Babylonian Treasures in Fragments 3D Reconstruction of Clay Tablets

Tomorrow‘s Technologies Today

FUTURVision Innovation Realization

Research and Development at the Production Technology Center Berlin

INSTITUTE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

INSTITUTE FOR MACHINE TOOLSAND FACTORY MANAGEMENTTECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT BERLIN

ORBIT More Insight for Surgeons

Content

04 Babylonian Treasures in Fragments – 3D Reconstruction of Clay Tablets

06 Tracking down Art Thieves by Cell Phone

08 Sketching in Space – Freehand Modeling in Virtual Environments

10 The SimP Toolkit for the Construction of Interactive Physics-based Simulations

12 Better Informed with openOR

14 ORBIT – More Insight for Surgeons

16 On Quiet Wheels through Berlin’s Underground

18 Safe Railroad Tracks, Safe Railroad Traffic

20 MicroCarrier for Urban Logistics

22 Interview

24 Company Profile

25 Lab Profile

26 Events and Dates

© Fraunhofer IPKReprint, also in extracts, only with complete references and after consultation with the editors.Please forward a copy.

Imprint

FUTUR 1-3/2011ISSN 1438-1125

PublisherProf. Dr. h. c. Dr.-Ing. Eckart Uhlmann

Co-PublisherProf. Dr.-Ing. Roland JochemProf. Dr.-Ing. Erwin KeeveProf. Dr.-Ing. Jörg KrügerProf. Dr.-Ing. Kai MertinsProf. Dr.-Ing. Michael Rethmeier Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günther SeligerProf. Dr.-Ing. Rainer Stark

Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK

Institute for Machine Tools andFactory Management (IWF), TU Berlin

Editor-in-chiefSteffen Pospischil

Compilation, Layout and Production Claudia Engel, Ina Roeder

ContactFraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK Director Prof. Dr. h. c. Dr.-Ing. Eckart UhlmannPascalstrasse 8-910587 BerlinPhone +49 30 39006-140Fax +49 30 39006-392info@ipk.fraunhofer.dehttp://www.ipk.fraunhofer.de

Printed by Heenemann Druck GmbH

Photos Fraunhofer IPK courtesy of the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Civiliza-tions, Freie Universität Berlin: 5Steffen Pospischil: 3TU Berlin, Department of Rail Vehicles: 17

FUTUR 1-3/2011 3

today, innovative products and processes

come into creation in teams and through

the interplay of extremely diverse scientific

disciplines, competences, and approaches.

Internally, we experience this in our insti-

tutes, working interdisciplinarily on specific

R&D tasks. However, we also encounter

it externally in our thematic-oriented

cooperation with partners from the realms

of science, business and industry, and

politics.

For example, »Regional structures with a

global effect« is the motto of innovation

clusters that the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

initiated within the framework of the

German government’s high-tech strategy.

Together, research organizations, investors,

and companies combine their resources in

order to strengthen the development of

specific areas. Here in Berlin, in the »Main-

tenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)« In-

novation Cluster, we are collaborating with

firms from the energy and transportation

sectors to advance the development and

establishment of ressource- and energy-

efficient MRO processes and technologies

having long traditions in the capital region.

In this edition of »Futur«, we introduce

you to two projects related to railway

transportation.

The principal task of the Berlin Center for

Medical Mechatronic Technology (BZMM)

is to make surgical interventions safe

and efficient, a collaborative effort that

links Fraunhofer IPK’s Medical Technology

division and Charité – Universitätsmed-

izin Berlin. The interdisciplinary alliance

of engineers, physicians, and computer

scientists is the heart of our medical tech-

nology endeavors. In concert they develop

systems that provide physicians with de-

tailed insight into the patient’s body. Our

imaging systems show the location of the

operating instrument, indicate where the

focal point of the illness lies, and what the

safest way to approach it is.

In the following pages, you will also see

how art and technology can enter into a

successful symbiosis. With our automated

reconstruction technology, we reassemble

shattered cuneiform tablets from ancient

Babylon and other badly damaged hand-

written documents. In our Virtual Product

Creation division, we have even developed

a brand-new medium for designers in

which they draw in 3D in a virtual space.

The enthusiasm with which our develop-

ments have been received by practicing

artists shows that art and technology

can and should be combined fruitfully.

As always when diverse disciplines meet,

there is a lot they can learn from each

other, and our systems would not be as

efficient as they are today, if our partners

had not always stimulated us with new

questions. I sincerely hope that you, too,

will find stimulation in reading this edition

of »Futur«.

Dear Readers,

Prof. Dr. h. c. Dr.-Ing. Eckart Uhlmann

Editorial

4 Automated Virtual Reconstruction

them can be sped up enormously. In col-

laboration with Berlin’s Museum of the An-

cient Near East / Prussian Cultural Heritage

Foundation and the Freie Universität Berlin’s

Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Languages

and Civilizations, Fraunhofer IPK has

submitted an application to the German

Federal Ministry for Education and Research

within the framework of the »eHuman-

ities« program with which interdisciplinary

cooperation between the humanities and

computer-science-related specialties is to

be supported. In the »Babylon« project, the

partners seek to digitally document and vir-

tually reconstruct a mound of the museum’s

broken Babylonian cuneiform tablets.

► Babylonian cuneiform tablets

Cuneiform texts from the ancient Near

East are to serve as a reference corpus for

this project because they are an artifact

group that appears especially suitable

for the task due to their specific struc-

tural features. They were used as written

documents for thousands of years in the

ancient Near East. Most of them are clay

► An object is more than the sum of

its parts

Archeology and historic preservation have

long relied on the advantages offered by

virtual 3D to image destroyed buildings and

objects in the process of visualization and

reconstruction. However, so far no process

has been available that automatically recon-

structs individual digitalized components

of three-dimensional objects. Until today,

reconstructions, for instance of pieces to

be exhibited in museums, are done by

hand, although automated reconstruc-

tion methods, especially 3D tools, lend

themselves superbly to the task. It is in this

particular area that conservators are faced

with numerous difficulties. For example,

the fragments must be arranged spatially,

which is not only a practical challenge since

frequently the original form of the object to

be reconstructed is unknown beforehand.

Furthermore, when dealing with large ob-

jects like wall frescoes, or during extensive

excavations, there are often great numbers

of fragments. With the aid of automated

virtual procedures, sorting and arranging

tablets into which wedge-shaped charac-

ters were carved with a stylus, while the

clay was still wet. Their sizes vary between

a few centimeters and several decimeters.

Museum collections around the world

house hundreds of thousands of these

artifacts – many of them shattered into

tiny fragments. Berlin’s Museum of the An-

cient Near East possesses several thousand

cuneiform tablets and fragments from

German excavations in Babylon.

The cuneiform tablets combine the

characteristic structured, written surfaces

with the complex situation of the artifacts’

three-dimensional nature. Viewed analyti-

cally, they offer an ideal intermediate step

for the development of matching proce-

dures on the way from two-dimensional to

three-dimensional virtual reconstruction.

► Prototypical 3D reconstruction

The project’s goal is to investigate the

possibilities offered by IT and to develop

methods and systems for the automated

virtual reconstruction of digitally docu-

Applications for the automated virtual reconstruction extend beyond

the realm of two-dimensional subjects like paper and papyrus. Three-

dimensional virtual reconstructions of art and cultural objects also

have great potential, particularly for archeology and historic preser-

vation. Antique finds in particular are frequently only found in frag-

ments. Until today, if these objects and artifacts are reassembled, it

is done employing manual, non-standardized procedures. Virtual 3D

reconstruction can offer significant support for the scientific handling,

appropriate preservation, and presentation of these cultural assets.

Babylonian Treasures in Fragments – 3D Reconstruction of Clay Tablets

A 3D scan of a damaged cuneiform tablet

FUTUR 1-3/2011 5

A window into the past

In the opinion of Prof. Dr. Eva Cancik-Kirsch-

baum of Berlin’s Freie Universität, valuable

synergy effects would emerge for auto-

mated virtual reconstruction, if developed

by historians and archeologists together.

In collaboration with Fraunhofer IPK, she

is planning the project described here for

the restoration of Babylonian cuneiform

tablets belonging to Berlin’s Museum of the

Ancient Near East. »Babylon is a topic of

incredible historical significance« according

to Cancik-Kirschbaum. »The city is one of

the points of origin of European, Mediter-

ranean, and of course Near Eastern cultures.

I think it would be fantastic if our recon-

struction project enabled us to push open a

window into this past.«

Your contact

Dipl.-Ing. Henry Zoberbier

Phone +49 30 39006-196

henry.zoberbier@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Dipl.-Phys. Thorsten Sy

Phone +49 30 39006-282

thorsten.sy@ipk.fraunhofer.de

experience with the reconstruction of

two-dimensional objects.

A result of the project will be the devel-

opment of a prototype for automated,

computer-assisted processes for the vir-

tual reconstruction of fragmented three-

dimensional objects from findings of

the German excavations in Babylon. The

effort benefits from the joint experience

of the project partners in which knowl-

edge of the epigraphic development,

classification, and manual reconstruction

of fragments is linked with expertise and

methods of automated feature extraction,

classification, and virtual reconstruction

of two-dimensional objects.

mented artifacts. This should provide a

way to describe the heuristic processes

underlying the reconstruction that are to

be developed for digital implementation.

This type of digital artifact documenta-

tion can be used for research worldwide,

significantly enhancing the project’s value.

In addition to investigations of efficient

and comprehensive 3D digitization, a

feature catalog that makes it possible to

document expanded metadata – data

that goes beyond information regarding

provenance – will be a concomitant proj-

ect output. Beyond the manual recording

and documentation of characteristics,

the automatic extraction of features from

the digitalized records is to be analyzed.

The results can then be used in combina-

tion with the manually recorded features

for a presorting of the fragments before

they are matched – i.e. the actual (virtual)

reconstruction based, inter alia, on their

surface appearance – in the next step.

