Digitization is a major innovation driver for both companies and society. The permanent availability of networked and software- based systems, for example via the Internet, is a central customer requirement that is also relevant in the vehicle. These systems have the potential to provide a variety of additional services and functions in and around the vehicle.

The German automotive industry is strongly committed to pressing ahead with the development of electric mobility because climate protection, a growing scarcity of fossil fuels and an increased need for mobility due to rising population figures require new solutions and alternative propulsion systems. Electric vehicles can make a significant contribution to protecting the environment and avoiding emissions. Therefore, electric vehicles are a crucial component of the multipronged strategy of the German manufacturers and suppliers.

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd (VTT) has its sights set high. As a leading global research and development firm , VTT is out to produce bio-interfacing and biodegradable flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) devices that help tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges including environmental degradation and food scarcity.

The mobility and fuel strategy of the German government was presented . It forms part of the German government’s energy concept and illustrates in an open technological way how the turnaround in energy policy can be implemented in Germany’s transport sector.

MEMS technology has changed human interaction with electronic devices. Introduced in the 1990s, the first mass-market MEMS devices were used for inkjet printheads and automotive airbag crash sensors. Today, MEMS are ubiquitous, with billions of the tiny devices adding intelligence and interactivity to smartphones, smart speakers, wearables, automobiles, biomedical devices, remote monitoring and event detection systems, and countless other applications. Integrating MEMS with Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) is an important step in the evolution of this miniaturized intelligent sensing technology, paving the way for its use in new classes of flexible, conformal devices.

Today’s mobile devices are smaller, more power-efficient, and have more capability than we could have imagined just a decade ago. Offering ever-increasing levels of user functionality, mobile devices are now ubiquitous, and are rapidly becoming the primary mechanisms through which we interact with the digital world, our physical environment, and one another. An unintended side effect of our dependence on the current crop of mobile devices is that they are driving us to distraction.