We’re unsurpassed in 3D

Fraunhofer IGD, with facilities in Darmstadt and Rostock, excels with outstanding software solutions for visual computing, a computer science discipline that deals with images and 3D models.

We transform information into images and images into information. The keywords here include human-computer interactions, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, interactive simulation, modeling, and 3D printing and scanning.

We design new technological applications and prototypes for Industry 4.0, digital health, and “smart cities.”   

With activities that extend all the way to creating prototypes and producing small series, we develop and optimize technologies, processes, and products for you. Our contract research activities and innovations cover the entire range of visual computing competencies. In particular, Fraunhofer IGD leverages its major innovative visualization and simulation capabilities to support small and midsized companies that lack their own R&D departments.

We devote ourselves to applied research. This includes working with companies to transform original ideas into innovations – to benefit society and strengthen the economies of Germany and Europe.

Our staff shapes the future: in demanding roles within our own organization and elsewhere in science and industry. The Fraunhofer Society attaches top priority to promoting and developing their professional and personal skills and abilities.

• Eight autonomous Fraunhofer centers outside Germany
• Active work with partners in approximately 80 countries
• Representative offices and senior advisors worldwide serve as links to local markets

Through our cutting-edge research, we shape the transformations taking place in our core industries and serve as a key player for industry and business with application-specific solutions. To achieve this, we combine computer vision, computer graphics, data science, and AI.

We specifically address partners and clients from our core sectors: Bioeconomy, Healthcare, Infrastructure and Public Services, Manufacturing and Mobility, and Maritime Industry. In doing so, we tackle societal challenges and ongoing transformations.

The transformations and driving forces include: digitalization, demographic change, climate change, biodiversity, sustainability, security (IT, food, resilience, institutions), education and future-oriented working environments, as well as living spaces.

An example of transferring cutting-edge research into practical application is 3D color printing. Here, several top-tier publications and patents have been translated into applications in prosthetics — for example, ocular prostheses.

• The Fraunhofer Society, based in Germany, is the world’s foremost organization for application-oriented research.
• 76 institutes and research facilities
• 30,000 employees
• Research funding volume: €2.9 billion, of which €2.5 billion goes into contract research
• Fraunhofer generates over 70% of this volume with orders from industry and publicly funded research projects.
• Nearly 30% is contributed by the German federal government and states.