This type of serial process concatenation

has its foundation in the Fraunhofer IPK’s

6 Mobile Search for Stolen Art

Tracking down Art Thieves by Smart Phone

The price at a private auction rises rapidly,

and the painting quickly goes under the

hammer. Although the art detective is

there on the spot, he is not quite sure – is

this picture one of the stolen items being

sought worldwide, or isn’t it? Not only In-

terpol, but also private associations such as

Art Loss Register have compiled databases

of works of art that have been stolen from

museums or private collections. However,

with international databases listing thou-

sands of missing works of art, investigators

at the auctions have difficulty searching

them quickly enough for a painting of

doubtful provenance.

Art theft is an increasingly frequent problem worldwide. The inter-

national databases of lost and stolen art, antiques, and collectibles

are vast and confusing. Art detectives have a hard time obtaining the

required information quickly enough when on location. Fraunhofer

IPK’s high-tech methods of image recognition have joined the hunt.

A new mobile art tracing system helps investigators to identify stolen

goods.

Thanks to a new development from

Fraunhofer IPK, the investigator can now

simply take a photo of the art object with

his smart phone and send it instantly to a

central server. The researchers’ new image

analysis system automatically compares

this picture with the user’s database. The

system identifies similar objects on the ba-

sis of visual features such as their shape,

outline, color and texture, and returns a

list of the top ten closest hits to the cell

phone in a matter of seconds. If the pic-

ture is among the works in the database,

the art detective can react immediately.

»The system is remarkably easy to oper-

ate,« says Dr. Bertram Nickolay, head

of the department for security systems.

»Since it was built mostly from standard

modules, it’s also a cost-effective solu-

tion.« Further more, the system is immune

to interference factors such as a poor

photograph of the work of art. Reflec-

tions caused by flash photography or by

excessive brightness have no effect on the

image analysis in the central server.

The technical challenge is mainly due to

the inferior quality, varying resolution,

and different perspective of the transmit-

ted image when compared to the original

in the databank. Besides the difficulties

caused by overexposure, irregular light

The representative colors and their spatial distribution in the image are used as features in the comparison of pictures.

FUTUR 1-3/2011 7

Your contact

Dr.-Ing. Bertram Nickolay

Phone +49 30 39006-201

bertram.nickolay@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Raul Vicente-Garcia

Phone +49 30 39006-200

raul.vicente@ipk.fraunhofer.de

All features at a glance

– Image identification can be configured

for specific topic areas

– Mobile deployment of input devices

– Time-consuming, costly expert evidence

is eliminated

– High accuracy through objective clas-

sification of the identified patterns

– Adaptive ability assures matching de-

spite distinct deviation from the original

– Low cost because software runs on

standard modules

– No keyword input necessary for

database queries

– Based on SQL / PHP technology

– Real-time database query results

– Compatible with Interpol standards for

art-object cataloging

– Expandable for 3D applications

distribution, or reflection of the flash, the

shooting perspective and larger occlusions

of the targeted object can complicate the

recognition of the image. This, however,

presents no problem for the Fraunhofer

image-evaluation system: it is able to

adapt automatically to the situation and

to compare colors, textures and strokes re-

gardless of the device used to capture the

image and thus compensate for deviations

from the original.

The algorithms used in the IPK’s image

analysis system can also be put to use in

other areas. The researchers already have

another pilot project up their sleeves: »Our

system could be used to expose coun-

terfeits, for example. An airport customs

official with a mobile scanner can arrest

someone carrying fake designer goods

on the basis of distinctive features of the

packaging,« Nickolay insists. The IPK is

already engaged in negotiations with

various police authorities. The system

can also facilitate the search for missing

vehicles and the examination of forged

immigration papers. Further plans include

mobile cloud services for private collectors

wanting to check for authenticity when

purchasing a timepiece, for example.

Art detectives can see the results of their enquiry within sec-onds on their PDA: The picture they just photographed with their PDA is in the database of stolen artworks.

8 Virtual Reality

The possibilities virtual reality engenders

in the design process are the object of

intense investigation at Fraunhofer IPK. In

the framework of several research projects,

an immersive design system has been

developed for this purpose that makes it

possible to do freehand spatial modeling

in 3D virtual environments – VR-CAVE,

Holobench, and Powerwall. The func-

tions of the system can be used by means

of ergonomically designed physical tools

developed by Christian Zöllner, Alexander

Müller, and Sebastian Piatza in coopera-

tion with the Department of Design at

Dresden’s University of Technology and

Economy.

► Virtual sketching tool

The primary implement for users of the

system is a pen with which they can do

freehand drawings of lines in the virtual

space. There is also a tool similar to tongs

with which the forms can be extruded,

arranged, and positioned relative to each

spatially, as well as a two-handed model-

ing tool with which Beziér curves can be

manually drawn on surfaces. The essential

feature is the tool’s hybrid design: The

grip, the »handle« of the tool, is tangible,

whereas the tip of the tool that creates the

shape is virtual and is projected onto the

handle. These hybrid instruments make

it possible for the user to act based on

intuition or assumptions. Unlike peripher-

als like the mouse and keyboard that rely

on images of tool properties on monitors

and thus create an additional distance to

the object, when »Sketching in Space«

the user works directly on the virtual

object, building a bridge between the

user’s workspace and the virtual design

environment. In contrast to familiar design

interfaces, the modeling environment does

not restrict the user in terms of the format.

The goal of the »Sketching in Space«

project that distinguishes it from planar

drawing and previous VR applications is

to spawn spaces in which design can be

undertaken in an entirely new creative and

constructive way.

► Result: A new design vocabulary

The design-related possibilities of model-

ing in space release the user from the

interface and are expanded into the third

dimension – depth. In 2D sketches this can

only be represented through perspective

illustrations and can hardly be perceived.

The users’ perception of their own body in

dealing with the modeling tools – which

is somewhat unusual at the outset – and

the tools’ effect in the virtual space lead to

a new vocabulary of form and design that

becomes spatially perceptible when con-

sidering the resulting sketches and models

spatially. Users can move around their

work, perceive and experience it from vari-

ous perspectives, and assess the spatial

Product design comes alive first and foremost through the designers’ creativity, but the design

media and tools impact both the design process and the resulting model. Creative design processes

are reflexive processes in which pictures of the product in the designer’s mind are transformed and

transmitted in external images. When digital media are involved in this process, new possibilities for

product design emerge.

Sketching in Space – Freehand Modeling in Virtual Environments

»Sketching in Space« – a case study in cooperation with the Muthesius Art Academy in Kiel

FUTUR 1-3/2011 9

»Museum piece, please touch!«

Another exciting area for the application of

virtual reality in education and art is muse-

ums in which visitors are allowed and even

encouraged to touch the exhibits – statues,

vases, and paintings. With force-feedback

systems digitalized museum exhibits can be

»grasped« virtually in the truest sense of the

word. Visitors can lift and turn them, and

feel their texture, making art and history

tangible in a further sense.

Your contact

Dr.-Ing. Johann Habakuk Israel

Phone +49 30 39006-109

johann.habakuk.israel@ipk.fraunhofer.de

highly detailed or precise work is required.

The first freehand 3D sketches frequently

have the look of children’s drawings

because even experienced designers have

to learn how to draw using the third

dimension – depth. However, a study has

demonstrated that the process is easily

learned and that objects which initially

appeared misshapen become increasingly

refined after only a few attempts.

The results of the study evince that de-

signers, too, will eventually have to mas-

ter CAD tools, but that with immersive

environments they will be able to achieve

new, more animated design processes

and will enhance the quality of designs.

Due to the novelty of the method and the

additional motor requirements, poten-

tial users must be given the opportunity

to acquire the new modeling skills, for

example during their academic training.

They need to become familiar with the

elements and advantages of immersive

modeling in order to be able to develop

their own application strategies and later,

on the job, to be able to decide on the

optimal use of the methods.

relationships in true-to-life size. Further-

more, 3D models of possible use scenarios

can be visualized, making the work more

concrete and assessable in situ.

By means of several studies carried out at

the Institute with more than two hundred

designers, it can be empirically demon-

strated that immersive spaces offer unique

qualities for modeling products. In particu-

lar, involving the designer’s own body into

the work process, constructing objects in

their original size, designing them directly

in 3D, and already being able to interact

with virtual sketches in the development

process of development have proven to

be very popular. For example, designers

sought to sit in chairs that they had just

designed or attempted to pour themselves

a beer from the tap of a bar they had

sketched. In immersive space one’s ideas

become alive immediately and invite one

to interact – changing the design process

from its very roots.

► 3D drawing has to be learned

Immersive space, however, is less suitable

for some process steps, especially when

Results of a »Sketching in Space« case study in cooperation with Berlin’s University of the Arts

10 Virtual Reality

► SimP Engine

The following procedures, among others,

are integrated into the simulation core for

interactive deformation simulation:

– conversion of surface models into

physics models (spring-mass and real-

time-capable finite-element models),

– interactive application of forces at

simulation time,

– efficient calculation algorithms on the

graphics card,

– interfaces for external devices that

interact with the models,

– adaptive multi-resolution deformation

models (automated adaptation to

the accuracy requirements during the

simulation).

Flexibility and extensibility of the plat-

form were important criteria during

the conceptual design. With the aid of

the framework, developers can imple-

ment and test new ideas efficiently and

compare them against each other. Four

interfaces provided with a concept similar

to plug-ins are available for this purpose.

The interfaces have »input/outputs«

for the interaction and the simulation’s

graphic output, »integrators« for the

physical calculations, »generators« for

the generation of the network structures,

and »workers« that can intervene during

the simulation and make changes.

The SimP Engine modules are equipped

with a control interface that includes

editable data fields with all their features.

When extending the simulation core,

inclusion of the parameters in the control

interface is enough to make them acces-

sible. Most of the parts of the SimP UI are

automatically generated from the param-

eters, through which new functionality

in the SimP Engine can be provided, to a

large extent without changes to the SimP

UI. Furthermore, the central data storage

in the control interface allows a simple

storage and loading of the simulation set-

tings in an application-specific XML file.

