to see in no uncertain terms: If I can no longer distinguish between individual users, only groups of ten for example, how does this impact my analysis mechanisms? Do they become one percent less accurate, ten percent or are we in the order of ppm? Only if I know this can I also know what the cost will be. I can then deliberate over whether a business model, which is data-based but which calls for ano- nymization, is viable in its intended form.” In a current research project, the security expert and his team are therefore examining how much value data do actually loose when they are anonymized. Steinebach is convinced that the results of the study will be able to dispel current concerns: “I am very confident that in many cases, the implications of anonymization are far less serious than feared.” z t i e S f e s o J , k c o t S e b o d A : s o t o h P 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine “If a system designed to provide more medical security were to suddenly become a mechanism that could expose them, we would have a catastrophe on our hands.” Prof. Martin Steinebach 29

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine The DNA origami with the initials of the Fraunhofer IZI consists of a structure of DNA strands. Attached to the structure at selected places are proteins, which form the logo. W hen the Japanese practice the art of origami, they fold fine quality paper into beautiful objects of nature like cranes or delicate blossoms. When Dr. David M. Smith takes to origami, he uses an even more noble material. He folds DNA to make three-armed star shapes, tubes or rings. At times, he aligns the DNA strands so exquisitely that they form a micro- scopic carpet, which he then adorns with proteins or sugar molecules. The physi- cist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI in Leipzig is using these scaffolds to create the basis for a new class of drug. Drugs that have the ability to effectively disarm pathogenic, even antibiotic-resistant microbes. Smith and his team have already demonstrated that this principle works — first on the influenza virus and latterly on the respiratory syncytial virus, RSV for short. The RSV is one of the most significant I Z I r e f o h n u a r F : o t o h P The origami measures just 70 by 100 nanometers, equivalent to 1 thousandth of the diameter of a hair. pathogens causing respiratory diseases in babies and small children, although infec- tions occur in all age groups. Laboratory experiments conducted together with Dr. Thomas Grunwald, Head of the Preclinical Validation Working Group at Fraunhofer IZI, demonstrated a remarkable effect. The peptides that are bound to the three-armed DNA constructs are much better at fighting RSV viruses than individual peptides. The first experiments are currently underway, in order to test the effect on mice. In the CoronaSense project, supported as part of the Fraunhofer vs. Corona program, the working group headed by David M. Smith is also developing three-armed DNA con- structs to fight SARS-CoV-2. The logic is that the receptors on the coronavirus spike protein are also made up of three sub- units. US biochemist Ned Seemann came up with the idea of using DNA as the building material as early as 1982. However, it 31

was nine years before he actually managed to build the first intricate scaffold struc- tures. “Back then, producing DNA in the lab was a highly complex matter,” explains David M. Smith. It would take weeks or even months to synthesize just one single, short strand. Nowadays, specialized firms deliver DNA strands with any desired genome sequence to order within a matter of days. It goes without saying that Smith does not use the naturally occurring DNA, which consists of two strands bonded to one another, for his origamis. Instead, he takes individual strands of DNA and structures them in such a way that they can be assem- bled to create the desired form according to his blueprint (see graphic). In practice, this is quickly done. The pre-built DNA strands arrive in a test tube, are heated to 90 degrees and then cooled down again very slowly. During this process, individ- ual complementary strands pair up to form a double stranded structure. Trident attacks viruses more effectively “We have found three-armed structures to be highly effective in the development of anti-viral agents,” says Smith. The Texan, who joined Fraunhofer IZI in 2013, attaches small proteins called peptides to the tips of the three arms. This creates a “harpoon” which launches itself onto the receptors of viruses. “Virus receptors often consist of three sub-units,” explains Smith. “The harpoon is able to bind to all three sub-units at the same time. This is significantly more effective. We have already protected this technology with two patents.” In principle, the harpoons act like antibodies. They stop the virus penetrating cells by bonding themselves to the receptors. While three-armed DNA scaffolds are relatively easy to produce, structures formed from several hundred individual strands are accredited to the fine art of DNA origami. David M. Smith demon- strated his prowess in this area too at the tenth anniversary of Fraunhofer IZI. He created a DNA origami bearing the initials of the institute. To do so, he used one Dr. David M. Smith studied physics and philosophy at the University of Texas. He joined Fraunhofer IZI in Leipzig in 2013, where he now heads the DNA Nanosystems Working Group. DNA origami making your own paper model Simply download the PDF with the template, print it out and follow the detailed video instruction to fashion a colorful DNA double helix. You can find the instruction here: www.yourgenome. org/activities/origami-dna 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine extremely long strand of DNA, which he bonded to short strands to create a fine carpet. He then attached proteins to this structure at selected points to form the “IZI” logo. To bring the work of art to life, it had to be photographed using a special atomic force microscope — the origami measures just 70 by 100 nanometers, equivalent to one thousandth of the diam- eter of a hair. This is how the origami made it onto the cover page of the 2014 annual report. New weapon in the fight against antibiotic-resistant microbes In a project called Glyco3Display, Smith is working in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces to develop a new class of antimicrobial agents. He is approaching this by attach- ing various types of sugar to his DNA scaffolds. He looks for sugars that bind to bacteria, more or less neutralizing them in the process. To ensure that the processes involved are executed with military precision, the project team has set up a screening platform. It is designed to answer two questions: Which sugars bind to which bacteria? And the second: What is the optimal geometric arrange- ment for the sugars on the DNA scaffold? The first tests were ran using the intestinal bacterium E.coli and look very promis- ing. Next, the team will test respiratory viruses such as Influenza A, RSV and of course SARS-CoV-2. “We could adminis- ter the therapeutic agent as a spray or for patients to inhale,” reasons Smith. “That way, we reach the throat and the lungs at the same time.” The application of the sugar DNA con- structs for diagnostic purposes is more advanced. The specific binding of the sugar to the surface of viruses can also be used to detect viruses. Smith wants to market the technology through a spin-off. “With the AHEAD program designed to promote start-ups, Fraunhofer Venture is helping us conduct market research and develop a blueprint,” says excitedly, adding with a wink: “The platform we are developing now will allow us to react to the next platform at speed.” 33

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine Over many months, corona has made us aware of just how precious our senses are: smell, taste — all under threat because of the coronavirus. Enjoyment has become a rare experience in the lockdown. The plan being deployed to fight the pandemic is endangering enjoyment as a way of life. Fraunhofer researchers are work- ing on digitalizing the senses. We’ll be discussing how technology sounds, smells and tastes in an encounter with professionals from the industry. Whiskey & science p. 36 Research & cuisine p. 44 Technology & the senses p. 50 35

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine Over many months, corona has made us aware of just how precious our senses are: smell, taste — all under threat because of the coronavirus. Enjoyment has become a rare experience in the lockdown. The plan being deployed to fight the pandemic is endangering enjoyment as a way of life. Fraunhofer researchers are work- ing on digitalizing the senses. We’ll be discussing how technology sounds, smells and tastes in an encounter with professionals from the industry. Whiskey & science p. 36 Research & cuisine p. 44 Technology & the senses p. 50 35

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine Stefan Gabányi, Whiskey connoisseur — Author of “Schumann‘s Whisk(e)y Lexicon”, the definitive work for whiskey aficionados. He worked with bar legend Charles Schumann for 23 years. Stefan Gabányi has been running his own bar in Munich since 2012. 37

L eading the way to indulgence, descending ten steps, into the bar. Soles squeal on the fresh black surface, the floor has just be repainted. Deep, dark brown leather chairs await. Right at the back a piano, this boss plays here himself too. Now he reaches for the bottle. Stefan Gabányi pours a whiskey. A Longrow Single Malt. The incidence rate is still too high to welcome guests. So these are the only glasses the host will be filling in his bar in Munich this evening. Indulgence is becoming an endangered way of life. Restaurants, pubs and bars — all long since locked down. For the moment, he’s the homemaker, says Gabányi. The barman is being modest. For 23 years, he worked night after night in the legendary Schumann’s bar in Munich as a recognized whiskey expert. Since 2012, he has been running his own bar, open until five in the morning, when life was normal, with live music once a week. His definitive work “Schumann’s Whisk(e)y Lexicon”, has just been pub- lished, translated into English for the international whiskey aficionados. Gabányi pours, just for nosing. But what does that actually mean: Just for nosing? If the nose doesn’t react to this whiskey, it’s high time for a coronavirus test. “First the peat note,” explains Gabányi. “For some, this is also akin to a medicine, reminiscent of iodine. Then we get the fruit. Cloves too. A touch of salt or pepper...” Dr. Tilman Sauerwald sniffs, concentrating. “There’s a hint of sweetness too,” the expert from the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV wracks his brains: “Pear?” While ever we are breathing, we can smell. 350 receptor types work around the clock, day and night. No matter whether asleep or awake, scent molecules excite the olfactory cells, produce a current that’s directed through the nerve fibers into the brain, reach the brain areas of the limbic system, responsible for emotion and mood, and the hippocampus, respon- sible for memory and recall. This dedicated circuit makes smelling so immediate — and so difficult for us humans. To express the unfathomable, experts resort to word crutches. Gabányi recounts whiskey tastings in Scotland, where the connoisseurs passionately try to find the best superlatives to describe the bouquet. “Like a wet horse blanket,” he’s even heard. Or even: “This one smells like a seagull’s armpit.” Dr. Tilman Sauerwald takes a different approach. The physicist and expert for gas measurement tech- nology is the Project Manager in the “Campus of the senses”. Under this initiative, sponsored by the Bavar- ian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Develop- ment and Energy, experts from Fraunhofer IVV and 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, working in cooperation with the Friedrich-Alexan- der-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, are researching the sense of smell and taste — and are planning to translate these chemosensory perceptions into machine and digital concepts. Together with his team, Sauer- wald chose whiskey as the research subject. As a scientist, he is fascinated by the diversity, the wealth of variants, the complexity. 350 receptor types work 24 hours, day and night. These are the aromas that people like in a whiskey: pear and citrus, ginger and mint. “You have your work cut out there!”, says Gabányi in amazement. “A very complex task indeed,” agrees Sauerwald. In his bar, the whiskey man explains the diversity of aromas. “The water, that’s very important!”, says Gabányi. As an example, he describes Islay, the Heb- rides island battered by storms and famous for the most Scottish of all Scottish whiskeys. The island is covered in peat, which turns the water pale yellow — and alters its taste. This increases the whiskey’s phenol content. Ten ppm in the malt creates a slightly smoky taste, 40 ppm and upwards make it a concoc- tion for specialists. Gabányi also talks about the Scottish pot stills, which would be too impure for German distillers. Precisely why they are able to impart more complex aromas. Then he turns to the casks, for many experts quite simply “the mother of the whiskey”, because this is where 60 to 80 percent of the aroma 39 600 pages of palatable reading for connoisseurs. The English version has just been published.

