Demo Week 2025: Advancing collaboration in public safety

From underwater to space and cyber, this year’s WARA Public Safety (PS) demo week proved once again why collaboration in public safety is more relevant than ever. Held in Gränsö, Västervik, from September 16–18, the event brought together researchers, innovators, end users, and decision-makers from academia, industry, and government agencies to explore how autonomous systems contribute to a resilient society.

Highlights from the week:

• Live demonstrations of heterogeneous agents across multiple domains, showcasing real-world applications of autonomous technologies
• Workshops on Human-AI teaming, including a focused session on crisis response for researchers and PhD students
• Strategic dialogues on trust in Swedish defense innovation and civil preparedness, featuring MSB and Visual Sweden

The week emphasized the shift from theory to exploration, with hands-on experiences that bridged research and operational impact. Participants engaged with the latest developments in collaborative autonomous agents, multidomain vehicles and sensors, and AI in complex environments.

Voices from the event

“For us, this event is a key forum for networking, building new connections, finding collaboration partners, showcasing our products, and staying up to date with developments in the field. Demo Week is one of the most important events we take part in. Based in northern Sweden, we’re used to traveling far but if we had to choose one event to prioritize, this would be it. This year, we’re leaving with great feedback on our UAV Odin, promising new collaborations, and valuable insights from the presentations on stage.” – Lena Brunnström, SmartPlanes Technologies AB.

“WARA PS Demonstration Week bridges the gap between cutting-edge technology and societal need. Each year, we gather actors from different domains to test and demonstrate autonomous systems in realistic scenarios, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see how this cross-domain collaboration accelerates innovation. The concrete results and the enthusiasm from participants, from established researchers to emerging startups, demonstrate how we’re building capabilities that truly enhance Sweden’s preparedness and safety.” – WARA Public Safety Management 

Thanks to all contributors and attendees!

Pictures from this year’s demo week