Nearly 60 representatives of the partner organisations came together to kick off DRIVE PR – Data-Driven Product Realisation, a major research project funded through Vinnova’s Advanced Digitalisation programme. The project brings industry, academia and research institutes together to advance data-driven product development in the manufacturing industry.

Five participants talking around two standing tables at the kick-off
Partners worked through expectations for the project in small groups.Photo: Robert Karlsson

Across 12 complementary research tracks, DRIVE PR sets out to strengthen industrial competitiveness by helping companies manage uncertainty, variation and risk more deliberately, using advanced digital technologies and collaborative digital ecosystems.

A group of participants gathered around a work package poster on a flip chart
Each work package hosted a station where partners contributed industrial cases.Photo: Robert Karlsson

The programme paired those discussions with a visit to AstaZero, where Volvo Group and AstaZero demonstrated their ongoing work on autonomous truck development.

A participant presenting at a work package station while others listen
Industrial cases were discussed alongside the digital infrastructure needed to support them.Photo: Robert Karlsson
We now have a common foundation to build on with strong engagement across the consortium, giving us a great starting point as the project scales up. — Ola Isaksson, Professor of Product Development at Chalmers Department of Mechanical Engineering and project leader