Quality Engineering News

The “Q-VERSE” project aims to develop a European Quantum Software Stack comprising components and tools for scalable, technologically sovereign and reliable software solutions that harness the computing power of quantum computers. The foundation for this is “Eclipse Qrisp”, an open-source framework for quantum programming initiated by Fraunhofer FOKUS. Our vision – “a Linux for quantum computers”. The kick-off event took place on 14 and 15 September.

Cities and regions face the challenge of linking data from a wide variety of specialist systems, sensors and digital services. Whether it be mobility, energy, the environment, public administration or municipal infrastructure: only when data from all these areas is brought together in a secure, standardised and interoperable manner can genuine added value be created for public administration, the economy and citizens. The new DIN SPEC 91377 provides an important framework for this.

On 23 and 24 June 2026, the kick-off meeting for the international research project “Excellent AI” took place at Fraunhofer FOKUS. The project partners have set themselves the goal of supporting companies in integrating AI into their business processes, thereby making them competitive on the global market.

Telecommunications networks remain the backbone of emergency services – from day-to-day operations by the police, fire service and ambulance services, right through to communication between emergency personnel. With the introduction of Next Generation 112 (NG112), a fundamental transformation is now on the horizon

The 98th plenary meeting of the ETSI Technical Committee MTS (Methods for Testing and Specification) took place at Fraunhofer FOKUS from 4 to 5 June. International experts from industry, research and standardisation discussed current developments in the fields of test methods, quality assurance and trustworthy artificial intelligence, as well as the practical implementation of the requirements of the European AI Act.

On 22 April 2026, the GenKI4Media user workshop took place at Fraunhofer FOKUS. Around 40 participants from academia and industry took the opportunity to exchange expertise and present current use cases of generative artificial intelligence (AI).

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.

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.

Quantum computers promise a fundamental leap in computing power. They do this by exploiting the properties of the quantum world, such as superposition or entanglement, to solve certain complex problems faster than classical computers. From optimising large logistics networks to developing new materials and secure encryption, quantum computers could transform entire industries in the future. This is where the FullStaQD project comes in.

The new DIN SPEC 91520:2025-09 is the first guideline for an interface for quantum computing. Fraunhofer FOKUS was responsible for project management, coordinated the contributions of the working group and developed the specification together with its partners.

The “IML4E” (Industrial Machine Learning for Enterprises) project led by Fraunhofer FOKUS has been honoured with the “ITEA Award of Excellence 2025”. This award recognises outstanding achievements in applied research and development within the international ITEA programme.

Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly being used in critical systems. In the report TR 103910, ETSI describes a transparent and effective approach for testing ML-based systems.

The Internet of Things (IoT) connects the majority of our devices and systems, such as smartphones, computers, and servers. They exchange messages with each other via so-called “brokers” and their communication protocols, e.g. MQTT. Fraunhofer FOKUS has developed a new security testing approach in the IoT. It employs innovative methods and tools that can be used to efficiently identify and eliminate vulnerabilities in communication protocols.

Industrial users need to carefully consider the capabilities of quantum computers and their available computing resources for different applications. DIN SPEC 91480 now makes it possible for the first time to compare different quantum computers using standardized key performance indicators (KPIs).

On September 11 and 12, the “6th International Workshop on Quantum Compilation (IWQC)” took place at Fraunhofer FOKUS. Researchers in the field of quantum computing exchanged ideas on new methods and techniques for optimizing programs for quantum computers.

Quantum computers are associated with the hope of achieving enormous leaps in computing power. To support developers in programming quantum computers, Fraunhofer FOKUS founded the Thinq Qrisp Community on September 10. Around 45 participants from industry and research met at the event. In addition to workshops and networking opportunities, the event was enriched by keynotes from Michael Johanning (eleQtron GmbH) and Lukas Burgholzer (Technical University of Munich).

Roman Kraus and Martin Schneider from the SQC business unit and Hoang Lam Nguyen from the Humboldt University of Berlin received the Distinguished Paper Award at the International Workshop on Search-Based and Fuzz Testing (SBFT) for their work on "Generator-based Fuzzing with Input Features". The workshop took place as part of the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) from April 14-15, 2024 in Lisbon.

