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researchNEWS
SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL OF THE MUNICH UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES May 2020
researchNEWS 1
FOREWORD
An innovative and sustainable society is one of the most
important goals of scientific endeavour. Contributing to the
development of such a society is also the mission that Munich
University of Applied Sciences has set itself. The university is
therefore working to become one of Germany’s most success-
ful universities of applied sciences in terms of research output
and to play a key role in the German scientific landscape. For
researchers, this means that their work must not only be of sci-
entific importance but deliver relevant practical solutions too.
The researchers at Munich University of Applied Sciences are
making good on this promise, as this latest issue of research-
NEWS shows. The magazine is full of examples of relevant
applied research in the form of projects that engage with the
economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainability
– issues whose applicability and urgency has been underscored
“We want to open up new models of
again not least by the “Fridays for Future” movement.
research collaboration at Munich
University of Applied Sciences so as
In institutional terms, Munich University of Applied Sciences
to further enhance the strength and
is boosting the importance of applied research by creating
relevance of our research output.”
research institutes for specific fields, generating broad visibil-
Prof. Dr Sonja Munz
ity for its research output. The university is convinced that this
offers researchers and junior academic staff the right institu-
tional environment for their work. Moreover, it helps to make
us an attractive employer. In addition to expanding cooper-
ative doctoral qualifications for research-intensive areas, the
university is committed to the right to obtain its own doctor-
ate in the future. Not least for this reason, the establishment
of the new research institutes is subject to quality assurance
based on criteria such as third-party funding, peer reviewed
publications, patents and previous experience in doctoral
supervision. The research institutes must ensure that at least
five researchers and five assistants each work together in a
cohesive academic field. They thus raise the profile of these
research areas and further increase the strength of innovation
and quality of the research output.
Prof. Dr Sonja Munz, Vice President for Research
Portrait: Julia Bergmeister
2 researchNEWS
CONTENT
Three research institutes 4
Research reports
Prof. Dr Peter Krzystek
Department of Geoinformatics
LASERS AND DRONES IN DISASTER ZONES 6
Prof. Dr Celine Chang
Department of Tourism
CALLING TOURISM STAFF 8
Prof. Dr Ulrich Wagner und Prof. Dr med. Herbert Plischke
Department of Applied Sciences and Mechatronics
GAIT TRAINING WITH ALL THE SENSES 10
Prof. Dr Stefan Pohlmann
Department of Applied Social Sciences
FIGHTING FORGETFULNESS 12
Prof. Dr Peter Wolfsteiner
Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Aeronautical Engineering
STRESS TEST FOR VEHICLES 14
Prof. Dr Constance Engelfried
Department of Applied Social Sciences
DISCOVERING THE NARRATIVE OF OTHERS 16
Prof. Dr Natalie Eßig, Prof. Dr Silke Langenberg
Department of Architecture
THE BEAUTY OF OLD BUILDINGS 18
Prof. Dr Gerta Köster
Department of Computer Science and Mathematics
SIMULATING CROWDS WHEN EMERGENCY STRIKES 20
Prof. Dr Oliver Bohlen, Prof. Dr Simon Schramm
Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
A SECOND LIFE FOR AUTOMOTIVE BATTERIES 22
Prof. Dr Alexander Knoll
Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Aeronautical Engineering
ELIAS TAKES FLIGHT 24
Prof. Dr Nicole Pötter
Department of Applied Social Sciences
STANDARDISATION VERSUS INDIVIDUALISATION:
A BALANCING ACT 26
researchNEWS 3
Image and Portraits: Johanna Weber
THREE RESEARCH INSTITUTES
RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY-
EFFICIENT BUILDINGS AND DISTRICTS
The “Research Institute for Energy- Research Institute for Energy-Efficient
Efficient Buildungs and Districts“ Buildungs and Districts (CENERGIE)
(CENERGIE) combines building engi- Q Heads of the institute: Prof. Dr Werner
neering and architecture. The insti- Jensch and Prof. Dr Christian Schweigler
tute develops complete solutions for Q Founding team: 5 professors from the
future buildings in the context of Departments of Architecture and of
the energy transition. The focus, on Building Services Engineering, Paper
the one hand, is on the exploration and Packaging Technology and Print
and development of new engineering and Media Technology
tools for the planning and prospective Q Academic staff: 12, of which 10 are
“We set up competence-
strategies of operation management. doctoral candidates
related teams to react
On the other hand, the emphasis is Q Research volume in 2019: 1.24 million Euro
specifically to industry
on advancing pilot and development
queries.”
projects in the area of heat, cold and
Prof. Dr Christian Schweigler
power generation and storage – in close
cooperation with sustainable and effi-
ciency-related architectural concepts.
“This new institute consolidates the
collaboration among us researchers, we
can set up competence-related teams
and consequently work on complex
tasks and react specifically to industry
queries,” says Prof. Dr Schweigler from
the Energy and Building Engineering
Department at the institute.
4 researchNEWS
RESEARCH INSTITUTES
INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE
ENERGY SYSTEMS
The “Institute for Sustainable Energy Institute for Sustainable Energy
Systems” (ISES) conducts research on Systems (ISES)
the conversion, distribution and storage Q Heads of the institute: Prof. Dr Oliver
of electrical energy. The ISES researches Bohlen and Prof. Dr Christoph Hackl
energy systems in their entirety, from Q Founding team: 5 professors from the
the component to the system level, Department of Electrical Engineering
and across all stages of the value-added and Information Technology
chain, from power generation to con- Q Academic staff: 13, of which 7 are
sumption. “With our research, consul- internal and 6 are external doctoral
tation and teaching activities, we make candidates
“We contribute considera-
a considerable contribution to a more Q Research volume in 2019: 560,000 Euro
bly to a more efficient and
efficient, sustainable and resource-con-
sustainable approach to
serving approach to energy supply and
energy supply and use.”
use,” says institute head Prof. Dr Oliver
Prof. Dr Oliver Bohlen
Bohlen. The institute’s research con-
tributes to meeting global climate and
energy targets. With ISES the Munich
University of Applied Sciences strength-
ens its research focus in the area of
sustainability.
