Kai Brune is a department head at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM) in Bremen, where he oversees the Quality Assurance and Cyber-Physical Systems division. He has many years of experience in the development, implementation, and scaling of innovative technologies for automated inspection, quality assurance, and data analysis in industrial applications.

His professional focus is on the integration of sensor technology, robotics, and autonomous systems into real-world industrial process chains, particularly in the context of offshore wind energy and maritime applications. In doing so, he combines expertise in materials science with systems engineering know-how to develop practical solutions for complex inspection and maintenance scenarios.

Since 2024, he has also been in charge of the Offshore Drone Campus Cuxhaven (ODCC), a key research and testing facility of Fraunhofer IFAM dedicated to maritime drone technologies. In this role, he oversees the development and operation of a realistic development and testing environment for autonomous systems, including the execution of BVLOS missions and the integration of drones into the existing logistical and regulatory frameworks of the offshore industry.