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine Nose for whiskey Process development of an automated aroma evaluation Human sensory evaluation Trained testers determine an aroma profile for the whiskey against which the mechanical evaluation has to be “measured”. Example of an aroma 2-phenylethanol: floral, honey-like Automated result All the molecules identified by the fingerprint are used to carry out a holistic aroma assessment of the complex mixture. Artificial Intelligence is used to determine the whiskey’s aroma profile. Molecular fragments Example of a flavoring agent 2-methoxyphenol: smoky, phenolic, burnt Automated evaluation Because of its mass spectrum and other characteristics, every molecule possesses a unique fingerprint. Fraunhofer IVV is developing a new method for the automated detection of the molecules from this fingerprint. Molecular fragments The evaluation is performed using the characteristic mass spectra of the molecules, which emerge from the molecular fragments. Mass spectrometer The molecules are ionized in the detector. During the electron impact ionization process, they are pounded with electronics, causing them to disintegrate into fragments that are in turn unraveled according to mass. Molecules […] V V I r e f o h n u a r F : e c r u o s ; e u s s i 2 : s c i h p a r g o f n I Cross section of the capillary Length: 30 m (wound) Glass capillary Carrier gas as mobile phase Stationary phase from thin, almost liquid polymer film Physical separation principle The aromas interact with the polymer film. They condense and evaporate. At the same time, the molecules are separated from one another and exit the column at different times. Gas chromatograph heats up under control from room temperature to approx. 250°C. Sampling Aromas are extracted from the whiskey and transferred to the gas chromatograph. Whiskey sample 41

C an we smell the first charcoal grill on a warm spring day? The last welcom- ing open fire, there’s still quite a chill towards evening time? Or is a cable on fire in our neighbor’s kitchen? Humans are a good sort. They decide spontaneously, quickly and with absolute certainty — they simply have a good nose for knowing what to do when it comes to life and survival: Pleasure and danger. And the technology? Smoke alarms are mandatory in all 16 states for private dwellings. Only in Saxony does the law still apply only to new buildings. Smoke alarms are installed in hallways and living rooms, nurseries and bedrooms. But not in kitchens. In 2020, the “Vereinigung zur Förderung des Deutschen Brand- schutzes” (German Fire Protection Association) published very clear figures from the statistics on fire damage. The major risk factor in private dwellings is the kitchen. 48 percent of fires in homes break out around the stove and the oven. In 24 percent of cases, fires run rampant from trash cans. In those places where the fire risk is greatest, then, there is currently a dearth of automatic warning devices — even though, another finding from the study, the fires would not have spread as far had the alert been raised by an alarm system. The amount of loss would also remain lower. For smoke alarms to be able to raise the alert in the most dangerous places too, they have to learn to distinguish between a chop burning in the pan and a kitchen curtain that gets caught in the gas flame. At the moment, however, the vast majority of warn- ing devices do not detect the various concentrations of the different gases. The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS and the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV are work- ing on a solution in a joint project called “Campus of the senses”. They want to improve safety in the home and reduce the number of false alarms using technical sensors and AI-based evaluations. Sebastian Hettenkofer is fascinated by the idea of teaching a machine to understand the complex world of mol- ecules — and open the door to a machine learning system for detecting fires from odors. The mathematician at Fraunhofer IIS in Erlangen comes from image processing. In this work, he expe- rienced how far technology has come in terms of replicating — or even surpassing the potential of the human eye. “Analyzing odors is a far more difficult field,” he learned. Yet: “Even smoke holds an unbe- lievable latent potential.” But the problems are also daunting. Smoke is vola- tile. There is no data basis. To be able to measure the Human error, such as dropping a cigar on the carpet, is a common cause of fire. Causes of fire in Germany 32% Electricity 17% Human error 9 % Arson Germany: 2002 to 2019 Source: Statista 2021 i n i s o r o M a l e h c i M : s o t o h P 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine target gases and create comparability frameworks, fires have to be simulated in special fire rooms, and this takes great effort. The areas, after all, are highly individualized: Where is there an apartment, with its fabrics, floor coverings and furnishings, that is wholly comparable with the neighbor’s one? Despite all the problems still to be solved, Sebas- tian Hettenkofer is firmly convinced about the advan- tages of an innovative technical solution over the time-honored smoke detector, the nose. “Technology,” he says, is incredibly powerful in terms of objectivity, reproducibility and continuity.” His hope is that he and his team will be presenting for Fraunhofer a prototype that promises to deliver real safety benefits within one to two years. The Fraunhofer man from IIS: “This will be a genuine benefit to society.” 43

An encounter 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine How do you envisage a world without aromas? Büttner: Frightful! I once lost my sense of smell because of an infection — I was full of dread! Mr. Nakamura, as a chef you are presumably just as anxious over your olfactory epithelium. Nakamura: Indeed. Early last year, I lost my sense of taste completely — fortunately I tested negative for Covid. In my profession, this is just like a skier breaking his leg. But for restaurant clientèle too, there’s no pleasure without a sense of smell. Their passion disappears. They no longer have a subjec- tive experience. After all, we associate so many aromas and fragrances with our subconscious! What is your first memory of a scent as a child? Nakamura: The fragrance of Nabe, this Japanese hotpot. With dashi, the classic broth made from kombu algae and bonito dried fish, vegetables and tofu added in, the delicate essence of soya beans — all simmered together in the middle of the table, with the smell of the log fire burning in our fireplace to boot: The nose evokes memories like these in all of us. We build ourselves a world around them. All the important things in life involve smell- ing, eating and drinking. Without this direct asso- ciation, days on which we would normally celebrate are not so easy to recall. Ascension day? No idea. Christmas then? Of course. Roast goose? Ditto. Ms. Büttner, which childhood memory does a particular scent evoke for you? Büttner: My Dad was a carpenter, actually quite a famous one — he made the bed and the swing ship for the fictional character Pumuckl. I played in the wood shavings. My bedroom was all stone pine. This has always been an unbelievable scent for me. Incidentally, we are analyzing wood odors at my Fraunhofer Institute at the moment. It’s astonishing how little we know about them. We are constantly discovering new aromas that the world has no idea about. I am always delighted when we are able to synthesize them — suddenly, you are standing in a cloud of scent that nobody else has ever experi- enced before. About 15 percent of people have no sense of smell, or a very poor sense of smell. How many of them are taste dyslexic, so to speak? Büttner: Many, an alarming number. And it’s not only a coronavirus issue. Other infections could also harm our sense of smell and taste: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, neuro-degenerative diseases, including the aging process in itself — the quota is astonish- ingly high. In our institute, therefore, we do more than just investigate aromas, we analyze people too. We take individual aromas and test the 45 “All the important things in life involve smelling, eating and drinking.” Tohru Nakamura, 37, earned his second Michelin star in 2016. www.tohrunakamura.de