With the aid of the SimP UI, the user is

able to activate and work on individual

modules for every element of the scene

such as input/outputs, workers, or inte-

grators. For the design of attractive visual

materials, the software has an editor

Virtual reality (VR) applications are computer-generated worlds in which users can immerse

themselves and interact intuitively. Today, VR applications are employed in numerous realms,

such as product design, assembly and disassembly planning, and biomedical engineering. In

these fields, and others, there is growing interest in realistic VR simulations, for which it is

necessary to consider the interactive deformation of flexible components. To generate this type

of VR simulations, Fraunhofer IPK has developed a platform called SimP Toolkit (Simulation of

Physics-based Models). The SimP Toolkit consists of the simulation core SimP Engine for integra-

tion in external applications, a graphic user interface, SimP UI, based on the simulation core, and

additional helper programs for the generation of realistic model data.

The SimP Toolkit for the Construction of Interactive Physics-based Simulations

Test set-up for car gearshift

FUTUR 1-3/2011 11

Digital production and factory processes

Virtual Product Creation is one of the

keys to ensure effective product and

manufacturing engineering. Digital

innovations are essential for the future

because they enable engineers to master

the increasing complexity of information

and to allow intuitive use of process and

functional simulation. At the Virtual Product

Creation division of Fraunhofer IPK we are

engaged in realizing the vision of a com-

pletely digitalized product creation process.

Our aim is to design methods and tools so

that later phases – from actual production

and customer use to the range of associated

services – can be factored in and planned

for at a very early stage of the product

lifecycle.

able. The deformation in the virtual scene

is generated by the process of shifting

gears with a real gearshift knob, for

which the virtual shift lever is coupled to

the movements of a real one. The rub-

ber sleeve is simulated with the Finite-

Element method and the shift-lever boot

with the aid of spring-mass models. The

visualization of the individual elements

can be faded in and out during runtime.

With the procedures that have been de-

veloped, a comprehensive methodology

has become available that significantly

improves the inclusion of deformable

materials in interactive VR simulations.

The integration of the SimP Engine into

commercial software is planned for the

future and will allow more effective use

of flexible components during research

into virtual prototypes.

for the configuration of special shader

programs for graphic cards. In addition,

connection to immersive visualization

technologies like the »NVIDIA 3D Vision

System« and representation in a CAVE is

possible.

► A case for product designers

One of the areas of application for the

SimP Toolkit is the »SketchApp« soft-

ware developed at Fraunhofer IPK. The

program allows designers to create 3D

sketches in an immersive space. Through

the integration of the SimP Engine, these

can be provided with physical material

properties during the sketching process

and realistically simulated. With the as-

sistance of appropriate tools, the designer

can interact with the simulated models

and gain an initial impression of the ma-

terial behavior.

A further use is simulation of the flexible

components of an automobile gearshift

assembly. The CAD data sets transfer all

the components into simulated objects,

from which the shift-lever boot and a

rubber seal on the shift lever are deform-

Deformation of the shift-lever boot (l.) and the rubber sleeve (r.)

Your contact

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rainer Stark

Phone +49 30 39006-243

rainer.stark@ipk.fraunhofer.de

12 Medical Technology

The Fraunhofer experts’ goal is to enable

surgeons to perform operations having

the very highest level of information at

their disposal. openOR allows access to

diagnostic data during the intervention

and provides the previously unavailable

interoperability among various surgical-

assistance systems. This will help develop

a new market for the use of medical

information that is independent of a

given manufacturer, opening new growth

potential in established markets and

engendering technological innovations

from new actors in the market.

► Inside openOR

The development of a medical software

application comprises a wide variety of

components, of which new algorithms

and procedures are often only a fraction.

The implementation of components like

the import and export of data, accessibility

to a picture-archiving and communication

system (PACS) and hospital information

system (HIS) server, and the user interface

requires disproportionately great effort,

and even more is needed for documenta-

tion, bug fixes, and tests.

For example, according to studies the user

interface is the cause of half of all errors in

software systems, although it constitutes

only about a third of the source code.

Furthermore, automated testing of the UI

is complicated, making extensive manual

tests necessary after every modification.

Highly sophisticated software constitutes an integral part of today’s medical applications.

The quality of the software, particularly in regard to how intuitive it is to use and the

ease with which it can be integrated into the existing clinical infrastructure, determines

the application’s overall utility. Using such software is still often unnecessarily compli-

cated, and data sometimes needs to be imported manually. With »openOR«, Fraunhofer

IPK offers a modern software framework for medical imaging that supports physicians in

making diagnoses, planning operations, and treating patients.

Better Informed with openOR

Screenshot of the openOR prototype »DicomViewer« (above); UI expert design for DicomViewer (below)

FUTUR 1-3/2011 13

Medical software and more

The focus of the Medical Technology divi-

sion at Fraunhofer IPK is on development

and clinical evaluation of software and

hardware components for image-guided

and minimal-invasive surgery. It draws on a

wealth of over 20 years of experience and

has gained an international reputation in

the development of medical software, in-

cluding e.g. new 3D image reconstruction

and visualization algorithms, as well as inte-

grated software platforms for interventional

therapy such as openOR. Licenses for our

software components have been taken out

both by major medium-sized companies and

small high-tech enterprises. Our software

is used in a great number of research labs

across the world.

Above this, Fraunhofer IPK’s expertise in

medical technology covers:

– Intraoperative Imaging,

– Instrument Navigation,

– Surgical Instruments,

– Patient Specific Implants,

– Quality Management.

Your contact

Dipl-Inf. Fabio Fracassi

Phone +49 30 450555-185

fabio.fracassi@charite.de

openOR offers the developer a great num-

ber of ready-made components whose

modular structure means they can be intro-

duced easily into existing programs. These

components have been comprehensively

tested and feature clearly defined inter-

faces, so they can provide self-contained

functionalities like the import of a 3D data

record.

Even more important are the specified

structures and subsystems, including a

workflow engine with whose aid clinical

workflow can be reflected in the source

code. Thanks to this type of abstraction,

the appropriate implementation of clinical

processes in the software can be verified

more easily, reducing the effort required

in their adaptation. This abstraction also

makes possible the automated collection

of data about the process of the software

deployment as well as its dispatch to, e.g.

a HIS.

Similarly, a »User Interface Engine« has

been developed that generates the user

interface based on a declarative interface

description and a separate style descrip-

tion. In the process, the engine is able to

take platform-specific singularities into

consideration and, for example, to activate

gestures on an iPad instead of using the

mouse. The declarative model is becoming

increasingly popular in user-interface pro-

gramming. According to independent stud-

ies it can reduce the source code by around

twenty percent and also help avoid some

of the major types of errors. The abstrac-

tions needed for the description languages

have been developed by an interdisciplinary

team of physicians, designers, psycholo-

gists, engineers, and computer scientists.

► openOR as open source

openOR offers users the possibility to

develop and market clinical applications

on the basis of comprehensive medi-

cal software. Fraunhofer IPK offers the

framework itself as open-source software.

Applications commissioned by clients are

developed on a proprietary basis, assuring

that they are compatible with the surgical

assistance systems of other manufactur-

ers. During the early prototype develop-

ment in particular, openOR offers the

advantage that the application already

has the major features of a professional

user interface and can be integrated into

a clinical infrastructure. Physicians are

able to use the application from the very

beginning and give their feedback to the

developers immediately. In later develop-

ment phases, the completed components

and abstractions save time in testing,

documentation, and the certification

process.

The modular, multilayer openOR architecture

openOR Workflow Engine

Medical Software Application

Operating Room Hardware

Ul Engine Dataflow Engine

Import/Export Drivers

Algorithms Algorithms

Data Types Data Types

Input Drivers Co

ccoa

Qt

Nav.Cam. PACSTouch DiCOMMouse STL

14 Medical Technology

► Take spinal implants ...

3D imaging enables physicians to precisely

evaluate repositioning of bone fractures

in joints, or to calibrate the position of im-

plants with millimeter accuracy and avoid

damaging critical anatomical structures.

One such example is monitoring the cor-

rect position of implants in the spinal cord

relative to the highly sensitive nerve chan-

nels. To treat fractures and instability in the

spinal cord, pedicle screws are used to per-

manently secure the adjoining vertebrae.

It is essential that such interventions do

not injure the spinal cord and its cerebro-

spinal fluid. Yet as two-dimensional X-ray

imaging cannot supply depth information,

incorrect positioning of the implant screws

and subsequent injury to the nerve chan-

nels cannot always be unerringly excluded.

Only 3D imaging can assure accurate

monitoring of the implant placement. To

carry out needed corrections during the

actual operation and eliminate stressful

and cost-intensive follow-up interventions,

3D imaging must be used intraoperatively.

► Conventional 3D systems

Conventional 3D radiography systems like

three-dimensional C-arm systems or com-

puter tomography for surgical use involve

rotation of the X-ray source and X-ray

detector in an inflexibly arranged circular

path around the patient in order to take

individual images from which 3D data can

be reconstructed. Such a circular movement

ensures high reconstruction quality, yet

completely encloses the patient. Permanent

installation of such devices at the operat-

ing table would impede the surgeon’s free

access to patients. This means that for each

take the equipment must be wheeled to

the table, aligned on the patient and then

be wheeled back. As a consequence, the

operation must generally be suspended for

several minutes which puts a considerable

strain on surgical procedures and is the rea-

son why surgeons have serious reservations

about the routine use of these systems.

Around 1.2 million complex surgical operations are carried out in Germany each year. To reduce

the risk of complications and follow-up interventions, physicians use X-ray diagnostics already

during the operation to monitor its progress. Two-dimensional X-ray images are often not

precise enough to allow for an exact assessment of the operating situation. Three-dimensional

imaging, on the other hand, does give a precise spatial representation of the patient’s inner

body parts and thus has established itself as an essential auxiliary aid for surgeons. Its major

drawback, however, is that thus far the operation has to be suspended to allow for positioning

of the 3D imaging equipment. ORBIT is a new development from Fraunhofer IPK, Ziehm Imaging

and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, which can be permanently installed above the oper-

ating table, thus enabling easier integration in surgical procedures.

