Bringing together European industry and academia stakeholders to establish roadmaps regarding related technologies- An interview with Frank Hofmann

THE BOSCH GROUP - COREnect’s partner

THE BOSCH GROUP is a leading global supplier of technology and services. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. As a leading IoT company, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, smart cities, connected mobility, and connected manufacturing.

It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services and its own IoT cloud to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to create solutions for a connected life. Bosch improves the quality of life worldwide with innovative products and services that spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch builds technology that is “Invented for life.”

Within COREnect Bosch will bring in its expertise as one of the leading suppliers in the automotive world and especially the profound knowledge in vehicular communication, as a significant player in industry 4.0 with communication as core and as a semiconductor company providing sensor solutions as well as ASICs for automotive, industrial and consumer applications.

Dr. Frank Hofmann is chief expert in Corporate Research at Robert Bosch GmbH in Hildesheim, Germany. In this role, he is responsible for the strategy in research for communication systems. In addition, he leads a research group specialised in different communication and localisation topics.

Besides, he is active in several consortia, e.g.

5G Automotive Association, Car2Car Communication Consortium and led the consortium of the public funded project 5G NetMobil. He holds a Diploma in electrical engineering of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and received his Ph.D. from the University of Hanover.

In his career, he got involved in the RF and baseband receiver ASIC development of DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) and Galileo as well as in the system design and standardisation of DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale).

H

is current main interest comprises all wireless communication systems, emphasising 5G/6G and vehicle-to-x communication.

How did you join COREnect? What is your role in the project?

In Bosch we work closely with universities, research institutes and industry partners, and this continuous exchange paved the way for a joint project. The EU call was a great chance to cooperate on research topics and contribute to the strategic roadmap of core technologies for future connectivity systems building technological sovereignty.

Our company mainly represents two roles: we are a vertical industry for automotive, industrial automation and building technology, and we are a semiconductor company. This combination makes it doubly interesting to participate. 

What are your expectations from a project of this nature for your organisation?

We see 5G and 6G as crucial technologies for our company and the need to adopt a solid strategy within Europe. With this project we have the chance to bring together European industry and academia stakeholders to establish roadmaps regarding related technologies like computing, communication, and associated semiconductor technologies. 

The opportunity with this cross-domain community, from my knowledge the first time comprising verticals, microelectronics industry and telecommunication industry, is huge. Our expectation is to achieve a good understanding of the value chain and explore future business.  

In your view, could COREnect impact the European strategy in microelectronics and connectivity in the next 10 years, and how??

New technical trends and a change in the eco-system threaten Europe’s position. Digital technologies can increasingly influence economic, social, and political outcomes. COREnect will impact the European strategy based on the cooperation of major players in microelectronics and telecommunications and the application know-how of verticals. The expected development of a strategic roadmap of core technologies is an important outcome. The promotion of the project results has already started at different events at the EuCNC. The project outcomes comprise a vision and strategy definition, a description of core technologies, and resulting guidelines and recommendations.

Personally, connectivity and autonomous driving are close to my heart, and related technologies should be considered in the European strategy.