December 12, 2024. The recently launched “KIRR Real” project supports companies with “Legal Quick Checks” and other services for the legally compliant use of artificial intelligence (AI) in connection with the EU Machinery Regulation and AI Regulation (“EU AI Act”). Funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism, it complements existing research initiatives on AI.
Categories
Tags
Contact info
Silicon Saxony
Marketing, Kommunikation und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Manfred-von-Ardenne-Ring 20 F
Fax: +49 351 8925 889
Contact person:
With the rapid development of AI in software products and robotics, companies are facing new regulatory challenges. The European Union’s AI Act, published on July 12, 2024, and the new EU Machinery Regulation, which comes into force in January 2027, place high demands on the compliance of AI systems in the production environment, especially in the case of high-risk AI and cybersecurity.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups in particular often do not have the resources to check and meet these requirements independently. In Baden-Württemberg, real-world laboratories such as the AI-MATTERS research project in Stuttgart, the IPAI AI Campus in Heilbronn and the Karlsruhe Research Factory are already providing support in the technical development and testing of AI and robotics innovations. However, they do not take the regulatory requirements into account. This is precisely where the “KIRR Real – Real-world laboratory for legally compliant AI and robotics” project, funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism, comes in by supplementing the existing offerings with so-called Legal Quick Checks. Companies can apply for these so that they are also supported in implementing the legal aspects.
The “KIRR Real” project, for example, focuses on the safe and legally compliant implementation of AI-based robot applications.
At the start of the project, Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism of the state of Baden-Württemberg, said: “Artificial intelligence is of great importance for the competitiveness of our industry. European AI regulation must not become a brake on innovation in AI and robots. This is why we are supporting the forward-looking concept of an AI real-world laboratory in Baden-Württemberg, in which both technical and legal hurdles for AI innovations are overcome.”
The focus of the funding project is on applications that are as exemplary as possible and their assessment of the risk class, so that the findings are relevant for many companies and applications in areas that are important for Baden-Württemberg’s economy. “With KIRR Real, we want to support companies from the region in anticipating and implementing requirements from the AI Regulation and the Machinery Regulation at an early stage. This will reduce risks and enable AI solutions to be brought to market quickly,” says Prof. Marco Huber, Scientific Director for Digitalization and AI at Fraunhofer IPA, describing the aims of the project.
In the project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA is also working with the ARENA2036 research campus to develop a standardized framework to check the requirements of the Machinery Ordinance and AI Ordinance and the compliance of an application. This framework will be transferred to the AI-MATTERS research project in the future and will also be published scientifically to ensure its continuous further development. KIRR Real also offers information and networking opportunities. Last but not least, the project partners will identify regulatory hurdles and feed them back into the legislative process. In this way, companies will benefit in the long term from optimized accreditation processes and practical solutions to strengthen Baden-Württemberg’s position as a leading location for AI and robotics.
Full name: KIRR Real – Real-world laboratory for legally compliant AI and robotics
Term: 15. November 2024 to December 31, 2025
Funding body: Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism Baden-Württemberg
Partners: ARENA2036, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA
Associated partners: Cyber Valley GmbH, Unternehmer Baden-Württemberg e.V., Allianz Industrie 4.0 Baden-Württemberg, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, IPAI Management GmbH, Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
– – – – –
👉 www.ipa.fraunhofer.de
👉 www.kirr-real.de
Photo: Fraunhofer IPA/Photo: Rainer Bez
You may be interested in the following
