Carrie the delivery drone saves lives

The annual “International Microwave Symposium” held in the USA is one of the most prestigious conferences in the field of high-frequency technology. In June 2025, the latest developments in the fields of 5G/6G communication, quantum systems and radar technology were presented by representatives from industry and science in San Francisco. A member of our department received an award at the ninth edition of the Three Minute Thesis competition.

The Three Minute Thesis, or 3MT for short, is a competition with a special character. In addition to technical expertise, the main focus here is on the ability to convey complex scientific content in a clear and understandable way. Unlike the regular conference presentations, which last 20 minutes, participants only have three minutes for their presentation. Anyone who exceeds this time is eliminated. Quickly switching between several PowerPoint slides is also not permitted - only a single, static slide may be used. This should also not contain any complicated diagrams, as the presentation is aimed at a non-specialist audience and a non-specialist jury. This competition has been an integral part of the International Microwave Symposium since 2017.

At the 2025 3MT event, our team member Tobias Welling was selected as one of 15 finalists following a review of his scientific paper and a pre-selection process. There he presented his publication “An 120GHz 8×8 FMCW MIMO Radar System With 90° Biaxial FOV for Autonomous Navigation of UAVs in 3-D Space”, prepared with co-authors David Starke (Fraunhofer IMS), Christian Bredendiek (Fraunhofer FHR), Valentina Palazzi (Università di Perugia), Tobias T. Braun and Nils Pohl, under the more tangible title “Carrie Saves”. In a close competition, he received the John Bandler Memorial Award. We are very proud of his achievement and congratulate him warmly!