Explore-to-Innovate 2023

Benningen. The Institute for Driver Assistance and Connected Mobility (IFM) invited visitors to “Explore-to-Innovate” in Benningen for the second time last Thursday and Friday. A total of more than 350 guests attended the two-day forum, which combines technical presentations, technology exhibition and live demos in the lab and on test tracks. The forum featured presentations on artificial intelligence (AI) and the mobility of tomorrow. The event is to be held annually at the Innovation Park in Benningen.

The Explore-to-Innovate event is the second time the Institute for Driver Assistance and Connected Mobility has created a forum for technology transfer. “With this, we want to enable research and technology to be experienced and touched, and promote knowledge and technology transfer. It is also intended to create a community to exchange news,” says IFM Director Prof. Bernhard Schick. A varied program was on offer for two days at the Allgäu Airport Innovation Park. New this year was the Science Talk, a science conference on current topics and trends in the automotive industry, such as human-centered development, virtualization and functional safety.

“From our point of view, the success achieved so far by the IFM is based on the pleasant and win-win cooperation with numerous partners from industry, but also on the motivation of young people whom we as a university want to inspire for applied science,” said university president Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hauke at the opening of the forum. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Regina Schreiber, Vice President for Knowledge and Technology Transfer, followed up in her welcoming address: “A networking event like ‘Explore-to-Innovate’ creates the basis for tomorrow’s solutions through the exchange with representatives of companies, politics and society with science.”

Surprise guest from motorsport
Sandro Cortese, former German motorcycle racer, appeared at the Technology Forum on the topic of “How can man and machine be made to succeed as a unit in racing and what can we learn from this?” In the 2012 season, he had won the Moto3 World Championship twice with KTM in the Red Bull Ajo Motorsport team and in 2018 with the Yamaha Racing Team in the Supersport World Championship. In addition to exciting technical presentations, live demos in the lab and on the proving ground, as well as test rides on the driving simulator and a technology exhibition, there was also insight into the development plans for the Innovation Park site in Benningen, presented by Moritz Hess from the FAKT Group.

“Knowledge should successfully reach the market as an innovation for the benefit of the economy, society and ultimately people. This is not possible in an ivory tower alone. Here we need close cooperation, especially with industry, which successfully applies the findings. This forum is intended to create the platform for this and will be held annually in the future,” said Prof. Bernhard Schick, summing up the second “Explore-to-Innovate”.

Photo from left to right: Prof. Bernhard Schick, IFM management and Sandro Cortese, world champion of the Moto3 and Supersport world championships and surprise guest at the Explore-to-Innovate.
Text and photo credits: Kempten University of Applied Sciences