New institutes for the CARISSMA research and test centre at Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt

The CARISSMA research and test center of Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI), the nationwide scientific centre for vehicle safety, has recorded continuous strong growth since its inception. While in the conception phase in 2014 there were four research professorships with 20 employees, there are now 13 research professorships with 90 employees. During the same period, the research volume rose from 1.1 million euros to 6.7 million euros. In order to accommodate this growth, CARISSMA, which will open in 2016 as the first research building of a university of applied sciences in Germany, will now have a new structure in the form of three new research institutes, which will also enable future growth:

The CARISSMA Institute for Safety in Future Mobility (C-ISAFE), headed by Prof. Dr. Thomas Brandmeier, starts with an initial five professors and over 30 employees. It is concerned with global vehicle safety, which uses all the information available, including to bring unprotected road users safely through road traffic. With its predictive accident detection and accident mitigation, it makes an important contribution to the EU's Vision Zero. This includes safety systems ranging from sensors to actuators and their evaluation in the context of automated driving. One focus is on protection in bad weather conditions.

The CARISSMA Institute of Automated Driving (C-IAD), headed by Prof. Dr. Werner Huber, starts with four professors and also more than 30 employees. It focuses on the development, testing and validation of automated driving functions. In the context of traffic safety, the focus is on accident prevention. Here the institute is closely networked with the Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AININ - Artificial Network Ingolstadt) located at the THI. As a cross-sectional topic, the institute is intensively engaged in research on human factors (e.g. trust, acceptance, ethics) as well as user experience/usability evaluation in the field of automated driving.

The CARISSMA Institute for Electric, Connected and Secure Mobility (C-ECOS), headed by Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Schweiger, will initially comprise four professors and 25 employees. The institute has a broad range of topics and focuses on safe electromobility and accident analysis, Car2X communication in connection with intelligent traffic systems and cyber-physical systems, as well as on automotive IT security.

The three institutes use synergy effects both among themselves and with other THI facilities, including in the areas of testing and safeguarding and safe automated driving. The CARISSMA spokesperson is responsible for the further networking and representation of the three institutes. This task is taken over by Prof. Dr. Lothar Wech. CARISSMA currently has five employees across all the institutes.