INSTITUTE FOR MATERIALS AND
CONSTRUCTION RESEARCH
The “Institute for Materials and Con- Institute for Materials and Construction
struction Research” (IMB) combines civil Research (IMB)
engineering, architecture and mechan- Q Heads of the institute: Prof. Dr Christian
ical engineering, and automotive and Schuler and Prof. Dr Christoph Dauber-
aeronautical engineering. The research schmidt
professors at the institute have already Q 7 professors from the Departments of
acquired and worked on third-party pro- Architecture, Civil Engineering as well as
jects exceeding the value of six million Mechanical, Automotive and Aeronautical
Euro. The focus on these projects is on Engineering
the long-term preservation and sustain- Q Academic staff: 17, of which 13 are doc-
“We conduct research as
able development of the building stock toral candidates
a group and strive for
and existing infrastructure. “Together Q Research volume in 2019: 1 million Euro
solutions for long-term
with my six founder colleagues we con-
sustainable development
duct research as a group and look less
of building stock.”
for isolated solutions for our joint topic:
Prof. Dr Christian Schuler
the long-term preservation and sustain-
able development of the building stock
and existing infrastructure,” says the
head of the institute, Prof. Dr Christian
Schuler from the Department of Civil
Engineering.
researchNEWS 5
Prof. Dr Peter Krzystek
Department of Geoinformatics
LASERS AND DRONES
IN DISASTER ZONES
Professor Peter Krzystek and his team from the Department of Geoinformatics are looking
for buried radioactive material. The “GEOFLYER” research project uses drones and laser
scanners to map the hidden deposits in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
A little over 32 years ago, on 26 April Research: “GEOFLYER – Optimization around the damaged reactor and
1986, the worst accident in the history of the flight economics of a Remotely those contaminated by fall-out –
of civilian nuclear power took place Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) for map- the aim of programmes launched
in the No. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl ping of faraway disaster and risk areas, by the EU and G7.
Nuclear Power Plant, close to the taking into account air traffic safety
Ukrainian city of Pripyat. The conse- aspects”. He is working with his docto- State-owned Ukrainian companies
quences were catastrophic. An area ral student Sebastian Briechle to test for radioactive waste management
with a radius of around 30 kilometres drones, sensors, and innovative remote are currently examining the buried
was so heavily contaminated that the sensing techniques. Julian Stolp, a stu- material and also want to uncover
authorities were forced to evacuate dent on the Geoinformatics and Navi- the unknown deposits – in the area
the population. It remains an exclu- gation Bachelor’s degree programme, around the Red Forest for example,
sion zone to this day. is also part of the team. where the trees changed colour due
to radiation absorption directly after
What should be done about the RADIOACTIVE DEPOSITS the reactor explosion. To do so, they
remaining radiation? Will the area “In the immediate aftermath of the need the most accurate 3D maps pos-
ever be inhabitable again? Where has nuclear accident, contaminated trees, sible of the deposits, trees and soil
the radioactive material been buried? biomass, and topsoil in the exclusion structures. Laser scanning, in which
Researchers all around the world are zone were buried in order to substanti- laser beams are fired in quick succes-
seeking answers to these unanswered ally reduce radiation levels. There were sion from an aeroplane or drone, is
questions. Prof. Peter Krzystek from over 1,000 deposits,” says Krzystek. the perfect technology for the task.
Munich University of Applied Sci- “More than 30 years on, nobody knows xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ences is one of them. Krzystek is part where exactly around 200 radioactive RESEARCHING IN THE EXCLUSION ZONE
of a research project sponsored by deposits are located.” This information In April 2018, the geoinformatics
the Federal Ministry of Education and is vital in order to clean up the areas experts from Munich University
6 researchNEWS
RESEARCH REPORTS
Following this successful proof of con-
Above-ground radioactive deposits: the soil
around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant re- cept, there are already plans to map
mains contaminated 32 years after the disaster further areas of the Chernobyl exclu-
sion zone. Working here always means
“We quickly and safely
taking some extra precautions: each
document the damage
of Applied Sciences made a second time they visit the site, the researchers
in disaster areas”
Images: Department of Geoinformatics, Portrait and group picture: Julia Bergmeister
field visit to the Chernobyl exclusion are checked daily by a radiation safety
Prof. Dr Peter Krzystek
zone and deployed their technology. officer. “The radioactive dose we receive
“Straight away, we were able to locate during five days in Chernobyl is con-
previously unknown burial sites and siderably lower than from a long-haul
create a very precise three-dimensional flight,” say the team members.
reconstruction of the wooded lands-
cape,” says Sebastian Briechle. OTHER USES
This relatively cheap and highly reli-
“We mainly use laser data, but we also able drone-based technology can be Project title
combine this with optical multi-spec- used in other high-risk areas too – „Optimierung der Flugökonomie eines
tral imaging. As this data records the where a tornado has felled trees, for Remotely-Pilotes-Aircraft-System (RPAS) zur
forest landscape in ever more detail, example, or earth movements are Kartierung von entfernten Katastrophen- und
we are able to use modern machine detected in a landslide-prone area. The Risikogebieten unter Berücksichtigung von
learning methods and computer vision experts can deploy drones and laser Flugsicherungsaspekten“ (“Optimization of
to precisely identify and categorise the scanners to produce precise 3D images the flight economics of a Remotely Piloted
individual objects in the forest. The of the ground and produce an exact 3D Aircraft System (RPAS) for mapping of faraway
computer essentially creates a virtual map. “We quickly and safely document disaster and risk areas, taking into account
treescape in which we identify the the damage in disaster areas and make air traffic safety aspects”) (GEOFLYER)
deposits and different tree species,” it easier to monitor the danger zones,”
explains the professor. says Krzystek. Elke Zapf Project duration
1 April 2017 to 31 March 2021
The GEOFLYER team: Prof. Dr Peter Krzystek, Julian Stolp and Sebastian Briechle Project partners
Q Plejades Independent Expert
Q DIALOGIS
Q Bavarian Forest National Park
Q Quantum Systems
Project execution
VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH
Funding
Federal Ministry of Education and Research,
Programm Ingenieurnachwuchs (young engi-
neers programme) 2016
researchNEWS 7
Prof. Dr Celine Chang
Department of Tourism
CALLING TOURISM STAFF
Why do so few people want to work in Bavaria’s much-loved holiday destinations?