The high-level programming framework Qrisp developed by Fraunhofer FOKUS is now available as open-source Eclipse technology. This enables structured, open development of Qrisp according to the rules of the Eclipse Foundation. With the Qrisp framework, developers can write efficient and scalable quantum algorithms.

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.

On April 1, 2024, Nikolay Tcholtchev, Research Group Leader for Urban ICT and Quantum Computing, took up a professorship at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences. His work will focus on the application of information and communication technologies in the areas of smart city, smart country and smart region.

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.

As winner of the DIN-Connect challenge, the Quantum Business Network (QBN) together with Fraunhofer FOKUS (as subcontractor) receives funding for the standardization of the proposal “Benchmarking quantum computers with standardized KPIs”, including the associated support of the entire process by DIN and DKE. Thus, the QBN global business network for quantum technologies will develop a DIN SPEC together with Fraunhofer FOKUS and a consortium of quantum computing manufacturers, platform and software providers as well as industry users.

The German Federal Railway Authority (EBA) has recognized FOKUS scientist Dr. Nikolay Tcholtchev as a testing expert for the digital control and safety technology of Deutsche Bahn (DB), specifically for the projects DSTW (Digital Signal Box) and bbIP (Railroad IP Network). With this recognition, approval tests can now be carried out for DB signaling, telecommunications, and electrotechnical (STE) systems.

Europe's prosperity and competitiveness are largely based on technologies such as information and communication technologies, artificial intelligence, or the use of new or improved materials such as polymers, metals, or alloys. However, Europe is often dependent on non-European countries in these areas. In the recently published study “Key enabling technologies for Europe's technological sovereignty” both key technologies and key elements for Europe's technological sovereignty were defined and analyzed on behalf of the European Parliament. Scientists from Fraunhofer FOKUS collaborated on the study.

Computing with floating-point numbers has become an indispensable part of today's information processing. Gate-based programming of such arithmetic operations on classical computers is a complex task, especially on quantum computers. FOKUS scientists have successfully created a 900 percent faster calculation method for floating-point numbers on quantum computers with their newly developed method. This time advantage is based on a comparison with the established Carry-Ripple arithmetic.

Quantum computing is seen as a promising approach to drive the development of new services and applications. For example, the technology could help crack encryption, optimize traffic predictions or develop new materials. Essential for such applications are quantum algorithms that support the quest for solutions. However, quantum computing has so far been strongly dominated by physics. Now scientists at FOKUS venture a look at the development of such algorithms from a computer science perspective in the paper “Computer Scientist's and Programmer's View on Quantum Algorithms: Mapping Functions' APIs and Inputs to Oracles”.

Smart cities – cities that become more efficient, technologically advanced and greener with the help of information and communication technologies (ICT) – have emerged as a way to solve the most pressing urban challenges and thus enable sustainable urban development. With the study “An overview of urban data platforms – An evaluation according to design principles of DIN SPEC 91357”, scientists from Fraunhofer FOKUS now present an overview of urban data platforms for smart cities.

The project “ResKriVer - Communication and Information Platform for Resilient, Crisis-Relevant Supply Networks”, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), started on June 1, 2021. The project aims to develop a digital platform to strengthen the resilience of supply networks with crisis-relevant goods and resources in the event of a crisis or disaster. In addition, the platform intends to improve communication with the population and between crisis teams.

Since the end of 2016, 70 partners from business, research, and civil society have been working together in the SINTEG project “WindNODE - The Showcase for Intelligent Energy from the Northeast of Germany” of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Prior to the project's official end on March 31, 2021, a virtual closing event took place on March 16. In the project, Fraunhofer FOKUS worked on a marketplace for energy data.

How can cities and municipal enterprises use urban data efficiently, transparently and profitably? With the “Daten-Kompetenzzentrum für Städte und Regionen DKSR” (Data Competence Center for Cities and Regions), a project of the Fraunhofer Morgenstadt Initiative has been accompanied to spin-off at the beginning of the year. DKSR uses an open-source approach to help municipalities find municipal data, retrieve it in a structured way and share it securely.