Partners

Cefriel is a not-for-profit digital innovation center, founded in 1988 by the Polytechnic University of Milan to help the country’s businesses, society, and economy grow and develop by using and expanding skills and knowledge in the field of technologies and digital services. The center’s mission is to make digital innovation to benefit the country, organically combining research, innovation, and training, as well as leveraging the skills and knowledge from the world of research, companies, and the public administration. Cefriel has been a Benefit Corporation since 2023, to help generate a positive impact on society, the Country system, and the environment through digital innovation. By using methods, approaches, tools, and models based on state-of-the-art international research and innovation, Cefriel helps companies and the public administration define their vision and establish their strategies for seizing on digital technologies, helping them scout and assess innovative technologies, then build and manage a portfolio of digital innovation projects.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, based in Germany, is the world’s leading applied research organization. By prioritizing key technologies for the future and commercializing its findings in business and industry, it plays a major role in the innovation process. Fraunhofer IOSB is one of the larger Fraunhofer institutes and, like the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, it stands for applied research for the benefit of society and to strengthen the German and European economy. Fraunhofer IOSB has been developing open system architectures and solutions in the field of the Industrial Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 for over 20 years. Besides this expertise, the institute offers advanced solutions such as the asset administration shell open source implementation FA3ST and the open, digital ecosystem for sustainable, resilient supply chains DiS2C built on the Smart Factory Web reference architecture.

CORE Innovation Centre (CORE IC for short) is a non-profit research organisation, a subsidiary of CORE Group, dedicated to fostering an innovative industrial ecosystem. CORE IC aims to provide individuals, industries and companies with opportunities to reach their true potential, to make industries smarter and greener, more sustainable and more socially inclusive. Industry 4.0 is where CORE IC chooses to focus its research and innovation efforts, deploying advances in a range of technologies i.e. IoT, big data, machine and deep learning, edge and cloud computing to maximise the potential of both people and entities in multiple sectors.

AIMEN Technology Centre, with more than 55 years of history, is currently a national and European benchmark in research, development and technological innovation in the areas of advanced manufacturing and laser manufacturing, digital technologies for manufacturing, smart materials, smart systems and recycling; as well as in the provision of differentiating technological services to the industry in the areas of manufacturing with advanced joining technologies, robotics and process digitization, a flexible cross-engineering service highly specialised in welding, corrosion, equipment calculation, product simulation and material tests. AIMEN will participate in the CARACOL Use Case. Aimen will work in the engineering and process development & optimisation for the specific component (encompassing prototyping & ramp up). This means that AIMEN will focus its efforts on the parametrization, characterization of manufacturing material and building strategy considering simple and small-scale specimens to reach all necessary information to then transfer the information to industrial production stage in CARACOL. Aimen will also work on the design, development, deployment and administration of Asset Administration Shells, which will allow the registration of the capabilities of the assets of the partners integrating the value chain in the MaaS architecture.

Netcompany-Intrasoft is a leading European IT Solutions and Services Group with strong international presence and expertise, offering innovative and added-value solutions of the highest quality to a wide range of international and national public and private organizations. As of November 2021, Netcompany-Intrasoft became a member of the Netcompany Group, a Denmark located IT company founded in 2000. Netcompany is the fastest growing and most successful IT services company in the Nordics, owning vast technology experience and deep industry-specific knowledge, creating innovative solutions tailored to meet business goals.

Innovalia Association is an association of business origin that was born with the mission of promoting technological innovation in the business environment, and in particular, in small and medium-sized companies. It is founded by a group of technology-based SMEs, highly aware that innovation as an intrinsic process necessary to maintain business competitiveness. The Innovalia Association is a business R&D unit whose main objective is to manage the technological developments of the companies belonging to the Association and their interaction with other external technological agents.

ATLANTIS Engineering is an SME highly experienced in developing services and innovative products for the manufacturing industry, emphasized on offering decision support for management and optimization activities related with assets’ life cycle, and on the streamlining of various maintenance related processes. The company supports stakeholders of the manufacturing community to understand and prioritize smart and efficient solutions towards cognitive manufacturing by implementing cutting-edge Industry 4.0 strategies. ATLANTIS’ software products aim in assisting manufacturers in obtaining a holistic view of their plant performance and thus, choose more competitive and agile management options.

