Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK), Berlin, Germany

The Fraunhofer IPK works on methods and technologies concerning corporate management, product development, production system and processes, industrial automation and factory management. IPK conducts applied research and development on future-oriented technologies for production processes in factories. Furthermore, its activities are extending into new areas of application in the flourishing fields of medical technology, service robotics, traffic management, globalization management, virtual product and process development, product manufacturing, process control and optimization, and safety, security and testing systems.

The Institute's work is focused on methods and processes to improve productivity in product development and manufacture and convert these methods and processes into system solutions. This includes the conception and implementation of intelligent production tools and their integration into complex production plants. The objective of these services is to provide companies with support throughout the entire production process from the very beginning of a product idea through to its development, design and manufacture, and ultimately to product recycling.

In addition to application-oriented research new technological solutions are being developed in close cooperation with industries. The Institute places particular emphasis on finding novel, cost-effective and environmentally acceptable solutions that will also benefit small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Fraunhofer IPK has a permanent staff of roughly 250. It is located at the Production Technology Center (PTZ) in Berlin, Germany. IPK is the Leader of I*PROMS Advanced Production Machines (APM) Cluster. For more information about ongoing research activities at IPK visit http://www.ipk.fraunhofer.de/