ORBIT – More Insight for Surgeons

3D reconstruction of vertebral bodies with the orbital image acquisition method

Test Object Axial Slice of

Reconstructed Volume

Coronal Slice of

Reconstructed Volume3D Model of

Reconstructed Volume

FUTUR 1-3/2011 15

A navigation system for ENT surgery

To make surgical interventions secure and

efficient is a core mission of the Berlin

Center for Medical Mechatronic Technology

(BZMM), a joint endeavor in the medical

technology business field at Fraunhofer

IPK and Charité. Engineers, physicians, and

computer scientists are collaborating to im-

aging systems to afford physicians a detailed

view into the patient’s body.

One of the areas of application is endo-

scopic examinations of the sinuses, where

clinical navigation systems showing the

position of specific surgical instruments in

3D X-ray image data of the patient provide

the physician with better orientation. In or-

der to avoid the need to repeatedly change

instruments and thus make the procedure

as straightforward as possible, the Berlin

firm Scopis has developed a system that

navigates a laser beam which is shown in

the endoscope’s field of vision. Fraunhofer

IPK contributed intraoperative calibration

procedures and software modules for the

planning of the operation.

Your contact

Prof. Dr. Erwin Keeve

Phone +49 30 39006-120

erwin.keeve@ipk.fraunhofer.de

System design for the open 3D X-ray scanner ORBIT

► Inside ORBIT

To simplify the use of 3D X-ray imaging

during operations, ensure free access

to patients and shorten recording time,

Fraunhofer IPK in partnership with the

Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and

Ziehm Imaging GmbH is developing the

open 3D X-ray scanner »ORBIT«. Funded

by the Federal Ministry of Education and

Research (BMBF), the project has already

won the 2007 and 2010 Innovation Prize

for Medical Technology given by the same

ministry.

ORBIT is based on a novel recording

concept which takes mathematical opti-

mization of the projection alignment to

achieve the highest 3D image quality.

ORBIT’s X-ray source does not move

around the patient but moves exclusively

in a circular path above him or her. The

ORBIT system consists of three modules:

– a swivel arm with a controllable X-ray

source (mounted on the ceiling or on

a mobile support)

– a digital flat screen detector (integra-

ted in, or secured on, the operating

table)

– a display unit (mobile or wall-mounted)

A 3D C-arm system in use at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

A laboratory prototype has proven the

feasibility of this recording concept, and

the level of achievable quality has been

experimentally investigated in an appli-

cation for spinal surgery. Though as yet

many questions remain unanswered,

first project results give rise to optimism

that the project goals concerning flexbile

and speedily deployable intraoperative

3D X-ray imaging can be reached.

Within the next three years with finan-

cial support from the Federal Ministry

of Education and Research, the first

ORBIT functional prototype will be built

in Fraunhofer IPK’s Radiography Lab and

technically and clinically evaluated in an

experimental operating theater at the

Charité. The new system will be de-

signed for minimum impact on surgical

procedures and routine use in operating

theaters.

16 Transportation

► Railroad safety

Anyone who uses Berlin’s subway system,

the »U-Bahn«, expects the trains’ under-

carriages to be intact as the vehicles cross

bridges and go through tunnels at speeds

of up to seventy kilometers per hour. The

city’s transportation authority, the Berliner

Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), guarantees pas-

sengers that the vehicles are safe, and so

the time-consuming service of the wheels is

done at the company’s facilities on a regular

basis, even if no damage is expected. When

a problem is discovered, a substitute vehicle

must be found immediately.

A lack of knowledge about the current

state of their trains is a serious man-

agement issue for railway operators. A

solution has become available through

scientific cooperation between Fraunhofer

IPK and the Department of Rail Vehicles at

the Technische Universität Berlin’s Institute

for Land and Sea Transport (ILS). Experts

at the two institutes have been working

since December 2009 on a process to

automatically monitor the condition of the

wheel tread in the context of the »MuSen-

Rad« project. The innovative idea involves

a system combining a variety of sensory

principles that is integrated into the bed of

Many Berliners still have clear memories from last winter of the massive technical problems experi-

enced by the city’s S-Bahn – the municipal rail system operated by the German national railroad the

Deutsche Bahn. At times only half the trains were running; the rest had to be taken out of service

for safety reasons. For operators of railway vehicles in particular, it is important to know the condi-

tion of their trains so as to be able to plan their maintenance and repair in advance. In the innova-

tion cluster »Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul – MRO«, Fraunhofer IPK collaborated with experts

for railway vehicles from Berlin’s Technische Universität in the development of a novel monitoring

system that identifies wheel damage early and reliably while the trains are in operation.

On Quiet Wheels through Berlin’s Underground

Preproduction model of the optical wheel tread inspection sensor

FUTUR 1-3/2011 17

Fleet maintenance at

Public Cleaning Berlin (BSR)

In another project within the Fraunhofer

Innovation Cluster »MRO«, IWF and

Fraunhofer IPK work on effective methods

to improve the BSR maintenance network,

its planning and workflow. As a local

company with around 5300 employees and

an annual income of 485 billion Euros, the

Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe (BSR) is one

of Europe’s leading service providers for the

collection, recovery and disposal of urban

waste, street cleaning, and comprehensive

winter maintenance. Up to 60 percent of

its vehicle fleet’s operating costs is cov-

ered by maintenance and repair tasks. The

project’s goal was better utilization of the

BSR’s network of workshops. Thanks to the

»Tecnomatix Plant Simulation Software«

developed by the researchers, the BSR is

better able to plan and manage preventive

maintenance as well as measures for deal-

ing with unforeseeable repairs.

Besides the railway operators, the people

who live along the tracks also benefit from

the monitoring because noncircular wheels

are not only more prone to damage,

they also cause considerably more noise.

MuSenRad can recognize such deformi-

ties early on, allowing them to be repaired

before they cause problems. The BVG has

integrated prototypes of the individual

sensory checks into their track beds for

testing, and a combination of the indi-

vidual systems is on its way to becoming a

product that is ready for the market.

MuSenRad is a project from the

Fraunhofer innovation cluster »Mainte-

nance, Repair and Overhaul in Energy and

Transportation«, a joint endeavor of seven

research partners and fourteen companies.

The cluster is looking into research areas

that include status monitoring and diagno-

sis, planning and digital support of MRO,

as well as cleaning and repair technolo-

gies. The work is supported by the Federal

States of Berlin and Brandenburg and the

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

the railroad tracks. »We combined optical

and acoustic test systems,« explains Eck-

hard Hohwieler, manager of the project at

Fraunhofer IPK. »Using a camera system,

we check for pits, cracks, and peeling on

the surface of the wheels while the train

car is still in operation. Using sensors fit

into the base of the tracks, we can also

see changes in a wheel’s geometry that

are characteristic of this type of damage

by means of acceleration signals emitted

when the train is passing over the tracks.«

► Less damage, quieter rail traffic

The advantages for the rail operators are

obvious because time and cost savings

are a direct concomitant of the improved

ability to plan rolling stock use. This is

an important topic for the BVG, and so

the company welcomed the opportunity

to cooperate in the research by making

stretches of track available for experi-

ments. »The possibility to have regular

measurements taken that reflect the cur-

rent condition of our trains’ wheels is of

great interest to us,« says Martin Suess, a

department head at the BVG. »This is why

we are supporting the development of the

wheel measurement technology by mak-

ing our facilities and vehicles available.«

Trigger system for measurements on railway tracks Acceleration sensor installed on the base of the track

Your contact

Dipl.-Ing. Eckhard Hohwieler

Phone +49 30 39006-121

eckhard.hohwieler@ipk.fraunhofer.de

18 Transportation

tion with improvements in the quality of

repairs, safety and the passenger comfort

can also be enhanced considerably.

At present, despite the divergence in

requirements, most work processes and

tools in MRO operations are applied with

no appreciable adaptation. However, the

efficiency of MRO processes could be

significantly increased through the use of

specific machining tools and the integra-

tion of innovative measurement and repair

procedures in the repair process chain.

The improvement of essential interactions

between various repair procedures could

Besides innovation in construction and ma-

terial technology for vehicles and modern

logistic concepts, the growing transport

of passengers and goods in globalized

industrial societies requires highly effi-

cient MRO strategies for the energy and

transportation fields. In seeking to meet

these demands, the increase of productiv-

ity and quality of the MRO processes is a

fundamental challenge for R&D in the area

of production technology. In the realm of

railroads, major priorities include reducing

the number of cancellations, delays, and

re-routings through more productive MRO

process chains. Furthermore, in combina-

also be a factor. Developed within the

framework of a subproject supported by

the EU, Fraunhofer IPK – working in the

MRO innovation cluster – tests and opti-

mizes efficient repair solutions and tools

for quality-optimized, highly productive

repair processes.

► Processing of build-up welds to

repair railroad tracks

An example from the real world: Build-up

welding is frequently used in the repair of

components from the energy and trans-

portation fields. This process makes it pos-

sible to repair both individual production-

The maintenance and repair of devices and components in the realms of

energy and transportation are of increasing economic interest. Today, tools

and work strategies from the world of manufacturing are frequently being

applied to MRO tasks, although MRO activity requirements are significantly

different from mass production. In a subproject of the Fraunhofer Innova-

tion Cluster »Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul in Energy and Transportation

(MRO)«, researchers are developing optimized milling and grinding tools for

repair tasks, as well as innovative adapted processes. This will enhance both

quality and process safety, particularly in the repair of turbines and railroad

tracks.

Safe Railroad Tracks, Safe Railroad Traffic

Weld grinding and finishing

FUTUR 1-3/2011 19

Ihr Ansprechpartner

Dipl.-Kfm. Lorem ipsum XXXXX

Tel.: +49 (0) 30 /390 XX-X XX

E-Mail: XXXXX.XXXXX@ipk.fhg.de

Market and trend analysis MRO 2011

Product demand and sectoral structures

in the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul

(MRO) field are experiencing a process of

change. The market must adapt, but in

which directions are the trends headed?

The Fraunhofer MRO Innovation Cluster

has compiled a picture of the current situ-

ation in the German market in its enquiry:

»Markt- und Trendstudie 2011: Mainte-

nance, Repair and Overhaul« (in German).

