Department of Mechanical Engineering · Blekinge Institute of Technology

Simulation, digital twins and AI for the products and systems of tomorrow.

We design and prototype value-robust solutions with industry, public actors and students — from mining and construction machinery to waterborne transport, defence and civil preparedness, with sustainability in mind.

Explore our projects
Latest publications

Research

Model-driven development — decisions backed by simulation, not guesswork.

We model, simulate and visualise entire life-cycles already in the conceptual design phase, so that value, cost and sustainability can be weighed before anything is built, and the right life-cycle solution put in place.

Our research areas
Ongoing projects

Students & partners

Real problems, real partners — from thesis projects to research centre.

Students work on live challenges with our industry and public partners: thesis projects, global design teams, and our PDRL research team for the tough research questions. All with innovation output in mind!

Programmes & thesis
Work with us

News

All news →

  • Submarine capabilities in research and education
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    Submarine capabilities in research and education

    BTH and EmbeddedArt have a collaboration agreement where the Malen submarine (with its onboard experimental technology platform) is available for research and education efforts. During a day at BTH CEO Jörgen Juhlin and staff demonstrated the capabilities of Malen and…

32

ongoing research projects

26

researchers & PhD candidates

38

completed projects

274

publications on this site

Research

Four ways we create value through research

We are an applied research lab with mechanical engineering as the core since the early 1990s. Together with industry, public actors and students we innovate, model, simulate and prototype products and systems before they are built, so that value, cost, sustainability and resilience can be weighed early, and the right solution put in place.

Our work spans digital twins and simulation, AI-supported engineering, product-service systems and innovation engineering, from mining and construction machinery to waterborne transport, defence and civil preparedness.

Digital twins & simulation

Discrete-event and agent-based simulation of systems-of-systems, from quarries to city ferries.

AI-supported engineering

Data-driven design, decision support and explainable AI in product development and manufacturing.

Product-service systems

Value-driven design and changeability for circular, servitized offerings.

Innovation engineering

Methods, tools and environments for creative, needs-driven innovation — from early concepts to prototypes with partners and students.

Projects

Ongoing research projects

All ongoing projects →  ·  Previous projects →

Publications

Latest from DiVA

Peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, theses and reports from the lab.

Browse all publications →

Journal
2026A graphic design proposal for interpreting results in affective experimentations
Olivetti, E. C., Marcolin, F., Castiblanco Jimenez, I. A., Ulrich, L., Ferraro, M., Vezzetti, E., Scurati, G. W., Dozio, N., & Ferrise, F. · The Visual ComputerConference
2025Generative AI in Assessment and Feedback Generation in Higher Education: A Systematic Review
Yavariabdi, A., Paudel, B., Carleton, T., & Andrade de Almeida, C. D. · 17th International Conference on Education Technology and Computers, ICETC 2025, Barcelona, Sept 18-21, 2025Journal
2025Artificial Intelligence in Product Development: A Catalyst for Sustainable IT Practices for Business
Mamillapalli, L. S., Mandagondi, L. G., Aeddula, O., & Larsson, T. · AE International Journal of Multidiciplinary ResearchReport
2026Simulation Environment for Large-scale Evacuation: Modelling Approach and Experimentation
Bertoni, M., Larsson, T., Ryman, P., & von Buxhoeveden, A. · Blekinge Institute of Technology Research report 2026:02Journal
2026Decision-making with eXtended reality and artificial intelligence: practitioner-informed design guidelines for decision support systems
Giussani, R., Scurati, G. W., Frank, B., Ferrise, F., & Bertoni, M. · Journal of engineering designConference
2025Differentiating Monitoring Approaches for Engineered-to-Order (EtO) and Configure-to-Order (CtO) Assets
Anderson, M., West, S., & Alves, K. · 11th International Conference on AI and the Digital Economy, CADE 2025, Venice, July 14-16, 2025Conference
2026Exploring a Scenario-Driven Design Model for Leveraging Virtual Simulation in Future Transportation Service Innovation: A Case Study of Smart Electric Van in Europe
Zhang, Y., Huang, C., & Ding, L. · Late breaking papers from the 27th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2025, Gothenburg, June 22–27, 2025Conference
2025A roadmap for XR integration in industry: challenges and opportunities
Scurati, G. W. · 2025 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct, ISMAR-Adjunct 2025, Daejeon, Oct 8-12, 2025Conference
2025Triple-Use Innovation: Embedding Sustainability into Civil-Military Innovation
Adelson, L., Elfsberg, J., Larsson, T., & Gustafsson, I. · ISPIM Connects Yokohama – Yokohama, Japan on 1-3 December 2025.Report
2025SLUTRAPPORT: RECS – Resiliens i el- & laddningssystem – utmaningar och möjligheter med marin kollektivtrafik (RECS – Resilience in electricity & charging systems – challenges and opportunities with marine public transport)
Larsson, T., Bertoni, M., & Husberg, T · Energimyndigheten

Facilities

Our research facilities

VPSLx

VPSLx

Visualisation & Product Service Lab — a 180° curved LED wall for immersive visualisation, XR and multi-user simulation in concept and decision studies.

BTH Innovation Labs

BTH Innovation Labs

Makerspace and prototyping workshop with 3D printing, electronics and rapid tooling — open to students, researchers and partners.

Volvo CE Electric Site — scaled demo

Volvo CE Electric Site — scaled demo

Scaled quarry with autonomous, electrified machines for testing site-level automation, logistics and digital twins.

Industry 4.0 cyber-physical factory

Industry 4.0 cyber-physical factory

Modular smart-factory line (Festo CP Factory) with robots, sensors and MES integration for research and teaching in digital manufacturing.

Partners

Research partners and funders

For students

Course or thesis projects, Stanford Global Innovation project, and tech acceleration with us

Work on real challenges with our industry partners — as a thesis student, in global design teams, or as a founder.

Programmes & thesis

For industry & public partners

Co-create with the lab

Joint research projects, decision-support demonstrators and access to the Virtual Production Studio Lab and Innovation Space.

Collaborate with us

Sustainability and resilience

Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet.

We contribute to several of the goals, where #9 and #12 are our high-impact goals.

Our breakdown of the PDRL contributions →

  • SDG 1: No poverty
  • SDG 3: Good health and well-being
  • SDG 4: Quality education
  • SDG 5: Gender equality
  • SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy
  • SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth
  • SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
  • SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
  • SDG 13: Climate action
  • SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
  • SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals