“We need sustainable development in Baden-Württemberg in order to tackle the major challenges of the future we are facing. Technological trends such as digitization, autonomous driving and electrification of drive systems offer great potential for improving safety, environmental protection and comfort. Especially in Baden-Württemberg, the search for new solutions for vehicle safety is an important issue”, Minister for Finance and Economy Nils Schmid said at the press conference for the launch of i-protect on January 21 in Stuttgart.
Together with other partners, the Sustainability Center will develop such new approaches to security for the vehicles of the future in the so-called “Tech Center i-protect”. The research is not only concerned with technology for the actual crash situation, but also with systems that intervene before an accident in order to improve occupant protection. In an integrated security approach, the researchers consider the driver, the vehicle, and the road users outside the vehicle, such as pedestrians and cyclists.
“In our global research and development network, over 15,000 employees worldwide are contributing to make our vehicles more efficient, more networked and safer. With the newly founded Tech Centers, we want to strengthen our network in Germany in addition to our international activities by bundling important research partners for strategic issues of the future”, said Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Daimler AG Executive Board, responsible for corporate research and Mercedes-Benz Cars development. “In the Tech Center i-protect, strong teams consisting of members of industry and science from different regions work together to bring research results from the field of integral safety into our vehicles even faster”, Weber said.
“Increasing road safety is a key objective for Bosch. We are convinced that through the cooperation within the Tech Center i-protect, we will find faster and better solutions for the vehicle safety systems of tomorrow. The cooperation between industry and science is the engine for sustainable innovations – especially when such strong partners as in the Tech Center i-protect come together” said Dr. Dirk Hoheisel, member of the Robert Bosch GmbH management.
“Through the Sustainability Center, we combine the strengths of Freiburg‘s Fraunhofer institutes with those of the University of Freiburg. The networking of industry and research is essential for solving complex problems such as the safety of modern vehicles. We are proud to make projects such as i-protect possible in the excellence centers of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft ”, says Prof. Dr. Rosenfeld, Director of Research of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
“We can only improve the road safety of the future by interlocking different subjects in research and development. At the University of Freiburg, we have established a new Institute for Sustainable Technical Systems (INATECH), where we do just that. Along with the Sustainability Center Freiburg, Freiburg becomes an attractive location for students and young scientists”, says Prof. Dr. Stefan Hiermaier, coordinator of the Sustainability Center Freiburg.
Within the framework of i-protect, first cooperation projects have already been launched. Find out more about them and the content of the anchor project i-protect here.
Source: Ministry of Finance and Economics Baden-Württemberg