What can businesses do to find trained staff? A study led by Dr Celine Chang from the
Department of Tourism as part of the “Trail for Health North” research project went
looking for answers.
Tourism in Bavaria is breaking all possible solutions. In the “Trail for project regions currently have prob-
records with a sixth successive increase Health North” research project, which lems filling positions. They are desper-
in the number of visitors and overnight was funded by the EU as part of the ate especially for kitchen and service
stays. According to Bayern Tourismus Interreg Austria–Bavaria 2014-2020 staff.” These areas are seeing far too
Marketing GmbH, there were more programme, Chang and her team few applicants, while existing employ-
than 37 million overnight visitors in examined the situation for skilled ees are leaving for the lure of the cities
2017. Bavaria now accounts for one in labour in three tourist regions: or other industries.
five overnight stays in Germany. Abtenau in Austria, and Bad Reichen-
hall and Tegernsee in Bavaria. In addi- The reasons for this shortage of trained
When it comes to the people looking tion to numerous stakeholders from staff are manifold, but three problems
after these visitors in the hotels and the tourism industry, from labour are cited again and again: high rents,
restaurants, however, it is a different market institutions, the world of pol- poor public transport, and, in some
story. New research shows that there itics, and the education sector, the areas, lack of family-friendly facili-
is a shortage of hospitality staff in team also surveyed some 100 employ- ties. At Tegernsee, every single person
particular in this popular holiday ees working in tourist businesses. surveyed criticised the rental market.
destination. “Chefs usually can’t afford an apart-
The findings of the study by Professor FOCUS ON HEALTH AND WELLNESS ment in the Tegernsee area on their
Celine Chang, a specialist in human TOURISM salary,” says Chang. “And if they live
resources management at Munich “The study focused on businesses in further away, they always need a car, as
University of Applied Sciences, do not health and wellness tourism, but the public transport is underdeveloped.”
sugar-coat the staff shortages facing results are applicable right across
the industry. But the tourism expert the industry,” says Chang. “In total, Many employees criticised public
and her team also suggest a host of 57 percent of employers in all three transport: 76 percent in Abtenau,
8 researchNEWS
Images: Tegernseer Tal Tourismus GmbH/Hansi Heckmair (page 8), Patrick Mayr (page 9), Portrait: Julia Bergmeister RESEARCH REPORTS
54 percent at Tegernsee, and 44 percent this can generate, despite the competi-
in Bad Reichenhall. Lack of provision tion to provide visitors with food and
for families is another complaint in accommodation.” Most employers,
Tegernsee: 56 percent cited room for for example, lack professional human
improvement and would like more resource management to recruit and
housing for families and better child- retain trained staff. Only one in five of
care that suits working hours in the the businesses surveyed has its own
tourism industry. HR manager. And few businesses in the
region have a dedicated careers page on
Employees in all three areas were their website. Chang therefore recom-
positive about their region as a place mends employer branding for the
to live and work. Around two-thirds region as a whole, including a regional
of respondents in Bad Reichenhall (73 manager for HR-related issues. “This
percent) and Tegernsee (61 percent) manager would work with local part-
enjoy living and working in these tour- ners to position and market the region “Employers need to better
ist hotspots. For Abtenau, the figure is as an attractive place to live and work. market positive aspects and
42 percent. A full 100 percent of those create an attractive offering
surveyed – in all three regions – prai- They would also organise shared trai- for employees.”
sed the opportunities for sporting ning provision and staff exchanges, Prof. Dr Celine Chang
activities. and support businesses with their own
human resource management.”
A CROSS-BORDER APPROACH
“It’s certainly an attractive region for Students in the Department of Tourism
tourism staff,” says Chang. “But emplo- have produced an example of how this
yers need to better market these posi- approach could work. They have crea-
tive aspects and create an attractive ted a careers website for the Tegernsee
offering for employees.” She would like region and designed it to appeal to
to see Bavaria and neighbouring Aus- potential applicants in different age
tria take a collaborative, cross-border groups and different stages of their Project title
approach: “Our study has put its finger lives. The site also includes a job board Trail for Health North
on many of the typical problems in the advertising vacancies. Tegernseer Tal
industry. Tourismus GmbH has already incorpo- Project duration
rated this idea into its own website – an 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2018
It clearly shows the need for coopera- early positive outcome from the study.
tion and is clear about the potential Elke Zapf Project partners
Q Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg
(lead partner)
Q Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München,
Focussed: conference participants discuss shortage of skilled labour in the tourism industry
Chair for Economic Geography and Tourism
Research
Q Innovations- und Technologietransfer
Salzburg GmbH
Q Tegernseer Tal Tourismus GmbH
Q Bayerisches Staatsbad Kur-GmbH
Q Bad Reichenhall/Bayerisch Gmain
Q Verein Gästeservice Tennengau
Project execution and funding
European Union, Interreg Programme
researchNEWS 9
Prof. Dr Ulrich Wagner and Prof. Dr med. Herbert Plischke
Department of Applied Sciences and Mechatronics
GAIT TRAINING WITH
ALL THE SENSES
Children who have suffered a brain haemorrhage or have joint pain face a laborious
process of learning to walk. “Active orthoses” worn on the lower leg could help them.
The “APROACH” research team from the Department of Applied Sciences and Mecha-
tronics have developed a self-made prototype. Their innovation uses acoustic and
visual feedback to encourage a natural gait.
