Smart Sensing and Electronics

With its FitnessSHIRT, Fraunhofer IIS has developed a prototype that can measure a range of different vital signs. The ambiotex company has turned the shirt into a market-ready product. In an interview, the company’s CEO Florian Dennerlein and Christian Hofmann from Fraunhofer IIS explain why the shirt is better than a sports watch, and what people who exercise can expect in the future.

• The interview
  

For the fourth time in a year, Mr. Winter is sick in bed with an upset stomach. He had no way of knowing that the pasta sauce from the day before had gone bad: an infection he contracted a few years ago has robbed him of his senses of smell and taste. The Campus of the Senses is working on ways to digitally simulate the human senses. In our interview, the initiators of the Campus Prof. Albert Heuberger, Prof. Andrea Büttner and Dr. Jens-Uwe Garbas talk about assisting people with perception impairments and the difficulties inherent in the research.

• The interview
  

The Internet of Things requires a lot of wireless receivers. How can we design them so that they save energy and don’t need much maintenance? Dr. Frank Oehler and Dr. Heinrich Milosiu have been dealing with this question since June 2007. Here is the development story of the RFicient^® wireless receiver chip, which receives signals continuously, but consumes just one-thousandth of the electricity used by an LED.

• The Journal

Fraunhofer IIS has developed a low-cost alternative to whole slide imaging scanners for the digitization of prepared microscope slides. The institute is currently looking for partners to help further develop, evaluate and market the iStix ^® software.

• The Video
  

The FitnessSHIRT accurately monitors parameters such as heart rate variability (HRV) and your pulse – without an additional strap. Our employee Heiko Wörrlein tested the shirt on a training run in the Tennenlohe Forest near Nürnberg, and talked with chief of development Christian Weigand to find out more about the shirt’s potential applications and the data it collects.

• The video