From Virtual Validation to Virtual Assurance

The Virtual Assurance Framework – VAF – is the engineering framework that turns “we tested it” into “we can prove it”: digitally, traceably, audit-ready, across the entire lifecycle, and after every software update.

Particularly with autonomous, connected, and software-intensive systems, it is no longer sufficient to test individual development states a single time. Safety, reliability and performance must also be assessable after software updates, under new operating conditions and in interaction with infrastructure, cloud and other systems.

“With COMET SDM, we are taking the decisive step from Virtual Validation toward Virtual Assurance. In doing so, we are creating the foundation for a new generation of safe and trustworthy AI-supported systems in mobility,” explains Daniel Watzenig, CTO of VIRTUAL VEHICLE.

Three research fields for Software-Defined Mobility

The new COMET center focuses on three central topic areas:

Trustworthy Simulation

Development of Trustworthy Simulations, Credible Digital Twins and Virtual Testing Methods. The goal is to make uncertainties transparent and to create robust evidence for development, validation and certification.

Autonomous Intelligence

Safe and verifiable AI for perception, decision-making and autonomous systems. The focus is on robust, explainable and verifiable AI methods for safety-critical applications.

Efficient Systems

Adaptive and context-aware E/E architectures for the networking of vehicles, infrastructure and cloud. This enables software-defined systems to be developed, operated and updated more efficiently across their lifecycle.

These research fields are complemented by a Living Innovation Lab, in which research results are transferred into demonstrators, prototypes and market-ready solutions.

Strong support from funding bodies, owners and strategic partners

The significance of the new COMET center is explicitly underlined by VIRTUAL VEHICLE’s funding bodies, owners and strategic partners:

Willibald Ehrenhöfer, Regional Minister for Economy, Labor, Finance, Science and Research, emphasizes: “The COMET program shows how strategic research funding drives innovation and economic strength. VIRTUAL VEHICLE is a prime example of how cutting-edge research leads to concrete benefits for Styria.”

Rector Horst Bischof, TU Graz, sees the collaboration as an important contribution to the research and innovation hub: “Our close partnership with VIRTUAL VEHICLE is based on the shared vision of using technology as an effective instrument for change. We congratulate VIRTUAL VEHICLE on its successful application for the COMET program ‘Software-Defined Mobility’ – this reinforces its leading role as a research center for the mobility of the future. Good for the Styrian research ecosystem, good for Austria and good for the European research landscape.”

For JOANNEUM RESEARCH, CEO Heinz Mayer emphasizes the strategic importance of the cooperation: “As an internationally visible research center, VIRTUAL VEHICLE plays a central role in the Styrian research landscape. Together, we are pooling complementary competencies into a high-performance research alliance that drives innovation in the region and strengthens competitiveness.”

Helmut List, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AVL, underscores the technological transformation: “Future mobility combines innovative vehicle and energy conversion technologies with software, sensors, data, and AI. This technologies will require new development processes and strong research partners.”

Key industry partners also see the new COMET center as an important lever for the next stage of development of software-defined systems.

Stefan Rohringer, Deputy CTO of Infineon Technologies Austria, points to the role of the network: “VIRTUAL VEHICLE connects industry partners and facilitates the initiation of joint research projects along the entire value chain.”

Stefan Erlach, Vice President Bogies & Panto at Siemens Mobility, explains: “Simulation and interdisciplinary research excellence are key enablers for the digitalization and automation across rail mobility.”

For voestalpine Railway Systems, CTO Franz Sodia emphasizes the importance of integrated system approaches: “Digital twins, AI-supported diagnostics and cross-system optimization will be central levers for capacity, reliability and efficiency in the rail system.”

COMET SDM – Fact Sheet:

• Start: January 2027
• Duration: 4 years, with the possibility of a further 4-year extension
• Research volume: EUR 24 million in the first funding period
• Funding rate: 50 percent
• Approval: granted by the FFG within the framework of the COMET program
• Partners: 44 partners from industry and science
• Consortium: around 60 researchers, leading OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, as well as renowned national and international universities, including Stanford University, UC Berkeley, the Technical University of Munich and TU Graz
• Research priorities: Trustworthy Simulation, Autonomous Intelligence, Efficient Systems, Living Innovation Lab
• Application fields: Automotive, Rail, Maritime, Health Tech, Energy and Defense

With COMET SDM, VIRTUAL VEHICLE, together with its owners, industry partners and international research partners, is positioning itself as a central European research hub for the next generation of Software-Defined Mobility. The goal is clear: to bring innovations to the road, the rail, the water and to further safety-critical applications – faster, more safely and more reliably.