Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS

Director: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Anton Grabmaier
Contact: Dr. Jennifer Ruskowski

The Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS develops application-specific sensors that, in combination with algorithmics and artificial intelligence, offer a wide range of possibilities for emission-free and autonomous mobility. The in-house clean room and microsystems technology Lab&Fab enable customized manufacturing based on state-of-the-art diversification of sensors and CMOS technology.
Our mission is to develop new technologies and smart sensors that pave the way for innovative, reliable solutions for emission-free, safe, affordable and autonomous mobility concepts.

Autonomous mobility

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Around 90 percent of all accidents are due to human error. New technologies and advancing autonomy enable safe interaction between all road users.
At Fraunhofer IMS, sensors for environment recognition are designed and verified for a wide range of mobility modes. Key focus is on the robustness of the systems, their size and their insensitivity to interference from external influences, especially by the weather. New approaches using artificial intelligence ensure a significant reduction in the data volume and memory requirements of LiDAR sensors.

  • The main focuses are: Application-oriented design and verification of environ-mental sensors.
  • Data-reduced generation of 3D LiDAR values
  • Future-oriented LiDAR developments through testing of the latest sensor ar-chitectures and components

Emission-free mobility

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Climate change is the major challenge of our time.


Fraunhofer IMS contributes to climate neutrality in the research field »Emission-free mobility«. With our technologies, we support the reduction of CO2 emissions and the development of emission-free mobility solutions. Our knowledge in Artificial Intelligence (AI) on resource-limited systems and in trustworthy electronics enables us to make the latest technology more durable, safer and greener.
Our focus areas in zero-emission mobility are:

  • Resource-limited sensor processing in systems and control units.
  • Safety monitoring of VTOL aircraft based on RISC-V microprocessors