Hybrid workshop at Fraunhofer IESE: Autonomik as a new interdisciplinary field

On September 9, the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE hosted a hybrid workshop on the topic of Autonomik. This term refers to a new interdisciplinary field that not only deals with the technical fundamentals and methods for autonomous systems, but also integrates social, economic, and legal issues. The goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the complex effects of autonomous technologies and to shape them responsibly. The need for this interdisciplinary field arises from the increasing importance of autonomous systems. Interdisciplinary cooperation between individual disciplines (computer science, social sciences, law, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, economics, structural sciences) is essential for their development and implementation, but is increasingly proving to be a bottleneck. Autonomik allows autonomous systems to be viewed, developed, and deployed holistically, taking into account the obstacles to implementing visions of the future. Since these obstacles are not purely technical in nature, Autonomik is a cross-disciplinary field. It forms the basis for the development and operation of autonomous systems.

Hybrider Workshop am Fraunhofer IESE: Autonomik als neue Querschnittsdisziplin
© Fraunhofer IESE
Hybrid Autonomik Workshop with Prof. Patrick Wolf, Dr. Rasmus Adler, Prof. Katharina Zweig, Prof. Henning Kagermann, Prof. Rolf Ernst, Prof. Peter Liggesmeyer, Werner Weiss, and Dr. Achim Wagner (from left to right)

The Autonomik Workshop was attended by leading experts from academia and industry and served as a first step toward structuring autonomics as an independent discipline. During the workshop, participants discussed and defined the topics and thematic components that should outline the discipline. Participants in the workshop included:

  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Liggesmeyer (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Fraunhofer IESE & scientific spokesperson for the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board)
  • Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Henning Kagermann (Acatech)
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rolf Ernst (TU Braunschweig)
  • Prof. Dr. Katharina Zweig (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau)
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Ruskowski (DKFI, SmartFactory-KL & RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau)
  • Dr.-Ing. habil. Achim Wagner (SmartFactory-KL)
  • Dr. Rasmus Adler (Fraunhofer IESE)
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Patrick Wolf (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau & Fraunhofer IESE)
  • Werner Weiss (Insiders Technologies)

Prof. Dr. Karsten Berns (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Norbert Wehn (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau), Prof. Dr. Eckart Bueren (Georg August University of Göttingen), and Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Wahlster (DFKI) are also significantly involved in the development of this new interdisciplinary field.

The key findings of the workshop will now serve as a basis for defining research priorities and developing joint guidelines for technology, society, and regulation.

"Autonomik addresses unanswered questions relating to autonomous systems that are necessary to make the next generation of autonomous systems safe, trustworthy, and socially acceptable. I am convinced that, among the multitude of applications of autonomous systems, there is a common set of necessary capabilities that define the core of autonomics," emphasized Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Liggesmeyer.

Further information on Autonomik as a new, independent discipline is available at the following link: www.autonomik.de.[in German]

Last modified: