Business

The focus is on the development of fully 3D-printed grippers and sensors for robotics. Additive manufacturing allows sensor structures—such as those for force, displacement, or slip detection—to be integrated directly into gripper jaws and robot modules. This results in sensitive, shape-adaptive gripping systems that can reliably handle even delicate or irregularly shaped objects: functionally integrated, customizable, and cost-effective to manufacture.

Machine learning and neural networks make robots more perceptive and flexible. The research ranges from image-based object and position recognition (e.g., in bin picking) to reliable human-machine differentiation using thermal and camera data, and adaptive grasping and motion strategies. The goal is to develop robotics that understands its environment and collaborates safely and efficiently with humans.

Collaborative robots share their workspace directly with humans. Researchers are exploring methods for safe speed and distance monitoring, as well as intuitive control concepts—such as eye tracking with sensory feedback—that support people in their work and daily lives. Beyond the technology itself, the psychological aspects of collaboration—including acceptance, trust, and the interaction between humans and machines—are also being examined in collaboration with researchers in the field of Wirtschaftspsychologie. There is also a special focus on change management processes when introducing such systems into companies—ensuring that robotic solutions not only function technically but also succeed organizationally and on a human level.

See also Psychology of AI Adoption and Human-AI Interaction

The digitization of engineering processes is a core discipline of industrial engineering. In addition to powerful software tools, methodology plays a crucial role. Only the combination of digital tools, well-established methodologies, and AI-supported, simulation-based optimization enables the planning and implementation of modern, competitively superior production and factory structures. Join us in building the factory/production facility of the future! See more Labor Virtuelles Engineering.

Modern factory planning integrates production engineering, logistics, and architecture. Our research cluster designs sustainable factory and organizational structures using digital twins. Through virtual 3D planning, material flow simulation, and digital ergonomics studies, we correct errors on the computer before the first brick is laid. We offer companies a scientifically validated platform for value stream analysis and innovative training concepts. Take advantage of our Virtual Engineering Lab to ensure a successful digital transformation.

Are you looking for the right management tool for your business? Accurate cost and performance accounting forms the foundation for your planning and control. Since off-the-shelf solutions often fail to accommodate a company’s specific processes, we support you in developing customized systems. Together, we’ll analyze your company’s unique characteristics and design a controlling structure optimized to meet your goals. Take advantage of our scientific expertise to achieve full cost transparency and make well-informed business decisions.

Would you like to harness the potential of artificial intelligence for your financial controlling? AI-based methods such as machine learning and generative language models open up new possibilities for more accurate forecasts, automated variance analyses, and more efficient reporting. Since the successful implementation of AI always depends on your company’s data, processes, and structures, we support you in identifying suitable areas of application and developing tailor-made solutions. Together, we’ll analyze your management accounting processes, evaluate the benefits of specific AI applications, and design the collaboration between people and machines in your corporate management. Leverage our scientific expertise to improve the quality of your decisions and position your management accounting for the future.

This research project focuses on ensuring that management decisions are legally sound under the law. Under the law, executives must always act on the basis of “reasonable information”—a term that often raises questions in practice. We offer you a scientifically sound, clear framework for the structured evaluation of information. The goal is to provide you with a practical tool that you can use to demonstrably and effectively minimize liability risks in day-to-day business operations.

Nowadays, a good product alone is often no longer enough to set yourself apart from the competition. The trend is toward hybrid business models that combine goods and services. We provide you with expert guidance as you expand your industrial service marketing (servitization). Together, we analyze your customers’ needs, design innovative service offerings, and develop appropriate pricing models for goods that require explanation. This enables you to create genuine added value and successfully differentiate yourself from your competitors.

Digital transformation requires flexible sales strategies across all channels. We investigate the success factors of modern direct marketing campaigns and digital e-commerce platforms on your behalf. Through practical, ongoing studies and joint research projects, we analyze the opportunities and risks of digital sales channels. We provide companies with well-founded scientific analyses and clear, easy-to-implement recommendations that enable you to optimize your digital customer touchpoints and measurably increase your sales rates.

In the global B2B marketplace, long-term and profitable customer relationships are the key to success. Our research division helps you optimize your customer relationship management (CRM) using data-driven approaches. We examine the precise correlations between customer satisfaction, trust, and long-term loyalty. Through targeted measures, we help you positively influence these factors. Take advantage of our scientific analytical methods to strengthen your customer relationships in a sustainable way and secure valuable market advantages.