The sound of chords being played rings low-cost orthosis that can grow with unbalanced movements and can suffer
out from the laboratory. A young girl the child and even allow them to enjoy from poor posture and, not least, social
crosses the room with a tablet in her the exhausting practice needed to isolation.
hand. Every step of her left leg makes learn the correct gait.
a different sound. Sometimes every “Physiotherapists can see immediately
note of the chord plays simultaneously, LEARNING TO WALK whether someone is walking correctly,”
sometimes one at a time. Her leg is The research team consisting of aca- says Wagner, the project leader. The
covered in black and white boxes and demic staff and Bachelor’s and Master’s new technology is not intended to
blue dots, with cables reaching all the students chose paediatric neurological replace the diagnostic skills of the
way down to the sole of her foot. The gait disorder as the first scenario for specialists. Following the diagnosis,
girl is testing the prototype of a foot the orthosis they are developing. For however, the app connected to the
lift orthosis developed by a team led by children with this condition, a trau- orthosis will learn to identify correct
Professors Ulrich Wagner and Herbert matic brain injury, for example, means gait. The orthosis will enable patients’
Plischke in partnership with doctors, that the impulses sent through their gait to be measured in a mobile setting
physiotherapists, and patients. The nervous system are too weak to trig- – something that otherwise requires
research project goes by the name ger the right movements, despite the a visit to an elaborate gait laboratory.
of APROACH: Active, PaRametrizable patient’s best efforts. They therefore Two self-adhesive electrodes on the
Open-source Articular orthosis for need the help of physiotherapists to skin measure muscle stimulation in
CHildren with rheumatoid arthritis or relearn how to walk correctly. With- the lower leg, while five pressure pads
paediatric neurological disorders. The out such training, they are at risk of inside a specially designed lightweight
aim is to use a 3D printer to create a damaging joints and cartilage with shoe measure the movements of the
10 researchNEWSRESEARCH REPORTS
The orthosis helps children learn to walk
sole of the foot. A microprocessor instant feedback that its efforts are
sends the data to an app, allowing recognized and motivates immensely,”
doctors and physiotherapists to visual- says Wagner on the experience of the
ise the information from the muscle research team. “It doesn’t make sense to
sensors and pressure pads and analyse keep developing a solution
progress. MAKER CULTURE when you know there is a
While the orthoses might have a some- better one.”
GAIT TRAINING CAN BE FUN what unfinished look – with their Prof. Dr Ulrich Wagner
The most important aim, however, is to colourful cabling and visible micro-
provide direct feedback to the young processors in self-printed sleeves – this
patients. The prototype enables child- reflects the ethos behind their develop-
ren to both see and hear their progress ment. “APROACH” has much in common Project title
using a tablet or smartphone. Visual with “maker” culture – digital DIY based „Aktive, parametrisierbare Open-Source Ge-
feedback comes from bright illumi- on 3D printers and low-cost compon- lenksorthesen zum Laufen lernen für Kinder
nating spots on the sole of a foot that ents. Designs and applications will be mit rheumatoider Arthritis oder neuropädiat-
grow as the patient exerts increasing open source where legally possible, and rischen Erkrankungen“ (“Active, parametriza-
pressure. And acoustic feedback comes the hardware and software will be built ble open-source articular orthosis for children
in the form of the chords. A full roll of from off-the-peg or 3D-printed compon- with rheumatoid arthritis or paediatric
the foot from heel to toe produces a ents. The team members are constantly neurological disorders”) (APROACH)
harmonious sound, whereas an incom- gathering feedback on each new feature.
plete movement triggers a staccato “The project has a modular structure so Project duration
response. To make training more fun, that we can use each new piece of know- 1 July 2017 to 31 December 2018
children can choose sound effects ran- ledge to develop new, more specific
ging from violins to drums. applications,” says Wagner. Project partners
Q Schoen Clinic Vogtareuth
A second function of the orthosis is to This will help with future development Q Deutsches Zentrum für Kinder- und
train the individual muscles provided ambitions, such as a mechanism that Jugend-Rheumatologie Garmisch
with sensors. As the muscle in the leg provides a dose of power to help pati- Partenkirchen
begins to contract, a balloon appears ents lift their foot, or an algorithm that Q Formrise GmbH, Töging am Inn
on the screen. With each movement, can cover a whole range of movements, Q c.lab, Munich University of Applied
this is audibly “inflated” until it bursts. including climbing the stairs. It will also Sciences
The visual and audio effects can help enable the orthoses to be adapted to
children whose nerve impulses are other medical conditions. As the team Project execution
Images: Patrick Mayr
initially too weak to trigger visible leg discuss their ideas surrounded by 3D VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH
movement. By increasing the app’s printers, cables, and electrical compon-
sensitivity, even the attempt to move ents, the air fizzes with excitement and Funding
the limb can be made visible and audi- more than a hint of the maker spirit. Federal Ministry of Education and Research
ble for the patient. “It gives the child Christiane Taddigs-Hirsch
researchNEWS 11Prof. Dr Stefan Pohlmann
Department of Applied Social Sciences
FIGHTING FORGETFULNESS
The holiday photo from 1975 brings back memories – and father and daughter start up a
conversation, even though the elderly gentleman is suffering from severe dementia. In his
research project “Dementia sufferers and their families: expanding and enhancing rela-
tionships” – or “DA:Bei” for short – Prof. Dr Stefan Pohlmann of the Department of Applied
Social Sciences is studying how similar successful approaches can be developed using IT
resources.
According to current figures, there are BRIDGING COMMUNICATION normal everyday topics such as “Doing
230,000 dementia sufferers in Bavaria This is where the applied research pro- the laundry, past and present”. The
being looked after by family carers or ject, DA:Bei, comes into play. It started camera movement, and the speed and
professional personnel. Dementia has in October 2017 for a period of two length of the videos are tailored to suit
a number of symptoms: They range years and was funded by the Bavarian people with dementia and the plots
from changes in experience and behav- State Ministry for Health and Care are kept simple. “Our videos are used
iour to considerable loss of control within the framework of the Bavarian for initiating conversation: Do you
– and they are all a huge burden on strategy on dementia. Together with remember that old washboard? When
those affected and the people around his team, Pohlmann is looking to did we get our first washing machine?
them. “The ability to communicate also bridge communication in order to pre- Who did the laundry back then?” These
declines. This is something that people vent the constant failure of everyday are some of the examples mentioned
find particularly hard to bear,” accord- conversation and joint activities. by Pohlmann. We currently have nine
ing to Pohlmann, Professor of Geron- of these video clips and each addresses
tology at the University of Applied The research group led by Pohlmann a different topic. “The families can of
Sciences Munich. Family carers – is developing new tools that focus on course make their own videos and, for
regardless of whether they are spouses the life history and the experience of example, involve the grandchildren in
or partners, daughters or sons-in-law, people living with this condition and them too.”
