FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE FOR OPEN COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

With the increasing demand for quantum computing, there is a growing need for programmers to have access to powerful and user-friendly tools for programming quantum systems. For this purpose, scientists at the Quality Engineering business unit at Fraunhofer FOKUS designed and released Qrisp, a high-level programming framework that makes it easy for developers to write efficient and scalable quantum algorithms.

Counterfeits of high-quality products such as medicines, cosmetics, watches, or food and beverages circulate in large numbers, especially in online retail. Consumers barely have a chance to verify the authenticity of a product. In the SmartID project, scientists at Fraunhofer are now developing a counterfeit-proof barcode system for authenticity verification simply by using a smartphone without accessing a database. The team is presenting a SmartID demonstrator for the first time at the Interpack 2023 trade fair for packaging in Düsseldorf.

The SVT4GS23 workshop will be hosted and organized as part of the 48th IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN) 2023. As part of a call for papers, contributions from industry and research can be submitted until May 31, 2023.

What opportunities and challenges does the transition to a Smart City bring for the city and its inhabitants? FOKUS scientists, together with other authors, were involved in a study by the Research Service of the European Parliament, which addresses this question, analyzes existing application scenarios, and proposes future solutions for EU policy.

To manage and share data in a secure and trustworthy manner, specialized data platforms are required, especially for public institutions and the business community, which is why the EU-funded Horizon Europe project PISTIS started in January 2023. For a kick-off meeting of PISTIS, 60 representatives of the partners met for two days at Fraunhofer FOKUS.

There are approximately 21 million people with a migrant background living in Germany. Comprehension problems between patients and medical staff due to language barriers pose a particularly significant challenge for all parties involved and increase the risk of treatment errors and ineffective preventive measures. HYKIST assists foreign language-speaking patients upon arrival at the emergency room as well as with over-the-phone translation during doctor-patient meetings through AI-assisted communication. In this way, complex medical issues and specialist terminology in particular can be better translated.