Research institutes and technology companies in Dresden and throughout Saxony are currently expanding their activities in quantum technologies, robotics and artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, mainstream microelectronics is also gaining strength in 'Silicon Saxony' - and has an indirect impact on education and infrastructure at the location.
From 2030, the sixth generation (6G) mobile networks are expected to achieve what 5G did not quite work out: Only when it is possible to connect dozens, hundreds or even thousands of cars, robots, machines, smartphones and other devices via mobile communications in near real time, with latency times of less than 1 ms, can 6G become a major game changer in factory automation, intelligent traffic control or robotic surgery. Quantum computers are set to help, if the concepts of the CeTI Center of Excellence at TU Dresden are anything to go by: a 'Quarks' research group wants to set up the world's first 6G test network in the Saxon state capital by 2027, which will combine upgraded conventional mobile communications technologies with quantum computers and artificial intelligence (AI).
The researchers have now acquired three quantum computers from Saxony specifically for this purpose. Unlike binary computers, quantum computers can 'try out' numerous solutions to complex problems simultaneously and are therefore much better suited to multi-agent systems than today's digital technology.
The idea is explained using an example: in the future, there will be more and more autonomously controlled cars on the roads that use radio networks to coordinate right of way, sensible speed, possible collisions or other accident risks. Among other things, they will need 6G to delegate complex problems that the on-board computer cannot solve on its own to a powerful AI in the nearest data center at lightning speed. All of this has to happen within milliseconds - including the decision time for the AI.
In order to keep signal propagation times short, decentralized high-performance data centers for 6G radio are to be set up in all major cities. Classic digital technology, quantum computers, graphics card-like AI accelerators and the like will then be networked in this 'edge cloud'. "When a problem arises, it must first be divided into sub-problems and then assigned to the best system in each case," explains Quarks researcher Leon Röscher. "For example, the quantum computer is better suited to optimization or cryptographic tasks, while the graphics card or AI is better suited to image processing." Similar solutions can be used for robots in operating theaters, factory automation, for the orientation of household robots in homes and other scenarios in which lightning-fast reactions are required.
New funding applied for
In general, CeTI Dresden also wants to use quantum technology and biology in future to expand its interdisciplinary research into new interfaces between humans and machines. The aim is to transfer human senses to robotics and the metaverse.
TU Dresden has now applied for new funding for this CeTI expansion as part of the Excellence Program of the federal and state governments. "In the second phase, new approaches from quantum technology and biology will be integrated in order to improve energy efficiency and trustworthiness in virtual worlds," says TU Dresden. "A key objective is to lower the barriers to access as much as possible so that as many people as possible can benefit from this technology."
Elsewhere in Saxony, projects involving quantum computers, communication and sensors are also on the increase. Infineon, Globalfoundries, the Fraunhofer Center Ceasax and other Dresden-based companies and institutes are developing or producing important quantum electronics components. Technology companies such as Xeedq and SaxonQ in Leipzig manufacture quantum computers. The Fraunhofer EAS sub-institute in Dresden builds quantum communication links. At the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (MPI-CPfS), a working group led by Dr. Uri Vool is researching quantum sensors - and the list goes on.
Quantum computers are fighting world hunger
Werner DobrautzSimulationexperts and chemists at the Helmholtz research center 'Casus' in Görlitz, for example, want to use quantum computing to reduce the immense energy demand in global fertilizer production - and ultimately satisfy the hunger of a constantly growing world population. To this end, Dr. Werner Dobrautz from the Helmholtz Research Centre 'Casus' in Görlitz wants to calculate an economical production path with biological catalysts - combining the special capabilities of modern quantum computers with classical supercomputers. The quantum chemist is now setting up his own junior research group in Görlitz and is receiving a grant of €1.8 million from the federal 'Quantum Futur' program.
"Ammonia-based fertilizers have taken agricultural productivity to a whole new level since their introduction over 100 years ago," explains Dobrautz. "However, their industrial production requires an enormous amount of energy. A technical process based on biological nitrogen fixation by the nitrogenase enzyme and its iron-molybdenum cofactor is a promising alternative."
And today's quantum computers, which often only have a few 'qubits' for computing operations, are particularly suitable for this: in the project 'Quantum-based high-performance computing for the green energy transition' (qHPC-Green), 'only' the interaction of a few particles has to be simulated: "We are dealing here with a so-called small quantum system, which is typically represented by a few atoms or molecules. Specifically, we are talking about fewer than 100 electrons and atomic nuclei," explains Dobrautz. "In addition, the behavior of the electrons in this system is highly interdependent due to their mutual repulsion and quantum mechanical interactions."
Smart Systems Hub takes over robotics conference organizer
Robotics is also gaining momentum again in Saxony - after a few setbacks. The Dresden-based 'Smart Systems Hub' (SSH) has now taken over the previous robotics trade fair organizer 'Robot Valley Saxony' in order to provide new impetus. SSH CEO Michael Kaiser sees good opportunities to connect the special expertise of the Dresden-based company 'Robot Valley Saxony' to the innovation projects of the Smart Systems Hub. This could result in a profitable liaison between the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence and other topics that the hub is already working on with client companies. "This is creating solutions for today's transformation and automation issues - with an impact far beyond Saxony's borders," Kaiser is convinced.
Recently, the industry in the Free State had clearly weakened somewhat: the flagship company 'Wandelbots' dissolved its initially much-praised technology division for intuitive robot training, announced robotics trade fairs in Dresden had to be canceled, business promoter Robert Franke, an important supporter of this industry, moved to Saxony-Anhalt - in the expectation that Intel would build its Gigafabs in Magdeburg - and the Saxon-New Zealand company 'Poweron', which developed artificial muscles for robots, went bankrupt.
