Press Release 179/2011

Novel Computer Systems for Automobiles, Trains, and Aircraft

Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan Supports Funding of Electronic Systems of the Future - Cooperation between Science and Industry
Startschuss für Elektronik-Forschung: Projektleiter Prof. Jürgen Becker (KIT), Bundesforschungsminsterin Annette Schavan sowie Bernhard Gerwert und  Prof. Heinrich Dämbkes von Cassidian. (Foto: Cassidian)
Kick-off of future electronics research: Project coordinator Prof. Jürgen Becker (KIT), Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan, Bernhard Gerwert (Cassidian), and Prof. Heinrich Dämbkes (Cassidian). (Photo: Cassidian)

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research supports the development of novel processor concepts for safer automobiles, trains, and aircraft within the ARAMIS research project. The official funding decision was handed over by Research Minister Professor Annette Schavan in Ulm today to Bernhard Gerwert, Chief Operating Officer of KIT’s project partner Cassidian. The overall project is being coordinated by Professor Jürgen Becker from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

“Products made in Germany have always been guarantors of safety and reliability” said Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan and pointed out the absolute importance of continuing to develop safe and reliable machines, plants, and systems using the next generation of computer technology. “ARAMIS,” she underlined “contributes to securing the leading technological position of Germany as an industrial country also in the future.”

“Future automobiles, trains, and aircraft will be using mostly multi-core processors,” emphasized KIT-based project coordinator Professor Jürgen Becker. “The project aims to ensure safe operation of these future components in various extremely safety-critical applications that lie ahead. In these domains, which are important to Germany, we want to advance the necessary innovations.”

ARAMIS is a three-year project with a total volume of approximately € 40 million. The technology initiative is focused on developing concepts for employing efficient computer processors with several computer cores in traffic systems such that safety, efficiency, and comfort are increased by novel functions. So far, only single-core processors whose functionality can be predicted as reliably as necessary and which, therefore, can be certified for transportation uses are employed in cars or aircraft. These processors, however, are reaching the limits of their performance capability and are about to be disappearing from the market. To develop efficient multi-core processors, ARAMIS pools renowned research institutions and manufacturers from the automobile, railroad and aircraft industries, suppliers to these industries, and hard- and software manufacturers. Whereas Professor Heinrich Dämbkes, Head of System Development at Cassidian, coordinates the industrial partners, KIT’s Professor Jürgen Becker and Dr. Oliver Sander are responsible for overall project management.

ARAMIS is being financed fifty-fifty by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the industry. In total, thirty companies, universities, and research institutions participate in the research project.

 

Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,800 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.

lg, 05.12.2011
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Monika Landgraf
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Chief Press Officer
Phone: +49 721 608-41150
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Contact for this press release:

Monika Landgraf
Press Officer
Phone: +49 721 608-21150
Fax: +49 721 608-41150
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