grandchildren or other relatives – all implement them using new media.
want to interact with the dementia suf- One example here is the “generation The holiday photo from 1975 is used
ferer but very often don’t know how.” video”, which is a short video clip about in a digital context as well. It is part of
12 researchNEWSRESEARCH REPORTS
a specially adapted digital memory and to scientifically test their functio-
Images: Stills from the DA:Bei video clips, Portrait: Julia Bergmeister
game that father and daughter are pla- nality. One of the instruments plan-
ying together on the tablet. The daugh- ned is an IT template for working on
ter photographed the holiday photo life histories. While it follows certain
with her smartphone and incorporated rules, there is still plenty of scope for
it into the digital game. Depending on putting a personal touch on the de-
how her father reacts, she can incor- sign. This allows for individual resour-
porate more photos from that period ces and the potential of all involved to
or from other decades. “The important be harnessed. As was the case with in-
thing is that the photos are from the struments that are already in use, the
life of the dementia sufferer and that research group first developed the ma-
they trigger a reaction in that person. terials and then put them through
Because if the two people begin a con- stringent practical trials. For example,
versation, then we’ve achieved a lot,“ the family members complete a que-
“While there is no cure
says the project lead. “Mutual under- stionnaire once they have watched the
for dementia, it is not an
standing is enhanced through joint generation video or have played the
immutable fate”
activities and remembering together, memory game. “How did the person
Prof. Dr Stefan Pohlmann
and communication can take place with dementia react?
once again on an equal footing.”
Did a conversation take place? What
CONSIDERABLE INTEREST AMONG can we do to improve this?” are some
FAMILY MEMBERS of the things the researchers want to
The tools developed are playful and know.
creative, they involve the life history
of the person with dementia, promote “While there is no cure for dementia, it
joint activities and facilitate conversa- is not an immutable fate,” according to
tion. Family carers and professional ca- the gerontologist. Through construc-
rers both have a great interest in these tive and creative guidelines for self-em-
aids, and elderly people with demen- powerment and for coping with stress,
tia also benefit from them directly as Pohlmann’s project is an important
they are tailored to their needs and li- component for eradicating the fixed at-
mitations. titude that dementia must be passively
endured. “We consider ourselves to be Project title
The plan is to develop more of these in- a vehicle for initiative and empower- „Demenzerkrankte und Angehörige:
struments as part of the DA:Bei project ment.“ Elke Zapf Beziehungen erweitern und intensivieren“
(“Dementia sufferers and their families:
expanding and enhancing relationships“)
(DA:Bei)
Doing the laundry back in the day: photos and videos bring back memories
Project duration
1 October 2017 to 30 September 2019
Project partners
Q Alzheimer Gesellschaft München
Q AWO-Seniorenzentrum
Q Christian- Dierig-Haus Augsburg
Q Kompetenzzentrum München
Q Beraten-Wohnen-Pflegen
Funding
Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care
within the framework of the Bavarian
strategy on dementia
researchNEWS 13Prof. Dr Peter Wolfsteiner
Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Aeronautical Engineering
STRESS TEST FOR VEHICLES
In their project “Fatigue strength in the case of non-Gaussian random vibrations”,
the mechanical engineers with Prof. Dr Wolfsteiner in the Department of Mechanical,
Automotive and Aeronautical Engineering are developing a software that will allow
for a more reliable forecast of the fatigue strength of vehicles.
Almost everyone knows that feeling: this knowledge gap together with his al. This phenomenon only became ev-
You’re sitting in a train, be it a tram team of researchers. The project is ident to mechanical engineers years
or a high-speed ICE, and you can feel funded by the Bayerische Forschungss- later when the German engineer Au-
the movement of the train. There is al- tiftung foundation and the vehicle gust Wöhler discovered that material
ways a little jolting. The train might be manufacturer Siemens. subjected to dynamic stress has a low-
going over a railway switch, or brak- er fatigue strength than one subjected
ing suddenly, or travelling over a track Wolfsteiner is sitting with his doctor- to static stress. It accumulates fatigue
section that’s not perfectly smooth. It al student, Arvid Trapp, in the bright damage during operation.
is very difficult to know which stress- meeting room in their department.
es the vehicle will be exposed to during The researchers don’t need labs – their RANDOM STRESS
its life and how it will react to continu- tools are mathematics, statistics and And it is precisely these dynamic
ous stress. empirical values. “Early on we were stresses that are of interest to mechan-
forced to face up to what can happen ical engineers. “Each material has a
REDUCING KNOWLEDGE GAPS in the case of material fatigue,” says memory,” explains Wolfsteiner. If a ma-
“When we test a vehicle before it is Trapp, and points to the dramatic ex- terial is only exposed to static stress, its
put into operation, we can only gauge ample of the rail tunnel accident near strength will be greater than if it’s ex-
to a certain extent the level of stress the Austrian railway station Timelkam posed to dynamic stress. For example,
the vehicle will be subjected to,” ex- in 1875. Back then, a wheel tyre broke a car driving along a road is exposed
plains Wolfsteiner. “Our knowledge on the locomotive. to manymillions of smaller, random
has reached its limit where stress is no loads. Its components are then subject-
longer regular, occurs randomly or Investigations showed that the cause ed to random load signals. These loads,
only occurs due to local conditions.” was not a material defect but could be frequently having a non-Gaussian dis-
In this new project, he aims to reduce traced back to the load of the materi- tribution, have to be captured statisti-
14 researchNEWSRESEARCH REPORTS
cally and with numerical methods in was honoured with the Young Talent
Graphics: Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Aeronautical Engineering, Portrait: Julia Bergmeister
order – as the engineers hope – to ul- Award for his Master’s thesis.