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine mind, an understanding of the basic process and of what makes most “sense”. Ms. Büttner, you are developing new foods and seeking alternatives to meat. You grew up in Maxvorstadt in Munich. How do you like roast pork? Büttner: I love it! But the crackling has to be per- fect. If we’re having meat, let’s have good meat! And of course excellent dumplings. Mr. Nakamura, could you imagine your kitchen without meat? Nakamura: In my kitchen, we have the same quality expectation of a beetroot as we do of a fillet steak — essentially, then, the answer is yes. No fish, however, would be a different matter. A kitchen without dairy products would be very, very difficult. And without any eggs? These items simply play a monumental role in the kitchen. Inciden- tally, I eat very little meat personally. So the idea of wanting to recreate meat from plant-based raw materials is a difficult one for me to understand. So this vegetarian mincemeat burger ... Year”, ambassador of Japanese cuisine since 2020”: What does this man cook on an average day in his kitchen at home? Nakamura: First of all I have to say — I love to cook, even when I’m at home and not working. Once a week, I need conventionally cooked Japanese rice for my inner harmony, otherwise my yin and yang are out of balance. Served with a generous helping of vegetables. Of course, it’s easier to come by good quality vegetables than good quality meat or fish. What would be your advice when speed is of the essence? Nakamura: Toast some bread, pop a wedge of vach- erin in the oven, add a salad — and there you have a superb dish. Just on that, Ms. Büttner, do you see a way of transferring the aroma we get from a tomato vine to the fruit itself? We know they are toxic, of course, but the fragrance... Büttner: A scientist at our institute has just found from an analysis that tomatoes retain their taste better if they arrive at the shop on the vine. I’m confident we can answer to your question too. …is the work of the devil for you? Ms. Büttner, Mr. Nakamura, thank you Nakamura: Let’s say it goes beyond my culinary powers of imagination at the moment. But I do admit: 20 years ago, I could not have imagined a smartphone either. You do believe, then, in technical advancements in the food world? Nakamura: I find food from insects extremely exciting, because this source of protein could solve many of mankind’s problems. Perhaps we just need to skip a generation. We are not quite that rational: Why do we splash out so much on a lobster, while many people find grasshoppers simply abhorrent? Büttner: We are currently working on the KERBSE project. This is a Camembert from pea protein. Mr. Nakamura, I can see you cringing a little there! Nakamura: As a chef, I tend to go for the most nat- ural products, the ones created with the most care. I like to do business with those farm producers who pour passion and appreciation into making the things that impress us. The pea Camembert sounds rather like painting by numbers. Büttner: You shouldn’t view this as an either/or sit- uation. We’re simply seeking to unlock additional sources of food. Nakamura: You are right there. We have to differ- entiate between haute cuisine and our day-to-day diet, which might have us eating a high proportion of meat and animal products, often unwittingly. You’re making me very curious, Mr. Nakamura. Your first Michelin star in 2013, a sec- ond Michelin star in 2016, two-time “Chef of the very much for talking to us. Before my very eyes, I am seeing the third Michelin star unfold for Mr. Nakamura in the interplay between the practice and the theory of enjoyment. Fragrance and aroma samples on the table: Tohru Nakamura, Prof. Büttner and Josef Oskar Seitz comparing notes. — Successful encounters Just one week after the interview with the Fraunhofer Magazine, Michelin two star chef Tohru Nakamura and Institute Director Andrea Büttner agreed to collaborate on five definitive projects for research into the senses at Fraunhofer IVV in Freising. 47

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine Research “over the counter” Sebastian Hettenkofer, Fraunhofer IIS, headquartered in Erlangen 1 What for you personally is especially fascinating about digitizing the senses? For many years, my research focused on how we can capture the emotional or affective impact of our sen- sory impressions. I collaborated especially on processes for analyzing facial expressions. Part of this involved getting machines to be empathetic so that they can adapt to human feelings. As a researcher, of course, my curiosity grew: How does a person actually process various sensory impressions? And how can I emulate this using artificial intelligence? 2 What are you hoping for in terms of a result? I work in applied research and in the past, have collaborated on a number of successful product developments. I find it particularly gratifying when the result of years of research and development becomes available “over the counter” so-to-speak. I have similar hopes for our research into the digitization of the senses: If, for example, we could translate some of the spectacular aspects of our sense of smell to an AI-sup- ported sensor. Not only would the sensor be able to detect a fire in a room, it could also identify the type of fire to ensure the correct extinguishing agent is used. 3 What is it that makes human perception so unique in comparison to technology — and where will technology play to its strengths? Human beings are able to adapt to situations and spe- cialize in what is important to them (safety for exam- ple). Technology, on the other hand, scores in terms of objectivity and continuity and is not necessarily limited to what a human being instantly perceives as important or rational. The aim, of course, is to combine these strengths with one another. 49 Non-smoker Sebastian Hettenkofer, Fraunhofer IIS, is more fascinated by smoke and its composition than he is by cigars.

Fraunhofer magazine 1 | 21 Connecting co-workers “Please God, give us ear lids!” Kurt Tucholsky, bemoaning in his book “Castle Gripsholm. A Summer Story”. Of course, we can close our eyes, look away. But we can’t close our ears — until now that is. The Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Oldenburg is using AI-supported technology to develop intelligent ear protection the size of an earbud. Blind source separation algorithms are already capable of differentiating noise from speech. A hear- able will then be able to tune speech and background noise to one another in such a way that the spoken word remains intelligible and the ambient noises are audible, but not too loud. For natural sound in the ear, sound will also be reproduced in the correct direction in a way we can perceive. As a result, the orientation in the room will be preserved. The Fraunhofer scientists envisage the device being used in places such as noisy working environments, loud workshops for example. In such applications, the hearable is also able to connect together co-workers who may, for example, be situated on different sides of a machine and cannot hear each other at all. Hearing our co-worker, masking out machine noise: This is how AI helps our hearing in noisy working environments. Understanding TV better It’s Sunday. The popular series “Tatort” is showing. It’s a viewership record. A good fifth of viewers find listening difficult because their hearing is impaired. A recurrent theme of complaints made to the TV stations is that music and background sounds are too loud and the speech being broadcast too faint. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS have therefore developed an AI-based solution that makes dialog more intelligible — and alleviates this persistent annoyance that plagues some viewers. An algorithm examines the audio material and distinguishes between speech and sounds, ambience and music. The AI detects when someone is speaking, separates dialog from background noises and reduces the latter if they are too loud. In a study in coopera- tion with a public service broadcaster, 2000 viewers were asked about the new, more intelligible sound mixing. Even the younger interviewees liked the idea of being able to choose between two audio tracks (normal mix and Dialog+). 46 percent of all those interviewed pre- ferred the more intelligible audio track, only one fifth the original mix. 52 r e t i n n a h o J / r e b e B d r a h r e G i , ) 3 ( k c o t S e b o d A : s o t o h P

If robots had ears How a car hears sirens In autonomous driving, computers conduct an entire orchestra of sensors — the new first violin: The acous- tics. Modern cars see pretty much everything — with six cameras, four radars and a LIDAR, which works A fast reaction can save human lives. At the same, the AI-based acoustic event recognition system devel- oped by Fraunhofer IDMT helps localize all manner of sound events. 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine Welding is becoming increasingly automated — body construction in the automotive industry is already almost 100% automated. However: An experienced welder hears whether they have successfully pro- duced a seam or weld spot during the welding process itself. Robots lack this acoustic response — until now. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Ilmenau are working on a “sensical” solution. The Fraunhofer scientists are forerunners in establishing artificial intelligence on the basis of acoustic sensor data and machine learn- ing algorithms — especially when it comes to data on airborne sound. In the AKoS project, sponsored by the BMBF, a microphone was mounted to the arm of a welding robot just a short distance away from the electrode. Acoustic abnormalities are recognized immediately, the production process can be stopped and rectified as required. The researchers at Fraunhofer IDMT have already tested the technology on the final inspection of elec- trically adjustable vehicle seats, in order to test installed servomotors in a non-destructive manner. with a light beam instead of radar beams. They do not hear a thing. Instead, with increasing comfort and constantly improving acoustic insulation, vehicle occupants are perceiving less and less noise from their surroundings. And to realize the “hearing car”, researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Oldenburg are developing AI-based technol- ogies that can recognize individual acoustic events. The idea is that a sensor will be able perceive, catego- rize and localize background noises in a split second. This would enable future autonomous guided vehicles to move out of the way of their own accord whenever a siren approaches. The system makes sense even for vehicles steered by the human hand: It could make the driver, isolated from the outside world, aware at an early stage by a message in the head-up display. The AI-based acoustic sensor system developed by the scientists at the Hearing, Speech and Audio Tech- nology branch comprises acoustic sensors, computing units and modular software components. Besides sirens, it could also detect children playing on the side of the road, a cyclist ringing their bell or a train approaching an unguarded railway crossing. 53

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine T he digital transformation in the 2010s first and foremost con- nected people. The 2020s herald the start of the Internet of Things era: Intuitive buildings that react to the needs of the people living in them. Autonomous vehicles that can draw on a sea of data. Crit- ical infrastructures such as decentralized, intelligent networks that will autonomously manage renewable energy sources. The merging of the physical and the digital world holds immense potential. Billions of devices and appliances are already intercon- nected. They generate a valuable data pool which remains untapped in many areas. At the same time, we are seeing new forms of collaborations between partners (we call these ecosystems) that are opening the door to completely new business models. There is also a huge potential in efficiency increase, sus- tainability and energy saving initiatives. We can, for example, increase the capacity of public transport by 20 percent without having to build any new physical structures! But I do see challenges here too. Around 60 percent of industrial companies have yet to implement any notable industrial technol- ogies for the Internet of Things. In many sectors, production IT and the internet still tend to be separate entities. The question “what will happen to my data if I share them?” creates a lot of uncertainty, as shown by the recently published “Data economy in Germany” study conducted by the BDI. In addition to absolute data security, the question of data sovereignty also comes into play. For end customers, data sovereignty means that each and every person, as a consumer, can actively control and auton- omously decide the use of their personal data. Similarly, in B2B sectors it means that com- panies can access and use their data through an autonomous management procedure. In other words, decide who gets which data for which purposes. It’s not easy to strike a good balance between data sovereignty of the stakeholders and practicability in terms of cooperation. G A s n e m e i S : o t o h P “The German and European economies can boost their innovative strength and competitive- ness. ” Peter Körte Chief Strategy Officer of Siemens AG since Febru- ary 2020 and Chief Tech- nology Officer in addition since October 2020. Began his career at Sie- mens in Group Strategy in 2007. In 2011, he trans- ferred to Medical Engi- neering, where he was engaged in a number of managerial roles in the Diagnostics Division. Graduate Industrial Engineer, University of Karlsruhe, Doctoral Program in Strategy and International Manage- ment at the WHU Otto Beisheim School of Man- agement and graduate of the General Management Program of the Harvard Business School. The key aspects: 1. Infrastructure A robust infrastructure with the highest data security requirements must be provided (see also our “Charter of Trust” initiative). 2. Data sovereignty Contracts between the cooperation partners are the method of choice. They must appro- priately consider the interests of all, very often complex, industrial frameworks for data use. Siemens works on the principle of responsible data management. For example, we are collaborating with a number of part- ners to devise, on our industrial IoT platform, standardized contract templates for Shared Data Pools. 3. Legal and political frameworks I welcome in principle the latest political initiatives of the European Commission and the German federal government for improv- ing the use of data and creating support frameworks in order to do so. We need to be empowering the stakeholders and dispelling the legal uncertainties caused, for example, by the unsurmountable hurdles to B2B data cooperations under cartel law or concerning anonymization and pseudonymization. Another step forward is to create cross-in- dustry infrastructures and ecosystems, such as the ones in the European initiative GAIA-X. If industry, the policymakers and society act smart and work together here, the German and European economies will be able to boost their innovation strength and competitive- ness. And this is not just about economic prosperity, it also involves sustainability, efficiency and resource conservation! We need to unlock knowledge and data silos in a way we can control so that all industrial partners can create value and innovation together in ecosystems. Data security and data sover- eignty of all stakeholders are the basis that will allow this to happen. Trust in the idea must grow and be earned through the right decisions! 55

