biointelligent systems
merging nature with technology
Depending on which continent you look at, up to five Earths would be necessary to meet humanity’s needs in terms of health, energy, food, housing, mobility and consumption. Yet the capacity of our single planet’s ecosystems is far from sufficient for this purpose and our economic activity, work and life are straining them beyond their ability to regenerate. In order to master this essential societal challenge, digital transformation must go hand in hand with biological transformation, applying fundamental knowledge of nature to technology and consequently also to biointelligent systems. For this purpose a professorship or chair of “Biointelligent Systems Engineering” is to be established at the University of Hohenheim.
© Fraunhofer IPA / Foto: Rainer Bez
"In the future, biointelligent concepts, productions and systems will have a decisive influence on the prosperity both of Baden-Württemberg and of Germany as a whole.” (Dr. Manfred Wittenstein)
The Wittenstein Foundation is supporting this cooperation financially and is committed to bringing biointelligence into widespread use while strengthening public awareness of the issues.
Potential for far-reaching transformation
More far-reaching and longer-term incentives will be called for, similar to digitalization, to support local industry’s transformation into a biointelligent value chain. Research into, and the further development of, key basic technologies at the interface between biology, hardware and software will be crucial here, as will their systematic integration into businesses and value systems. An adequate knowledge and methods base that would allow application to industry is so far lacking here. Against this background, the objective of the cooperation between Fraunhofer IPA, the University of Hohenheim and the Wittenstein Foundation is to play a defining and leading role in the ongoing development of biointelligent systems engineering. To this end, a Chair of “Biointelligent Systems Engineering” is being established at the University of Hohenheim.
Biointelligence professorship
The Professorship (W3) of Biointelligent Systems Engineering, which is a joint appointment with the Directorship of the Research Group “Engineering of Biointelligent Production and Systems” at the University of Hohenheim is currently in the process of being filled.