HLRS and Fraunhofer IPA Begin Cooperation

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At the signing ceremony in November 2020. L-R: Raoul Schönhof (Team Leader for Machine Learning, Fraunhofer IPA), Bastian Koller (Managing Director, HLRS), Michael Resch (Director, HLRS), Marco Huber (Department Leader, Fraunhofer IPA). Photo: Fraunhofer.

The partnership will explore new applications of high-performance computing, high-performance data analytics, machine learning, and quantum computing in the manufacturing sector.

The High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (Fraunhofer IPA) have long been neighbors on Stuttgart's Nobelstraße. Under a new cooperation agreement, the two organizations will grow even closer as Fraunhofer will gain access to HLRS's high-performance computing (HPC) systems and expertise. The partners will also work together closely on issues of mutual interest related to applications of advanced computing technologies in industry.

Fraunhofer IPA conducts research to address organizational and technological issues across the entire manufacturing sector. This includes new technologies to improve methods, components, machines, and production lines used in manufacturing. Considering the increasing availability of large data sets and powerful tools for simulation and artificial intelligence, the use of advanced computing technologies operated by HLRS could help accelerate the development of new kinds of technologies that make manufacturing more efficient and sustainable.

The new cooperation agreement will focus on applications of high-performance computing that have become important for Fraunhofer IPA's research in recent years. This could include, for example, performing analyses of large data sets to improve manufacturing processes, or using HPC to verify the accuracy of machine learning applications for human-robot collaboration. Under the agreement, HLRS and Fraunhofer also plan to explore new challenges and opportunities related to quantum computing.

As HLRS General Manager Bastian Koller explained, the Fraunhofer IPA partnership opens a number of new opportunities for HLRS: "The partnership will enable us to develop and improve solutions that integrate high-performance computing, high-performance data analytics, and artificial intelligence in ways that best support our users. It could also provide new impulses for HLRS's efforts to support the adoption of HPC and related technologies into industry."

See this press release from Fraunhofer IPA for more information about the partnership.