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine W e do still hear good news sometimes. The lead burden on people in Germany has fallen by 87 percent since 1985. The amount of mercury detectable in the environment is dropping continuously and the bur- den on fish in the Elbe caused by the toxic pickling and wood protection agent hexachlorobenzene is 90 percent less than in the 1990s. “The load caused by environmental pollutants, the use of which was reg- ulated by law, is falling significantly,” says Dr. Heinz Rüdel from the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME. The data for this piece of good news came from studies of the German Environmental Specimen Bank. It provides the Ger- man Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety with scientific facts for political decisions. For there is still a lot to be done to protect the environment against chemicals. Over 70 round stainless steel tanks stand in rank and file in the storage halls of Fraunhofer IME in Schmallenberg in the Sauerland region. The environ- mental specimens of the Environmental Specimen Bank are stored here at minus 130 degrees Celsius. The cryogenic tanks in Schmallenberg hold more than 400,000 tubes which contain specimens collected in the environment from plants, animals and the soil. Equipped with special thick gloves and face protection, Sonja Uhlig steps onto a ladder, lifts the lid of a tank and pulls out a long, narrow metal frame containing specimen tubes. Cold mist rises and a white layer of frost instantly forms on the frame. “The specimens are stored in the gaseous phase over liquid nitrogen, which stays at the bottom of the tank,” explains the chemical technical assistant. “This makes it possible to keep them unchanged at a low temperature.” In Münster, the Environmental Specimen Bank even has a second archive. This holds over 300,000 human specimens in the form of whole blood, blood plasma and urine. This part of the Environmental Specimen Bank is under the care of the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT and is located in a former medical supply store of the German Federal Armed Forces. The Environmental Specimen Bank is a unique treasure for scientific studies. It provides an insight into the past, right back to 1985. By analyzing speci- mens, it is possible to see how the chemical load on the environment and on human beings too has changed over the course of time. Environmental monitoring since 1985 The idea of archiving environmental specimens emerged back in the 1970s when people in Germany were protesting against nuclear power, forest 57 y c n e g A t n e m n o r i v n E l a r e d e F n a m r e G : o t o h P - 130° Cold temperatures prevail in the 70 cryogenic tanks used to store the environmental specimens.

freezes them there and then over liquid nitrogen. In this state, they are taken to Fraunhofer IME in Schmal- lenberg where they are crushed without breaching the cold chain and then milled to a fine powder in a special cryogenic mill. Afterwards, they are decanted into small test tubes and lowered into the stainless steel tanks. Around 12,000 new specimens are added every year. Human specimens collected by the mobile lab A similar quantity of new human specimens are added to the specimen store of the Environmental Specimen Bank in Münster year on year. Fraunhofer IBMT was assigned to collect the samples in 2012 and developed a special mobile safety lab for this purpose: a 20 meter long semitrailer. In the lab, the team takes blood samples, records dental status and also char- acterizes and processes the full blood, blood plasma and urine samples there and then, before freezing them over liquid nitrogen. Since 2020, Fraunhofer IBMT has generated as many as 52,000 individual specimens per year for analytical purposes in standardized format. The institute has partially automated and digitized processes for this purpose. Specimens are collected once a year at four locations: Münster, Halle an der Saale, Greifswald and Ulm. At least 120 young adults, usu- ally medical students, take part. They arrive at the appointment with a urine specimen collected over 24 hours, having filled out a questionnaire online beforehand, providing infor- mation about their eating habits, the medicines they take and their living arrangements. Once their blood has been taken, a dentist examines their teeth in order to record any braces or fillings. “Fillings made of amalgam, for example, are a source of pollution and we therefore have to take them into account when analyzing the data,” explains Dr. Dominik Lermen, Head of the Biomonitoring and Biobanks working group at Fraunhofer IBMT. 87 % less lead poisoning, the concentration has fallen dropped continuously since 1985. 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine started in Münster at the end of January this year with a comprehensive safety concept. “We upgraded the ventilation system in the mobile lab to meet the requirements of the Robert Koch Institute,” reports Markus Michel, Head of the Laboratory Technology and Mobile Business Units at Fraunhofer IBMT. The rectification of the schedule, partition walls and antigen rapid tests also ensured the safety of person- nel and test subjects. Dominik Lermen is delighted that the sampling procedure was able to take place in Münster in this way. “Samples from the sampling site Münster represent the longest time series of the Envi- ronmental Specimen Bank. This time series covers a period of more than 40 years without interruption.” The specimens from the Environmental Specimen Bank are used primarily for studies assigned by the German Federal Environment Agency and published in scientific journals. One of the focal points here is the retrospective examination of substitutes for chemicals already legally regulated, softening agents for example. “Our specimens show that the load of newly introduced plasticizers in humans is increasing. As we do not yet precisely understand how this impacts health, the develop- ment in human exposure to these substances has to be examined in closer detail,” emphasizes Dominik Lermen. He is also concerned about the increasing load of the pesticide glypho- sate in humans. In a random sample of around 400 urine specimens, an increase in the frequency of glyphosate load was established over a 15 year investigation period. In 2013, the sub- stance was detected in the urine of just under 60 percent of the student test subjects. Another similar case is that of the perfluorinated compounds which are used, among other substances, to impregnate outdoor jackets or to coat food packaging. “Now that some of these substances have been banned, we are seeing a rise in the concentrations of the substitutes in the environmental specimens,” reports Heinz Rüdel. “This is like a game of cat and mouse.” The EU is considering a general regulation on the perfluorinated compounds which, due to their persistence, are also referred to as ‘forever chemicals’. This would be another success at political level, to which the Environmental Specimen Bank has contributed with its data. 59 y c n e g A t n e m n o r i v n E l a r e d e F n a m r e G : o t o h P Even the coronavirus has not halted the process After the specimen collections in Halle, Greifswald and Ulm were rendered useless by the coronavirus, the sampling Precision work forever: Specimens, crushed and deep frozen.

J ürgen Winkler does not see himself as another Neil Arm- strong, but rather as “part of a team on a tremendously exciting journey”. The Head of IT at the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Com- munication Systems FOKUS is the first Fraunhofer employee to have worked with the IBM Q System One, the first of its kind in Germany, and has been putting it through its paces since the start of the year. Indeed, this is one of the small steps for man that could lead to a great step for mankind. The potential of quantum computers may soon be expand- ing our knowledge in many areas and answering those questions that have remained difficult or uneven unsolvable to date. As an open research platform, the IBM quantum computer will lay the foundation stone for build- ing up knowledge bases in this country and networking important areas of expertise. Both tasks are the prerequisites for developing our own national quantum computer, a goal the German federal govern- ment has set itself ten years to achieve, and in which it has invested billions. We now have to make the most of the time until then. “Companies and research institutions can already use the quantum computer to test use cases and algorithms and shape technology in this way,” explains Winkler. Here’s the thing about the computer: The data stay local in Germany. This data locality and the highest possible data protection stan- dard it achieves are especially important to external project partners who handle sensitive data and calculations, and also to protecting intellectual property. The system is up and running After an intense test phase, the system is now operational and the first projects of Fraunhofer Institutes in collaboration with universities and industrial partners are underway. What astounded Winkler was just how the quantum computer resonated: “Many could hardly wait to work with the computer and there was S U K O F r e f o h n u a r F , h c r a e s e R M B I : s o t o h P up were not allowed to travel. The complex quantum computer therefore had to be built by local experts, a first for them, in countless video conferences. Besides that, some of the components had suffered damage on their journey across the Atlan- tic. But replacement parts were delivered immediately and, once successfully installed, the system was hooked up to the network. This is where Jürgen Winkler’s work started: “Because a quantum computer operates on a completely different set of principles, we had to run tests to check whether all 27 Qubits work properly in the desired parameters,” he reports. The IT expert was able to do this sitting comfort- ably in Berlin via a web interface. The very moment he had been working towards for eighteen months had arrived. already a huge amount of expertise in this relatively young technology. It was also heartening to see that many people already had very specific ideas about which problems they wanted to solve, be they mathematical, chemical, physical or optimization issues.” Before the quantum computer was linked up to the network, it first had to clear the coronavirus hurdle. The fragile system, dismantled into its component parts, did indeed arrive punctually by ship from the USA. But the specialists from IBM who were supposed to be setting it “It’s a privilege to be helping drive this promising technology forward.” Jürgen Winkler, Head of IT Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems FOKUS 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine The first operation Winkler was to perform on the IBM Q System One was the so-called Bernstein-Vazirani algorithm: “It does an impressive job of showing a quantum computer’s supremacy over standard ones. This algorithm allows us to guess a random number combination of numbers very quickly in just one attempt. As if we were to crack a bike combination lock at the first go. A normal computer would try out every possibility in succes- sion and cough up the result sooner or later. Because the quantum computer calculates the numerous possible combinations in succession, it is much faster,” says the expert, explaining how this technology works. The effort pays off Even though, as an I T man, Jürgen Winkler is responsible mainly for ensuring the system operates trouble free in terms of technology, he is fascinated by the applications that quantum com- puting makes possible. If he has to explain to someone the potential of this technology, he quickly becomes a process engineer: “My favorite example is the synthesis of ammonia for fertilizer. This is already possible, but only through a highly inefficient and energy-guzzling process. We could use quantum computing to optimize this process, increasing the output for min- imum energy consumption. Quantum technology could make sure, for example, that we grow enough food for the entire world.” The IT Director currently spends three quarters of his working hours dealing with the technical, legal and organizational issues concerning quantum computers. Just like a Qubit, he wants to assume multiple states at the same time to be able to accomplish all tasks very quickly, he explains. “And my team often thinks I’m a little unpredictable,” he says, tongue in cheek, alluding to Heisen- berg’s uncertainty relation. But all the effort is paying off — in both big and small ways: “We are living in a very exciting time and it’s a privilege to be helping drive this promising technology forward.” 61

