New start 2020 - Fraunhofer IAO

Last year, some days and phases felt very similar and monotonous. But when you look back, you realize that more has happened than initially suspected.

Fraunhofer- Competence Center "Quantum Computing Baden-Württemberg "

In order to promote application-oriented research on quantum computing, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is founding a national quantum computing network with regional centers in seven German states. The first to start its work is the "Quantum Computing Baden-Württemberg" competence center. The state government is funding the center with up to 40 million euros over the next four years. Fraunhofer IAF takes over the coordinative leadership of the Competence Center Baden-Württemberg together with Fraunhofer IAO.

For more information, please see our press release.

FutureWork360: How virtual can research become?

The research marketing project "FutureWork360" aims to offer an international target group access to research and innovation at the lowest possible cost. This is achieved with the help of a digital twin. The basic idea is to exchange information with researchers, discover innovations and thus accelerate international networking and research cooperation, regardless of time and place.

For more information, please see our press release or visit www.futurework360.de

MultiUserVR - Collaborative Spatial Problem Solving in Virtual Space

Virtual reality (VR) already has a firm place as a tool in many application areas. The ongoing development in related software and hardware (video goggles such as the Oculus Rift) since 2012 has led to both an immense qualitative improvement and a drastic reduction in costs. As a result, many VR applications can be brought out of the lab and into production use for the first time, especially those that involve multiple users (multi-user VR). However, this requires answering fundamental research questions in experimental psychology: What spatial and sensory information is most helpful in solving spatial problems, and how do people solve these problems in the first place? Only the investigation of these research questions will make it possible to generate mental representations of objects, the environment and one's own body, as well as those of other users, which are perceived as natural and have already proven to be important for tasks with spatial relevance.

For more information, visit the project website or watch the video.