Fraunhofer society
The Fraunhofer Society (German Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) is a German research organization named after the german physicist Joseph von Fraunhofer, with 57 institutes spread over Germany each focusing on different fields of applied science, as opposed to the Max-Plank-Gesellschaft, which works mostly on basic science. Some basic funding for the Fraunhofer Society is provided by the state (the federal government together with the german LÃÂänder "owns" the Fraunhofer Society), but about two thirds of the funding are earned through contract work, either for government sponsered projects or from industry.It was named after Joseph von Fraunhofer, since he is deemed to have been a scientist, engineer and entrepreneur in one person, exemplyfing the goals of the society.
Some notable projects
- The MP3 compression algorithm was invented and patented by Fraunhofer IIS
- They are developing a program for use at IKEA stores, which would allow people to take a picture of their home into a store, and view a fully assembled, digital adaptation of their room.
External links
- http://www.fraunhofer.de