SISSA: less waste and more efficient systems thanks to Digital Twins
10 projects will be funded by Spoke 9 to develop Digital Twin prototypes, including the port of Trieste, worth a total of about 2.5 million euros. 9 companies from the Triveneto region and 7 from the Mezzogiorno are involved
Trieste, 24th May 2024
From the nautical to the construction sector, and from the food sector to agriculture: these are the application areas of the projects selected by SISSA during the first round of Cascade Calls of the iNEST Consortium. The winning proposals, with a total value of 1.7 million euros for Triveneto region and 750,000 euros for the Mezzogiorno, were presented on 17th May at the University of Verona during an iNEST event attended by researchers working for the Consortium. This allowed companies to identify other possible connections with their respective scientific sectors.
The funded projects reflect the themes of Spoke 9, whose leader is SISSA. «The selected proposals, both in Triveneto and in Mezzogiorno, cover very diverse areas for the development of Digital Twins: from more classic developments in the nautical industry to DTs for distribution networks and services, and to infrastructures of strategic interest for the community,» said Gianluigi Rozza, Spoke 9 Leader for SISSA. «It is a great opportunity to develop Spoke 9 themes and for the areas involved, but it is also a strategic operation for technology transfer and to stimulate innovation.»
Water networks made more efficient with DTs: AquaFinDiT, ORION, Pinksand
Several project proposals aim at the development of Digital Twins for the optimization of water resources. This is the case of AquaFinDiT, by 2F Water Venture S.r.l. Benefit Company, and ORION, carried out by Ekso S.r.l. in collaboration with Fincons S.p.A., both winning projects of the Mezzogiorno Call. The first project aims to exploit a new theory on physical and mathematical models to realize a digital replica of an aqueduct system; this will improve water resource management and leak detection. Similarly, the second project aims to monitor and optimize water distribution networks through timely maintenance interventions and predictive analysis carried out with a Digital Twin. A similar proposal is that of Pinksand, developed by AcegasApsAmga S.p.A. in collaboration with eXact lab S.r.l., a winning project of the Triveneto Call. Pinksand focuses on creating a DT for a portion of the water network in Trieste, capable of improving the planning of activities and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through a cutting-edge methodology.
Optimized resource management through Digital Twins: FtTtF, GIANT
The use of DTs for efficient resource use is not just about water. The Farm to Twin to Fork (FtTtF) project, led by ASAC S.r.l. and winner of the Triveneto Call, introduces the use of Digital Twins in food production: FtTtF develops DTs of organic matter to assess and estimate the shelf-life of food products, helping to reduce waste and improve their quality. On the energy side, on the other hand, there is GIANT, a winning proposal of the Mezzogiorno Call, led by Key4 S.r.l. with the participation of WPS S.r.l. GIANT aims to optimize the operation of data centers through Digital Twins and artificial intelligence, with the development of a dynamic resource management system capable of reducing energy consumption and predicting potential risks.
DTs enable predictive maintenance: DPM, ITEM
Most of the submitted proposals have in common the use of Digital Twins for predictive maintenance—the type of maintenance carried out in advance following the identification of one or more parameters measured and processed through a mathematical model. Examples are two projects that won the Triveneto Call: Driveline Predictive Maintenance (DPM), by Carraro S.p.A., and Infrastructural Twins for Evolutionary Monitoring (ITEM), led by Nplus S.r.l. in collaboration with Lombardi Ingegneria S.r.l. The first one replaces the traditional approach of scheduled maintenance with a system that monitors the operating conditions of professional vehicles, such as construction equipment and agricultural tractors, in real-time, which also helps reduce the environmental impact due to the production and disposal of spare parts and consumables. On the other hand, the second proposal develops DTs for managing and monitoring the life cycle of civil infrastructures to reduce uncertainties in structural assessments and prevent damaging events, with significant benefits to the population’s safety and wealth.
Digital Twins can revolutionize the naval industry: SoLoDTwIN, ModeBoat, MIX-RAY
The strong territorial vocation of iNEST is reflected in the project proposals that won SISSA funding: indeed, many of them deal with the nautical and port sectors. SoLoDTwIN, developed by Transpobank S.r.l. together with InfoFactory S.r.l. and winner of the Triveneto Call, aims to create a Digital Twin for the port system of the Gulf of Trieste, to create a real-time model that integrates information on road, maritime, and rail traffic, as well as weather conditions. Another project for Triveneto is ModeBoat by PLUS S.r.l., which aims to standardize the development of recreational boats: through efficient information management and data integration from sea trials, ModeBoat has the objective to reduce costs and increase product quality. Finally, the MIX-RAY project for the Mezzogiorno, developed by MICAD S.r.l. in collaboration with CO.M.MEDIA S.r.l., aims to use DTs in combination with technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality. The goal is the creation of virtual 3D replicas of yachts, on a 1:1 scale, to visualize and manage boats in a digital environment, in support of production and after-sales experience.
The iNEST Consortium funds innovation
The iNEST Consortium Cascade Calls comprise a total budget of about 43 million euros. The first Calls were opened in August 2023; now, in May 2024, a second round of Calls has come, worth 22.4 million euros. The goal is to increase the capacity for sharing expertise in the Italian Northeast territory and to generate an innovative network capable of acting even after the National Recovery and Resilience Plan is concluded. The new Spoke 9 Calls can be found on the iNEST Consortium website; the application deadline is on 8th July 2024 at 12 p.m.
