New Fraunhofer Center for Sensor Intelligence in Saarland

Saarland’s Minister President Tobias Hans and the President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, signed an agreement today to establish the Fraunhofer Center for Sensor Intelligence. It will address the entire innovation chain in the pioneering field of intelligent sensor technology, bring together core areas of expertise from the regional research landscape and develop them further. The center will be housed in a new building on the campus of Saarland University as part of a joint project between the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT and the Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing IZFP.Measurement data captured by smart sensors enables knowledge-based decisions. To put it simply, a sensor can make decisions, control processes or trigger actions by itself. This is particularly important when it comes to optimizing industrial and medical technology manufacturing processes. In order to further advance developments in this field of technology, Saarland’s Minister President Tobias Hans and the President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, signed a joint agreement today at the Saarland State Chancellery to establish the Fraunhofer Center for Sensor Intelligence ZSI.The opening of the new Fraunhofer center will see the emergence of a highly innovative field of research involving intelligent sensor technology that builds on the core areas of expertise of the two Saarland-based Fraunhofer institutes: Fraunhofer IZFP and Fraunhofer IBMT. The center’s particularly application-oriented approach to research is set to demonstrate the potential of these sensor systems in the sectors of materials, production and healthcare. In addition, the joint research and demonstration center will address the specific issues associated with industrial digitalization and develop solutions for Saarland’s economy in the field of complex sensor systems.Today’s agreement is also a key investment in Saarland as a research location. The joint growth initiative is a central development measure in the context of Saarland’s innovation strategy in the key areas of informatics, smart production & automotive and life science & material science.The plan is to establish Fraunhofer ZSI on the campus of Saarland University. The new building and its facilities, which will cost around 35 million euros, are to be funded from federal, state and EU Structural Funds (ERDF) resources. In addition, the budget for personnel and projects for the five-year start-up phase of Fraunhofer ZSI is expected to be around 29 million euros, which will be funded by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the state of Saarland and other third-party donors. After the five-year start-up phase, up to 80 additional jobs are expected to be created and Fraunhofer ZSI will operate sustainably under the established Fraunhofer financing model of the federal and state governments in a 90:10 ratio. (abstract)