The online questionnaire, distributed at the

beginning of last year, yielded results from

25 percent of the 1236 firms surveyed. The

principal demand for MRO services comes

from firms in the transport and machine

building fields. The majority of the compa-

nies stated that they do MRO for their own

products. Furthermore, on average, about a

third of the responding firms’ total turnover

comes from MRO. Besides planning, inspec-

tion, and cleaning, it is primarily repair work

that contributes to revenues.

developed will be assessed by examining

the operational behavior under actual rail-

traffic conditions. The findings will enable

the scientists to develop repair strategies

and models for condition-based preven-

tive rail maintenance, and it is anticipated

that applying the R&D results will produce

a significant prolongation of the rails’ life.

► Potential and perspectives

The condition-based process design in the

repair of railroad tracks has great poten-

tial at the pan-European level. Because of

the great variation of international norms,

rail maintenance is currently done based

upon individual experience and in rela-

tion to local factors. In order to develop

repair process chains for the efficient

elimination of various rail defects, further

multilateral projects are to be initiated.

In these efforts, Fraunhofer IPK has the

necessary competence and machine infra-

structure to undertake the development

and optimization of innovative repair

techniques and tools, as well as to help

investigate the operational behavior of

repaired components.

related defects like cracks and pits locally

and also completely worn-out large-area

surfaces. Subsequently, the build-up welds

must be finished precisely and thoroughly,

so that they have the exact size and shape

required and guarantee the safe operation

of the repaired components.

In the »Milling and Grinding Tools for the

Processing of Build-up Welds« project,

researchers are developing efficient ma-

chining tools for the reliable processing of

build-up welds resulting from the repair

process. These are tested and checked for

their practical potential, with the repair of

rails being the particular focus in this case.

Within the framework of the research

project, reliable repair-process chains are

being developed and optimized for the

onsite elimination of typical rail defects,

among which are fatigue cracks, waviness,

and worn-out surfaces at the railhead.

Of particular interest is the analysis of the

operational behavior of repaired rails with

regard to the specific maintenance process

used, and laboratory research being done

to scrutinize the details. In the next step,

the potential of the repair process chains

Your contact

M. Sc. Pavlo Lypovka

Phone +49 30 314-24960

lypovka@iwf.tu-berlin.de

Build-up welding

20 Transportation

Other situations involve sprawling com-

mercial buildings and busy shopping

malls, where recipients cannot be reached

directly with conventional supply vehicles.

Furthermore, both traffic and air quality

in densely settled urban residential areas

are negatively impacted by the stop-and-

go of the diesel-fueled trucks.

In order to satisfy the conflicting interests

of protecting urban areas and achieve

better efficiency of the logistics sup-

ply, an intensive, sustainable process of

consultation and coordination among

logistics-service providers, municipali-

ties, and vehicle manufacturers must be

established. Moreover, new technologi-

From the viewpoint of logistics firms, ac-

cess restrictions and scarce parking spaces

for delivery vehicles constitute a major

dilemma that reduces efficiency and

increases costs. The creation of temporary

limited-access zones to protect pedestri-

ans and stores has led to the use of an

ever-larger number of trucks, particularly

in these »restricted-access zones«, in

order to handle deliveries in the defined

timeframe. The alternative is for the

vehicles to remain outside the restricted

areas, while the actual deliveries are done

on foot. However, this adds a further,

costly unloading of the parcels from the

vehicle onto, for example, a handcart

with which the delivery is actually made.

cal approaches for the organization of

the logistics chain must be deployed. As

a solution, an innovative vehicle that is

especially optimized for the »last mile«

in downtown areas has been developed

at Fraunhofer IPK: the multi-functional

»MicroCarrier Urban Vehicle (MCUV)«.

The current experimental version is an

evolutionary stage of the vehicle system

developed with Fraunhofer IPK’s partici-

pation and successfully tested with the

project partner DHL in the framework of

the EU project called »FIDEUS«.

► Multi-functional transport system

At the heart of the vehicle system are

»MicroCarriers«, single-axle transport

units that can be used either as individual

hand-driven vehicles, or in combination

with a lead unit and other MicroCarriers

to form trains of variable length. The

single-axle design guarantees maximum

maneuverability.

Every MicroCarrier is equipped with its

own electric motor so that when used

with other units, the resulting vehicle has

distributed drive systems. When hand

driven, even heavy loads can be trans-

ported almost effortlessly.

There is almost no limit to the types of

items that can be transported: Stacked

single consignments, palette goods, bulk

containers, rolling containers, and steel-

A van slowly works its way through a crowded pedestrian zone; the

passersby have to step aside and wait. A delivery truck is double parked;

the ensuing traffic comes to a standstill. Scenes like these are familiar

to almost everyone. E-Commerce and »Just-in-time« deliveries are

convenient and cheap. Courier, express, and parcel services have prof-

ited from the steadily increasing number of shipments. In urban areas,

consignment and delivery transport, particularly of small shipments, is

confronted with a great number of factors that lead to safety, efficiency,

and environmental issues. This is due to the lack of vehicle concepts

developed especially for downtown deliveries. In the framework of the

»Fraunhofer Systemforschung Elektromobilität« (System Research for

Electromobility), Fraunhofer IPK is developing just such a vehicle system.

MicroCarrier for Urban Logistics

FUTUR 1-3/2011 21

Driving downtown with no traffic jam –

electromobility tested in everyday life

In the city-center environment, the advan-

tages of electric vehicles add up. Recovery

of brake energy and reduced noise and ex-

haust fumes are also of benefit to the vari-

ous parties involved in the local transport of

commercial goods. However, there is still a

shortage of meaningful experience with the

organization of city-center logistics using

electric cars. This fact has led Fraunhofer IPK

and its partners to undertake an investiga-

tion of the regular everyday use of five

commercial electric vehicles in downtown

Berlin. The participants are the logistics gi-

ant DHL, and the textile transporter Meyer

& Meyer. As project coordinator, Fraunhofer

IPK has compiled a reference manual for

the development of urban logistics with e-

vehicles that discusses their potential, action

recommendations for municipalities, service

providers, and vehicle manufacturers. An-

other component of the project is the devel-

opment and installation of charging stations

in the city and on the IPK grounds.

In familiar single-axle personal transport

systems, the vehicle is maneuvered by

the passenger shifting her or his weight.

However, this type of steering is, of

course, unsuitable for freight transport

since the vehicle would interpret any

change in the load as a shifting of weight

and would head off automatically and

uncontrollably. In order to prevent this,

and to make various types of vehicle

operating modes possible, a new concept

for steering and automatic control was

implemented in a specially developed

hardware platform.

► Drive system

In the present test version, a direct-

current-drive system with a transmission

is used that generates adequate torque in

the required performance range, but still

requires too much space, making it diffi-

cult, for example, to load the vehicle with

conventional block-shaped containers.

A suitable system is a wheel hub motor,

which does not require any space in the

cargo area and, designed to run extreme-

ly slowly and being very light, is energy

efficient. At Fraunhofer IPK, a wheel hub

motor optimized in this way is currently

being developed within the framework

of the Fraunhofer System Research for

Electromobility, and its technically feasi-

bility for use in the MicroCarrier is being

tested.

mesh containers are all possible. This

allows a continuous logistics chain from

warehouse to client without the need to

manually unload and reload the individual

consignments. The electric MicroCarrier

fit into the urban townscape incon-

spicuously, allowing all-day pick-ups and

deliveries, even in restricted traffic areas.

They are quiet, pollution free, and do not

obstruct traffic.

► Steering the »trains«

Directional stability is a requirement for

everyday use of the MicroCarrier »trains«

so they can be maneuvered easily around

curves and obstacles with a minimal

radius – and without causing collisions.

Each MicroCarrier unit follows the track

of the preceding one precisely, using a

steering principle similar to that of a tank,

i.e. direct torque control of the MCUV’s

lateral wheel drives. Each individual ve-

hicle in the train is powered and steered

independently and can thus be flexibly

arranged in any sequence desired.

► Driving individual units manually

A unit can easily be decoupled from

the train and employed individually for

deliveries – a great advantage in cramped

spaces – for which the single-axle vehicle

uses its own built-in mechanism for steer-

ing and balancing. The current test ver-

sion can transport cargos of up to 200 kg

almost effortlessly.

From the original design (l.) through several evolutionary stages, to the current concept

Your contact

Dipl.-Ing. Werner Schönewolf

Phone +49 30 39006-145

werner.schoenewolf@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Dipl.-Ing. Matthias Brüning

Phone +49 30 314-26858

matthias.bruening@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Mr. Kosmecki, your firm has just celebrated

its first birthday. How are things going?

Bartosz Kosmecki: Scopis and I are doing

very well. The first year was a very exciting

one in which a lot happened. We intro-

duced our first navigation system, MATRIX

POLAR, in the market in February 2011,

having received CE approval. In March,

our quality management system was

successfully certified in accordance with

DIN EN ISO13485:2010 and DIN EN ISO

9001:2008. This year we have attended

several trade shows and conferences, and

in doing so have extended our presence

in the medical technology market and

built up interest, particularly among ENT

surgeons.

Our marketing activities are also going

very positively. We have supplied the first

clinical navigation devices to hospitals,

which are in daily use there. We have also

had positive international feedback. And

currently we are already in the final stage

of the approval process for our second

product, which is set to launch this year.

Where did the idea to found a new com-

pany come from?

Kosmecki: Andreas Reutter, the cofounder

of Scopis, and I were colleagues at the

Berlin Center for Mechatronic Medical

Technology. We had already done research

on clinical navigation and measuring

systems there. During an operation at the

Charité’s ENT clinic, I observed the chal-

lenges that exist during minimally invasive

surgery first hand. It struck me that there

was a demand for endoscopic measure-

ment of the operative field, so I got the

idea to develop better endoscopic measur-

ing and navigation systems.

These systems are based on special mod-

ules that can be fully integrated into exist-

ing endoscopy towers and extend them

with the ability to do precise, laser-based

3D measurement. This enables physicians

for the first time to take non-contact

endoscopic measurements of anatomi-

cal structures. They also benefit from the

continuously available navigation.

