A new research alliance of htw saar, Saarland University, and Fraunhofer IZFP is strengthening technology transfer in Saarland with the support of the Transformation Fund. The focus is on AI, sensor technology, and new applications for business and society.
Digital technologies are already changing how we live, work, move around, and receive medical care. Intelligent sensor systems, learning-enabled assistance solutions, and connected infrastructures are intended to help make everyday life safer, more efficient, and more resilient in areas ranging from care and healthcare to mobility and critical infrastructure. At the same time, new opportunities arise for innovation, economic development, and high-quality jobs.
This is exactly where the new research network "SaarNex" comes in, with which Saarland is specifically investing in new future technologies and the transfer of research into application. The project of htw saar, the University of Saarland, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing (IZFP) was presented today at the htw saar technical center. A total of around 29.5 million euros will be available for SaarNex until 2032.
SaarNex combines expertise in artificial intelligence, sensor technology, neurotechnology, decentralization, communication, and data management to develop new applications for health, care, mobility, and critical infrastructure. The focus is on intelligent sensor systems, autonomous assistance solutions, and energy-efficient AI technologies for a resilient and digitally connected society.
At the same time, the research alliance aims to help open up new future fields for the Saarland location. Together with companies, the partners want to transfer technological developments more quickly into concrete applications, thereby creating new innovative strength, additional value creation, and high-quality jobs.
Science Minister Jakob von Weizsäcker explains: “The Transformation Fund is intended to help Saarland build new economic strength through innovation, research, and technological development. SaarNex stands precisely for this. The project combines scientific excellence with concrete applications for business and society – from intelligent healthcare to resilient infrastructure. What is crucial is that research quickly leads to new products, new business models, and good jobs. SaarNex demonstrates how Saarland actively shapes technological change and develops new future prospects from it.”
htw saar takes the lead of the consortium. Professors from all four faculties of the university as well as researchers from Saarland University are involved.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter Leonhard, President of htw saar, emphasizes: “SaarNex exemplifies the strength of application-oriented research in Saarland. Together with our partners from science and research, we create a network that combines excellent research with social and economic benefits. For htw saar, the project is an important step to further expand our competencies in future fields and technologies, thereby strengthening Saarland as an innovation hub.”
The research network focuses particularly on two future fields with high growth potential: health and critical infrastructure. Topics such as intelligent sensor networks, human-machine interaction, autonomous systems, data-driven assistance solutions, and neuromorphic AI are at the core. The project builds on Saarland's existing strengths in AI, sensor technology, computer science, and applied research, and further connects these with companies and practical applications.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Horst Wieker, project manager and head of the research group on traffic telematics, explains: "With SaarNex, we are developing intelligent sensor and AI systems that capture, understand, and utilize information from our surroundings in real time. This creates the foundation for safe mobility, resilient infrastructures, and new digital services. Crucial to this is the close collaboration of the involved disciplines: only in this way can technological innovations be transformed into practical solutions for the challenges of tomorrow."
Prof. Dr. Dr. Daniel Strauss, Head of the Systems Neuroscience & Neurotechnology Unit: “We want to develop technologies that put people at the center. By combining neurotechnology, intelligent sensors, and artificial intelligence, completely new possibilities open up for healthcare, nursing, and assistance systems. SaarNex offers the opportunity to rapidly translate scientific findings into applications that can improve the quality of life for many people.”
A special focus is on the transfer of scientific knowledge into concrete economic applications. Particularly relevant is the approach of making principles of biological information processing technically usable: For example, the human brain achieves its energy efficiency not by processing all signals comprehensively, but through selective attention processes that amplify relevant information and actively suppress disturbances. SaarNex translates such neuro-inspired mechanisms into energy-efficient applications for intelligent infrastructure monitoring, autonomous assistance systems, digital healthcare, sensor technology, and AI-supported data processing in collaboration with companies. Several partners have announced plans to establish new research and development activities or to specifically expand existing areas.
The companies involved see particular potential in areas such as intelligent infrastructure monitoring, autonomous assistance systems, digital healthcare, sensor technology, and AI-supported data processing. Several partners have already announced plans to establish new research and development activities or to expand existing areas.
Prof. Dr. Mana Mojadadr, Founder & Director Trust it explains: "The success of SaarNex will be measured by how quickly research finds its way into practice. That is why we want to involve companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, early on and jointly develop innovations that create new value, strengthen competitiveness, and sustainably advance the Saarland technology location."
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Valeske, Director of the Fraunhofer IZFP, adds: “With the research consortium ‘SaarNex,’ we are creating a research alliance between the most research-active professors at htw saar, the UKS, and the Fraunhofer IZFP. We are addressing the challenges and transformation needs of the rapidly changing society and economy in Saarland. A total of 17 research groups have joined forces to pool their expertise in the technological fields of ‘monitoring and assistance in socially relevant application areas using decentralized cognitive sensor systems and autonomous agents.’ In these research applications, solutions for people’s everyday needs are developed using the technologies of tomorrow. This research consortium aims to enable young early-career researchers in the newly emerging excellence groups a seamless transition from htw saar to a permanent research home at Fraunhofer.”
SaarNex is designed for long-term impact: In addition to new technological solutions, the network aims to establish additional research groups, transfer structures, and innovation partnerships. In this way, Saarland is intended to gradually become a visible location for intelligent, human-centered future technologies.
