Autonomous Commercial Vehicles, AI, and 6G: Research from Kaiserslautern at Hannover Messe 2025

Researchers at RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau are upgrading commercial vehicles with sensors, control technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) to enable them to independently perform work tasks. They demonstrate to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) how they can unlock new potential in production using AI methods. They are also investigating how the future mobile communications standard 6G could improve preventive healthcare. From March 31 to April 4, the 6G platform coordinated at RPTU, which consolidates 6G research in Germany, and the “Offene Digitalisierungsallianz Pfalz”, which promotes the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and technologies with businesses and society, will also be showcased at Hannover Messe.

A crane truck that independently picks up tree trunks. A semi-autonomous excavator that excavates a pit as if by magic. A drilling crawler operating on a steep slope that sets anchor points for slope stabilization without human intervention. A Unimog that paves its way through difficult terrain. A rescue robot that autonomously surveys the situation and locates victims in disaster areas. These are just five examples of developments that Professor Karsten Berns' research group at the Robotics Research Laboratory is working on. Mowing vehicles and agricultural machines are also part of the research objects.

Machines or vehicles like these are usually highly specialized and complex to operate. Systems that automate individual processes or the entire machine can provide support. "Automation or partial automation has the potential to relieve humans in tasks that require continuous high concentration and specialized know-how," explains Karsten Berns . "Additionally, autonomous machines could be an answer to the growing shortage of skilled workers."

What do autonomous vehicles have that others do not? Thanks to methods for environmental sensing, adaptive control architectures, and human-robot interaction approaches, they can independently perform a wide range of tasks. They are equipped with camera and sensor systems as well as powerful computing capabilities. “Stereo cameras and laser technology enable transport and work machines to recognize and capture their environment,” says Sascha Steffens. “Artificial intelligence, specifically deep learning methods, are used to classify the flood of measurements and help with their organization.”

Bringing expertise for sustainable AI innovations into businesses

Artificial intelligence also holds enormous potential in production. The necessary expertise is what the Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Production Systems at RPTU, the Fraunhofer Institutes for Experimental Software Engineering IESE and for Industrial Mathematics ITWM, as well as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) aim to bring to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Rhineland-Palatinate. Their project “KI4KMU-RLP,” funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture, and Viticulture of Rhineland-Palatinate, thus bridges the gap between research and industry. “The key issue is that SME often encounter difficulties when applying the latest AI technologies and therefore hesitate”, explains Marco Hussong, a scientific staff member at the FBK chair.

The research team’s offer: Manufacturing SMEs can now apply until June 15, 2025, to participate in an AI potential analysis, followed by the implementation of selected use cases. Each company will be supported by one of the four research partners all the way to the implementation of a demonstrator.

Marco Hussong is the contact person for interested companies: “Many companies already possess extensive digitally available production-related data, which can serve as a valuable foundation for the application of AI. These are exactly the types of SME we are looking for to participate in the research project.” Further criteria for participation include that the company is located in Rhineland-Palatinate.

6G Platform brings together research activities

In order to bring 6G technologies into application, various universities and research institutions in Germany are working closely together. They are researching topics such as 6G standards and processes, data security, highly reliable data transmission, network availability and new computer networks, for example. All of these efforts are anchored in a 6G platform coordinated at RPTU by Professor Hans Dieter Schotten and his team.

With the help of 6G technology, biosensors in personalized medicine, personal avatars for road traffic safety, or support in the workplace could be possible in the future. 6G will also likely play a key role in achieving climate goals.

“To bring together 6G research more effectively, we are working closely together within the platform,” says coordinator Professor Hans Dieter Schotten, who heads the Institute of Radio Communication and Navigation at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau and the Intelligent Networks research department at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). Among other things, this involves ensuring that the technology works securely and reliably. Energy efficiency and sustainability are also key considerations in this context.

At the Hanover Fair, the 6G platform will present its research projects at two joint booths, alongside the newly established “Start-Up Incubators,” with their respective funded start-ups. One of the incubators, “Start.Smart.Connect Kaiserslautern” (SSC KL), is based at RPTU.

How 6G can revolutionize preventive healthcare

The upcoming mobile communication standard 6G gives the potential to drive digitalization in healthcare. The aggregation of data from wearable sensors could help render preventive healthcare measures more efficient. What infrastructure is needed for this is being explored by researchers at RPTU and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI).

At the core of this research is the human health: “With rapid advancements, especially in human-machine communication, the 6G technology opens up numerous groundbreaking applications in medicine,” explains Jan Herbst, member of the research team. “Focusing on effective preventive healthcare, we aim to enable doctors to monitor their patients’ health more efficiently and detect critical conditions and risks at an early stage.”

The researchers are developing a demonstrator integrating sensors, such as those used in fitness trackers, using mobile communications and proposing a unified communication standard, making biomedical data accessible. Additionally, they are providing the network protocol that serves as the foundation for data exchange and aggregation across all system units. The goal is to create a comprehensive, personalized picture of an individual’s health status.

The demonstrator is being developed within the Open6GHub and 6G Health research projects. The Open6GHub, coordinated by Professor Hans Dieter Schotten, who geads the Institute of Radio Communication and Navigation at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau and the Intelligent Networks research department at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). In addition to RPTU and DFKI, other universities and research institutes are involved.

Offene Digitalisierungsallianz Pfalz acts as a bridge-builder
The knowledge gained from research should not remain in a drawer. That’s why Offene Digitalisierungsallianz Pfalz, as part of the federal-state initiative “Innovative Hochschule,” strengthens the regional exchange of knowledge, ideas, and technologies with business and society. The alliance includes RPTU, the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM), and the Leibniz Institute for Composite Materials Kaiserslautern (IVW). 

Offene Digitalisierungsallianz Pfalz is advancing the regional innovation system, particularly in the context of digitalization. Among the future topics the alliance partners are pushing forward are work, collaborative digital engineering, health, citizen science, and creativity.

Offene Digitalisierungsallianz Pfalz sees itself as an interface between science, business, and society. “We create platforms to bring knowledge, ideas, and technologies from research into business and society. In return, we gather current needs from business and society to expand our transfer offerings,” explains Transfer Manager Chantal Momber, describing the goals of the collaborative project.

Transfer offerings include events, with a focus on participatory formats. A recent example is the citizen science project “BewegungsForscher,” in which citizens, together with researchers from RPTU and IVW, are developing a novel foot drop orthosis. This is a medical aid that helps lift the foot and stabilizes the walking gait.

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Klaus Dosch, Department of Technology and Innovation, is organizing the presentation of the researchers of the RPTU Kaiserslautern at the fair. He is the contact partner for companies and, among other things, establishes contacts to science. Contact: Klaus Dosch, E-mail: Dosch(at)]rptu.de, Phone: +49 631 205-3001