DEIS · Project

Safety Passports for Smart Systems So Companies Can Prove Their Products Are Dependable

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Imagine every smart device — a self-driving car, a train signal system, a medical app — came with a digital safety passport that travels with it throughout its entire life. DEIS built exactly that: a "Digital Dependability Identity" that works like a trust certificate for complex connected systems. When you plug different components together, these passports automatically check whether the combined system is still safe and secure. They tested this across four real scenarios: driver monitoring in cars, automated driving simulation, railway systems, and a cancer treatment decision app.

By the numbers

use cases validated across different domains

EUR 4,889,290

EU contribution invested

partners in the consortium

countries represented

application domains tested (automotive, railway, healthcare)

iterations of engineering tools delivered (V1 to V3 final)

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies building smart connected products — autonomous vehicles, railway systems, medical devices — face a massive headache: proving their products are safe and dependable, especially when assembling components from multiple suppliers. Every time you combine parts from different vendors, you need to re-verify the whole system's safety, which is expensive, slow, and blocks time-to-market. Current safety certification processes were designed for standalone systems and break down when dealing with distributed, autonomous cyber-physical systems.

The solution

What was built

DEIS built engineering tools for creating and maintaining Digital Dependability Identities (DDIs) — delivered in 3 iterations up to a final V3 version — plus software components for evaluating dependability in the field (final V2), and an ODE metamodel profile (V2) that standardizes how safety information is structured and exchanged across supply chains.

Audience

Who needs this

Automotive OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers developing ADAS or autonomous driving systemsRailway system integrators combining equipment from multiple vendorsMedical device software companies needing safety certification for clinical appsSafety engineering consultancies serving regulated industriesInsurance companies assessing risk of autonomous systems

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Automotive

enterprise

Target: Tier-1 automotive suppliers and OEMs building autonomous or advanced driver-assistance systems

If you are an automotive supplier struggling to prove safety compliance across your supply chain — DEIS developed Digital Dependability Identities and engineering tools (delivered in 3 iterations up to final version) that let you compose safety evidence automatically from component suppliers. They validated this on two automotive use cases: intelligent physiological parameter monitoring and an advanced driver simulator for automated driving functions.

Railway

enterprise

Target: Railway system integrators and signaling equipment manufacturers

If you are a railway integrator dealing with the nightmare of certifying safety when mixing equipment from different vendors — DEIS built a plug-and-play environment for heterogeneous railway systems. Their software components for in-the-field evaluation (delivered in 2 versions) allow real-time dependability checks when combining subsystems from different suppliers, cutting recertification time.

Healthcare / Medical Devices

mid-size

Target: Medical software companies developing clinical decision support tools

If you are a medical software company that needs to demonstrate your clinical app is dependable enough for patient-critical decisions — DEIS tested their dependability identity concept on a clinical decision support app for oncology professionals. Their ODE metamodel profile (delivered in 2 versions) provides a structured way to document and verify safety claims for regulatory approval.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to adopt these dependability tools?

The project developed open engineering tools across 3 major iterations (V1 through V3 final). Licensing terms would need to be discussed with the coordinator AVL LIST GMBH. The total EU investment was EUR 4,889,290 across 11 partners, suggesting significant R&D behind the tools.

Can this scale to our full product line and supply chain?

The DDI concept was specifically designed for supply-chain-wide dependability. It was validated across 3 different application domains (automotive, railway, healthcare) with 4 distinct use cases, demonstrating cross-industry applicability. The composable nature of DDIs means they scale as you add more components.

Who owns the intellectual property and can we license it?

IP is shared among the 11-partner consortium led by AVL LIST GMBH (Austria). With 6 industry partners and 4 universities involved, licensing arrangements would need to be negotiated with the consortium. Contact the coordinator for specific IP and licensing terms.

Does this help with regulatory compliance and certification?

Yes — the entire DDI concept was built to reduce certification burden. The engineering tools support integration of dependability information across the product lifecycle and supply chain. This directly addresses safety certification requirements in automotive (ISO 26262), railway (EN 50126/50128), and medical device regulations.

How long would integration take?

The project ran from 2017 to 2019 and produced final versions of both the engineering tools (V3) and in-the-field software components (V2). Based on available project data, the tools were designed for practical integration, but timeline depends on your specific system complexity and domain.

Can this work with our existing safety engineering processes?

The ODE metamodel profile (delivered in 2 versions) was designed as a standard interface for dependability information. The plug-and-play railway use case specifically demonstrated integration with heterogeneous existing systems. The DDI approach is meant to complement, not replace, existing safety processes.

Consortium

Who built it

The DEIS consortium of 11 partners across 6 countries (AT, DE, IE, IT, TR, UK) is heavily industry-oriented at 55% industry participation, led by AVL LIST GmbH — a major Austrian automotive engineering company. With 6 industry partners and 4 universities providing research backbone, the project had strong commercial pull from day one. The 2 SMEs in the mix add agility. This industry-heavy composition suggests the outputs were designed with real product integration in mind, not just academic exploration. AVL's role as coordinator is particularly significant — they are a globally recognized automotive technology company, lending credibility to the tools' practical applicability.

AVL LIST GMBHCoordinator · AT
AVL ARASTIRMA VE MUHENDISLIK SANAYI VE TICARET LIMITED SIRKETIthirdparty · TR
DUMAREY AUTOMOTIVE ITALIA SPAparticipant · IT
IDEAS & MOTION SRLparticipant · IT
UNIVERSITY OF YORKparticipant · UK
PORTABLE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY LIMITEDparticipant · IE
POLITECNICO DI MILANOparticipant · IT
UNIVERSITY OF HULLparticipant · UK
DUNDALK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYparticipant · IE
SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFTparticipant · DE

How to reach the team

AVL LIST GmbH (Austria) — a major automotive engineering and testing company. Reach out to their CPS or safety engineering division.

Order a report on this consortium See AVL LIST GMBH profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to connect with the DEIS team about their dependability tools? SciTransfer can arrange an introduction and help you evaluate fit for your safety engineering needs.

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