From the idea for the product, we quickly

developed a business concept that earned

us the Charité Foundation Prize at the

Biomedical Summit 2009. This obviously

provided some very positive feedback for

our project. In March 2010 our business

plan was chosen among the top twenty in

the nationwide business plan competition

»Science 4 Life«. A few months later we

founded Scopis.

You develop endoscopic measuring shafts

that can be mounted precisely on any

conventional endoscope used in minimally

invasive ENT surgery. How do they work?

Kosmecki: The Scopis measuring shafts

are fastened similar to a flushing shaft on

conventional endoscopes and locked in

place. The system is based on worldwide

standards in ENT surgery with respect to

the diameter and length of the endoscope,

so the technology can also easily be ap-

plied in other areas of endoscopy.

This is how it works: Our measuring shaft

projects a point of laser light onto the tis-

sue that is visible in the endoscopy image.

The surgeon aims this point manually to-

wards the structure to be measured, similar

to a laser pointer. For every point projected,

the system determines the precise spa-

tial coordinates, enabling the surgeon to

measure the anatomical structures point

by point endoscopically and without direct

physical contact. The endoscopic naviga-

tion is done the same way.

Why should a physician switch to your

endoscopic measuring module?

Kosmecki: With our technology, doctors

– for the first time – are able to navigate

with an endoscope and simultaneously

measure anatomical structures exactly, but

without touching the patient. In compari-

Welcome to the Age of the Navigated Endoscope

Scopis GmbH researches, develops, and markets highly precise laser-based endoscopic and

microscopic measuring systems for minimally invasive surgery. Its innovative 3D endoscopic

measuring system makes it possible for the first time to perform surgical procedures in a way

that is reproducible, minimizing clinical complications and optimizing costs. The firm is a spin-

off of the Berlin Center for Mechatronic Medical Technology, jointly operated by Fraunhofer

IPK and the Charité University Hospital. We spoke with the founder and CEO, Bartosz

Kosmecki, about the young company.

Interview22

Your contact

Bartosz Kosmecki

Phone +49 30 398 20 598

bkosmecki@scopis.com

www.scopis.com

About the person

Bartosz Kosmecki successfully completed

his studies in Technical Computer Science

at Berlin’s Technische Universität in 2005.

He demonstrated his future interest in

medical technology in his Master‘s thesis

on the subject of an »Electromagnetic Clin-

ical Navigation System«. During his subse-

quent activity as a researcher at Fraunhofer

IPK and the Charité Virchow Hospital,

Kosmecki further concentrated on the

investigation and development of clinical

navigation systems and endoscopic mea-

surement. In 2010, together with Andreas

Reutter and the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, he

founded Scopis GmbH for the development

and marketing of measuring systems for

various medical applications in minimally

invasive surgery. The company, of which

Kosmecki is CEO, received start-up capital

from the High-Tech Gründerfonds (High-

Tech Founder Fund) in October 2010. The

Scopis navigation system MATRIX POLAR

has been commercially available since

February 2011.

have successively extended our range of

autoclavable navigated instruments. In the

process, we have always optimized these

systems based on suggestions made by

our consulting physicians. With the market

launch of our second product at the end

of 2011, we will be right on schedule.

What would you advise other scientists

who are considering the idea of moving

from the lab into the marketplace?

Kosmecki: The step from science to

entrepreneurship requires a sound busi-

ness concept anchored in a business plan.

Numerous business plan competitions

offer assistance in the formulation of the

business plan. In this process, the busi-

ness concept is tested and subjected to

on going optimization by independent

investors, entrepreneurs, and consultants.

There are many start-up networks where

one can meet young entrepreneurs to

discuss the project and obtain helpful tips.

In our case, our consultation with and

support from Fraunhofer Venture was

enormously important. They helped us

in preparing contracts, licensing trade-

marks, and founding the company. As an

entrepreneur, you have to step outside the

researcher’s point of view and see through

the eyes of the customer, because the cus-

tomer is the decisive factor for the success

of the business idea and not the techno-

logical qualities of the product.

son with existing systems, this increases

the amount of navigation information by

up to seventy percent. The ENT surgeons

have one hand free and no longer have to

switch back and forth between the naviga-

tion and surgical instruments. Further-

more, the laser navigation enables a rapid

and precise image-to-patient registration,

since no direct skin contact occurs.

The measuring shaft is only one part of

our integrated MATRIX POLAR system,

which is characterized by a very short sys-

tem preparation time, small space require-

ments, intuitive operation, and documen-

tation of both endoscopic and navigation

data. MATRIX POLAR helps the surgeon to

be better oriented in the operative field,

thus minimizing surgical complications,

reducing operation times, and achieving

better post-operative results.

You have set the market entry of your first

products for ENT surgery as your goal for

summer 2011. Are you on schedule?

Kosmecki: Yes. As I mentioned at the

beginning, MATRIX POLAR, Scopis’ first

navigation system for minimally invasive

ENT surgery, has been available since

February 2011. We had set a very narrow

time frame for ourselves, but we nonethe-

less managed to complete our first medical

product only half a year after the compa-

ny’s founding. In the last few months we

Scopis founders Bartosz Kosmecki (r.) and Andreas Reutter (l.)

FUTUR 1-3/2011 23

24 Partnerunternehmen

How Shredded Paper Becomes Data – Digitalization Made by arvato

Company Profile

arvato is also commissioned by numer-

ous customers as a cutting-edge provider

for mass digitalization and professional

document management. At its facility in

Wilhelmshaven alone, several document

millions of the most varying type and

quality are scanned and further processed

annually. The company’s experts have

extensive know-how in the processes of

scanning, electronic data storage, manual

post-processing, and the transmission of

electronic documents.

The services in the document-management

field encompass a broad spectrum. For

example, arvato, in its role as one of

Fraunhofer IPK’s important partners from

industry, has furnished fundamental scan-

ning and logistics expertise in the area of

virtual reconstruction to a broad range of

joint projects. Thanks to similar services it

has provided in other industrial projects,

arvato has gained many years of extensive

experience in the relevant processes.

A special aspect of the cooperation

between Fraunhofer IPK and arvato is the

digitalization of documents containing

sensitive contents that have been torn or

shredded. This is an unprecedented project

in the field of document scanning and a

task requiring great responsibility and ad-

herence to the very strictest privacy require-

ments. arvato’s employees have carried it

out with great commitment.

The digitalization of document fragments

in extremely bad condition, the stringent

requirements in regard to image quality,

and the complicated logistic demands

of the project have continuously pre-

sented problems to the team that arvato,

Fraunhofer IPK’s partner and exclusive

scanning-service provider, has solved reli-

ably over the years. Flexibility in process

handling, efficient workflow management,

and an especially programmed logistics sys-

tem have also contributed to successfully

arvato AG

Carl-Bertelsmann-Straße 161

33311 Gütersloh

Phone +49 5241 80-40600

Fax +49 5241 80-3315

www.arvato.de

arvato AG, part of the Bertelsmann concern, is an interna-

tionally networked outsourcing service provider. More than

65,000 arvato employees are involved in the design and

implementation of custom-made solutions for an extremely

diverse range of business processes along integrated service

chains for business clients around the world. These include

all services related to the production and distribution of

printed products and digital storage media, as well as data

management, customer care, customer-relationship manage-

ment (CRM) services, supply-chain management, digital

distribution, financial services and high-quality individual-

ized IT services.

arvato high-performance scanner for the digitalization of files (above); even shredded documents can be recon-structed (below).

arvato

Your contact

Kathrin Barzik

Phone +49 4421 76-84174

Kathrin.Barzik@bertelsmann.de

coming to grips with the accelerating dy-

namics of the project. With know-how and

passion, arvato has achieved innovations

in the field of the digitalization, providing

its customers with efficient document-

management services.

FUTUR 1-3/2011 25Lab Profile

► Document reconstruction

Ten years ago, Fraunhofer IPK began to

develop technologies for the automated

virtual reconstruction of partially destroyed

documents. These technologies are unpar-

alleled in the world and are being used in

the pilot phase for the reconstruction of

documents of the Stasi, the former East

Germany’s State Security. Various inquiries,

mainly from governmental authorities from

Eastern Europe and Latin America, but also

German law enforcement agencies indicate

that the technology has great potential.

Some recent successes of the German

customs and tax investigation agencies can

be attributed to the development of this

product from Berlin.

As a concomitant of this development,

Fraunhofer IPK has achieved a competence

that is unique in the world: reconstruction

of shredded documents that can stand

up in court. In the context of the Secu-

rity Verification Lab, these technologies

are available to deal with requests from

authorities and organizations with security-

related responsibility and are being further

developed in projects with other users

worldwide.

► Document security

Genuine or forgery? Thanks to new meth-

ods of authenticity testing, this question

can be answered unambiguously with

»VisionID«. As long as highly valuable

documents have existed, people have

attempted to forge or manipulate them.

In a joint effort with the Bundesdruckerei

GmbH, Fraunhofer IPK has produced new

findings for the development of innovative

security features for sensitive documents.

VisionID, an integrated recognition and

verification system, uses pattern recognition

and image processing for the characteriza-

tion of physical document scanning and

printing processes, as well as special sensor

techniques for document digitalization.

The Berlin Security Verification Lab is a joint initiative of the government-owned

Bundesdruckerei GmbH (Federal Printer, Inc.) and Fraunhofer IPK. The goal of

the collaboration is the development and deployment of systems for universal

document identification and forgery recognition. On behalf of law enforcement

agencies from Germany and abroad, documents are to be examined and print

works of value that have been partially destroyed or damaged virtually are to be

reconstructed.

Your contact

Dr.-Ing. Bertram Nickolay

Phone +49 30 39006-201

bertram.nickolay@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Security Verification Lab – Security for Documents and Objects

Virtual reconstruction of shredded documents

26 Events and Dates

The Application Center for Microproduction Technology (AMP)

offers optimal conditions for the finest processing technologies

and perfect prerequisites for top performance in research and

development. The state-of-the-art laboratory building, which

formally opened on November 25th, is geared to the special

needs of high- and ultra-precision technologies. With the support

of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the Berlin Senate, the German

Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and Berlin’s Technische

Universität, the approximately five million euros required could be

mobilized. The architect Prof. Peter Bayerer saw to it that the new

AMP building fits perfectly into the existing architecture of the

PTZ. In the 1980s, he participated in the planning of the prize-

winning main PTZ building, and he also designed the ultra-modern

laboratory and office complex that has now extended the PTZ by

2400 m2.

