CoTwin: From startup collaboration to new business models for the mobility industry
In the transport industry, safety and efficiency are everything. Yet the data needed to achieve it has long remained locked in silos, guarded by strict regulations and competitive caution. This paradox became the catalyst for a unique collaboration: The CoTwin project.
The journey of CoTwin began in the startup collaboration program MobilityXlab. More specifically, in a Proof of Concept (PoC) between the startup CanaryBit and corporate partners, to test the use of confidential computing on telecommunication infrastructure. This early pilot demonstrated that vehicles could transmit data to a secure environment without exposing sensitive information.
Recognizing the potential to help solve inefficiencies in the transport sector, the partners turned this pilot into a larger initiative, funded by Vinnova’s FFI program. With collaboration as its backbone, CoTwin brought together a robust and diverse group led by MobilityXlab and Lindholmen Science Park: Volvo Group, Ericsson, CanaryBit, RISE (AstaZero), and the City of Gothenburg. The goal was to propose a "collaborative digital twin platform" capable of securely sharing infrastructure and vehicle data on a larger scale.
How the technology works
The process starts by capturing raw sensor or video data directly from vehicles and transmitting it via a 5G network to a local telecom edge computing node.
At this edge layer, the data enters a confidential computing environment, where it is processed and sanitized to remove sensitive information, while being analyzed according to specific applications.
Once analyzed, only the relevant insights are exposed through an API, allowing third-party developers or public authorities to receive actionable information without ever accessing the raw, proprietary, or private data streams.
To prove that the technology worked in a real-world urban environment, the project executed a live pilot use case. A Volvo truck equipped with 5G antennas and onboard cameras drove through Lindholmsallén in Gothenburg. As the truck moved through the city, it captured real-time video of road signs, such as speed limits.
This data was securely transmitted via a 5G network to a confidential computing node at the network edge. There, the system validated the accuracy of the road signs against data provided by the City of Gothenburg, to make sure that the signs were in the right place and correctly visible. This test demonstrated the technical viability of the entire chain: from vehicle sensors to confidential computing and back to the data owner, all while maintaining strict data confidentiality.
From deep tech to business reality
But for innovation to find its way from the research paper into the real world, adoption needs to be viable. For the industry, it means having a clear business case behind it. So, with the technical infrastructure validated, the project turned its attention to market applications.
CoTwin organized a hackathon with 42 innovators and entrepreneurs to test the technical environment. Structured as an intensive innovation boot camp, the event split participants into eight teams. The groups were a mix of entrepreneurs, system designers, and business analysts, all tasked with using CoTwin’s core technologies—specifically decentralized and confidential computing. An expert jury, featuring representatives from the partner organizations and WirelessCar, reviewed the pitches.
The winning solutions demonstrated immediate practical applications. One prototype showcased how vehicles and infrastructure could combine sensor data to identify safety hazards in real-time. Another focused on a new business logic for Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) energy management, a complex system allowing electric cars to stabilize the power grid without exposing user data.
Other teams utilized anonymized data flows to create digital twin visualizations, offering city planners new tools that remain strictly privacy compliant.
The innovations presented at the hackathon served as the primary data source for the project’s Business Viability Assessment. The assessment analyzed the patterns emerging from the hackathon to determine which business models were economically sustainable. It concluded that while broad "smart city" applications generated interest, the most attractive business cases lay in "proprietary efficiency" models for heavy vehicle logistics and safety-critical operations.
Regulatory clarity
Technology and business models mean little without regulatory clarity. To ensure the road ahead was clear, CoTwin partners CanaryBit, Ericsson, and Volvo Group joined the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection’s (IMY) regulatory sandbox.
The regulatory sandbox provides a structured environment for IMY and innovators to address "gray zone issues" where legal precedent or clear guidance is absent. With CoTwin, the aim is to investigate how camera information from different types of vehicles or traffic systems can be shared with other actors in an integrity-safe manner to increase traffic safety. In March 2026, the outcomes of this collaboration will be published in a public report, offering guidance for other companies facing similar challenges and paving the way for more companies in the mobility and transportation sector to adopt the technology framework proposed under CoTwin.
Collaboration and the alignment of innovation, technical validation, and business and regulatory viability is what makes the CoTwin results important for Sweden’s competitive edge. By sharing data in a safe and privacy-protected way, the transportation and logistics industries can develop data-based solutions that can make mobility safe, sustainable, accessible, and more efficient.
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Ahmed Ouaddani
The CoTwin project was finnanced by Vinnova, Sweden's Innovation Agency
