As a predominantly arid country, South Africa faces the enormous challenge of managing existing resources sustainably.

New technologies and research to fight COVID-19 can only help if knowledge is rapidly shared and deployed. The novel Open Access Hub area on SAIRA^®, deve-loped by Fraunhofer, enables fast and easy sharing and publishing on the latest research findings on COVID-19. To secure the authentication, ownership and integrity of information the platform will be integrated with Blockchain technology.

Restaurant owners are increasingly turning to fired charcoal grills to prepare meals for customers – but the odors and fumes emitted by these grills are often a source of irritation for nearby residents. The German Environment Agency asked a team of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP to investigate whether the exhaust air treatment systems used in grills actually get the job done and to study ways of preventing pollutant and odor emissions.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the economy hard.

Critical infrastructure such as transport networks are the lifelines of modern society. Extreme weather events may cause damage to railway tracks, roads, tunnels and bridges.

Production lines and hygiene zones have to be spotlessly clean.

Gathering with customers and colleagues at meetings, events, workshops and seminars and collaborating with them in person has always been important – but it is not an option for the foreseeable future.

The transition to a sustainable energy economy for industrial manufacturing.

Highly sensitive and rapid measurements of optical components.

Researchers are working with a mobile robotic platform called Husky A200 that could be used for autonomous logistic tasks on construction sites. This mobile robot is one of many projects pursued by the Fraunhofer Italia Innovation Engineering Center to advance the cause of digitalization in construction and bridge the gap between robotics and the building industry. Researchers at this center based in Bolzano, Italy, are developing a software interface that will enable mobile robots to find their way around in construction sites.