timately allow scientific laws to be de- Vehicle manufacturers tend to be very
rived from them. cautious, as the methods used up to
now have not enabled them to test ac-
YOUNG TALENT AWARD curately how their products would re-
“It’s similar to throwing dice,” says the act to random loads. If you are putting
researcher. “The more you throw dice, a car or even a train into operation,
the more you get to know the dice.” In the responsibility is huge. “This is why
their calculations, the researchers fo- safety systems and critical components
cus less on the type of material and tend to be oversized and specially re-
more on the random incidents that inforced,” explains Wolfsteiner. “Nat-
generate a load on a vehicle. The data urally, this increases the weight of the
available to the researchers comprises vehicles.”
extensive series of measurements that “Every material has a
have already been recorded on vehi- The research group would now like to memory.”
cles in operation. These data now have use its findings to optimise these com- Prof. Dr Peter Wolfsteiner
to be analysed and converted to a reli- ponents and to adapt them to bet-
able forecasting tool. The researchers’ ter suit actual conditions in operation.
concept has been very well received: “This would mean, in turn, decreased
At this year’s International Rail Vehi- weight and therefore lower operating
cle Conference in Dresden, Arvid Trapp costs,” says Wolfsteiner. Thorsten Naeser
Project title
„Betriebsfestigkeit bei nicht-normalverteilten
Schwingungen“ (“Fatigue strength in non-
Gaussian random vibrations“)
Project duration
1 December 2015 to 30 April 2019
Project execution and funding
Bayerische Forschungsstiftung foundation
Project partners
Q Siemens AG
Normally or not normally distributed: The research team analyses extensive series of measurements relating Q Knorr Bremse Systeme für Schienen-
to the loads on vehicles
fahrzeuge GmbH
researchNEWS 15Prof. Dr Constance Engelfried
Department of Applied Social Sciences
DISCOVERING THE
NARRATIVE OF OTHERS
Things we are unfamiliar with are strange. So far, so good. But, how do people, and
young people in particular, construct an image of “others”? And how can social work
in a pedagogical context contribute to breaking down prejudice? These questions are
addressed in the international applied research project “NaAnke” at the Department
of Applied Social Sciences.
In the house where the single mother to provide academic oversight for the particularly difficult: “It would have
lives with her four children, the bed- project. Prof. Dr Constance Engelfried been easier with middle-class students
room has no windows. Instead of a bed, is particularly happy that research and from a ‘Gymnasium’ secondary school,
there are 6 mattresses stacked in the practice can coincide, as the research but we purposely aimed at a different
corner. Once the young people have team is already able to accompany the target group,” says Engelfried. “We
experienced how a family lives in Jor- pedagogical work. The international underestimated the administrative
dan, the questions just come flooding aspect provided by the collaboration effort at the start. Fortunately, the
out: “Don’t they have toys? Only books? with the German Jordanian University research department at the University
How can they live like that?” was also a unique feature of this of Applied Sciences Munich provided
project. wonderful support.”
The German-Jordanian youth encoun-
ter project “How do you live? Discov- CHOICES WITH OBSTACLES EXPERIENCING THE “OTHER”
ering the narrative of others” – or For the project, the team chose eight “Our research is qualitative, not quanti-
“NaAnke” – is the work of the film young people each from Bavaria, Sax- tative,” Engelfried stresses. By creating
production company Terra Media ony and Jordan. To do this, they visited an atmosphere in the workshops in
Corp. from Munich. Part of the project vocational schools in the relevant Germany and Jordan in which young
involved young people from Germany regions: In addition to the background people can express themselves freely,
visiting families in Amman within the of the young people, it was important we created depth in relationships.”
context of encounter pedagogy. The that they were currently in training. The pedagogical settings in which the
film team, consisting of Stefanie Land- Obtaining permission from parents young people formed their mental
graf and Johannes Gulde, asked the and vocational school teachers for the images of the “other” consisted of role
Munich University of Applied Sciences young people to participate proved plays, joint music sessions, painting or
16 researchNEWSRESEARCH REPORTS
High rope course: Young Germans and Jordanians work side by side in this
meeting venue
dancing. If they had no interest in one nying research, filming and interviews
setting, they simply chose a different with the pedagogues is completed
one. “An interesting aspect about the and the extensive data now have to be
participants from Saxony was that analysed. The research team has to take
they often said during the introduction a very differentiated view as, in Engel-
round: ‘But I’m not hostile to foreign- fried’s opinion, many of the theories of
ers!’ They had a direct association with the “other” found to date in academia
“Change can only come about
Images: Patrick Mayr (page 16), University of Applied Sciences Munich (page 17), Portrait: Julia Bergmeister
the image others have of their back- are somewhat simplistic. “Above all, we
through understanding.”
ground,” Engelfried observed. need to identify the topics on which
Prof. Dr Constance Engelfried
the perceptions and attitudes of young
The visit to the Zaatari refugee camp people have changed.” The researchers
proved to be an extreme experience were able to make some initial observa-
for all participants. Not only was tions on site: During a trip to the Dead
gaining access to the refugee camp an Sea, the subject of physicality was a
organisational tour de force, but also recurring topic. Engelfried remembers
the journey to Jordan itself. “There are that the young Jordanians appeared to
no mixed gender settings such as are be more comfortable in their bodies Project title
found in our workshops. Communi- than the German participants. Her „Wie lebst denn Du? Das Narrativ des Anderen
cation was also complicated because research assistant, Maya Ostrowski, kennenlernen“ (NaAnke) (“How do you live?
there are many taboo topics there, added: “This was also evident in their Discovering the narrative of others”)
such as sexuality and religion. It is heart-felt hugs. They hugged the Ger-
difficult to move around the country mans on their arrival in Jordan as if Project duration
without being familiar with the culture they had known them for years. That 1 October 2017 to 30 September 2019
– not to mention performing research,” made a huge impression.”
says Engelfried. This was possible Project partners
because the group was accompanied The research results are intended to German Jordanian University Amman
by the former Palestinian ambassador help educators to understand how con-
to Denmark and the film team, both structs of attitudes come about. Engel- Project execution
very familiar with the Arab region. fried is convinced that “change can DLR Project Management Agency
only come about through understand-
DIFFERENTIATED PERSPECTIVE ing, because there are reasons for every Funding
The practical part of the project con- decision, regardless of how extreme Federal Ministry of Education and Research
sisting of the observational accompa- they might ultimately be.” Mirja Fürst
researchNEWS 17Prof. Dr Natalie Essig, Prof. Dr Silke Langenberg
Department of Architecture
THE BEAUTY OF OLD
BUILDINGS
Rediscovering and appreciating the traditional Alpine architecture of historic buildings to
make them more sustainable: this is the goal of the European research project ATLAS. Two
professors from the Department of Architecture are the scientific leads for the project.
