Working together to make good ideas successful - that's how we understand innovation. We have summarized for you what drives us in our work and how we understand research and development.
The Fraunhofer inHaus Center in Duisburg develops innovative products and systems that focus on people and their needs in collaboration with Fraunhofer institutes and business partners.
Wolfgang Gröting, head of the Fraunhofer inHaus center, guides you through our Innovation Center and shows you what is possible in the co-working space.
Interested? Contact us for tours, collaborations or events.
Latest developments
Since 2024, the Fraunhofer inHaus Center has been home to the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence (ZaKI.D). ZaKI.D focuses on helping small and medium-sized companies in the region integrate AI into their operations and products.
In 2020, the SmartCity Innovation Center in Duisburg was opened, featuring a platform for smart city demonstrators and co-working spaces. The center also offers startups access to application knowledge and technologies, as well as opportunities to collaborate with local and international companies as part of the Fraunhofer inHaus network program.
Starting in 2020, a modern living environment was researched in inHaus 1, which includes three scenarios: an intelligent home for families, solutions for dementia and support systems for living in one's own home for longer.
The center
The Fraunhofer inHaus center in Duisburg works together with several Fraunhofer institutes and numerous business partners on the development of innovative products and systems.
The focus is always on people and their needs. In the creative think tank, innovative systems and products are developed, tested and demonstrated in various application laboratories with a practical orientation through cooperative research and development work. The current focus is on the areas of energy efficiency, room and building systems, the (further) development of smart measurement and energy systems, and the development of future-oriented products and services for the health and care sector.
The center includes the inHaus 1 residential complex and the inHaus 2 for technical solutions in commercial real estate.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1992-1995 | Development of initial ideas and concepts at the Fraunhofer IMS in Duisburg. |
| 1998 | Five Fraunhofer institutes are working on the fundamentals as part of a strategic alliance. |
| 1998-1999 | Planning project for the inHaus center. |
| April 3, 2001 | Opening of the inHaus1 research facility in Duisburg, which covers approx. 1,000 m². |
| 2001-2005 | First phase of operation; development of ideas for five further business areas. |
| April 2007 | Start of the inHaus2 construction project with EU and BMBF funding. |
| October 2008 | Completion of version 1.0 of inHaus2. |
| November 5, 2008 | Opening of inHaus2. |
| July 2013 | Opening of the “hospital of the future” in inHaus2. |
| June 2014 | Creation of the “office of the future” in the Living Lab. |
| October 2017 | Wolfgang Gröting takes over the management of the Fraunhofer inHaus center. |
| 2017 | The inHaus center is developing into a center of innovation for all aspects of health. |
| 2020 | The SmartCity Innovation Center in Duisburg is opened. |
| 2024 | The Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence Duisburg (ZaKI.D) is moving into inHaus2. |
An increasing number of patients and a decreasing number of staff: today, the health and social services sector is facing a variety of challenges. In order to address these, the topic of “Health and Senior Care” is represented in the demonstration and development platform inHaus2.
In cooperation with industry and research, future scenarios and use cases for the provision of care in the future are being developed. In doing so, building automation, sensor technologies, robotics and information and communication technologies are linked.
One example is the inBad project, which supports care in multigenerational households. New technologies remind seniors or people with disabilities to take care of their personal hygiene and medication in order to promote their independence and enable them to live longer in their familiar surroundings.
“Hospital Engineering” - The hospital of the future
The “Hospital Engineering” laboratory was opened at the Fraunhofer inHaus Center under the direction of the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering ISST. Covering an area of 350 square meters, it realistically reproduces all the essential functional areas of a hospital and serves as a research and cooperation platform with over 80 partners.
In order to find out which requirements future living concepts should fulfill, the inHaus center offers a professional environment for the development of new technology, system and application solutions. The main focus is on energy-saving solutions and assistance systems for older people. A living laboratory and a technology workshop support the activities.
Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems