The mp3 History

Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits

The mp3 team at Fraunhofer IIS

mp3 is the result of many years of team work. Numerous individuals and research organizations supported the team at Fraunhofer IIS in the development of mp3.

  • Main team at Fraunhofer IIS

    • Karlheinz Brandenburg

      Karlheinz Brandenburg

      Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karlheinz Brandenburg received his Dipl. Ing. degrees from Erlangen University in Electrical Engineering
      (1980) and in Mathematics (1982). In 1989 he obtained his Ph.D. from the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg in Electrical Engineering for his work on digital audio coding and
      perceptual measurement techniques. The research results of his dissertation are the basis of MPEG-1 Layer 3 (mp3) and most other modern audio compression schemes. He continued to work on audio coding and was a delegate to the MPEG-Audio group during the definition of MPEG Layer-3 and AAC. In 1993 he became head of the Audio/Multimedia department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen. During this time, he was responsible for the development and successful marketing of audio coding technologies. Since 2000, Karlheinz Brandenburg is the director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Ilmenau. In 2000, he together with Harald Popp and Bernhard Grill, as representatives of the larger team at Fraunhofer IIS, were honoured with the »Deutscher Zukunftspreis« as the inventors of mp3. In 2007 the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has elected Karlheinz Brandenburg, Dieter Seitzer and Heinz Gerhäuser representing a team of Fraunhofer researchers, into the CE Hall of Fame for their work on mp3.

    • Ernst Eberlein

      Ernst Eberlein

      Dipl.-Ing. Ernst Eberlein graduated as Engineer from the University in Erlangen and joined Fraunhofer in 1985. He worked from 1987 until 1994 in the audio and multimedia department of Fraunhofer IIS. As group leader he was involved in the development of the audio coding scheme mp3. Hard- and software implementations of mp3 were also within his scope of work. In 1992 he received, together with Bernhard Grill and Jürgen Herre, the »Joseph-von-Fraunhofer Award« for his contributions to the mp3 technology. Since 1995 Ernst Eberlein focuses on the physical layer of digital communication systems. He was heavily involved in the design and implementation of satellite based digital radio systems for mobile reception. In 2002 the results have been elected for the Space Technology Hall of Fame. Today he is head of the system design group and chief scientist communication at Fraunhofer IIS.

    • Heinz Gerhäuser

      Heinz Gerhäuser

      Prof. Dr. Heinz Gerhäuser studied Electrical Engineering at the Ohm-Polytechnikum Nuremberg and at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. His main field of research was audio coding and its hardware implementation. In 1980 he developed a digital signal processor, which was capable to code audio in real-time. He was directly involved in the development of real-time implementations of mp3 predecessors. Since 1985 he has been deputy head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS. Since 1993 he is director of the institute. In 2001 he was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit for his achievements. In 2007 the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has elected Heinz Gerhäuser, Karlheinz Brandenburg and Dieter Seitzer representing a team of Fraunhofer researchers, into the CE Hall of Fame for their work on mp3.

    • Bernhard Grill

      Bernhard Grill

      Dr.-Ing. Bernhard Grill studied Electrical Engineering at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. From 1988 till 1995 he engaged in the development and implementation of audio coding algorithms at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen. In 1992 he received, together with Jürgen Herre and Ernst Eberlein, the » Joseph-von-Fraunhofer Award« for his contributions to the mp3 technology. Since 2000 Bernhard Grill has been heading the Audio department at Fraunhofer IIS. Together with Harald Popp, he is responsible for the successful development and commercial application of new audio coding algorithms and associated technologies. In 2000, Bernhard Grill, Karlheinz Brandenburg and Harald Popp, as representatives of the larger team at Fraunhofer IIS, were honoured with the »Deutscher Zukunftspreis« as the inventors of mp3.

    • Jürgen Herre

      Jürgen Herre

      Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Herre studied Electrical Engineering at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. In 1989 he started his research career at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS where he was and still is responsible for the development of audio coding algorithms like MPEG Layer-3 (mp3) and its numerous successors. In 1992 he received, together with Bernhard Grill and Ernst Eberlein, the »Joseph-von-Fraunhofer Award« for his contributions to the mp3 technology. In 1995 he obtained the PhD degree and joined Bell Laboratories for a term working on MPEG-2 Advanced Audio Coding. Since 2000 he has been the chief scientist for audio and multimedia at Fraunhofer IIS heading the development activities on MPEG-4 und MPEG-7 Audio, mp3 Surround, MPEG Surround and other innovations.

    • Harald Popp

      Harald Popp

      Dipl.-Ing. Harald Popp finished his studies of Electrical Engineering at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg in 1981. Since 1985 he has been with the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS. Since 1987 he was resonsible for the development of multi-DSP-based real-time systems for audio coding. The reliable high-performance hardware was the key to the successful use of the new audio coding algorithms in first commercial applications, e.g. in professional studio equipment (»ASPEC 91«) for high quality audio transport via ISDN lines. From 1990 to 1997, Harald Popp was head of the hardware group within the audio and multimedia department; from 1998 to 2003, he was head of the studio department. He contributed substantially to the worldwide marketing and licensing of the audio formats mp3 and AAC. Today Harald Popp is heading the Multimedia Realtime Systems department at Fraunhofer IIS. Together with Bernhard Grill, he is responsible for the successful development and commercial application of new audio coding algorithms and associated technologies. In 2000, Harald Popp, Karlheinz Brandenburg and Bernhard Grill, as representatives of the larger team at Fraunhofer IIS, were honoured with the »Deutscher Zukunftspreis« as the inventors of mp3.

    • Supporting team at Fraunhofer IIS

      Rainer Buchta, Martin Dietz, Wolfgang Fiesel, Johannes Hilpert, Michael Keyhl, Stefan Krägeloh, Christian Scherl, Hartmut Schott, Dieter Seitzer, Martin Sieler, Thomas Sporer, Anton Thimet, Jürgen Zeller, Gerhard Zimmer

      • Further contributions

        Like many other technology developments mp3 is based on previous research and scientific findings. Other organizations did also research on audio coding. During the mp3 standardization many individuals outside Fraunhofer provided important contributions, including:

        Steve Church, James D. Johnston, Bernd Edler, Schuyler Quackenbush, Dagfinn Bach, Detlef Krahe, Ernst F. Schroeder, Walter Voessing, Jens Spille, Hans-Georg Musmann, Peter Noll and other members of the MPEG audio group from 1989 to 1991.