DFKI is a founding member of EU partnership for virtual worlds: €400 million for XR and digital twins

Henna Virkkunen, EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, along with representatives from the Virtual Worlds Association (VWA) and its industry partners, signed the partnership agreement on 10 December in Brussels. The VWA brings together industry, research and academia to create standards, innovations and applications ‘made in Europe’ – with a focus on data protection, inclusion and digital sovereignty. By 2027, €200 million in EU funding will be invested, matched by private investment; the market is expected to grow to €800 billion by 2030.

As an AI partner of the European Virtual Worlds Association, DFKI contributes its research directly to the development of concrete solutions. Prof. Didier Stricker, head of the Augmented Reality research department at DFKI in Kaiserslautern, helps shape the strategic direction as a member of the VWA Board of Directors: "Artificial intelligence is the key technology for the virtual world. It makes extended reality a truly tangible experience and allows real and digital spaces to merge seamlessly. For example, digital twins are becoming increasingly realistic and creating new opportunities to significantly accelerate industrial development processes and make them more efficient. With the Virtual Worlds initiative, we want to specifically advance these future technologies at the European level, put them into practice and develop our own European solutions – in line with the concept of strong digital sovereignty."