AI avatar brings Fraunhofer back to historic glassworks

Joseph von Fraunhofer has returned virtually to the historic glassworks in Benediktbeuern, where a speaking AI avatar now welcomes visitors after its reopening. BR24 reports that the exhibition links modern technology with the work of the optician and scientist, who researched glass and light there around 200 years ago.

The avatar stands between the old glass furnaces, answers visitors’ questions and explains how the furnaces worked. Its appearance was modelled on Fraunhofer’s death mask, while its answers are based on historical information. Visitors can adjust the responses for children or specialists, and use several languages.

A digital telescope also traces the development from Fraunhofer’s historical instruments to modern space telescopes, including Hubble, James Webb and Euclid.

Rebuilt after the hailstorm

The glassworks was badly damaged by a severe hailstorm in August 2023. The roof and facade had to be repaired, and the historic furnaces were also at risk. The exhibition survived the damage comparatively well and was preserved and redesigned.

After three years of work, the glassworks has reopened with a significantly more digital exhibition than before.

From craftsman to researcher

Fraunhofer entered science without an academic education. While he was an apprentice to a glassmaker, the building where he worked collapsed. He was pulled from the rubble only after several hours. The ruling elector supported him and enabled him to buy his release from his previous training.

The entrepreneur Joseph von Utzschneider later recognised Fraunhofer’s talent. In Benediktbeuern, Fraunhofer was able to study glassmaking intensively. He taught himself mathematics and optics and began systematically examining glass production.

The monastery grounds offered important conditions for making glass. Wood was available as fuel, water was close by, and quartz sand came from the nearby region around Bichl. The monastery itself also played a role, with books on mathematics and optics that Fraunhofer could use in his work.

Andreas Bräu, who portrays Fraunhofer at opening events and has written a book about him, considers Benediktbeuern central to the scientist’s life’s work. Away from competition in Munich, he says, Fraunhofer was able to perfect glassmaking there.

Better glass for clearer views of the stars

Fraunhofer’s aim was to produce better optical instruments. That required improving the glass first. Physicist and science historian Timo Mappes describes Fraunhofer’s method as systematic optimisation: he examined the properties of glass, deliberately changed the production conditions and used the results to develop suitable materials.

His achromatic lenses were particularly important. They reduced disruptive colour fringes and enabled better astronomical observations. Fraunhofer developed both the optical design and the glass needed for it.

While studying sunlight, Fraunhofer also discovered dark lines in its spectrum. He could not fully explain their significance at the time. The lines later became known as Fraunhofer lines and formed a foundation of spectroscopy, the analysis of light. This can be used, for example, to determine the substances that make up celestial bodies.

Research linked to commercial use

Fraunhofer did not stop at his discoveries. Scientific institutions bought his high-quality optical glass and instruments. He combined research with commercial application, a principle that continues to shape the Fraunhofer Society today.

At the reopening, Fraunhofer Society President Holger Hanselka told BR24: “Our commitment to applied research remains unchanged to this day. All 31,000 of our employees should carry the spirit of Joseph von Fraunhofer within them: we do things ourselves, roll up our sleeves, remain curious and want to understand what we are doing.”