Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB
Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB

“Digital solutions give us more flexibility and agility for managing crises” (interview)

From flooding to the pandemic and human-made threats, solutions from IOSB support government agencies and public safety and security organizations at a strategic level

Dr. Moßgraber, the climate crisis, coronavirus, or armed conflicts have made people aware of how vulnerable we are. How can digital technologies help with this?

Jürgen Moßgraber:  In many ways! We as business unit see our mission as being at the strategic level. We develop digital tools that support those whose job it is to manage crises, coordinate actions, and ideally identify risks ahead of time and make plans to avert or counter them. You could say we’re responsible for software solutions that are as effective as possible for the situation centers and their dialogue with each other. In Baden-Württemberg, for example, that means between the interior ministry, regional and local government, and all the way down to the municipal level.

What solutions do you mean?

Moßgraber: We study ways to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis, for example by using AI to help predict disastrous flooding and give people more time to prepare. We also develop coupled simulations for complex scenarios specifically in urban settings to optimize security measures before an emergency occurs. That’s something we do at Fraunhofer SIRIOS in Berlin. One key task is situational awareness and assessment. Tools in this area ideally bring together all the available information, visualize it in a clear and easily understood format, and are flexible and user-friendly. Fraunhofer IOSB works continuously to develop and refine two complementary systems for this: the Electronic Situation Dashboard for Civil Protection, called ELD-BS for short, and the Digital Map Table. Both have been in real-world use for years and have proven themselves many times over.  

What challenges do you focus on?

Moßgraber: We think a lot about how to prepare for the next “black swan” event. One important goal is to maintain flexibility in the face of new and unexpected situations, like the coronavirus pandemic when it first hit. In practice, it can often be difficult to gauge the full extent of a situation fast enough. Take flooding, for example. Will it only affect individual houses, maybe a village or two, or will the whole area be hard hit? The best way to meet both challenges is through interoperable, end-to-end solutions that connect municipal and state authorities with each other and incorporate as many data sources and resources as possible. That’s the path we’re on in Baden-Württemberg with ELD-BS. But situations typically don’t stop at political borders, and there are hardly any comparable systems, let alone compatible ones, in other states in Germany or at the national level or with the Bundeswehr’s homeland defense forces. There’s tremendous potential for development there.

Digital technologies for productivity, sustainability, and security

The above interview is taken from the 2023/2024 Fraunhofer IOSB progress report.

Progress report
 

Energy, Environmental and Security Systems

Find out more about the fields of application and technologies of our business unit Energy, Environmental and Security Systems. 

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