The focus is on cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), research institutions and universities in the context of research and development projects (R&D projects). The individual strengths and perspectives of the participants lead to targeted and accelerated development of new services, processes, and products. In the context of cooperative research, a wide variety of perspectives is considered for practical and efficient implementation and market success. Our focus is on automated driving (sensors, data fusion, HMI), connected driving, electromobility and logistics in the areas of road, rail, water, and air.

Do you have an idea for an industrial or research project? Let us work on it together and turn the project idea into reality. We welcome new project ideas at any time. We look forward to hearing from you!

ALFRIED is the IWT’s current project at the Friedrichshafen test site, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) with more than 11 million euros. ALFRIED stands for “Automated and Connected Driving in Logistics at the Friedrichshafen Test Area.” With a project duration until the end of June 2023, a consortium of 11 project partners from industry, universities, and research institutions has joined forces to minimize the increasing inner-city transport of goods and factory traffic by trucks with the help of automated and connected driving (AVF). The goal of ALFRIED is to develop a comprehensive mobility system to reduce the movement of goods between individual company plants. This will save trips, reduce emissions and traffic volume in the urban area.

IWT takes the lead in the consortium and is responsible for the development and integration in the mobility system. For this purpose, IWT is setting up a demonstration environment. “In the publicly accessible demonstration lab with a smart city control center, citizens can learn more about ALFRIED, such as route suggestions and savings potential of trips,” says Celina Herbers, who leads the project on the part of IWT and coordinates the overall network. The laboratory will be set up in the coming months on the premises of the RITZ (Regional Innovation and Technology Transfer Center).

In the long term, the consortium’s declared goal is to minimize travel by means of the infrastructure components developed in the project and the intelligent integration of (real-time) data. The solutions tested in this way are transferable to other applications, such as intercity transport, city logistics (“last mile”) and set standards for the transport infrastructure of the future.

The Test Area Friedrichshafen is an open project and enables research and development cooperation as well as testing opportunities for all companies, universities and municipalities. In 2018, the Friedrichshafen Test Area was officially listed as a “Digital Test Area for Automated & Connected Driving in Real Traffic” by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI).

On the part of the test area Friedrichshafen there is exchange and networking with other test areas in Baden-Württemberg and in Germany. For more information, please visit the website of the Friedrichshafen test area.

Life in our cities and regions is set to become even safer, more efficient, more sustainable, and more inclusive in the near future. Intelligent networking (keyword “Smart City”) makes it possible to work together better, to pursue leisure activities, to fulfill one’s role as a citizen and to be more comprehensively, and at the same time more sustainably, mobile.

We are addressing the opportunities and challenges of the smart city in the framework of projects, focusing on mobility applications. We also organized and carried out the Smart City Hackathon Fallenbrunnen together with the city of Friedrichshafen and cyberLAGO e.V..