The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, based in Germany, is one of the world’s leading applied researchorganizations. It plays a crucial role in the innovation process by prioritizing research in key futuretechnologies and transferring its research findings to industry in order to strengthen Germany as a hubof industrial activity as well as for the benefit of society. Founded in 1949, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaftcurrently operates 76 institutes and research units throughout Germany. Its nearly 32,000 employees,predominantly scientists and engineers, work with an annual business volume of 3.4 billion euros.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, headquartered in Erlangen, Germany, conductsworld-class research on microelectronic and IT system solutions and services. Today, it is the largestinstitute of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.Research at Fraunhofer IIS revolves around two guiding topics:In the area of“Audio and Media Technologies”, the institute has been shaping the digitalization of mediafor more than 30 years now. Fraunhofer IIS was instrumental in the development of mp3 and AAC andplayed a significant role in the digitalization of the cinema. Current developments are opening up wholenew sound worlds and are being used in virtual reality, automotive sound systems, mobile telephony,streaming and broadcasting. Any mobile phone you buy today, for instance, uses audio technologydeveloped by the institute, while Fraunhofer codecs provide the basis for sound of more than half of all TVbroadcasts worldwide and almost all radio and streaming services. The institute’s professional tools fordigital film and media production are also being used globally.In the context of“Cognitive Sensor Technologies”, the institute researches technologies for sensortechnology, data transmission technology, data analysis methods and the exploitation of data as part ofdata-driven services and their accompanying business models. This adds a cognitive component to thefunction of the conventional “smart” sensor. The results of this research have been applied in the areas ofconnected mobility, communication and application solutions for the Internet of Things, digitalization ofhuman sensing, product and material monitoring, and business analytics in supply chains.More than 1200 employees conduct contract research for industry, the service sector and publicauthorities.
Founded in 1985 in Erlangen, Fraunhofer IIS now has locations in 12 cities: Erlangen(headquarters), Nuremberg, Fürth and Dresden, as well as Bamberg, Deggendorf, Ilmenau, Munich,Passau, Triesdorf, Waischenfeld and Würzburg. In 2023, Fraunhofer IIS was able to raise funds amountingto 247 million euros. Of this, income from industry covered 47 percent of the budget. Further funds camefrom public projects, institutional funding from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and other income.