The Company Behind
Spatial Intelligence

Family-owned since 1978. A former Tier 1 supplier to Ford, Daimler, BMW, and Porsche. Now delivering the technology that makes physical spaces intelligent and responsive.

What we do

We make spaces
as smart as software.

AWARE Systems develops hardware-software systems that give you the ability to detect, communicate, and respond to your users app present in your physical spaces — automatically, offline, and without compromise on privacy. The technology powering this is AURA — a proprietary spatial intelligence platform designed to integrate into any infrastructure, new or existing.

Already deployed in public transit — expanding across industries.

  • Patent pending - Proprietary technology, fully protected
  • Works offline - No GPS, WiFi, or cellular required
  • Precise - Real-Time and cm recognition
Public Transit Retail Smart Buildings Mobility Stadiums

Our Mission

Make the physical world as intelligent, responsive, and effortless as the digital one.

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Who we build for

One Technology. Two Ways In.

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Turnkey Products

Get a complete, deployable solution without building from scratch. Full hardware, software, and integration — ready to go.

Explore intelliTicket
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Platform & SDK

Add hands-free access, real-time positioning, and autonomous communication to your app or infrastructure — in days, not months.

Explore AURA

Both paths are built on the same patent-pending core technology — developed entirely in-house by AWARE Systems.

A Look Back at Our History

46 years of engineering expertise.

AWARE spent four decades as a turn-key industrial systems integrator for the automotive industry — designing, fabricating, and commissioning complete plants for the world's most demanding manufacturers. Paint booths running at 2,500 bar. Closed-loop wastewater systems eliminating discharge entirely. Control software written line by line by our own engineers.

In 2003, Ford Motor Company awarded us the prestigous Q1 / Tier 1 Supplier Status — one of the most rigorous quality distinctions in the industry. Many of the plants we built in the 1990s are still running today.

The clients trusted us because we delivered. Every time. On time. That standard has never changed.

Founded 1977

Founded in 1977 as Klaus Kramer GmbH by Alfred Bohnes and Klaus Kramer, the company began as a specialist in industrial engineering for the automotive sector. In 1989, Alfred's son Dirk Bohnes joined full-time, and in 1994 he was appointed managing partner. That same year, Klaus Kramer departed the company, the Bohnes family assumed full ownership, and the business was renamed AWARE Umwelt- und Oberflächentechnik GmbH.

AWARE Ion Exchanger

The Following Decades

Over the following decades, AWARE designed, manufactured, and delivered complete turn-key industrial plants — paint booths, surface treatment lines, waste- and fresh water processing systems, and the custom automation that ran all of it — for the world's most demanding automotive manufacturers.

underbody sealant cabin at factory

StayClean - 1998

In 1998, AWARE developed and patented the StayClean process — a proprietary surface treatment innovation invented by Dirk Bohnes, Johannes Lindemann, and Karl-Heinz Manderscheid, and held through AWARE Chemicals, LLC in Florida. That same year, AWARE entered a joint venture with Henkel Teroson GmbH, a subsidiary of Henkel KGaA, to bring the technology to market — combining AWARE's engineering with one of the world's leading industrial chemical companies.

StayClean System at Halewood pant

Tier 1 Status - 2003

Every system was engineered from scratch, fabricated in our own facility, and tested exhaustively before installation. No subcontracting. No off-the-shelf answers.

That discipline earned us Tier 1 supplier status with multiple global OEMs, including Ford, where we were also recognized with Q1 quality certification in 2003 — one of the most rigorous distinctions in the industry. Many of the plants we commissioned in the 1990s and 2000s are still operating today.

spot repair at Cologne plant

2017 and 2019

In 2017, the company was renamed AWARE Systems GmbH, reflecting its evolution from industrial plant engineering toward the AI-driven spatial intelligence and autonomous systems work that defines AWARE today. In 2019, AWARE Systems LLC was founded in the United States, held by the same Bohnes family shareholders and extending the company's reach into North America. Today, engineering and R&D are anchored in Germany alongside the European market, while the US entity leads commercial operations across all other regions — one family, two continents, shared standards.

office building at St Augustine

Third Generation - 2018 and 2020

The next generation followed soon after: Dirk's son Jack joined in 2018, and his sister Alexandra in 2020. Both are active in the business and shareholders alongside their father — extending the Bohnes family's stewardship into a third generation.

Clients trusted us because we delivered — every time, on time. That standard has never changed.

EMC research and development
From industrial automation to spatial intelligence

A New Chapter

The pivot wasn't a reinvention — it was a logical next step. AWARE had spent decades building the intelligence layer of industrial systems. When Jack joined, both he and Dirk identified a gap no existing technology had solved: Physical spaces still depended entirely on external connectivity to function intelligently.

So they built a fully encapsulated, local communication channel — autonomous, resilient, and independent from the internet, GPS, or cellular networks.

Leadership

The experience to build companies.
The expertise to build technology.

Today, AWARE Systems is led by two people who between them cover everything a deep-tech company needs: The management discipline to build and scale, and the technical obsession to engineer what didn't exist before.

Dirk Bohnes has spent over 30 years building companies in industries where failure is not an option: From Tier 1 automotive supplier to founding a second company in the aviation industry — earning the trust of federal authorities, national rescue services, and military operators in one of Germany's most demanding sectors.Today he focuses exclusively on AWARE, setting the strategic direction for its next chapter.

Jack Bohnes is the engineering brain behind AURA. Holding an engineering degree and having spent his entire career — from his studies onward — in the research and development of the technology, he built it from first principles to live deployment. He knows it inside and out.

Together, they represent what AWARE has always been — a family company that takes the long view and never ships anything it isn't proud of.

Dirk Bohnes
Managing Partner

Dirk Bohnes

Jack Bohnes
Engineering Manager

Jack Bohnes

Our Values

The Medium Changed. The Principles Didn't.

For nearly five decades, our family has put its name on every system, every plant, and every product AWARE has delivered. That's not a metaphor — it's the standard that drives every decision we make.

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We only ship what we're proud of.

iconWe deliver on time, every time. A missed deadline is a broken promise.

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We say no when we have to. If we can't deliver something to our standard, we won't take it on. Our name matters more than the contract.

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We build to last. Our 1990s plants are still running today.

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We ask questions nobody else is asking. That's how AURA was born.

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We take care of our people. Our team makes everything possible. Their security, growth, and wellbeing are not an afterthought.

Where we operate

Engineering from Europe.
Deploying Worldwide.

AWARE Systems operates internationally, engineering from our headquarters in Cologne, Germany, with an operational presence in the United States.

world map with pinpoint office locations