Robot worms eat clogged water pipes free
But now the positive signs are increasing again. This includes a success story from the Saxon 'underground', born underground, where you would hardly expect to find robots. We are talking about 'IMS Robotics' from Ottendorf-Okrilla near Dresden: the company builds robots for the underworld, or more precisely for the often deeply buried sewage pipes under footpaths and roads. And these robot worms specialize in clearing clogged water pipes in places where humans can no longer pass.
And the company has a remarkably long value chain: "We design and build our sewer rehabilitation robots ourselves from A to Z," explains IMS mechatronics engineer Martin Kalfa. The steel parts, control electronics, software and other components manufactured by the group are turned into robot worms in Ottendorf-Okrilla, which use their tool heads to mill their way through illegally disposed of building rubble, overgrown roots, piles that have been carelessly driven into the ground or all kinds of waste until the water can flow again. This type of robot-assisted sewer rehabilitation saves the respective city or municipality many roadblocks and means that blocked pipes do not have to be dug up to be unblocked again.
Mechatronics engineer Martin Kalfa shows a sewer rehabilitation robot (left) from IMS with remote control and image monitoring unit (right)
"We teach robots how to fiddle"
Professor Riccardo Bassoli from TU Dresden next to one of the three quantum computers in his Quarks working groupThe'Adaptive Robotics' laboratory at the Dresden branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for the Engineering of Adaptive Systems (EAS), within sight of the TU campus, takes a different approach: Ron Martin and his team are trying to teach robots to cope with unpredictable problems, misplaced tools and similar challenges that are increasing as more and more robots work in close proximity to humans. In this lab, for example, the engineers teach the robots to correctly plug in connectors, fit rubber seals and carry out other assembly work - even if the component is in an unexpected place, is tilted or other problems arise. Some of these tasks are intuitive and easy for humans and only difficult for robots. However, some of the tasks are challenging even for experienced human 'tinkerers'. "We teach the robots how to fiddle," explains Ron Martin with a twinkle in his eye.
As an alternative to expensive sensor technology, the EAS experts rely on standard technology, which they upgrade with sophisticated simulation programs and AI. This is because many newer robot arms, which are available from around €10,000 upwards, already have simple sensors built in from the factory, explains EAS researcher Konstantin Wrede. These sensors tell the control electronics if the robot encounters too much resistance during its work. This protection against self-destruction can be used to teach robots to try a different solution to the problem: turn the claw a little, shake it a little, try a little further to the left or right, explains EAS researcher Sebastian Zarnack: "This teaches the robots to adapt to changing situations like a human."
The 13-strong laboratory team is convinced that such robots will be in particularly high demand in the future: in the long term, this will be due to the shortage of skilled workers, which will force more and more small companies and even tradespeople to automate more and more routine tasks. These may well be cheap Chinese robot arms that are upgraded with AI technologies from Saxony. And: "Adaptive robotics will also play a major role for household robots in the future," EAS researcher Konstantin Wrede is convinced. The idea of transferring the solutions found for small industrial companies and tradespeople to robots for private use is therefore an obvious one. Because one thing is clear: no artificial servant will be able to cope with the chaos in a child's room or the changing piles of dishes in a kitchen with fixed programmed movement sequences alone.
Micro-robot swarms become shape-shifters
Meanwhile, robotics researchers at TU Dresden and the University of California Santa Barbara are working together to advance a particularly fascinating innovation that is somewhat reminiscent of science fiction films such as 'Terminator 2' or the TV spaceship 'Enterprise': they have jointly developed shape-shifting mini robot swarms. They can liquefy on command and then solidify again in new shapes.
"This could enable the development of robotic materials consisting of thousands of units that can take on countless shapes and adjust their physical properties at will, which would change our current concept of objects," enthuses Director Prof. Otger Campàs from the TUD Center of Excellence for the 'Physics of Life' (PoL), which researches similar concepts in the growth of complex living beings. However, the combination of such robot swarms with artificial intelligence (AI) could also open up completely new possibilities for researching active matter in physics and collective behavior in biology.
The researchers have achieved this using small disc-shaped robots that adhere to each other using magnets. Eight motorized cogwheels along the round outside of each robot can dissolve these assemblies, 'liquefy' them, so to speak, and give them a new shape. The mini-robots exchange the commands for this by means of light, whose direction of oscillation can be rotated, i.e. 'polarized' - in nature, cells solve this signal transmission by biochemical means. These three built-in capabilities have enabled the researchers to create robotic materials that can not only carry heavy loads, but can also reshape themselves, manipulate objects and even heal themselves.
International school expands in Dresden due to chip boom
Finally, a piece of news that shows how the semiconductor industry, which has always been very internationally oriented, is gradually changing the 'soft factors' of a location: Due to the establishment of the Taiwanese chip giant TSMC, Dresden is not only greatly expanding its roads, streetcar lines, energy and water supply, but all this also has consequences for the education sector:
For example, the 'Dresden International School' (DIS) is now also being enlarged. A new building costing around seven million euros will provide space for 90 to 100 additional pupils. Saxony and the DIS sponsoring association want to share the costs. In addition, DIS Vice Principal Christopher Boreham is currently trying to hire one or two Mandarin teachers - because many Taiwanese families are also expected in the course of the TSMC chip factory and the Chinese language may soon be just as omnipresent on the streets as German or English.
Vice Principal Chris Boreham in the library of the Dresden International School. The extension is to be built right next door
Sources: Quarks, Ceti, TUD, Casus, IMS, Smart Systems Hub, DIS.
