Centre for Networked Sensor Systems (ZEVS)

The ZEVS project is the first major construction initiative aimed at revitalising the Ostufer Campus, which is in dire need of renovation. This project will bring together the CAU's expertise in sensor technology, enabling medical, maritime, and energy technology applications, as well as facilitating the collection of environmental data. As sensor research is a crucial priority research area in the KiNSIS research programme (Kiel Nano, Surface, and Interface Science), this project represents an essential infrastructural reinforcement. With its modern infrastructure for research, teaching, and collaboration, this project offers a significant opportunity to tap into its full potential for the first time.

The new four-storey building boasts 3,600 square metres of floor space, accommodating laboratories, offices and a conference room for public seminars. The ground floor will feature an experimental basin, which is a unique feature in civil research, requiring complex foundations on the construction site. The building's compact, multifunctional design incorporates transparent ground floor zones and a typical Nordic brick cladding, matching the surrounding structures. This is the first new university building in Schleswig-Holstein supported by ERDF funds, i.e. EU funds designated for regional development.

The Centre for Networked Sensor Systems (ZEVS) brings together the CAU's research activities in sensor technology and strengthens regional industry networking while also initiating future-oriented projects. The researchers focus on Schleswig-Holstein's areas of expertise, including medicine and life sciences, maritime applications, energy technology and environmental sensor technology. Their cross-application approach has already secured major research and development projects that will benefit from the new infrastructure.

For maritime sensor research, the ZEVS building has a 5m x 5m x 5m water basin to facilitate the development of new sensor systems for the Clean Autonomous Public Transport Network (CAPTN) initiative. The researchers at the Collaborative Research Centre 1261 are developing high-precision networked magnetic field sensors for medical applications, including the early detection of inflammation parameters after cancer operations. In environmental sensor technology, the scientists are researching miniaturised measuring systems that can continuously measure nitrate values in the soil. The ZEVS infrastructure also offers opportunities for technological spin-offs and regional companies to test new product ideas and concepts, thus fostering a close exchange of experience and knowledge.