Current research projects
Table of contents
CeTI
Cluster of Excellence “Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop” (CeTI)
The Next Stage of Digitalization: Humans and Machines Interact in Real Time
The “Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop” at TU Dresden aims to take human-machine collaboration to a new level. In the future, people will be able to interact in real time with networked automated systems in the real or virtual world.
For more information, visit the CeTI website.
Chiplet4Saxony
Chiplet Supply Chain in Saxony
Advanced IC integration technology for research and mid-volume production in the European market
Subtopic: Design, verification, and characterization of an interface
circuit for highly energy-efficient chiplet communication
Project Duration: December 1 , 2024, to February 28, 2027
Funding: Co-financed by the EU and the Free State of Saxony (100726094)
This project will lay the groundwork for offering chiplet systems in the European market. An input/output circuit will be designed that transmits and receives data between chiplets with low power consumption and high speed. The communication channel within the IC package will be modeled, and the model will be validated through measurements. A demonstrator system consisting of a chiplet and a package will be manufactured within a partner network to demonstrate the technology’s maturity.
Further information: Chiplet4Saxony
EBRAINS 2.0
A Research Infrastructure to Advance Neuroscience and Brain Health, GA 101147319
Subproject: Base infrastructure (WP6)
Duration: January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2026
Funding: EU
WP 6 coordinates, plans, and integrates access to base infrastructure, including cloud resources, storage, High-Performance Computing (HPC), and Neuromorphic Computing (NMC) resources from internal and external providers (e.g., EuroHPC JU and FENIX, NN resources, commercial cloud providers, and neuromorphic computing centers) to ensure the long-term sustainability of EBRAINS beyond the project’s conclusion. The operation and maintenance of the base infrastructure resources are among the primary responsibilities of WP6, which must be carried out in a manner that ensures sustainability. We will develop a sustainable base infrastructure roadmap through a co-design approach together with internal and external stakeholders. The goal is to further formalize interfaces, improve support for, and align requirements with HPC providers—particularly those offering petascale and exascale systems—as well as federated infrastructure services, data processing facilities, and other resource providers. Building on best practices from the HBP and ICEI, we will provide resource allocation and management for internal and external EBRAINS users. We also aim to support standard processing workflows (potentially multi-site) by facilitating the use of containers and standard virtual machines. In partnership with WP5 and WP7, a multi-tiered support system will be established, including a scientific service team to assist users in undertaking novel scientific endeavors. We will also facilitate the processing of sensitive data in the cloud to the best of our ability and take initial steps to enable the processing of such data on high-performance computing resources
Neuromorphic Computing on ebrains.eu
ESCADE
Subproject: Neuromorphic Hardware for Sustainable AI Data Centers
Duration: May 1, 2023, to April 30, 2026
Funding: BMFTR (01MN23004F)
(Funding Program “Digital Technologies for the Economy,” Innovation Competition “Green Tech”)
Energy-Efficient Large-Scale Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Data Centers. ESCADE aims to develop sustainable end-to-end solutions that ensure the operation of energy-efficient data centers using innovative chip technologies, through the design of use cases (Sustainable AI Use Cases) and the development of AI applications based on cognitive AI technologies.
OptimAIse
Optimizing Performance and Trust for Integrity-Driven Modular genAI Software Engineering (101296742)
Duration: June 1, 2026, through May 31, 2029
Call: HORIZON-CL4-2025-04
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI (GenAI) development faces critical software engineering challenges (e.g., performance, modularity, automation, trustworthiness…) that prevent EU SMEs and small research groups from taking the global lead and threaten EU sovereignty. OptimAIse addresses these challenges by delivering a scalable, modular,
and interoperable reference architecture that leverages European hardware to enable efficient and simplified deployments of large language models. A flexible framework—designed to deliver streamlined operations and greater productivity for developers—combines an adaptive orchestration engine (continuous performance optimization with energy and
sustainability safeguards) with tools that embed explainability, robustness, and fairness as core artifacts. In addition, an end-to-end cryptographically secure traceability infrastructure ensures transparency, reproducibility, and compliance with the EU AI Act.
The OptimAIse approach will be validated in a relevant environment (TRL6) through industrial use cases, highlighting specific challenges for GenAI in healthcare and robotics, and incorporating an AI Factory into the development and validation processes. Led by key players in the field, a thorough evaluation using qualitative and quantitative indicators across two rounds of pilot tests will enable adjustments and refinements aimed at improvement, broader adoption, scaling, and adaptation to different scenarios, thereby opening tangible pathways for commercialization.
