The research vision of the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Sciences has its focus on new methods and technologies for the development of “Intelligent and Reliable Technical Systems”. Important application areas are information and communications technology, logistics, traffic and energy, as well as life and medical sciences. Research activities concentrate on the integration of sensor and actuator components into high performance systems, and on information processing for complex systems.  

Microelectronics and Material Sciences work on innovative methods and structures down to nanometer scale applied to semiconductors and other materials. Target applications are electronic, optoelectronic and – more recently – micro-mechanical, micro-thermal and micro-fluidal components. Applications in information and communications technology are addressed by projects on innovative circuit design for novel semiconductor materials and surface-emitting laser technology for fibre-optic data transmission, for example. 

Projects in the area of Automation and Energy cover long distance robotics, in-vehicle security systems, measurement and simulation methods for micro-electrical and micro-mechanical components, energy management for autonomous systems, environmentally friendly energy conversion including fuel cells and efficient power engines, and electric power supply for railways. 

Research in the area of Information and Communication focuses on the fundamental principles of compression, storage, transmission, security, and reliability of digital data communication systems. Application areas such as cellular phones, wireless and wired communication systems and microwave sensor technology are investigated. Of particular interest are the required hardware components, high frequency and microwave circuits, optical communication modules as well as topics in data distribution and processing. Voice recognition based concepts for user-friendly access to information systems are also under development. Additional research activities cover documentation systems and multimodal databases. The efficient conversion of innovative algorithms into highly integrated hardware completes this field of research. 

The area Controllability of Large, Complex, Integrated Technical Systems focuses on the basic technology (e.g., distributed operating systems, autonomous agents, autonomous mobile robots, embedded/real time systems, including media) and on novel user interfaces (innovative human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing). The systematic implementation of those systems (e.g., simulation and modelling, verification, software engineering) is also covered. Design considerations in a broader sense including social aspects are addressed as well. Scientific research in the area of complex system design is believed to have a significant influence on the future development of the society as a whole. 

Research activities in Concepts and Solutions of Computer Sciences for Life Sciences include bioinformatics (e.g. biomedical data analysis), biologically and medically motivated approaches in computer science (e.g. DNA-computing, neural networks, learning methods, pattern recognition), as well as the application of formalisms, computer science methods and tools to modelling and simulation of problems in life sciences. 

Process-Oriented Software Systems and Techniques primarily include the modelling and software-based control of production, business- and distribution processes. These range from basic theoretical questions (which are related to planning, knowledge management and tele-cooperation for example). The technological implementation (e.g., workflow management, middleware platforms or web services) is also part of these activities.