Press / Media

In winter, avalanches pose the biggest danger in mountains. Avalanche monitoring is therefore of critical importance to ensure the safety of people and infrastructure. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR are breaking new ground in avalanche detection. Passive radar — which uses signals from the new Starlink and One-Web satellite mega-constellations — enables them to detect whether avalanches have actually been triggered after controlled detonations, even in remote regions without terrestrial infrastructure. In a feasibility study, the researchers proved that satellite mega-constellations are suitable for avalanche detection.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institutes IMS and FHR have successfully qualified for the second round of competitions for Fraunhofer Society's high performance centers with their work on "Terahertz Sensor Technology." This participation comes with funding of 3 million euros, spanning from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027.

From September 22 to 27, 2024, the European Microwave Week (EUMW) will take place in Paris. Fraunhofer FHR will present the latest developments and projects in radar and high-frequency technology at a joint booth with the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO and Fraunhofer IAF (Booth No. 202k).

Researchers at Fraunhofer FHR have successfully conducted initial experiments with the new target tracking radar of the TIRA facility: They produced a high-resolution radar image of the entire Moon’s surface visible from Earth - from a distance of 385,000 kilometers! By utilizing the motion of Earth and the Moon, a significantly larger, virtual aperture was created using the 34-meter antenna of the TIRA facility, thereby achieving high resolution imaging. This method of generating a synthetic antenna aperture (SAR) enables coherent imaging of the entire visible Moon’s surface.