About us

Fraunhofer Institute for Communication Systems ESK

© Fraunhofer ESK

Fraunhofer ESK undertakes applied research geared toward new information and communication technology (ICT) processes and methods. The activities focus on designing these increasingly distributed, heterogeneous and networked ICT systems to be more reliable, flexible and resource efficient, thus ensuring that they contribute to improved products and production environments in the automobile and traffic, energy, automation, building and security engineering and telecommunication industries.

Fraunhofer ESK boasts experienced researchers and young talent with expertise in communication technologies ranging from transmission techniques and protocols to complete systems and the underlying software methods. To deliver its services, the institute bundles the engineering expertise of six core competencies across the Automotive, Industrial Communication and Telecommunication business units: Wired Transmission Technologies, Local Wireless Networks, Reliable Ethernet/IP Communication, Adaptive Systems, Model-based Software Development and Validation, Multicore Software.

Fraunhofer ESK is a member of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the largest organization for applied research in Europe. The director of the institute is Prof. Dr. Rudi Knorr, who has also served as the Chair of Communication Systems at the University of Augsburg department of computer science since 2006.

The growing complexity of high-grade networked ICT systems calls for new system architectures and methods. To meet these new requirements, Fraunhofer ESK bundles its know-how into six core competencies deployed across the business units:

Fraunhofer ESK continuously adapts, enhances and augments its core expertise with new know-how in response to the needs and market outlook of each of the business units. By exploiting this expertise across all areas, the institute is well-positioned to help industry develop better products.

Fraunhofer ESK leverages its horizontal expertise to support companies and public sector organizations through its business units: Automotive, Industrial Communication and Telecommunication.

The Automotive business unit offers vehicle manufacturers and suppliers a wide range of R & D services  through three groups: Automotive Networks, Automotive Connectivity and Automotive Software. Our specialists develop future automotive electronics architectures, middleware technologies and software architectures for networked automotive systems, as well as solutions for vehicle-to-environment networking and the integration of mobile end-user devices and services. This business unit also specializes in software development methods, end-to-end test concepts and the early-stage validation of software specifications.

The Industrial Communication business unit comprises two key research groups. The Industrial Networks group tracks issues such as local wireless networks, energy-efficient sensor networks and smart grid communication. Experts in the Industrial Software group examine new multicore software architectures and performance analyses, in addition to adaptive software deployed in mechatronic systems. This business unit targets manufacturers and providers in the automation technology, energy, building engineering and security technology industries.

The Telecommunication business unit, through the Access & In-house Networks group, develops and  optimizes highspeed wired technologies (DSL, G.hn, powerline) and works on the adaptive utilization of the available building wiring infrastructures, including power lines. This group also evaluates hybrid network access technologies, including satellite communication. The Communication Solutions group offers companies and public sector organizations expert consulting and analysis services ranging from security appraisals and patent evaluations to system architecture design.