They are a familiar sight to holiday- The two women leading the project along with architects, heritage bodies,
makers all across the Alps: traditional complement each other perfectly. A and local politicians, usually first need
old farmhouses in small mountain vil- professor of architectural design and convincing of the importance and va-
lages. No longer inhabited, many are building climatology, Essig is an expert lue of making traditional Alpine archi-
slowly but surely falling derelict. The on sustainability and resource efficien- tecture more sustainable.
“Advanced Tools for Low-carbon, high- cy. Meanwhile, Langenberg’s work con-
value development of historic archi- centrates on construction work within In a first step, ATLAS has therefore been
tecture in the Alpine Space” project, or existing buildings, the preservation of creating an online database of historic
ATLAS for short, is campaigning for the historic monuments, and architectural buildings and examples of best prac-
renovation or restoration of these buil- surveys. She is passionate about pre- tice. Tobias Listl, a research associate
dings. Professors Natalie Essig and Silke serving historic buildings in a way that assisting with the project, has classified
Langenberg explain the idea: “We want reflects their cultural significance. various building types such as the Jura
to preserve the traditional Alpine archi- limestone house of the Altmühl Valley
tecture – including historic buildings MAKING BUILDINGS SUSTAINABLE in Bavaria (right), the Appenzell house
and ensembles that are not preserved Up to 60% of buildings in rural areas in Switzerland, and the Vorarlberg
as monuments – and give it a new lease can be considered historic. They are of- wooden house in Austria (above).
of life for the future. This renovation ten located in disadvantaged areas of
work should also involve making buil- the Alps, such as the Soca Valley in Slo- He has also been populating the data-
dings energy efficient and sustainable, venia, Truden im Naturpark in Italy, base with successful examples of the
which is essential if we are to achie- and Hittisau in Austria’s Vorarlberg re- sustainable renovation of such buil-
ve the ambitious climate targets whi- gion. They typically offer little in the dings, as well as tips that we can learn
le preserving these historic features of way of comfort or energy efficiency. from historic structures: wooden shut-
the iconic Alpine landscape.” The owners of the historic buildings, ters, for example, act as a sun shade in
18 researchNEWSRESEARCH REPORTS
summer and can be removed in winter research project will be a compre-
Images: Prof. Dr Natalie Essig, Prof. Dr Silke Langenberg, Portraits: Johanna Weber
to make room for an additional insula- hensive toolkit for local government.
ting window. “Municipal governments are key pla-
yers when it comes to creating the
In a second package of work, Profes- right environment for sustainable
sor Essig and her research assistant renovation of historic buildings. They “We want to preserve tradi-
Ahmed Khoja have been creating an can launch pilot projects and get invol- tional Alpine architecture –
assessment scheme based on key per- ved in the renovation of traditional including historic buildings
formance indicators for the sustaina- buildings, establish local networks, or and ensembles not covered
bility of historic building renovations. position themselves as model regions,” by existing protections – and
Alongside environmental, economic, explain Essig and Langenberg. give it a new lease of life for
and social criteria, this also incorpo- the future.”
rates cultural aspects such as whether Essig has her own first-hand expe- Prof. Dr Silke Langenberg, Prof. Dr Natalie Essig
the renovation is compatible with the rience of renovating a historic buil-
region’s cultural heritage. ding in Northern Bavaria, and is well
aware, from the perspective of both
An “interactive retrofit guidance tool” the architect and the client, of the chal-
is set to follow, which anyone will be lenges that can arise in such a project:
able to use as a basis for their renova- “You have to be very careful to preserve
tion plans. Essig lists some of the prac- the beauty of old buildings, but you
tical questions it will answer: “Which can also still incorporate modern ele-
architects have a strong awareness of ments.” In her own house, for exam-
this issue? How have similar buildings ple, she replaced the inner windows of
been renovated? What building mate- her old box-type windows with more
rials have proven successful? What has energy-efficient glazing, while ensu-
been used for insulation?” ring that the window frames matched
the historic proportions. A clear exam- Project title
CALLING LOCAL GOVERNMENT ple of where the best practice database Advanced Tools for Low-carbon, high-value
One major output of the ATLAS comes in useful. Elke Zapf development of historic architecture in the
Alpine Space (ATLAS)
Project duration
Old coaching inn in Mörnsheim in the Altmühl Valley
17 April 2018 to 16 April 2021
Project partners
Q Accademia Europea di Bolzano,
Q Italy (coordinator)
Q University of Innsbruck, Austria
Q Energieinstitut Vorarlberg, Austria
Q Posoški razvojni center, Slovenia
Q Municipality of Truden im Naturpark, Italy
Q Teamblau GmbH, Italy
Q Sites et Cites Remarquables France
Q University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Q of Southern Switzerland
Project execution and funding
European Union, Interreg Programme
researchNEWS 19“EikMesh” algorithm
The entire simulation area, which
corresponds to the real event venue,
is covered by a triangular mesh.
Prof. Dr Gerta Köster
Department of Computer Science and Mathematics
SIMULATING CROWDS
WHEN EMERGENCY STRIKES
The ability to see a few minutes into the future so as to improve their emergency response is
something security managers at major events dream of. In the S2UCRE project at the Depart-
ment of Computer Science and Mathematics, new simulations are enabling researchers to
“fast-forward” crowd scenarios – something that could save lives when emergency strikes.