Successful strategic decisions require a solid data foundation. To minimize the risk of making mistakes, we support you with methodologically sound marketing research. Using modern quantitative and qualitative analysis methods, we design market surveys and evaluate them for you using computer-assisted analysis. In doing so, we also make use of the innovative equipment in our university’s specialized laboratories. We provide companies and research partners with precise, understandable data and scientific evidence for complex market scenarios.

Harness the full potential of external knowledge to boost your innovative capacity. The concept of open innovation enables you to systematically integrate expert knowledge and the creativity of the crowd into your development processes. We research and test methods for efficiently integrating these external sources of inspiration. Benefit from our experience in designing fair incentive systems and legally sound models to keep top talent motivated over the long term. Together, we solve complex problems in an agile and collaborative manner.

Selling technical products that require explanation calls for a bridge between engineering expertise and sales talent. We explore precisely this intersection to make your sales processes more successful. Using modern approaches such as user experience (UX) engineering and empathy mapping, we help you gain a deep understanding of your customers’ true needs and workflows. Together, we develop compelling value propositions that are precisely tailored to your customers and secure a clear competitive advantage for you.

In a workplace shaped by digitalization and constant uncertainty, we explore the psychological leadership dynamics necessary for successful digital transformation and modern team leadership:

• New Leadership Skills: We examine the effective leadership of teams across digital tools and distances. Our focus is on changing requirements and expectations, as well as on the extent to which psychological safety, the willingness to admit mistakes, and the removal of destructive power barriers ensure (interprofessional) collaboration and the open transfer of knowledge.

• Empowering the Digital Organization: We analyze the role of leaders in digital transformation. The goal is to identify relevant future competencies for a holistic, psychological approach to change management in organizational behavior and to establish a resilient culture of error acceptance as the foundation for innovation and organizational learning.

The integration of artificial intelligence into the workplace is not merely a technological shift, but above all a disruptive psychological transformation of collaboration. We therefore examine the cognitive and emotional mechanisms that determine the acceptance and success of AI innovations in organizations. Our focus is on the psychological challenges that arise when technological change is perceived as a threat to identity or a fear of replacement, as well as on building and calibrating trust in algorithmic decisions. The goal is to collaboratively shape the interface between humans and AI by designing human oversight and targeted quality checks (quality gates) to ensure that human decision-makers retain a sense of control.

In the collaborative project (link to IMLA / Jürgen Seitz to follow), cooperation in multi-agent systems is optimized accordingly to sustainably improve the quality of work outcomes and increase acceptance and usage among employees.

See also Human-Robot Collaboration and Assistance Systems 

The Digital Supply Chain research group investigates how logistics and industrial value-creation systems can be made future-proof through digital technologies, AI, and interconnected data structures. The focus is on linking physical processes with information systems and on data-driven decision-making.

The group develops and tests solutions to increase transparency in processes and supply chains, improve decision-making, and foster greater collaboration among companies, systems, and stakeholders. Key areas of focus include AI-based process support, interoperable software architectures, IoT and tracking-and-tracing technologies, and data integration across supply chains.

Small- to medium-sized farms are forced to close down at a disproportionately high rate, in part because they cannot reach larger markets in an economically viable manner. However, these farms are essential for maintaining a resilient and sustainable food supply in Baden-Württemberg. The goal of various projects is to establish a logistics network—both organizationally and technically—that provides these farms with easy and adequate access to larger sales markets.

In the Upper Rhine region between Karlsruhe and Weil am Rhein, the potential for shifting freight traffic from road to rail remains untapped because access to economically viable transshipment facilities is either unavailable or unknown. Various approaches and networking initiatives are being used to support the shift to rail through specific projects.

The growing volume of global container traffic demands peak performance from rail infrastructure and transshipment terminals. We help you mathematically optimize the interfaces between rail, truck, and ship. Our focus is on intelligent planning algorithms that control operations and parking spaces in real time. This allows you to respond flexibly even to unforeseen events such as delays or rush orders. The result is minimal wait times, optimal capacity utilization, and more efficient processes for your terminal.

How can cities ensure sustainable supply and waste management in the future? The cargo bike, which is often mentioned in this context, may be part of that future, but it is not the ideal solution for a livable city center. Projects are underway in various cities across Germany to develop and implement alternatives.