Mobility

Driver assistance systems:

 Driver assistance systems increase road traffic safety and contribute to avoiding accidents and reducing the consequences of accidents.  These systems function reliably even when the driver's performance is impaired or he or she suddenly becomes unfit to drive due to a stroke, for example.  But driver assistance systems can do much more: Intelligent safety systems that are able to eliminate the possibility of collisions with other road users would make mechanical crumble zones entirely superfluous. Instead of weighing several tonnes, cars would only weigh a few hundred kilogrammes, which would reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions accordingly. Against this background, the BMBF is funding the further development of sensor and actuator technology in order to increase the efficiency and attractiveness of driver assistance systems.  This provides opportunities for the automobile component supplier industry which consists largely of small and medium-sized companies. 

Smart label applications in logistics:

RFID labels, also known as "smart labels", provide key sectors of the German economy - trade, consumer goods industry, car industry and electronics industry - with new ways to optimize their logistics: These labels would make it possible to read and process product data without visual contact. Instead of unloading a lorry in order to count the freight onboard, it would be sufficient for the lorry to merely pass through a corresponding reading device. The BMBF is supporting measures to deal with current technological bottlenecks in application-oriented research projects in order to establish the technological preconditions for the wide-scale use of smart labels and to strengthen the competitiveness of German industry in this segment.