A multidisciplinary consortium comprising 7 SMEs—including a leading accelerator network—3 research centers, 1 university, and 2 public administrations—is joining forces, leveraging their expertise and experience from past and ongoing projects—while also boosting synergies in dissemination, communication, and exploitation activities—to ensure the successful achievement of the objectives, positioning Europe at the forefront of high-performance and trustworthy GenAI.
Main tasks at TUD:
Work Package WP2 — European AI-oriented hardware optimization
Objectives
- Identification of hardware requirements and baselines for GenAI on SpiNNaker2? and STX.
- Development and training of sparse and communication-efficient GenAI models optimized for European hardware
- SpiNNaker2 and STX.
- Implementation of software libraries for integrating SpiNNaker2 and STX into existing ML frameworks.
- Integration into the OptimAIse architecture and pipelines, and development of efficient GenAI models.
PRIMI
Performance in Robots Interaction via Mental Imagery (101120727)
Duration: November 1 , 2023, through December 31, 2027
Funding: EU (Horizon Europe)
The next generation of personal robotic systems must achieve a level of cognition and motor intelligence that enables autonomy in any environment, effective interaction with humans, and the ability to adapt their actions to a wide range of open, dynamic situations. Robots are expected to be able to predict perceptual and functional changes resulting from human actions and replicate human activities while taking their own capabilities and limitations into account.
The required human-like physical performance and reasoning cannot be achieved using mainstream AI and robotics paradigms, because these lack the necessary co-design of body (robot) and mind (AI) and rely on inefficient computing and sensing resources that cannot be scaled up to the required level. To go beyond what is currently possible, PRIMI will synergistically combine research and development in neurophysiology, psychology, machine intelligence, cognitive mechatronics, neuromorphic engineering, and humanoid robotics to build developmental models of higher-cognition abilities—mental imagery, abstract reasoning, and theory of mind—enhanced by energy-efficient, event-driven computing and sensing. It will produce a new unifying concept for the next generation of autonomous interaction technologies, capable of more autonomous, faster, safer, and precise interaction with real-time learning and adaptation, thanks to the integration of the capabilities to mentally represent themselves, the physical and social worlds, recall experiences, and simulate actions. PRIMI’s ambition is to bring about a paradigm shift in AI and robotics to create truly autonomous, socially interactive robots, which will offer new technological perspectives for transforming personal robotic services.
As proof of principle for this technological advancement in a relevant scenario, prototypes of neuromorphic humanoid robots will be validated in clinical pilot studies of robot-led physical rehabilitation for stroke survivors.
Project website, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), YouTube
ScaDS.AI
Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence
ScaDS.AI (Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence) Dresden/Leipzig is a center for data science, artificial intelligence, and big data with locations in Dresden and Leipzig. It is one of five new AI centers in Germany funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space and the Free State of Saxony as part of the German government’s AI strategy. It is established as a permanent research institution at both locations with strong ties to the local universities—TUD Dresden University of Technology and the University of Leipzig.
SECAI
School of Embedded Composite Artificial Intelligence
The School of Embedded Composite Artificial Intelligence (SECAI) is a project of TU Dresden and the University of Leipzig aimed at promoting artificial intelligence (AI) in research and education. SECAI awards scholarships, strengthens teaching, funds researchers, and promotes international exchange.
For more information, please visit the project website.
SEMECO-A2
Subproject A2: Intelligent Communication Implant (InKomm)
Duration: May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2029
Funding: BMFTR (03ZU2210FF)
The SEMECO Future Cluster, centered around the TUD Dresden University of Technology, offers ideal conditions for innovative and sustainable collaboration through the Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Digital Health, the 5G++Lab Germany, and the Barkhausen Institute—all located at Europe’s leading academic and industrial hub for microelectronics, communications technology, and explainable AI—that is, artificial intelligence whose decision-making processes are comprehensible and interpretable to humans. As part of the Future Clusters Initiative (Clusters4Future), an ecosystem is emerging that taps into the innovation and future potential of the semiconductor and microsystems technology industry for medical technology, reconciles legitimate regulatory and safety requirements, and develops applications for the market.
Further information can be found on the project website.
Spinnaker3
Event-based hardware platform for Artificial General Intelligence
The goal of this project is to develop a new hardware architecture based on the established
SpiNNaker concept, thereby laying the foundation for the world’s most efficient hardware platform for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
Duration: July 25 , 2025, to May 31, 2028
Funding: Co-funded by the EU and the Free State of Saxony (100759174)
Further information: Spinnaker3
SuperComp
Supercomputing-based solutions for digitalized manufacturing and supply chains
Subtopic:
MEGaComp - Multidisciplinary development of new design approaches for robust production and logistics processes using supercomputing
Duration: September 1, 2025, through March 31, 2028
Funding: EU co-funding (100780614)
Further information: SuperComp