In the facility, scientists from Fraunhofer IPK and the Institute for

Machine Tools and Factory Management (IWF) work together

on the development of microcomponents and microstructured

Major Event in a Double Pack

The 25th of November is an important day for Berlin’s Production Technology Center (PTZ). On this date in November,

1986 the PTZ, with its striking architecture, was inaugurated. Twenty-five years later to the day, on November 25th,

2011, the Application Center for Microproduction Technology (AMP), a separate building for micromanufacturing,

opened its doors – and the building concept was complete.

components, the optimization of process chains for serial and mass

production, on testing complex microsystems, as well as on the

development of entire machine tools.

Modern machines today can work on components and structures

that are as small as 100 nanometers. This corresponds to 10-7 m or

1/10th the thickness of a spider thread. The tools of microproduc-

tion technology are correspondingly small – and they react cor-

respondingly sensitively to environment influences. If, for example,

a car were to be built exactly in the proportion 1:100, it would

definitely not behave like its full-size archetype, because material

expansion due to slight fluctuations of temperature affect the tiny

parts disproportionately strongly.

The same is true for machine tools: Simply using a different scale is

not enough. Every precision machine for microproduction technol-

ogy must therefore be reinvented to a large extent. Precision ma-

chine building is one of the AMP’s core competences. As a result,

multi-talented precision machines are created in partnership with

FUTUR 1-3/2010 27

Festive illumination concept on the occasion of the PTZ’s 25th anniversary

medium-size firms. They combine roughing and finishing cutters,

ablation lasers, and optical in-process measurement technologies,

or an ablation laser and a rotating, high-frequency oscillating pin

for electrical discharge machining.

Where the parts or structures produced are hardly recognizable

with the naked eye, production variances of a few percent always

escape the perceptions. No manufacturer can afford to have

every single part tested for mistakes under the microscope by his

employees – in any case a very inaccurate means of quality assur-

ance. Therefore, in the AMP measuring technologies are also being

developed that automatically determine with the highest accuracy

whether a tiny product is usable or junk. The AMP’s optical and

tactile measuring instruments help quickly in parameter determina-

tion. For continuous process monitoring, the sensors are integrated

directly into the workspace of the precision machines. They con-

stantly gather information such as accuracy, speed, and wear in the

manufacturing system.

Above this, one of the AMP’s highlight

projects is to move forward in linking

biotechnology and classical engineering.

In the interdisciplinary junior research

group »PrE-BioTec«, competences in mi-

crobiology and genetics intermesh with

know-how in production technology:

Specialists in the fields of production

engineering, material sciences, biology,

and microbiology are working on in-

novative biotechnological procedures for

use in the industrial context. They focus

on what is known as »cell-free biotech-

nology«. Their most important research

subject is the development and optimi-

zation of bioreactors in the microliter

AMP inauguration ( l. to r.): Prof. Bayerer (Architect), Prof. Gossner (Fraunhofer Management), Prof. Uhlmann (Director of Fraunhofer IPK), Dr. Ulrike Gutheil (Chancel-lor of the Technische Universität Berlin), SenR Bernd Lietzau, and MinR Hermann Riehl.

range, in which the synthesis can take place. This significantly re-

duces material consumption while increasing the test throughput.

This plethora of scientific excellence demanded an appropriate

inauguration ceremony, and the international audience from the

worlds of research, industry, and politics was addressed by guest

speakers including Ministerialrat Hermann Riehl, the Chancel-

lor of the Technische Universität Berlin Dr. Ulrike Gutheil, and the

Managing Director of the Confederation of Employers and Business

Associations of Berlin and Brandenburg, Christian Amsinck.

»Today it is not a circle that has been closed, but rather a semi-

circle,« said Prof. Eckart Uhlmann in his talk, because the AMP

completes the curved edifice that the architects had already desig-

nated as a possible extension of the PTZ more than 25 years ago

during the planning of the main building. With one of the original

architects, Peter Bayerer, having taken over the planning of the

AMP a quarter century later, the architectural expression that was

honored with the German Architecture Prize has been carried over

in the new structure.

Twenty-five years of cooperation, twenty-five years of peak scien-

tific performance – this is the tradition to which the AMP is bound.

This made the day of the inauguration of the future-oriented

bespoke building also a day of retrospective, memory, and honor-

ing of the eventful history of the twofold institute. Approximately

250 friends of the PTZ participated in the celebratory colloquium to

honor the anniversary. Among them were political supporters and

scientific collaborators, industrial partners, and PTZ colleagues from

the past decades. Prof. Jörg Steinbach, President of Berlin’s Tech-

nische Universität and Prof. Rainer Stark, Managing Director of the

Institute for Machine Tools and Factory Management (IWF), greeted

the attendees before the colloquium’s content turned to the topic

of production technology. The day’s events came to a close with a

banquet in the PTZ testing area, which was festively decorated with

winter illumination.

28 Events and Dates

Your contact

Steffen Pospischil

Phone +49 30 39006-140

steffen.pospischil@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Distinguished Visitor from Canada

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Buller, Minister Gary Goodyear and Prof. Dr. Eckart Uhlmann

On November 9th, 2011, the Canadian Minister of State for

Science and Technology, Gary Goodyear, and his delegation visited

Fraunhofer IPK. He was greeted by Prof. Ulrich Buller, Senior Vice

President for Research Planning at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and

Prof. Eckart Uhlmann, Director of the institute. After an introduc-

tion to the work and organization of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

by Prof. Buller and a presentation of Fraunhofer IPK by Prof. Uhl-

mann, the Minister had the opportunity to see the development of

concrete IPK projects for himself. The project director of the Secure

Verification Lab, Jan Schneider, demonstrated the challenges of the

»Stasi Puzzle Project«. In the test area, Arne Dethlefs presented

robot cells for flexible manufacturing. In the area of »Electromo-

bility« Minister Goodyear himself was able to get involved: With

expert instructions from project manager Werner Schönewolf, he

transported goods through the test area with the aid of an IPK-

developed MicroCarrier like a parcel courier of the future.

Your contact

Steffen Pospischil

Phone +49 30 39006-140

steffen.pospischil@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Ecuador‘s Foreign Minister Visits the PTZ

Everything in full view: Ecuador‘s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino (2nd from r.) and Ambassador Jorge Jurado (3rd from r.)

A great honor for the PTZ: On October 23, 2011 during his visit in

Germany, the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patino, paid a

visit to the well-known bend in the Spree River in Berlin’s Charlot-

tenburg district. This is the location of Fraunhofer IPK and the

Institute for Machine Tools and Factory Management (IWF) of the

Technische Universität, where the Minister gathered information

about research and development. In the company of Ecuador‘s

ambassador to Germany, Jorge Jurado, he tested newest product

designs in the Virtual Reality Solution Center and, in another area

of the institute, saw for himself the powerful cleaning technology

developed by Fraunhofer researchers.

Everything under control: Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino tries his hand at dry ice blasting.

FUTUR 1-3/2011 29

New Man in the House

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Roland Jochem

The Technische Universität Berlin’s Institute for Machine Tools

and Factory Management (IWF) has a new face. Succeeding Prof.

Dr.-Ing. Joachim Herrmann, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Roland Jochem has led

the Department of Quality Sciences since September 2010. Hold-

ing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, he has been linked closely

to the PTZ for many years. After his studies at the Technische

Universität Berlin and gaining experience in industry, Prof. Jochem

was drawn to science at Fraunhofer IPK, where he wrote his dis-

sertation and rose to the position of department head in Process

Management before moving to Bosch-Siemens Household Appli-

ances GmbH as process coordinator. Most recently, as a profes-

sor, he was responsible for the Quality Management department

at the Kassel University. Quality includes clear aims – and Prof.

Jochem also has them for his department. »A lecture is good

when the students have understood everything and can apply

what they have learned in practice. An R&D project is good when

it brings the customer return-on-investment when implemented,«

he explains clearly and concisely.

Your contact

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Roland Jochem

Phone +49 30 39006-118

roland.jochem@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Roland Jochem on the roof of the PTZ

Reinforcement at the Top

Management team of Fraunhofer IPK expanded

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kai Mertins

Beginning April 1st, 2011, Prof. Dr.-Ing Kai Mertins assumed the

role of Deputy Director of the Institute, a capacity in which he

will assist the Director, Prof. Dr. h. c. Dr.-Ing. Eckart Uhlmann. In

appointing Prof. Mertins, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s Executive

Board acted in accordance with a personal suggestion by Prof.

Uhlmann. The decision came as no surprise to people familiar

with Fraunhofer IPK: Prof. Mertins has served in leading posi-

tions in the institute for thirty years and in this period has made

a decisive mark on the strategy of the organization.

The Fraunhofer management’s decision articulates special recog-

nition of Prof. Mertins’ achievements on behalf of the institute.

Prof. Uhlmann congratulated his colleague saying: »I am happy

that the close cooperation I have enjoyed with Prof. Mertins

over the years in our joint endeavors to expand the Institute’s

leading position will be even stronger in the future.« Prof.

Mertins has headed Fraunhofer IPK’s Corporate Management

Your contact

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kai Mertins

Phone +49 30 39006-233

kai.mertins@ipk.fraunhofer.de

division since 1988 with the focus of his work being in the fields

of production and work organization, employee qualification,

production management, factory planning, order control, and

knowledge management. He is founder member of the research

group »Arbeits kreis Wissensbilanz (AKWB)«, which promotes

the scientific development and broad application of Intellectual

Capital Statements as a strategic management tool.