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine “Physical presence in the office helps us come up with creative ideas and improves how employees identify with the team, the project and the company.” Katharina Dienes, Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO Currently, employees spend 50 percent more time working as a team than 20 years ago. Even worse, the team’s creativity suf- fers when colleagues are sat working from home and can exchange ideas only via video conference or emails. In the study, only a third of those interviewed said they are able to develop new ideas and solutions at home. “Physical presence in the office helps us come up with creative ideas. And almost incidentally, it also improves how employees identify with the team, the project and the company,” explains Dienes. Prerequisites for the coexistence between working from home and at the office Home when we need to concentrate on our own work and the office for creative teamwork? It’s not quite that simple. The scientists at Fraunhofer IAO believe that the successful coexistence between work- ing from home and at the office depends on two things: First, there must be an interface between home and the office. This includes, for example, virtual white boards in meetings on which all employ- ees can make notes or sketch out ideas — no matter where they are. The video conference tools should be used to set up breakout sessions, in which team members can talk in small groups without everyone being present. The benefit here is that the physical distance between the employees can be compensated at least in part. Second, the surroundings have to suit the task at hand. There are clear recom- mendations for the office life of the future. Long distances between employees are a barrier to productive teamwork. Dienes even measures this in meters: “Our inves- tigations have shown that distances of greater than 15 meters makes informal and spontaneous exchanges between employ- ees difficult. Creativity then suffers. In this context, it is also important for employees to be able to maintain eye contact.” The findings of the Fraunhofer researchers show that variable, creatively crafted spaces are an indispensable prerequisite for suc- cessful teamwork. This is where the coronavirus presents an opportunity. Many of those interviewed in the study are presuming that post-co- rona, they will work from the office only 10.8 days per month, that’s around 26 percent less time than before the pandemic. “Now is the time to make the office as attractive as possible and make the advan- tages clearly visible to everyone,” advises Dienes. It will pay off: Teams that master the on-the-fly switchover between work- ing from home and office, supported by IT equipment and their work environment, are able to respond to unexpected situa- tions with speed and flexibility. An agile work culture not only benefits the next project. In the medium to long-term, it also helps the company to remain competitive and innovative. O A I r e f o h n u a r F f o t i a r t r o P ; O A I r e f o h n u a r F , s r e t h c i R n a i t s i r h C : s o t o h P 63

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1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine Just as Industrie 2.0 once made cars affordable for all, Holzbau 4.0 could make vegetable raw materials more economical and therefore more appealing to developers and local communities. And perhaps even revolutionize social housing: Tree houses instead of prefabs. The timber construction sector in Germany, however, is still dominated by small specialist companies and cottage industry-like structures. They lack the high-tech knowledge and the financial strength to start bringing about real change. The cooperation partners of Bauhütte 4.0 therefore consider their most pressing task to be taking timber construction into the digital age. As Holger Kohl puts it, “we want to orchestrate the entire value creation chain.” And this starts in the forests: How does tree cultivation need to be controlled to ensure that in 30 years’ time, there is enough forest available regionally to meet requirements? How can we employ digital technologies, from the planning stage through to the realization of the buildings? How much mod- ular preconstruction is possible when the goal is a variable architecture rather than a uniform prefab? How can the intelligent preconstruction and preassembly of wood components relieve the weather-reliant daily routine on the building site, and make the construction phase itself faster and more efficient in the process? And ultimately, what might a secondary or tertiary utilization of timber construction be like? In 2019, the Berlin City Parliament declared its commitment “Berlin builds with wood”. Holger Kohls, however, has been looking beyond the city boundaries for a long time: “We will be able to scale Bauhütte 4.0” very well.” he says — first for Germany, but also worldwide. Fraunhofer IPK is already planning a project in Vietnam on the basis of Bauhütte 4.0 — this time not with the Branden- burg pine as the raw material, but with bamboo. The use of timber on a building, of course, is only elemental if it hasn’t been carted half way around the world first. Urban life for young families. The promise: “Berlin builds with wood” — also on the site of the former Tegel airport. Am qui optium quia dolecta- voluption. Am qui optium quia dolecta-tque porrovidi odi 67

Tracking spies with entangled photons The start-up team’s idea is based on a complex process: The company uses ent a ngled l ight pa r t icles to ma ke communication networks more secure through quantum encryption. Sets of twins of these so-called photons, linked in terms of their properties, are produced in a quantum cell using a crystal. If the polarization of one pho- ton is measured, that of the other is also known — no matter what its position. On this basis, it is possible to create two keys, which tell sender and receiver instantly if third parties try intercept the communication. Oliver de Vries, the company’s tech- nical mastermind, developed such quan- tum sources with his team for several years at Fraunhofer IOF through to technolog- ical maturity. “Fraunhofer gave us the opportunity — both professionally and personally — to become an independent entity, allowing us to create jobs and take Germany further in this future technology. Even in the spin-off process too, we received immense support,” says the electrical engineer and Doctor of physics looking back. “Our original idea was to simply to offer an entangled photon source as a product. However, we soon realized that companies want to have a plug-in solution, connected to the network structure and containing all the necessary components,” explains his brother in arms Kevin Füch- sel, physicist and communication strate- gist. “Our vision is to offer a kind of quantum router as a complete package, which you simply plug in and the com- munication is quantum-cryptographically encrypted, in well under five years.” The solution this young company is offering is independent of the transmission path- ways. It works via free space, through satellites in outer space over great dis- tances and also terrestrially over fiber optic networks without repeater nodes. The potential customer base is corre- spondingly broad: From satellite provid- ) 3 ( a n e J s c i t p O m u t n a u Q : s o t o h P Kevin Füchsel (top) and Oliver de Vries: founders of Quantum Optics Jena. “Fraunhofer gave us the opportunity — both professionally and personally — to become an independent entity, allowing us to create jobs and take Germany further in this future technology.” 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine ers, which equip their satellites with photon sources, to network suppliers, industrial companies with their high security requirements, in the financial or medical sectors or government organiza- tions for example. And the demand is huge. “We are in talks with a number of com- panies that want to have fast solutions. The dynamic development of high-per- formance quantum computers is increas- ingly putting conventional encryption processes at risk of being quickly cracked. Speed is therefore our top priority,” emphasizes Füchsel. Everything moved fast, from the initial idea for the spin-off just barely a year ago to founding the company. By sum mer 2020, there were enough co-founders, the due diligence on the business model was completed within three months and investors quickly came forward. On that note, the start-up team consciously decided on a smaller con- sortium of three investors, that way a lot could still be achieved on a personal level. Doer qualities and courage The work of Quantum Optics Jena is still very research-intensive. After all, the declared aim is to “raise the technology above the threshold of commercial- ization,” says de Vries. Joint strategic projects with former colleagues at the Fraunhofer Institute, under which the photon sources are optimized, still help in this regard. In order to meet the tight schedule through to product launch the spin-off set for itself, however, it needs even more bright minds. “These people are actually hard to come by. Not only do they need to bring along a technical understanding, they also need the doer qualities and the courage a spin-off like this demands,” says de Vries. There cannot be too many ideas. Together with Fraunhofer IOF, the team is also toying with a new idea for quantum imaging, which could soon be used for medical engineering or materials analysis appli- cations. 69

