The University of Szeged is contributing as a consortium partner in an international project funded under ITEA 4 – the software innovation cluster of the EUREKA network – led by KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.
The University of Szeged is playing a key role in a major international research effort through its participation in the MONA LISA project – short for Monitoring and Analytics for the whole Lifecycle, on Models, Hardware, and Software. This initiative is part of ITEA 4, the European framework for collaborative innovation in software-intensive systems and services, operating under the EUREKA network. MONA LISA addresses the growing complexity of cyber-physical systems (CPS), where hardware and software are deeply intertwined. As such systems increasingly shape critical aspects of modern life – from healthcare to transportation – ensuring their reliability is more important than ever.
One of the project’s main goals is to reduce the fragmentation of tools used across the CPS development lifecycle – a common issue that leads to knowledge gaps, longer time to market, and higher costs. MONA LISA responds by embedding hardware-software co-design into software development processes and enhancing toolchains with visual analytics. By integrating different development environments, the project advances diagnostics, validation, and safety across diverse domains. It also strengthens the open-source ecosystem by providing monitoring solutions that are not yet available today.
The consortium launched its project, titled Monitoring and Analytics for the whole Lifecycle, from Concept to System Models, Hardware, and Software (project ID: 2024-1.2.6-EUREKA-2024-00007), on October 1, 2024. In Hungary, the initiative is supported with HUF 69,902,988 in funding from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund (NRDI Fund).
Summary of the first milestone phase:
The implementation of the MONA LISA project is now underway, bringing together partners from Sweden, Turkey, and Hungary. The initiative aims to develop innovative software solutions that support the design, development, and maintenance of hardware and software components in cyber-physical systems across their entire lifecycle, aligning the specific requirements of both domains.
Among the Hungarian consortium members, ELI ALPS contributes as a use case provider, while FrontEndArt Kft. is responsible for developing trace log processing and visualization solutions. The University of Szeged plays a central role in model definition and implementation and leads Work Package 4, which focuses on generating formalized models based on specifications and trace logs. In addition, SZTE researchers are involved in identifying discrepancies between different models and detecting potential anomalies.
By the first milestone, the research team had explored the potential of large language models (LLMs) and assessed the applicability of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology in the creation of formal models. Particular attention was given to the secure handling of use case documents, which often contain sensitive business information. In parallel, discussions among the Hungarian partners marked the beginning of the design process for log trace analysis, based on the use case provided by ELI.
The research activities began on October 1, 2024, and are scheduled to continue until September 30, 2027.
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