From Concept to Reality

Location: Workshop Room (onsite), Hofburg Vienna
Date: September 18, 2025
Time: 14:30 – 16:00 CEST

Host

Spotlight Session description 

The session highlights EU leadership in shaping safe and secure software-defined autonomy, bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and industrial applications. The hosts propose a holistic approach to safety and security, covering functional safety, cybersecurity, and trustworthiness, which are crucial for scalable autonomous system deployment. The session will also underline the importance of cross-industry collaboration in building a robust autonomous ecosystem and provide actionable insights for OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and regulatory bodies. 

This workshop will reflect on the ongoing activities and EU-funded projects to tackle these challenges together with experts, researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers. 

• Speaker: Dr. Michael Karner, Head of Embedded Systems Group, Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH, presents a common Software development framework and hardware independent microservice-oriented middleware architecture for the stepwise migration to the Software Defined Vehicle of the Future (Shift2SDV) covering solutions for continuous integration, validation, and over-the-air (OTA) updates for safety-critical functions, enabling agile development while maintaining rigorous safety and security throughout the vehicle’s lifecycle. 

• Speaker: Prof. Dr. Eng. George Dimitrakopoulos, coordinator (Ext.) at the research and development funding department at Infineon Technologies AG, presents the ShapeFuture project, which aims to translate advanced architectural concepts into deployable, safe, and efficient autonomous systems.  

• Speaker: Georg Stettinger, Senior Project Manager, Infineon Technologies AG, will present the EdgeAITrust project. This initiative integrates AI into autonomous decision-making processes, emphasizing its trustworthiness, safety, and security at the edge. The presentation will highlight solutions for the robust, explainable, and secure deployment of AI in real-time, resource-constrained environments to ensure reliable perception and actuation.

• Speaker: Dr. Max Lemke (tbc), Head of Unit Internet of Things, DG for Communication Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission   

• Speaker: Dr. Stephane Dreher, Head of CCAM – Innovation and Deployment (ERTICO)  

• Q&A towards the end of the session

Join us to see how these European innovations are making safe, secure, and scalable autonomous mobility a reality.