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine us to compare, in the same patient, two cells lines that have either the faulty or the repaired gene and that are otherwise identical. This works the other way round too: We take the cell of a healthy person and replace one specific gene with its diseased counterpart.” Such precise interventions into the genetic make-up are possible using the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. Developed originally for bacteria, this enzyme system was adapted by Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for genome editing in the lab — a masterly achievement honored by the 2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistr y. iPS cell production and genome editing have revolutionized the life sciences. In combination, these tech- niques are opening up a host of new possibilities for medical research and application. Fraunhofer IPT recognized this potential very early on and sought the cooperation with the LIFE & BRAIN translation platform at the University of Bonn: “By 2010, shortly after the iPS cells became available, we came up with the idea of also manufacturing such a fantas- tic product in automated fashion. This was the starting signal for the StemCellFac- tory,” relates Bastian Nießing, who has played a key role in developing the system since 2017. The German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, Lead Discov- ery Center GmbH in Dortmund, umlaut consulting GmbH in Aachen and the University Hospitals of Aachen and Bonn are also involved in the project. In the beginning, skin cells of a particular type, referred to as fibroblasts, were used as the primary material for the stem cell induc- tion process. Now, we can also reprogram and genetically modify blood cells, before allowing them to mature into the body cells we want. Some relief for dementia — and cancer The entire procedure takes just under ten weeks and — apart from a small number of steps — is fully automated and always performed to a consistent quality. The StemCellFactory functions as a large platform with combinable modules: First, the prepared blood samples are separated into their constituent parts in a centrifuge. A robotic arm passes them from here to the camera station, which pinpoints the location of the red blood cells, and transfers them to the pipetting station. The blood cells we want are now aspirated, treated with culture medium and placed in the incubator where they grow and propagate. The reprogramming of these cells to stem cells is initiated by special viruses and therefore carried out in a lab with heightened biological safety precautions. The conversion is completed back in the StemCellFactory, where the genomes of the stem cells just created are also edited. The disease being researched dictates which genes are modified. This also decides the destiny of the iPS cells: In a suitable culture medium, they can be converted into numerous different body cells. The StemCellFactory still mainly pro- vides tailor-made cells for disease research and active ingredient testing. Cancer sufferers could also benefit in the near future. We are basing this hope on a special class of immune cell, the CAR-T cell. Tar- geted genetic modification makes them able to recognize the cancer cells of indi- vidual patients and set about destroying them. Currently, these specific immune cells are extremely expensive to produce. Furthermore, sufferers have to wait for long periods and lose valuable time. An auto- mated process would speed up the pro- duction of CAR-T cells and significantly reduce costs. The Fraunhofer team is currently working on a solution with medical professionals from the University Clinic of Würzburg in a project called AIDPATH, which received a four-year funding package from the EU in January 2021. Bastian Nießing describing his vision: “I envisage our systems being operated decentrally in various hospitals and the individually tailored immune cells for cancer sufferers being produced there and then.” 71 “We can signifi- cantly shorten the drug development pathway by testing the pathologically altered nerve cells at an early stage.” Bastian Nießing, Fraunhofer IPT

the set. Whether in the entertainment industry, in medicine, fashion or machine technology, sport or automotive engineering. “Technically speaking, we capture the depth in the room from the various camera positions,” explains Bliedung. “Thanks to artificial Intelligence, it’s possible to use these data to generate a surface figure, onto which the video signal is projected as photographic texture. We map that which is real by an automated process and do not copy it because our studio works like a new camera.” Virtual Reality (VR) is finally resembling real life. In the first trial runs in 2018, the Volucap team barely managed a minute due to the colossal volumes of data, and then needed two months to process it. Now, recordings of 90 minutes at a time are no problem at all and the data are ready for use by the next day. We are currently able to process two terabytes a minute, by the end of the year, we should be able to manage four. Anyway: From the very start, the Volucap studio has been booked out: by Telekom, “Tagesschau” or cus- tomers from industry. “Around 125 years ago, the Lumière brothers had the cinematograph patented under their name and invented the cinema,” says Bliedung. “With this new world of images, we are once again on the cusp of a new era.” 16 pairs of cameras and almost 250 LED panels 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine nies Studio Babelsberg, UFA and ARRI, as well as the software developers from Interlake, a start-up now considered to be world leading was created. “We are extremely proud that a technology we were instrumental in developing is advancing the film industry,” says Ralf Schäfer, Director of the Video Division at Fraunhofer HHI. “The volu- metric studio is testimony to the fact that Germany can be an innovation driver.” Fraunhofer HHI developed not only the “3D Human Body Recon- struction” software for Volucap, but also the dynamic 360 degree lighting concept and the custom audio surround system. “For us as a start-up, the cooperation with Fraunhofer is very productive,” commends Blie- dung, the media and computing graduate who was toying with the idea of structured and animated 3D surfaces over 20 years ago. Back then, he was still an intern at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in Rostock. At the end of 2020, the Volucap studio won the Innovation Award Berlin-Brandenburg. In addition, the Fraunhofer HHI researchers were also awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize for the innovative video reconstruction. As an innovation cluster, Volucap works with a number of universities all the time. And still with Microsoft too, of course. The next step now is to build mobile volumetric studios. Bliedung explains: “There are immense learning opportunities to be had, by filming the inside of an operating theater in a clinic, for example. One person wants to know how to administer the anesthesia, another is interested in the intricacies of the surgery and a third in the documentation required in oper- ations. All this is possible at the same time. In the future, we will be able to walk into this room as viewers.” The same applies to training on machines for workers in the automotive industry, in the gaming sector or for diagnostic investigations in compet- itive sports — and all without “motion capture”, the name given to the conventional 3D process, where people are filmed in sensor suits and mod- eled on the computer. The clothes always looked artificial. Even the fashion industry can now benefit from the volumetric studio, walking around the model hologram and appraising how the fabric falls where. 73 The Executive Board of Volucap: Thomas Ebner, Sven Bliedung and Torsten Schimmer (f.l.). Babelsberg has already seen Hollywood pro- ducing blockbusters, reports Bliedung. Over the next few years Apple, Google and Microsoft will have more and more of us replacing our two-di- mensional smartphones with three-dimensional glasses. Invite to the Microsoft headquarters Microsoft was the start of many things for Volu- cap. The group invited us to its headquarters in Redmond in the USA. They had, they said in early 2017, developed something new for filming in 3D. Sven Bliedung and his colleagues flew over to test it out. Back in Germany, the team realized: At the time, the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommuni- cations, Heinrich-Hertz-Institute, HHI, in Berlin, was exploring so many solutions for 3D filming — from depth acquisition to the algorithms to data compression — that its own project emerged. In collaboration with Fraunhofer and media compa- H b m G p a c u o V l : o t o h P

Hugo Geiger Prize Prize for talented young scientists The Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology awards the Hugo Geiger Prize in recognition of three outstanding PhD theses. The criteria assessed are: Scientific quality, economic relevance, novelty and inter- disciplinarity of the approaches. By Mehmet Toprak 1 µm The crystalline structure of ferroelectric materials can be altered by electrical signals. Once immersed in an acid, the difference becomes visible in the scanning electron microscope. 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine their electrical direction — their atomic structure is electrically switchable, as it were. They become ferroelectric and, as a result, able to store certain states. Ferroelectric components promise major advances, for Next Generation Com- puting or performance electronics for example. As supposedly intelligent mate- rials, they aid speed and energy efficiency through a much higher degree of precision. Their piezoelectric properties also makes them ideal actuators or sensors. The researchers were surprised at how pronounced the ferroelectric properties are. “The polarization effect is twice what we imagined, almost all calculations done by the experts had been based on much lower values,” says Fichtner. This was another reason why, in the beginning, Fichtner and his team were met by skep- ticism from the experts. “When we pre- sented our results at a convention in 2018, we received critical comments from the floor. Some thought we had misinterpreted our measurements. Others demanded that we provide additional proof. As scientists, we sometimes meet with resistance,” recounts Fichtner. But the Fraunhofer ISIT team was confident that the results it had presented were correct. Fichtner was finally able to convince the experts of his discovery by publishing more detailed measurement results. The level of interest has increased ever since. The US research authority DARPA is promoting research into the application of AIScN through its own call for tender. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research has also recognized the potential of the ferroelectric material and is supporting the follow-up research to the tune of 2.3 billion euros. “Besides that, we have secured industrial contracts for AIScN-based components valued at around four million euros,” says Fichtner, clearly delighted. — To the second and third prize: 75

