News

With CleanFeed, a new collaborative research project has been launched in April 2026 that focuses on strengthening trust and transparency in digital media, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). The goal is to make the origin and authenticity of audiovisual content traceable across the entire media chain – including editing, redistribution, and streaming.

The European Parliament’s new study, “eTools for regulatory simplification and consistency”, examines how innovative – and in some cases still experimental – digital tools, and in particular AI-based solutions, can support the various stages of the policy cycle.

With the opening of the SIRIOS Lab on March 25, 2026, the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems FOKUS is setting a new benchmark for the simulation, visualization, and analysis of complex crisis scenarios. The modernized laboratory in Berlin expands the former Safety Lab with larger visualization areas, immersive media technology, and a flexible spatial concept. This makes it a research and demonstration environment for networked security systems that is unique in Germany.

Prof. Dr. Manfred Hauswirth, Institute Director at Fraunhofer FOKUS, Professor at TU Berlin, Director of the Weizenbaum Institute, and member of a steering committee of the Berlin University Alliance (BUA), explains why excellence is hardly conceivable without cooperation – and why it succeeds particularly well in Berlin.

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has appointed Prof. Dr. Thomas Magedanz as an honorary professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering. With this appointment, the university recognizes his long-standing academic collaboration and his commitment to international research networks.

Artificial intelligence no longer merely supports humans in individual tasks. With so-called Agentic AI, it can make decisions autonomously, develop code, and orchestrate complex workflows. The new Agentic Core demonstrates the advantages AI offers for communication networks and how safety and reliability can be ensured at the same time. The Software-based Networks business unit will present the Agentic Core at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in early March. Dr. Marius Corici, Director of the business unit, explains in the interview how Agentic AI is paving the way for future 6G networks – and which challenges still need to be addressed

With the launch of Open6GHub+, Germany will have a national 6G transfer hub as of January 1, 2026. It closes the gap between 6G basic research and economic and social impact. Fraunhofer FOKUS offers 6G core network technologies, AI-based core networks, and digital twins of networks and applications in the hub, which can be used to test and optimize new services.

The technical specification for ‘Continuous Auditing Based Conformity Assessment for AI-enabled systems (CABCA)’ (ETSI TS 104008) is the first specification that enables regulatory requirements for AI systems to be tracked continuously and automatically.

A conversation with Deputy Director Prof. Dr. Tom Ritter about the opportunities and challenges of open source software and the role that Fraunhofer FOKUS plays in this field.

5G campus networks, satellite communication, 6G mobile communications standard: Dr. Marius Corici becomes co-director of the Software-based Networks business unit.