Nautics and maritime robotics are of great importance in the exploration and use of the seas and oceans. Nautical science deals with the navigation, operation and safety of water vehicles, while maritime robotics involves the use of autonomous robots in maritime environments.

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In all energy sectors, the transition of the energy system requires an economical and reliable conversion from fossil to renewable energy sources. The centre of this transition process is the electricity sector with its transport and distribution grid structures that have grown over many years. Large quantities of weather-dependent wind and photovoltaic systems as well as electrical loads like electromobility and electrical heat supply have to be integrated. Despite these foreseeable technological developments, the on-site implementation of the energy transition is still largely unknown. There are currently major uncertainties regarding future temporal and local grid loads and resulting needs for grid expansions. Solutions are therefore needed in the planning process and operation management of distribution grids to minimise technical and economic risks caused by these uncertainties. This also includes new control and regulation algorithms that permanently balance grid load and generation.

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In the field of microelectronics, international competition is fiercer than in most other technology sectors. Here, rapidly increasing performance and constant advances in miniaturization are the characteristics of decades of development. The performance of new computer chips doubles approximately every two years. More and more transistors can be integrated into a single microprocessor. Launched by Intel in 1971, the first ever commercially available processor consisted of around 2,000 transistors. Nowadays, the number of transistors far exceeds billions. New miniaturization technologies for device components are currently under development in global university and industry associations.

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Within the framework of the LOEWE-RITSAT project, the development of radio-frequency (RF) ion thrusters for space applications has been funded in the period from 2012 to 2015 by the state of Hesse. This project allowed THM University of Applied Sciences to establish the Space Electronics research group which engages in research and development in the area of electrical space propulsion systems.

The working group belongs to the joint focus on spaceflight of the JLU and the THM. As part of the further development and establishment of research structures, it was funded as a junior research group by the State of Hesse from the Innovation and Structural Development Budget 2016 to 2020 of the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts (HMWK).

Since 2012, THM – represented by the Electrical Engineering and Information Technology department – in collaboration with University of Giessen – represented by the Institute of Experimental Physics I. – is involved in the development and optimization of RF ion thrusters. This particular thruster technology has an almost 60-year old tradition closely linked to Giessen and has its origins in Prof. Horst Löb’s pioneer work from the 1960s. Besides this, RF ion thrusters have already been utilized for commercial satellites. Nowadays, further developments are worked on in close collaboration with industrial partners, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the European Space Agency (ESA), which also act as supervisors for space testing.

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Organic semiconductive materials allow for the manufacturing of electronical device components via conventional print procedures. “Printed electronics” is the umbrella term for the innovative development of new materials, which are to make these low-cost technologies competitive. As of yet, his technology is far from reaching the storage capacity and performance of silicon technology, which may even remain to be the case in the future. Nevertheless, this approach still has advantages to offer  – especially with regards to fields such as applications for large-scale electronics (display, sensor surfaces, illumination systems, antenna etc.).

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The Hesse region is known for its high amount of companies from the optics and optoelectronics industries. Correspondingly, most of the subjects covered by our “Digital Image Processing, Photonics and Microelectronics” research group focus on the optoelectronical field.

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