3rd prize: Dr. Christian Kalupka Ultrashort pulsed laser in glass: The perfect cut What happens when a laser beam penetrates glass? Dr. Christian Kalupka has been finding out. He started by observing at micro- scopic level processes that occur within the order of femtoseconds. The project led to innovative methods for the processing of glass and other materials accurate to the micrometer. The technology could also be used in quantum computing one day. L aser technology is already used for cutting or process- ing glass, cellphone screens being one example. In order to further develop the technology and open the door to new applications, Dr. Christian Kalupka from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT and his team wanted to understand precisely what happens when the laser penetrates glass. They knew that a highly dynamic interplay occurs between light and mat- ter on a microscopic scale. All this takes place in an extremely short space of time, in a matter of picto or femtoseconds. To capture these processes, the researchers used a pump-and-probe microscope. The instrument was specially developed at the institute and achieves resolution with femtosecond precision. “The exposures then create a kind of flip book that shows how the laser perpetrates the glass and how the glass warps the focus of the light beam.” Kalupka’s work on the behavior of laser beams in glass has now been recognized by the Hugo Geiger Prize. “Energy depo- sition of ultrashort pulsed laser radiation in glasses” is the title of the dissertation written by the scientist between 2015 and 2019 at RWTH Aachen University LTT - Chair for Laser Technology. Thanks P P D s u p m a C h c r a e s e R , M P I r e f o h n u a r F / k c o K r e g o H l : s o t o h P Dr. Christian Kalupka, Team Manager Glass Processing, Fraunhofer ILT. to the close cooperation between the university and Fraunhofer ILT, he was a team leader at the institute at the same time. However, the prize honors not only the better understanding of laser technology achieved by Kalupka, but also the practical results from the laboratory. Backed by his findings, the team around Kalupka set itself an ambitious goal: High-speed precision 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine cutting of glass using ultrashort pulsed laser radiation. Although the test setup had already been established and the simula- tions had delivered all the settings and parameters the laser required, this was definitely the most difficult phase of the project. “To achieve glass processing with this degree of precision, the lasers, lenses and attendant mirrors have to be positioned with micrometer precision. The adjustment mechanism for the components is now automated, but this required months of trial and error until we got everything just right,” recalls Kalupka. Researchers also need to demonstrate a good deal of patience and perseverance. “Holding a piece of glass in my hand for the first time knowing we had succeeded was a real wow moment,” says Kalupka. The researchers at Fraunhofer ILT have passed a milestone. They have developed a process that is capable of processing var- ious type of glass very quickly and with micrometer precision. No microfissures, no brittle edges, no flaws. The perfect cut. Besides all that, the technology is scalable. It can be used to process even large glass objects of up to a meter in length. “Hav- ing understood the ins and outs of how glass and laser interact, we can design a process tailored to any application,” explains Kalupka. True innovations and new business models are within reach for use by industry. Kalupka is already envisaging the next goals. This glass processing technology can also be transferred to other materials such as silicon or applied in a modified form. It could be possible to develop components for the high-performance electronics used in 5G technology. In the development of the quantum computer too, there is tre- mendous demand for components and materials. One promising candidate is lithium niobate. “This is a crystalline solid inside which individual photons can be generated using laser light. This is a fasci- nating field of application for our ultrashort pulsed laser,” says Kalupka. And one that will demand, once again, a great deal of patience and perseverance from the Hugo Geiger Prize winner. 77

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine T he electronics of the future are small, intelligent and omnipresent. Although nobody knows the exact number, experts estimate that all around the world, we are already surrounded by 10 billion tiny sensors or measuring devices that exchange their data via radio and over the internet. Measuring sensors that automatically measure the nutrient content of a field, home security cameras whose images we access while on holiday to check that everything at home is in order, or sensors for detecting when a machine is idling and squandering energy. Given the growing number of these devices, referred to as sensor nodes, experts have been talking about the Internet of Things (IoT) for several years now. Sensor nodes tell us when something has gone awry, are able to control machines and help us stay abreast of a situation. No wonder, then, that they are so popular. Statista, the statistics portal, estimates that these canny electrical accessories could well have doubled in number to around 20 billion devices by the year 2030. However, the numerous sensor nodes used so far are consuming huge quantities of energy. By 2013, the energy consumption of all networked devices globally was already equal to the total demand in Germany as a whole, according to a study conducted by the International Energy Agency. In response to this, eight Fraunhofer Institutes teamed up three years ago under the lighthouse project ZEPOWEL, short for Towards Zero Power Electronics, to develop especially energy-efficient sensor nodes. This year will see the introduction of two solutions to meet the challenge presented by energy consumption from two different perspectives. One of these, the “smart city node”, a small self-sufficient sensor node that supplies itself with energy and collects environmental data on air quality for example. The other involves a sensor node that records the operating state of machines, motors or pumps in order to dramatically reduce their energy consumption. Controllers in deep sleep mode At the core of these sensor nodes is a central computer module, the IoT core, which works very economically and contains the new developments from all partici- pating Fraunhofer Institutes. These include efficient micro-controllers, batteries and high-performance control electronics or energy converters. Added to this is the expertise in all matters concerning secure radio protocols. The smart city node gets along without any k c o t S e b o d A : o t o h P energy source at all, because it supplies itself with power. It features an energy converter that recovers energy from movements and vibrations. And as soon as the sensor node is not required, it falls into a deep sleep mode. In this state, it consumes just a few nanowatts. Smart nodes — for medical engineering too The first smart city nodes, the size of a matchbox, are expected to come into use within the next few months on cars or buses to measure the particulate matter in the city air. “These nodes are minute, main- tenance-free and cost-effective and can be used in numerous places — so what we get is a very finely meshed network,” says Erik Jung, project manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Micro- integration IZM, which merged the developments from the participating institutes to create a com- plete solution that is good to go. In the future, smart energy-saving nodes like these could also be used for marking medical devices in hospitals — mobile ultrasound devices for example. In an emergency, the current location of the devices could be requested and the nearest one quickly located. The sensor nodes for the machine control developed in ZEPOWEL are significantly larger than the smart city nodes when combined with the required power electronics. Depending on the point of use, they bring it up to the size of a half-liter can of beer or milk carton. In addition, they do not necessarily have to be energy self-sufficient because, as a control module, they are linked to the machines. Their key task is to reduce the power consumption of the machines — and use the smallest amount of energy themselves in the process. After all, machines that have to be started and stopped manually are still in use today. Once an order has been completed, they continue to idle until someone presses the button. The new sensor node now contains, in addition to the radio and measuring technology, power converters that power the machine up or down as needed and bring it to the speed required at the time. “Instead of a simple on and off switch, the machines containing our power conver- ters and the intelligent control in the IoT core have a gas pedal, so-to-speak, which adapts it to the cur- rent requirement and regulates voltage and current accordingly. As a result, they are seamlessly integrated into a digitally controlled production process,” explains Jung. “These nodes are minute, main- tenance- free and cost- effective.” Erik Jung, Fraunhofer IZM These electrical accessories could well have doubled in number to around 20 billion devices by the year 2030. 79

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine EUROPE Foot implants from a 3D printer ing,” explains Dr. Achim Weber from Fraunhofer IGB. “We are therefore formulating and developing colla- gen-based and gelatin-based bioINKS. These are cross-linked to make solid biopolymers only after the printing process.” Volocopter completed a test flight over Marina Bay in Singapore as early as October 2019. SINGAPORE Air taxis — they will fly! Dorothee Bär, CSU State Minister for Digital Affairs once faced ridicule for her vision of air taxis. The dream of urban air mobility is about to become reality. Volocopter, the German air taxi pioneer from Bruchsal, will offer this service in Singapore — within the next three years and in cooperation with local institutions, starting with Fraun- hofer Singapore at Nanyang Techno- logical University. “The research institutes in the city will also play a key role. Topics such as route validation for autonomous oper- ation, material science and research for battery technology are very important to our long-term business success,” says Florian Reuter, Managing Director of Volocopter. Volocopter air taxis are emis- sion-free, electrically powered aircraft that take off and land vertically. They are intended as a complement to urban mobility and fly up to two pas- sengers to their destination directly and quietly. The company is aiming to establish affordable air taxi services in the megacities around the world. 81 Together with eleven European part- ners, including FC Barcelona, the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, is developing a method for manufactur- ing personalized implants for injuries to the foot, the tendons and joints in particular. The researchers want to halve the convalescence time, and are also aim- ing to increase tissue functionality by ten to 15 percent. Precisely tailored to the patient’s foot, the implants will be made, using innovative 3D printing processes, from biopolymers like the ones naturally occurring in the body. “Because we want to be able to pro- cess these biopolymers together with the growth factors and the cells using a 3D printer, they have to be free-flow- Foot injuries are the most common issue in football. The “footballer’s ankle” is notorious. The frequent kicking action overstrains the ankle and causes inflammation. r e t p o c o o V l , H b m G . EUROPE Recycling metals instead of destroying natural resources l g e o r r e F t e m n o r C i , s e g a m i p d d , I Z I r e f o h n u a r F , k c o t S e b o d A : s o t o h P In Europe, with few natural resources, recycling is the most important source of chromium, nickel, copper and so on. To boost the competitiveness of the local industry, the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT and Cronimet Ferroleg. GmbH developed a new sen- sor technology that detects the alloys in metal scrap much faster and with greater precision than conventional methods. A process called Laser Emis- sion Spectroscopy (LIBS) is used to identify over 20 special alloys in even small pieces of scrap — automatically, quickly and without any contact. As a result, bigger quantities are processed and a higher degree of sort- ing accuracy is achieved. Fraunhofer ILT is now contributing this expertise to the EU project REVaMP. The idea is to develop a sensor for installation in existing industrial facilities. A new sensor makes the recycling of metallic raw materials far much efficient.

