Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing IZFP 
Following the socially responsible end of coal mining, the planned ban on combustion vehicles and the associated gradual loss of jobs in the automotive and supplier industry, numerous jobs in Saarland will have to be restructured or newly created. This fundamental structural and technological change must be actively shaped if the transformation of the region is to succeed.
With the “ISOSaar” project, the know-how of the Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing IZFP in the field of technology transfer is to be applied positively to the transformation efforts in Saarland by developing solutions adapted to regional needs and bringing them to fruition with Saarland and national partners.
Current political action focuses on issues such as sustainability and climate protection as well as resource and material efficiency. The mobility and plant sector has a central role to play in achieving the climate targets. In this context, process optimization and the monitoring of critical infrastructure via cognitive ultrasound networks are becoming increasingly important. Intelligent ultrasound systems in the context of scalable, cognitive ultrasound networks offer great potential for a new class of systems with improved predictive capabilities for predictive condition and process monitoring (smart maintenance).
The Fraunhofer IZFP will become a technology transfer facility with meeting spaces for the joint research and development of intelligent ultrasound systems that can be combined to form self-adaptable ultrasound networks. The intelligent ultrasound systems will use extensive sensor modalities to generate special application-specific information from the various raw data by means of data fusion algorithms.
Furthermore, specific transfer platforms will be set up. On the one hand, the opportunity to work together with the experts at the Fraunhofer IZFP is to be created by implementing a technology lab, which is characterized by low-threshold use of office and laboratory workstations, systems and machines and sensors for non-destructive testing. In addition, a mobile demonstrator will be set up to show the use of intelligent ultrasound systems at various locations.
The final step is to design and implement a transfer program for intelligent ultrasound networks. To this end, various transfer activities will be defined in the first phase and activities such as roadshows at schools etc. will be carried out with the mobile demonstrator in the implementation phase.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) is funding the project within the “STARK” program (Strengthening the transformation dynamics and awakening in the coalfields and at the coal-fired power plant sites) with approx. 940.000 €.
