Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE

The fifth edition of the European Robotics Hackathon (EnRicH) near Vienna will start at the end of June with a new record number of participants: 15 teams from all over Europe and Canada will meet from 30 June to 4 July 2025 at the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant (NPP), which has never been in operation, to test their robotic systems under realistic conditions. It is not only the unusual venue that is unique in the world.

The Fraunhofer FKIE mourns the loss of an outstanding scientist, great colleague and impressive person: At the age of 90, Dr. Wulf-Dieter Wirth passed away on 14 February 2025. With his passing, research has lost a pioneer in the field of radar technology, a creative mastermind and a personality who has shaped generations of scientists.

Fraunhofer FKIE is one of the strongest partners of the NATO Science & Technology Organization (STO). The institute is significantly involved in the organization's current 350 research activities. One of them is NATO Research Task Group “Edge Computing at the Tactical Edge” (IST-193). The group is working on an important prerequisite for uninterrupted communication and cooperation in joint operations: the federation of various national clouds.

Robot systems explore unfamiliar terrain, buildings or danger zones with cameras. In the 3D-InAus project, researchers from the Fraunhofer FKIE are using a LiDAR laser on a mobile robot, emitting laser pulses to measure distances. The results are used to produce geometrically accurate 3D environments.

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