13.10.2026

TU Ilmenau Launches International Research Project for Safe Vehicles of the Future

Symbolbild: Futuristische Fahrzeugproduktionstock.adobe.com/Nano Photos - generiert mit KI
Illustrative image: Vehicle production of the future

Kick-off for the international research project DETROID: Over the next four years, 15 universities and companies from ten countries, coordinated by Technische Universität Ilmenau, will work together to make the vehicles of the future safer and more reliable. 

Through international collaboration between researchers and industry experts, the aim is to find innovative solutions for highly complex software-defined vehicles. The project will run from October 2026 to September 2030 and is funded by the European Union with approximately 696,000 euros.

On 12 October, the 15 partners of the DETROID project (“Dependable Software-Defined Vehicles with Resilient Powertrain and Chassis Dynamics”) met online for the first time. Over the next four years, they will now work together to develop software-defined vehicles. 

Antriebsblock in einem FahrzeugTU Ilmenau/Thomas Mitsching
Im Thüringer Innovationszentrum Mobilität entwickelter Fahrzeugantrieb

In the car of the future, more and more functions – from the powertrain to systems that influence driving behaviour – will be controlled by software. This means that individual functions can be improved through updates even after the vehicle has been purchased. The ambitious research and development challenge here is that, as a large number of electronic and software-based systems must work together reliably, the technical complexity of vehicles is also increasing. Researchers at the TU Ilmenau and their partners are therefore investigating how such systems can be designed to be safe and resilient. The aim is to develop powertrain and chassis functions that operate reliably even under difficult conditions and in the event of faults. 

Software-defined vehicles lie at the interface between automotive engineering, systems engineering and computer science. To develop the technology for such vehicles, the DETROID project consortium is pooling expertise in systems architecture, control engineering and test methods. The team, comprising researchers and industry representatives, was assembled by the project coordinator, Dr Valentin Ivanov – head of the Smart Vehicle Systems research group within the Group for Control Engineering at TU Ilmenau – from a large international network formed through previous EU projects. The experts come from Europe, Japan, Australia and Vietnam. With the Italian universities Libera Università di Bolzano and Università Politecnica delle Marche, two partners from the European University Alliance SUNRISE – which is coordinated by the TU Ilmenau – are also involved in DETROID.

Fahrzeug mit Aufschrift „Thüringer Innovationszentrum Mobilität“TU Ilmenau/Thomas Mitsching
Test vehicle from the Thuringian Innovation Center for Mobility

Funded by the EU funding program ‘Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Staff Exchanges’, the DETROID project’s motto is ‘Sharing knowledge – conducting research together’. The program enables researchers and specialists from the participating institutions to work temporarily at partner institutions abroad, so that they can subsequently bring their knowledge back to their own institution. The DETROID experts therefore spend time working on the partners’ test benches, test vehicles or simulation platforms, and subsequently pass on their knowledge to their own team. The test benches and test vehicles at the Thuringian Center for Innovation in Mobility at the TU Ilmenau are also being used for the project. Dr Ivanov highlights the complexity of the research and development work: “Whether the powertrain and chassis continue to operate reliably even after repeated software updates depends on how early hardware limitations, safety standards and test methods are incorporated into the design. In the DETROID project, this happens right from the start.” 

Over the next four years, the DETROID team members will spend a total of 139 months conducting research and working at a partner institution abroad. The collaborative work is intended to produce shared models, datasets and tools that will remain available even after the project has ended.

Contact

Dr Valentin Ivanov
Head of the Smart Vehicle Systems
Research Group +49 3677 69-2820
valentin.ivanov@tu-ilmenau.de