First doctorate at THI - a milestone for the university

In his work "Cooperative intelligent transport systems for forensic accident analysis - opportunities and challenges of car-to-x communication", Bauder investigated how vehicle-to-vehicle communication (C2X) can be used to reconstruct accidents. His research shows that such data provides precise digital traces that can usefully supplement or even surpass traditional sources.

"C2X data provides new insights into the course of an accident - for example, through precise information on position, speed, or direction of travel," explains Bauder. "My work aimed to systematically analyse this potential and make it usable for forensic applications."

After publishing his dissertation, he will be awarded the academic degree "Dr.-Ing.". The Doctoral School, Professor Christian Facchi, and the Scientific Director of the Doctoral School of Engineering Sciences, Professor Christian Endisch, warmly congratulate Maximilian Bauder and his supervisors, Professor Hans-Georg Schweiger and Professor Andreas Festag, on the successful doctoral examination.

One result of Bauder's work is bridging the fields of vehicle forensics and Car2X communication. This makes it possible to use data provided by vehicle communication when analysing accidents. This is complemented by the concept of a forensic roadside unit that can store data independently. Test series demonstrate the technical feasibility and legal relevance of such solutions.

The doctorate is the first to be awarded at the Doctoral School for Engineering Sciences within the THI Doctoral School, which was founded in 2023 and, together with the Doctoral Centre for AI/Computer Science, enables the award of a doctorate. Both institutions are authorised to award doctoral degrees as a consequence of the independent right to award doctorates, which was granted to THI as a research-intensive university.

"We are very pleased that we were able to establish two doctoral centres at THI after a demanding review process - for Engineering Sciences and Artificial Intelligence/Computer Science - and that we can now celebrate the first doctoral graduate, Maximilian Bauder," says THI President Professor Walter Schober. "We now have 79 doctoral students at THI - impressive proof of our strong research development."

Maximilian Bauder studied Mechanical Engineering and Technical Development at THI. He was involved in several research projects, published 19 peer-reviewed specialist articles, and was a lecturer and member of the advisory board of the European Association for Accident Research (EVU). He will move to the industry on 1 August.