30 Events and Dates

Your contact

Dr.-Ing. Bertram Nickolay

Phone +49 30 39006-201

bertram.nickolay@ipk.fraunhofer.de

The German Federal Police Office investigated more than 3800

cases of possession of child pornography in 2009. So far they

have had to search through seized hard disks manually, a task

which the enormous growth of digital media has made almost

impossible. With the software tool called »desCRY« (an English

verb that means »to catch sight of«), Fraunhofer IPK’s Security

Technology department has developed a means with which digital

media can be checked for illegal contents by automated pattern

recognition. On May 9th, 2011, the Federal Minister of Family

Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Dr. Kristina Schröder,

and the Member of Parliament Beatrix Philipp visited Fraunhofer

IPK in order to discuss the potential of this new technology.

Together with representatives of the German Federal Police Office

and Berlin’s State Police Department, they elucidated the neces-

sary prerequisites for the wide-scale use of »desCRY« with insti-

tute director Prof. Eckart Uhlmann, department head Dr. Bertram

Nickolay, and other Fraunhofer experts. Additional R&D require-

ments as well as possibilities for national and international coop-

erations were also discussed.

Consolidated Action against Child Pornography

Federal Family Minister Dr. Kristina Schröder and Parliament Member Beatrix Philipp

on a fact-finding tour of Fraunhofer IPK about digital investigation technologies

Federal Family Minister Dr. Kristina Schröder in conversation with theFraunhofer experts

Your contact

Dr.-Ing. Bertram Nickolay

Phone +49 30 39006-201

bertram.nickolay@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Carlos Jiménez Licona, Ambassador of Guatemala, gathers information about the technology for document reconstruction.

Guatemala’s Ambassador Pays a Visit to Fraunhofer IPK

On August 22nd, 2011 the Ambassador of the Republic of

Guatemala, Carlos Jiménez Licona, visited Fraunhofer IPK in order

to learn about the Department of Security Technology’s image-

identification software. In 2005 a police archive was rediscovered in

Guatemala in which, among other things, human rights’ violations

by the military during the civil war at the beginning of the 1980s

are documented. The civil war cost approximately 200,000 people

their lives. Coming to terms with this chapter of Guatemalan

history requires a great deal of time and effort – similar to the work

required in dealing with the documents related to the former East

Germany’s State Security Service (Stasi). The Fraunhofer technology

for the automated virtual reconstruction of shredded documents is

therefore also interesting for Guatemala.

FUTUR 1-3/2011 31

Your contact

Dipl.-Ing. Werner Schönewolf

Phone +49 30 39006-145

werner.schoenewolf@ipk.fraunhofer.de

The Federal Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Devel-

opment, Dr. Peter Ramsauer, presented Prof. Eckart Uhlmann,

Director of Fraunhofer IPK, with the official notification of

support for the last phase of the Fraunhofer Group Project »E-

City-Logistics«. The project will demonstrate the potential of

electric-powered commercial vehicles in city center supply trans-

port considering traffic, operational, energy, and environmental

factors. In a second field trial, eleven-ton trucks will be tested

as textile delivery vehicles in downtown Berlin. In addition to an

expected emission reduction, a particular goal is to enhance the

cost effectiveness of electric commercial vehicles by means of

fine-tuned logistics concepts.

E-City-Logistics

Federal Minister of Transport Dr. Peter Ramsauer (r.) and Prof. Eckart Uhlmann (l.)

Your contact

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günther Seliger

Phone +49 30 314-22014

seliger@mf.tu-berlin.de

The special research field (SFB) 1026 »Sustainable Manufac-

turing – Shaping Global Value Creation« under the direction

of Prof. Günther Seliger of the Technische Universität Berlin’s

Institute for Machine Tools and Factory Management (IWF) is

one of eight SFBs that the German Research Foundation (DFG)

established, beginning January 1st, 2012, with a total budget of

82.7 euros. Together, the scientists of IWF, Fraunhofer IPK, the

Konrad Zuse Institute Berlin, the Federal Institute for Materials

Research and Testing, and the Social Science Research Center

Berlin are developing appropriate techniques and technologies

for sustainable production worldwide. This is a topic that could

SFB Sustainable Manufacturing

hardly be more relevant because the mindful use of energy, raw

materials, and human labor is indispensable for the preservation

of our habitat. However, in many parts of the world, the topic of

sustainability does not yet play a major role in production tech-

nology. The project’s goal is to scientifically prove the superiority

of sustainable methodologies over traditional procedures. To

achieve this, scientists in the fields of engineering, economics,

and mathematics are working hand in hand.

Profile

Production Technology

Center PTZ Berlin

Your Contact at the PTZ Berlin

Corporate ManagementProf. Dr.-Ing. Kai MertinsPhone: +49 30 39006-233, -234kai.mertins@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Virtual Product Creation,Industrial Information TechnologyProf. Dr.-Ing. Rainer StarkPhone: +49 30 39006-243rainer.stark@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Production Systems, Machine Tools and Manufacturing TechnologyProf. Dr. h. c. Dr.-Ing. Eckart UhlmannPhone: +49 30 39006-101eckart.uhlmann@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Joining and Coating Technology (IPK)Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael RethmeierPhone: +49 30 8104-1550michael.rethmeier@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Joining and Coating Technology (IWF)Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rainer Stark (interim) Phone: +49 30 314-25415 rainer.stark@tu-berlin.de

Automation Technology,Industrial Automation TechnologyProf. Dr.-Ing. Jörg KrügerPhone: +49 30 39006-183joerg.krueger@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Assembly Technology and Factory ManagementProf. Dr.-Ing. Günther SeligerPhone: +49 30 314-22014guenther.seliger@mf.tu-berlin.de

Quality Management, Quality ScienceProf. Dr.-Ing. Roland JochemPhone: +49 30 314-22004roland.jochem@tu-berlin.de

Medical TechnologyProf. Dr.-Ing. Erwin KeevePhone: +49 30 39006-120erwin.keeve@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Fraunhofer Innovation Cluster

Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) in Energy and TrafficDipl.-Ing. Markus RöhnerPhone: +49 30 39006-279markus.roehner@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Secure IdentityDipl.-Phys. Thorsten SyPhone: +49 30 39006-282thorsten.sy@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Fraunhofer Alliances

AdvanCer High-performance CeramicsTiago Borsoi Klein M.Sc. Phone: +49 30 39006-154tiago.borsoi.klein@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Cleaning TechnologyDipl.-Ing. Martin BilzPhone: +49 30 39006-147martin.bilz@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Traffic and TransportationDipl.-Ing. Werner SchönewolfPhone: +49 30 39006-145werner.schoenewolf@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Working Group

Tool Coatings and Cutting MaterialsFiona Sammler, M.Eng.Sc.Phone: +49 30 314-21791fiona.sammler@iwf.tu-berlin.de

Ceramics MachiningDipl.-Ing. Florian HeitmüllerPhone: +49 30 314-23624heitmueller@iwf.tu-berlin.de

Dry Ice BlastingDipl.-Ing. Martin BilzPhone: +49 30 39006-147martin.bilz@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Microproduction Technology Dr.-Ing. Dirk OberschmidtPhone: +49 30 6392-5106dirk.oberschmidt@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Berliner Runde (Machine Tools)Dipl.-Ing. Christoph KönigPhone: +49 30 314-23568ckoenig@iwf.tu-berlin.de

Competence Centers

Application CenterMicroproduction Technology (AMP)Dr.-Ing. Dirk OberschmidtPhone: +49 30 6392-5106dirk.oberschmidt@ipk.fraunhofer.de

BenchmarkingDr.-Ing. Holger KohlPhone: +49 30 39006-168holger.kohl@ipk.fraunhofer.de

ElectromobilityDipl.-Ing. Werner SchönewolfPhone: +49 30 39006-145werner.schoenewolf@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Advanced TrainingClaudia EngelPhone: +49 30 39006-238claudia.engel@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Methods-Time MeasurementDipl.-Ing. Aleksandra PostawaPhone: +49 30 314-26866postawa@mf.tu-berlin.de

Modeling Technological and Logistic Processes in Research and EducationDipl.-Ing. Sylianos Chiotellis M.Sc.Phone: +49 30 314-23547skernb@mf.tu-berlin.de

PDM/PLMDr.-Ing. Haygazun HaykaPhone: +49 30 39006-221haygazun.hayka@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Rapid PrototypingDipl.-Ing. (FH) Kamilla UrbanPhone: +49 30 39006-107kamilla.urban@ipk.fraunhofer.de

SimulationDipl.-Ing. Pavel GocevPhone: +49 30 39006-170pavel.gocev@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Self-Organising Production (SOPRO)Dipl.-Ing. Eckhard HohwielerPhone: +49 30 39006-121eckhard.hohwieler@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Scenarios for Product Development and Factory PlanningDipl.-Ing. Marco EisenbergPhone: +49 30 314-25549meisenberg@mf.tu-berlin.de

Virtual Reality Solution Center (VRSC)Dr.-Ing. Johann Habakuk IsraelPhone: +49 30 39006-109johann.habakuk.israel@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Reutilization of ResourcesDipl.-Ing. Timo FleschutzPhone: +49 30 314-22404tfleschutz@mf.tu-berlin.de

Knowledge ManagementDr.-Ing. Dipl.-Psych. Ina KohlPhone: +49 30 39006-264ina.kohl@ipk.fraunhofer.de

Center for Innovative Product Creation (ZIP)Dr.-Ing. Haygazun Hayka Phone: +49 30 39006-221haygazun.hayka@ipk.fraunhofer.de

The Production Technology Center

PTZ Berlin comprises of the Institute

for Machine Tools and Factory Man-

agement IWF of the Technical Uni-

versity of Berlin and the Fraunhofer

Institute for Production Systems and

Design Technology IPK. The PTZ de-

velops methods and technologies for

management, product development,

production processes, and design

of industrial manufacturing plants.

Furthermore, we also leverage our

proven expertise to engineer novel

applications in emerging fields such

as security, transport and medical

technology.

The PTZ is equally committed to making

its own contributions to application-

oriented basic research and to developing

new technologies in close collaboration

with industry. The PTZ works together

with its industry partners to transform ba-

sic innovations born in research projects

into fully functional applications.

With the methods and techniques we

develop or improve, we offer our partners

comprehensive end-to-end support from

product development and fabrication

through to product recycling. This also

includes the conception of means of

production and its integration in complex

production facilities, and innovation of

all corporate planning and controlling

processes.