International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW)

Completed Projects of the Research Focus Technology Ethics

HEIMDALL (2017-2021)

Multi-Hazard Cooperative Management Tool for Data Exchange, Response Planning and Scenario Building

  • The project aimed at improving preparedness of societies to cope with complex crisis situations by means of providing integrated tools to support efficient response planning and the building of realistic multidisciplinary scenarios. The project designed and developed a system for improving response planning strategies and scenario building (TRL 7/ 8) and facilitating organizational coordination among many actors, integrating a wide range of support tools to be used operationally by a large variety of stakeholders (firefighting units, medical emergency services, police departments, civil protection units, command and control centres). The devised system has integrated existing and newly developed tools to enhance the cooperation between autonomous systems (satellite-, sea-, land- and air-based) from different agencies as well as to consolidate the methodology for cross-border scenario-building.
  • archived website

IDeA (2018-2022)

Integrierted Diagnose- and e-Assistencesystem for Patients with mit age-related macula degeneration

  • The BMBF project IDeA developed a diagnosis and assistance system for elderly people with visual impairments. By combining mixed-reality techniques and eye tracking, the aim was to improve visual function testing and thus ophthalmological diagnoses. On the other hand, the data glasses should support elderly people with macular degeneration in their daily life. It was our task in IDeA to introduce ethical and social aspects into the development process through interdisciplinary dialogue and scientific analysis. In addition, we subcontracted for a legal opinion that will shed light on data protection and liability issues.

  • archived website

INTEGRAM (2016-2019)

Integrated research: A critical analysis and practical dissemination for the research area “Human-technology interaction”

  • INTEGRAM dealt with the integration of ethical, social, legal and economic aspects into the development of technology. On the one hand the mode of knowledge production required by funding institutions was critically analysed. These aspects should no longer be researched as an accompanying measure, but integrated into technology development projects. On the other hand, a handbook was created that helps project teams to systematically take the above-mentioned aspects into account in their work.
  • archived website

MUSKAT (2014–2017)

Multisensory based detection of offenders in crowds in complex police operations

  • The research project aims at developing a multisensory system in order to facilitate the localisation and prosecution of suspects in complex police operations. The interconnected surveillance system consists of mobile hand-held cameras, overview cameras and an operation centre. The deployment of this technology is expected to improve the documentation and thereby the preservation of evidence in dynamic and complex situations.
    Within the project, the IZEW will deliver two ethical expert reports. As a sub-contractor of the Fraunhofer IOSB, the IZEW continuously assesses and supports the project research ethically. The ethical work package within the research project is thereby two-fold: The IZEW will analyse the specific ethical consequences the developed technology brings about as well as the societal implications of the system at hand.
  • Archived website of the project

MATERIA (2013–2015)

People in Old Age and Technology: Ethical-Social Science Reflection on Inter-Action

  • The project Menschen im Alter und Technik: Ethisch-sozialwissenschaftliche Reflexion auf Inter-Aktion was a preliminary scientific project. Based on questions of technical and social philosophy, ethical problems in the field of "age and technology" were isolated and reflected on their application. The explorative project on the interaction of man and technology in old age was primarily aimed at:
    • Mapping and systematization of the research field from an ethical point of view
    • The development of recommendations for future research projects and research funding on the topic of
    • The project was interdisciplinary and was carried out jointly by ethicists and social scientists. Participatory procedures were included, so that the perspectives of users and developers of the techniques were taken into account in two workshops.
  • Archived website of the project

SmartSec (2015)

How smart is ‘smart security’? Exploring data subjectivity and resistance

  • This case study seeked to examine ethical and human rights implications of ’smart security’ systems that operate based on population data at scale. The main point of inquiry was the qualitatively new level of potential discrimination through automated algorithmic analyses of large datasets and the possibility to enforce human rights by challenging security decisions based on algorithms.
  • Main publication: Baur-Ahrens, Andreas, Marco Krüger, Regina Ammicht Quinn, Matthias Leese and Tobias Matzner (2015) How Smart Is “Smart Security”? Exploring Data Subjectivity and Resistance. Final Report. Tübingen: IZEW. http://hdl.handle.net/10900/66898.
  • Keywords: airport security, human rights, data analysis
  • Archived website of the project

KRETA (2011–2014)

Body scanner: Reflection of ethics on technology and application contexts

  • The KRETA project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, focused on body scanner security technology. The aim of the project was to analyse the introduction and use of this technology ethically, sociologically and psychologically. Starting from "security technologies and people with deviating body images", KRETA dealt with general questions about inclusion and exclusion mechanisms of security technologies, and thus also raised questions about the relationship between security and justice. KRETA continued the work of the project THEBEN, which was successfully completed in December 2010.
  • Archived website of the project

MuVit (2010–2013)

MuViT: Pattern Recognition and Video Tracking: socio-psychological, sociological, ethical and legal analyses

  • MuViT was a three-year collaborative project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research within the framework of the Civil Security Research Programme since May 2010. The aim of this network was to support several technical projects in the process of developing pattern recognition or video tracking techniques (MEVTT). MEVTT is intended to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of conventional data evaluation (for example in video surveillance). MuViT was based at four German universities, and integrated perspectives from social psychology, sociology, ethics and law.
  • Archived website of the project

THEBEN (2007–2010)

Terahertz detection systems: Ethical monitoring, evaluation and standardization

  • The project THEBEN dealt with the theoretical-conceptual and concrete application-related questions of an "ethics of safety". This was done in the specific context of research, development and implementation of security technologies, in particular terahertz detection systems. The project critically reflected the technology where it was applied to humans. In addition, it developed and evaluated implementation scenarios, drew up application recommendations, analyzed and evaluated social concepts of security in connection with security technologies, and finally offered political and research consulting.
  • Archived website of the project

TeraSec (2006)

Active Terahertz Imagining for Security

  • The EU research project Terasec dealt with radiation in the spectral region of 0.1 - 10 THz (3mm - 300cm-1), the frequency between 1011 and 1012 Hz. Terahertz rays have the property of penetrating paper, plastic and clothing. Research focused on the application of terahertz radiation for security checks, for example at airports. The beams make it possible to depict the naked body of the controlled person on the screen.
  • Archived website of the project