Concerts, maritime parades, food and in urban areas. These predict how large parameters to determine the agents’
bars: just some of the attractions at groups of people will move. The aim is most likely movements with the help
the Hamburg Port Anniversary, which to use efficient parallel algorithms to of machine learning algorithms.
draws over 300,000 visitors each year. model a scenario three to five minutes
The city’s waterside bustles, there is in the future. This will allow flows of The other variables include informa-
music in the air, and a delicious smell people to be redirected or entrances to tion on human behaviour and the
of toasted almonds and fresh fish sand- be closed when danger occurs. needs of people attending the event in
wiches wafts from the food stalls. But question. These insights are provided
with so many people crowded in one DIGITAL AGENTS THAT BEHAVE by the “human factors experts” at
place, it can take nothing more than a LIKE PEOPLE the project’s industry partner, Team
sudden heavy rain shower to quickly The researchers simulate the move- HF. Before an event takes place, the
turn these happy scenes to chaos. ments of real people at an event using company surveys visitors on their age
so-called agents. These behave like a and place of residence as well as on
Situations in which people start to run real crowd in the given environment their perceptions of existing safety
in different directions or need evacuat- but live in a computer simulation. precautions. Questionnaires produced
ing from danger are a frequent occur- Video footage of the event supplied by in other contexts, for example by the
rence at large events. Security teams the project partner Fraunhofer IOSB event organisers themselves, are also
often use CCTV to keep an eye on what is used to generate information on factored into the choice of parameters.
is happening and improve safety. But crowd density and direction vectors. For example, a visitor’s place of resi-
academics are working on better solu- The team then uses this information to dence may determine whether they
tions. In the S2UCRE project, Professor place the agents in the right part of the head for an underground station or a
Gerta Köster and her team are develop- simulation. The project staff member bus stop. Such information is crucial
ing simulations for use at major events Marion Gödel uses these and other in order to identify people’s goals – the
20 researchNEWSRESEARCH REPORTS
places they are likely to move towards. as “flooding”. This can be likened to
Illustration: Benedikt Zönnchen, Image and portrait: Johanna Weber
Gödel also examines the parameters pouring a bucket of water into a space,
to investigate how strongly they influ- starting from the agent’s geographical
ence an agent’s movements. The key goal. As a single computer is only able
parameters are constantly adjusted in to simulate the movements of a small
the S2UCRE control loop so that the number of agents faster than real time,
simulation matches the real video the simulation is divided up between
information as closely as possible. multiple computers and processors.
To enable this parallel processing, the
EFFICIENT PARALLEL ALGORITHM mesh is divided into interlinked parts
“FAST-FORWARDS” SIMULATION – each part consists of several triangles
To simulate the path the agents will and is assigned to a processor.
take to their goals, Benedikt Zönnchen, “S2UCRE is the perfect
a PhD student and S2UCRE staff mem- Each processor receives a roughly equal marriage of complex
ber, is developing an algorithm named share of the work, while communica- theory and enormously
“EikMesh”. This covers the entire simu- tion between the processors is kept beneficial application.”
lation area – which corresponds to the to a minimum. As agents move from Prof. Dr Gerta Köster
real event venue – with an adjustable one part of the mesh to another, the
triangular mesh. The size of the trian- computing process for them is han-
gles depends on how the agents are ded from processor to processor. The
distributed. The triangles are smaller researchers can therefore calculate
in areas where there are large numbers precisely how many processors will be
of agents and larger in areas with needed for the simulation. By taking
fewer agents. The mesh includes every full advantage of this computing
nook and cranny of the event venue. power, they can then simulate people’s
movements several minutes into the
The direction taken by agents within the future, thereby improving public
mesh is calculated in a process known safety at major events. Lea Knobloch Project title
Safety & Security of Urban Crowded
Environments (S2UCRE)
The S2UCRE project team: Benedikt Zönnchen, Marion Gödel, and Prof Dr Gerta Köster (from left to right)
Project duration
1 August 2017 to 31 July 2020
Project partners
Q Fraunhofer IOSB, Karlsruhe
Q accu:rate GmbH, Munich
Q SECURITON GmbH, Achern
Q Team HF PartG, Ludwigsburg
Q Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
Project execution
VDI-Technologiezentrum GmbH, Düsseldorf
Funding
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
researchNEWS 21Prof. Dr Oliver Bohlen, Prof. Dr Simon Schramm
Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
A SECOND LIFE FOR
AUTOMOTIVE BATTERIES
The UnABESA research project aims to develop a universal connector to allow battery stor-
age systems from electric vehicles to be used in stationary applications. The Department
of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology is working on the solution together
with a major automotive industry partner and two medium-sized technology companies.
It is the size of a shoe box and in a may be the case, for example, once the principle of galvanic isolation. The pur-
few years could be a common sight vehicle has travelled 100,000 kilome- pose of their shoebox-sized coupling
in small and medium-sized enterpri- tres – they are still providing 70 to 80 element is to divide the electrical cir-
ses, craft businesses, municipal vehi- percent of their original capacity,” says cuit using non-conductible coupling
cle garages, and residential areas: the Schramm, himself an electric car dri- elements. Splitting the circuit like
compact coupling element currently ver. UnABESA aims to take advantage this means that the battery can be tri-
being developed by the UnABESA colla- of this enormous potential. cked into behaving as if it were still in
borative project at Munich University the electric vehicle. Without needing
of Applied Sciences. Professors Simon REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL any further modifications, an automo-
Schramm and Oliver Bohlen are deve- FOOTPRINT tive battery can therefore be used in
loping this smart interface together “There is a lot of talk at the moment other applications. In a pioneering, cli-
with partners from industry. about what is known as the energy bur- mate-friendly artisan bakery, for exam-
den of electric cars,” says Bohlen. “The ple, with solar panels on the roof and a
The aim is to ensure that the lithium- amount of energy required to pro- fleet of electric delivery vans: “The sur-
ion batteries used in electric cars – duce large battery storage systems is plus solar electricity the bakery pro-
automotive batteries – can find a very high and only pays off after a cer- duces during daylight hours could be
second life in stationary applications, tain period of use. The longer an auto- stored in automotive batteries on site
thereby extending their lifespan and motive battery is in use, the smaller its and used to power theoven at night or
reducing their carbon footprint. “Even environmental footprint.” charge electric cars around the clock,”
when batteries no longer have enough To make this extended lifespan possi- explain the two researchers. They see
power for use in an electric car – which ble, the two researchers are using the the efficiency, safety, and value for
22 researchNEWSYou can also read
