Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGDMayor Hanno Benz Visits Fraunhofer IGD
Visual Computing Made in Darmstadt
What is the connection between Hollywood and Darmstadt? Darmstadt’s Mayor, Hanno Benz, found an answer to this question at the main site of Fraunhofer IGD. On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, he learned about the latest developments in merging real and virtual worlds—ranging from cultural heritage and the film industry to health and care research.
Preserving Cultural Heritage Digitally
At CultLab3D, Mayor Benz was first introduced to the fully automated 3D scanning line, whose autonomous robotic arm has achieved such significant advances in inventory digitization for museums that Fraunhofer IGD was able to successfully spin off the concept for the cultural heritage sector as Verus Digital. With its expertise in 3D scanning, the institute not only digitizes exhibition objects but also larger sites—for example, the Pergamon Altar in Berlin for virtual exploration or the towers of decommissioned nuclear power plants to support the necessary decontamination processes.
3D Printing: From Film to Medicine
With the 3D printer driver Cuttlefish, Fraunhofer IGD has convinced globally renowned customers such as the film studio LAIKA. Thanks to this driver, LAIKA prints hundreds of thousands of strikingly realistic faces for its stop-motion films—an achievement that even earned the studio an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe. Cuttlefish is also becoming increasingly relevant in the medical field: at the largest eye hospital in London, eye prostheses are produced and used with the help of this technology, significantly improving the quality of life for many patients.
Health and Care: Innovation for a Better Quality of Life
In the Health Lab, Mayor Benz learned how data analyses of Darmstadt’s wastewater can provide insights into infection rates, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the area of care, he gained insights into research on Parkinson’s monitoring, simple and safe pill sorting, and independent thrombosis monitoring using a small chip integrated into a stocking.