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine In the early 1960s, around 220 to 255 kilograms of household waste was produced per capita. At 457 kilograms, the amount had approximately doubled by 2109. Inctisitatus escidunt hil ipiet vendi doluptium volutem sequodit invelest quiatur repudae moluptiunt aut. 83

structural transformation. Within six months, the researchers had developed new ideas, concepts and technical solutions — continuation guaranteed. When the wastewater treatment plant is transformed into a vegetable farm At the core of the largest EVOBIO sub- project, the “Wastewater treatment plant of the future”, is of course wastewater. Germany sees around ten billion cubic meters of wastewater every year. “Until now, the wastewater treatment plants have simply decomposed the constitu- ents of the wastewater without putting them to use. We see the constituents as reusable materials and are trying to convert them into products,” explains Dr.-Ing. Ursula Schließmann, Head of Business Area Environment at Fraun- hofer IGB. On the site of the municipal wastewa- ter treatment plant in Ulm, the researchers built a pilot plant for the high-load diges- tion of sewage sludge. The sludge contains not only pollutants, but also nutrients such as phosphorous and ammonium-nitrogen. Today, most sewage sludge in Germany is burned. “Our plant is very efficient at biodegrading the organic fraction and therefore, in addition to biogas, solid diges- tate and nutrient-rich sludge liquor are available for further use,” says Dr. Marius Mohr, Head of the Water Technologies and Resource Recovery Innovation Field at Fraunhofer IGB. Schließmann and her team are exper- imenting with microalgae, which filter the nutrients out of the sludge liquor and use them for their growth. “The challenge lies in finding suitable organisms that are capable of drawing the nutrients from the sludge liquor and producing reusable materials as well,” says Schließmann. Her search was successful: The microalgae Monodopsis subterranea and Phaeodac- tylum tricornutum are not only good at filtering, they also produce a biostimulant that boosts the immune system of plants. In agricultural cultivation, this substance “We want to rethink the industrial value creation chain.” Dr. Markus Wolperdinger, Fraunhofer IGB helps reduce the use of fungicides and keep the groundwater clean. The nutrient-rich sludge liquor is also suitable for hydroponic vegetable cultiva- tion without soil — a pioneering idea in times of increasing droughts and water shortage, in Germany too. Fraunhofer IGB was able to garner experience from the previous project HypoWave. Using various technologies, the researchers managed to reliably remove pollutants and pathogens from the waste- water and cultivate lettuce. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Marine Biotechnology and Cell Technology EMB in Lübeck are working on using the water cleaned by plant cultivation to breed edible fish. Dung and food remains enrich the water with nutrients once more, allow- ing it to be reused for plant cultivation — an innovative link between agriculture and aquaculture. The researchers are able to recover biochar and bio-oil even from the dewa- 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine tered sewage sludge. It is also possible to produce hydrogen from the wastewater using bioelectrical systems. The first lab- oratory tests show that, in this way, waste- water treatment plants can be operated in an energy self-sufficient manner. The more recycling pathways we dock to the overall “wastewater treatment plant of the future” system, the more important sophisticated process monitoring and control becomes. If something fails to work at this point, this has a direct impact on other steps in the process. If, for example, the concentration of certain micronutrients in the sludge liquor is too high, algae growth can be inhibited. Schließmann emphasizes: “The equilibrium that nature manages to maintain by and large is a very sensitive one. We only have to create it.” A sensor technology recently developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelec- tronic Circuits and Systems IMS will lend a helping hand. The sensors continuously record numerous parameters such as nitrogen and pH values, various light intensities, flow velocity or pressure. The researchers feed the data they have gath- ered into self-learning systems that will ultimately control the complex plant. Today’s waste — tomorrow’s raw material The EVOBIO team also wants to unlock the potential of biobased waste as alterna- tive resources. For example, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IV V use residues from rapeseed oil production to create a protective coating for food packaging. They do this by extracting proteins from coarse colza meal and applying them to cellulose film. As soon as the proteins dry out, they form a dense network that makes it very difficult for oxygen to penetrate the packaging. This stops the food from oxidizing, its quality and shelf-life remain guaranteed. In the case of vacuum-packed foods, the barrier layer ensures that the partial pressure gradient is maintained and that oxygen cannot penetrate. “Food production 85

Only 9% of the over eight billion of tons of plastic generated since the 1950s worldwide have been recycled. 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine Packaging waste in Germany in millions of tons 1998: 14.1 2018: 18.9 + 25% k c o t S e b o d A , B G I r e f o h n u a r F : s o t o h P In the year 2020 only 8.6 % of the global economy was circular. Sources of the facts and figures: German Federal Statistical Office, Deutsches Museum München, German Federal Environment Agency, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Circularity Gap Report 2020, Conversio Study “Stoffstrombild Kunststoffe 2019” (Substance Flow Plastics) Half of the 76 kg of plastic waste per person in Germany in 2019 was accounted for by packaging waste. 87

“The real challenge is to create a link between farmer, production and consumer.” Philipp Theumer, Fraunhofer IGCV o t o h p k c o t s i : o t o h P 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine The REIF team from Fraunhofer IGCV is respon- sible for standardizing data structures, the idea being to simplify and accelerate the integration of AI into systems and business processes. In the dairy scenario, a dynamic adjustment to the product quantity would prove ideal. The system-specific framework conditions deserve special consideration here. AI-based deci- sion-making aids, which come into play as early as the production process, provide the solution. A pro- totype that predicts the ability of cheese mass to be pumped is already developed. Sensors for preventing substandard products How to make perfect dough while reducing the start-up time of machines is a question asked in the production of baked goods. AI processes are designed to determine, check and control the quality of raw materials and additives. Sensors allow conclusions to be drawn about the quality of the cake base, for example, are being developed for this purpose. Con- sequently, the optimum machine parameters can be found more quickly, and substandard products can be avoided. In the third application field, meat processing, the focus is on extending the shelf life — another import- ant way of reducing waste. The project is complex: The shelf life of the individual products must be constantly measured and assigned to a batch. In the raw meat mixing process, cooling and mixing time are among the parameters to be considered. From animal delivery from the slaughterhouse through to the packaging operation, all steps must be capable of being assigned to a data record. Collecting the data relevant to the AI algorithms is a huge challenge. Considerable effort is required to collect and check specific data over a prolonged period. At the core of the AI ecosystem is a commu- nication and service platform. One of the aims is to compare the customer’s demand against the farmer’s supply and optimize production capacities. The algo- rithms, already trained, are supplied and combined with the company data. The data and forecasts along the entire value creation chain are linked to one another. This could allow fluctuations to be predicted and brought close to zero, with overproduction being avoided. 89

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine 1025 kilograms in weight, 3.05 meters long (not including the robot arm), 2.74 meters wide and 2.13 meters high. And with an estimated value of around 2.2 billion euros, the rover is without doubt one of the most expensive vehicles ever to be developed and built. 91

1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine “I believe in hydrogen!” Combustion engines made him Formula One World Champion. Nico Rosberg now champions sustainability and new drive concepts. And is more than happy to hand over the wheel — for autonomous driving and even flying. Interview: Josef Oskar Seitz Mr. Rosberg, ten years as a Formula One racing driver, 2016 world champion — how much have you personally contributed to global warming? Rosberg: Do I have a guilty conscience, you mean? To that I can say no. I am, of course, aware that the CO2 emissions from Formula One were not insig- nificant. But if we look at the figures in detail, more down to the movements of the teams and the fans. And we should not forget the enjoyment this sport brings — or at least did bring — to many millions of people all over the world. Has the fascination remained with you? I can still relate to it. But I lead a completely differ- ent life now. You have developed a passion for different kinds of mobility — e-mobility, hydrogen propulsion. You like to invest your money in sus- tainability projects? How do you see the future? I believe in hydrogen, I have hopes for hydrogen. And what I want is for the politicians to set the right course for the future. I am, however, painfully aware that future processes and election periods are not a good match. If we really do want to shape the future, we have to think long-term and way beyond the four-year election cycle. That said: The effort is worth it — for everyone's future. “Many thanks by the way, the strategy papers and studies from Fraunhofer point me in the right direction.” Will autonomous driving always be a dream? I believe it will. The danger remains that of the interaction between man and machine. I am convinced we need full driving automation, level five, where the vehicle occupants are nothing but passengers and the technology is able to handle all traffic situations. How hard is it for a famous professional driver to suddenly hand over the wheel? I’m enjoying it. I welcome the improvement to my quality of life. All I want is to drive the roads myself that bring true joy — in a fantastic car with beauti- ful weather, on a windy mountain road. Do you make a bad passenger, when it’s another person rather than the machine con- trolling the car? My wife Vivian is usually quite happy with that. 93 z l o h h c u B s a h t t a M i : o t o h P

Hannover Fraunhofer on the road Last updated: End of March. Changes may occur due to the current situation. Please keep an eye out for information from the event organizers. May 2021 Fraunhofer Solution Days 2021 Presentation. Inspiration. Vision. Technology highlights and the latest spotlight topics with Fraunhofer experts. Themed days online from May. www.fraunhofer.de/solutiondays 1 | 21 Fraunhofer magazine Hanover April 12 – 16, 2021 Hannover Messe – Digital Edition Innovation. Inspiration. Interaction. With an interactive conference program, comprehensive product overviews from the exhibitors, best case applications, video chats and tutorials. www.hannovermesse.de Munich May 4 – 6, 2021 transport logistic – online only The world’s leading fair for logistics, mobility, IT and supply chain management with 55 sessions enabling the transfer of knowledge with a trade fair feeling. www.transportlogistic.de München Munich, September 7 – 12, 2021 IAA mobility Refocused on integrated mobility, intelligent traffic solutions and a visionary mindset — everything that the mobility of tomorrow shapes and turns into a real experience. https://www.iaa.de/en/mobility Fraunhofer magazine The magazine for people shaping the future Would you like to see the Fraunhofer magazine in your mailbox as soon as it appears? Then fill out the attached subscription card. Or sign up for the newsletter online at https://s.fhg.de/of 95 What, as Chancellor, would Scholz do for research? An interview with the candidate“I believe in hydrogen” An interview with Nico Rosberg Heavy rain, storms, high temperatures: How we are making our towns and cities more resilientClimate stress“Campus of the senses”Whiskey & science:A meeting of enjoymentsWhat, as Chancellor, would Scholz do for research?An interview with the candidate “I believe in hydrogen”An interview with Nico Rosberg “Campus of the senses”Whiskey & science:A meeting of enjoymentsRe-discovering the sensesEnjoyment in theoretical and practical encounters