Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems IKS

As a pioneer for safe, intelligent cognitive systems for production automation, Fraunhofer IKS focuses on the following topics:

• Automation systems
• Industrial sensors

Fraunhofer IKS facilitates prediction & decision support by developing trustworthy AI models using clinical data. 

Will the cars of the future drive autonomously? This vision of the future will only become reality if autonomous driving is safe. Fraunhofer IKS is therefore working on adaptive software architectures for vehicles.

Quantum computers could enable new applications. Fraunhofer IKS is researching safe software applications for quantum computing so that calculations can be relied upon.

Fraunhofer IKS regularly offers exciting and varied workshops on topics in our key areas Automation, Health, Mobility and Quantum Computing.

Digitalbonus.Bayern is a funding program for the digitization of small enterprises. Fraunhofer IKS supports you in the areas of AI, robotics, and digital twins.

Fraunhofer IKS has introduced its Playground. This platform is especially designed for companies to explore the institute's offerings. In an interview, Institute Director Prof. Dr. Mario Trapp discusses the concept behind the Fraunhofer IKS Playground.

There is great hope: even if quantum computers initially “merely” improve the simulations of quantum mechanical processes, they could, among other things, help to train AI systems more efficiently in the future. The first small quantum computers are already commercially available. But what potential do they actually have today?

Artificial intelligence opens up new economic opportunities for companies. However, the integration of AI raises significant safety concerns in safety-critical systems. This results in a gap between economic potential and safety, the economic safety gap. But generative artificial intelligence (Generative AI, GenAI) can help close it.

Holistic safety for road vehicles is the focus of the annual Safetronic conference (November 12–13, 2025, in Leinfelden-Echterdingen). In a video discussion, Fraunhofer IKS Director Prof. Dr. Mario Trapp and Program comittee member Hans-Leo Ross, CARIAD, talk about the future of mobility.

With the Fraunhofer IKS Playground, the institute offers access to experimental prototypes and innovative concepts from cutting-edge research.

In the white paper “Ensuring Trustworthiness of AI-Enhanced Embedded Systems”, Infineon Technologies and Fraunhofer IKS present how to apply a unified safety lifecycle on an AI-Based Motor Control Unit (AI-MC) illustrative use case.

Fraunhofer IKS is a member of the Fraunhofer Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Alliance. It combines the broad range of industry expertise and years of experience of more than 30 Fraunhofer institutes and supports companies by implementing Big Data and AI strategies.

You can find all upcoming Fraunhofer IKS envents on our event overview.

Get a compact summary of what is currently happening at Fraunhofer IKS. Click here to register:

Fraunhofer IKS is getting a new institute building on the Fraunhofer campus in Garching near Munich. Dind all information about our new building here:

You can find all the Institute's news on our News page. Read on directly.

Have you always wanted to leave your footprints behind and make the world a little safer? Then apply to the Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems IKS in Munich!