The AI Progress Center "Learning Systems and Cognitive Robotics" in Stuttgart is expanding its range of services with a new real-world laboratory for legally compliant AI and robotics. Funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs with a total of two million euros, the program is aimed at companies with headquarters or branches in Baden-Württemberg, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.

The real-world laboratory builds on the pilot project "KIRR Real - Real-world laboratory for legally compliant AI and robotics", which was completed in December 2025. The aim is to develop and introduce AI and robotics solutions in compliance with the European AI Regulation (EU AI Act) and other requirements such as the GDPR, Machinery Regulation and Medical Devices Regulation.

Application deadline for funded "Quick Checks": May 21

Companies from Baden-Württemberg can apply for funded "Quick Checks" until May 21, 2026. These will either examine the technical feasibility of AI or robotics projects or analyze the regulatory classification of existing or planned applications as part of a "Legal Quick Check".

The new project phase focuses on three main areas:

Generative and agentic AI: In this work package, the experts involved are researching and developing AI assistance systems for business and production processes, synthetic data generation for quality checks and hybrid AI approaches that combine large language models with expert knowledge. This is based on real use cases from companies.

Humanoid robots: This focus area addresses the increasing importance of humanoid robotics. The AI Progress Center analyzes available solutions on the market, develops safety concepts and tests specific application scenarios. Together with companies, potential use cases are identified, training courses are held and hands-on experience with humanoid robots is made possible.

AI compliance and regulatory learning: Work in this third area forms the core of the real-world laboratory at the AI Progress Center. Here, use cases from the aforementioned areas are analyzed with regard to the requirements of the AI Regulation and related European legislation, for example the Machinery Regulation, Medical Devices Regulation or GDPR. The aim is to create practical tools, guidelines and processes for the legally compliant development of AI systems. By setting up a panel of relevant authorities and supervisory bodies, regulatory issues are clarified in a direct exchange and identified hurdles are fed back into the legislative process.

The AI Progress Center

Since 2019, the AI Progress Center has been operated by the Fraunhofer Institutes IPA and IAO together with the University of Stuttgart. According to the project sponsors, 375 companies have been supported over the past six years and more than 200 funded transfer measures have been implemented. The real-world laboratory is also networked with partners such as Cyber Valley, AI Matters, the High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HammerHAI) and IPAI Heilbronn.

On May 6, 2026, the AI Progress Center is hosting an Open Lab Day at the Fraunhofer laboratories in Stuttgart. There, specialist presentations and demonstrations will provide information on funding opportunities and technological developments. Registration is possible here.