Chalmers is strengthening its position in advanced digitalisation through two projects supported within Vinnova’s major initiative in the field. The projects focus on AI-supported compliance in software systems and data-driven product development in manufacturing – areas considered key to the future competitiveness of Swedish industry. Together, the projects will receive close to SEK 100 million in funding.
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering is awarded SEK 48 million for the project Continuous Compliance.
Managing regulatory compliance in software- and AI-intensive systems is becoming increasingly challenging. Today, organisations often rely on fragmented tools and manual documentation, making compliance work costly, slow, and difficult to scale.
The project develops a new approach where compliance is supported as a continuous and automated process across the entire system lifecycle. By combining AI with modern digital infrastructure, it enables continuous monitoring of regulatory requirements, automated generation of compliance evidence during development, and verification of system behaviour during operation.
“The ability to continuously assess whether a system complies with regulations, standards, and company policies – both during development and operation – will be transformative. Compliance should not be seen as an obstacle, but as an enabler that brings best practices and knowledge directly into software and AI development”, says Eric Knauss, Professor and Head of Division, Interaction Design and Software Engineering.
The work is carried out within Software Center at Chalmers, which runs the competence centre Continuous Digitalization (CoDig) and is now launching Continuous Compliance within Vinnova’s programme Advanced Digitalisation.
“Companies can spend up to ten percent of their revenue on compliance activities, and the pressure is increasing with new regulations such as the AI Act and the Data Act. With the emergence of generative and agentic AI, we now have powerful tools to reduce this administrative burden and strengthen competitiveness”, says Jan Bosch, Professor in Software Engineering and Director of Software Center at Chalmers.
Strengthens efficiency and competitiveness
The Department of Mechanical Engineering together with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Fraunhofer FCC is awarded SEK 53 Million in funding for the project DRIVE PR – Data-Driven Product Realisation.
The project addresses the growing need for more efficient and reliable ways to develop complex products. In many industrial settings, limitations in how data is generated, shared, and used create challenges related to uncertainty, variation, and risk, which in turn affect both cost and development speed.
DRIVE PR aims to establish a shift towards fully data-driven product realisation. By integrating developments in digital infrastructure, including advanced connectivity (5G/6G), large-scale computing with AI and machine learning, and physics-based simulation, the project will enable improved decision-making and more predictable in both product development and production systems
A central objective is to reduce costs associated with uncertainty, variation, and risk by 50 percent compared to a 2026 baseline, thereby strengthening both efficiency and competitiveness in Swedish manufacturing.
"This project is a critical step for Swedish manufacturing to excel in transforming innovation into sustainable and resilient products using the new digital infrastructure landscape”, says Ola Isaksson, Professor and project leader. "By uniting a broad consortium of leading industries and research organizations, we are building the competence and infrastructure needed to meet increasingly complex challenges, ensuring Sweden remains at the forefront of global competitiveness."
Within the project, methods and tools will be developed and demonstrated to enable secure and scalable data-driven product realisation. This includes addressing critical competence gaps and testing emerging digital infrastructure technologies in industrial settings.
The initiative is expected to contribute to reduced lead times, increased competitiveness, and strengthened innovation capability for the development of next-generation sustainable products and systems.
The project is led by Chalmers University of Technology and involves industrial partners including Volvo Group, Scania, Saab AB, GKN Aerospace, Hitachi Energy, IKEA, and Autoliv, as well as research organisations such as RISE, Fraunhofer FCC, and Chalmers. The research in the project is carried out collaboratively by the four research groups at the Wingquist Laboratory.
About Vinnova
Vinnova is Sweden’s innovation agency and funds research and development that strengthen the country’s competitiveness and contribute to sustainable societal development. The agency has a specific mandate to promote collaboration between academia, industry and the public sector.
Read more about VInnova's Advanced Digitalisation innovation and research program
Contacts at CSE and ME
- Full Professor, Interaction Design and Software Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering
- Full Professor, Product Development, Mechanical Engineering