UNPARALLEL is a Portuguese SME that develops digital technologies and provides consulting services on digitisation with a strong foundation on research and innovation. UNPARALLEL develops new products ranging from software/web solutions to hardware devices/sensors, and provides high-value consulting services on technological development, strategic insights, market intelligence, etc. Main target markets include (but not restricted to): Internet of Things, Industrial IoT, Smart Cities solutions, Agri-food instrumentation, Water-smart systems, Smart Factories/ Manufacturing, etc.

TTS - Technology Transfer System S.r.l. was founded in 1993 focusing on the development of innovative manufacturing technologies and automation systems. The company business profile has been widened during time, complementing traditional research activities in the area of simulation and knowledge management with the development of proprietary and customized IT solutions for manufacturing companies and technology transfer actions. The company main commitment is developing and providing integrated product-service solutions to SMEs, with the goal to find customized and effective answers to customers' requirements and growth targets. TTS expertise lies with the development of digital representations, that can be linked and continuously updated with data coming from the real world exploiting the Digital Twin paradigm: this technology is used for setting up new plants, testing PLC logics and as a monitoring system for production plant behaviour.

Holonix was founded in 2010 by the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano, after many years of consolidation in national and international research projects. The deep integration between the skills needed in research projects and the know-how acquired in 10 years of collaboration with Italian manufacturing SMEs is the ideal catalyst for the creation of concrete products/services with an innovative DNA, able to adapt and grow according to the real needs of our customers, further evolving in new projects based on field experiences and directing the discoveries of the research towards the everyday use. Its main expertise deals with the creation of value from data collected with IoT/CPS technologies from the field and along the value chain. It supports companies on their digital transformation journey, leveraging the benefits of Analytics, Big Data and AI.

Helvia.ai is committed to transform communication for companies by harnessing the power of Conversational AI. At helvia.ai we believe that Artificial Intelligence is the key to unlocking the modern world of information. Leveraging Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), such as GPT-4, our products help companies interact with their customers and employees in a more efficient and engaging way than ever before. Helvia.ai’s end-to-end solutions, with built-in semantic search and generative text capabilities, enable business owners and vendors to offer premium experiences to those that matter the most, customers and employees.

Visual Components (VIS) is recognized as a global leader in the manufacturing 3D simulation industry and a trusted technology partner to many leading industrial automation brands. Visual Components offers a 3D factory simulation and visualization suite consisting of innovative tools that set the modern simulation standard. The simulation suite gives machine builders, system integrators, and manufacturers worldwide a simple, quick, and highly cost-effective way to build and simulate their total process solutions. With solutions for sales, engineering design, manufacturing optimization, and offline programming, hundreds of organizations worldwide use Visual Components software to support critical planning and decision-making processes.

Mondragon Unibertsitatea is a practical university immersed in business reality that combines training, research and knowledge transfer to improve the competitive position of companies and organisations. A University that listens to companies and society and responds effectively and with quality to their challenges.

• -It is part of MONDRAGON Corporation
• -With a solid research and transfer model articulated around real cooperation with companies.
• -More than half of the research funds are private research contracts.
• -It is ranked on the rop of the list of European universities in knowledge transfer by U-Multirank.

Trimek S.A. offers innovative solutions for high quality measuring machines and related services at extremely competitive prices in markets all over the world. TRIMEK S.A.’s main objective is to provide hi-tech services geared to satisfy the requirements of its customers’ business, improve quality on a permanent basis and ensure constant development of products and services to meet the current and future needs of customers. This eagerness to provide the latest solutions has led TRIMEK S.A. to take part in ambitious R+D projects, considering excellence and knowledge management to be key elements in providing ideal customer service, with considerable emphasis on training and development of new technology. TRIMEK S.A. has arranged internal R&D projects, has taken part in others with other businesses and R+D centres at home and abroad, and has many international associates.

CARACOL is a pioneering Italian company in the field of industrial additive manufacturing. The mission is to push the boundaries of 3D printing beyond what was previously thought possible. CARACOL is specialize in Large Format Additive Manufacturing (LFAM) technologies and the core business is the supply of robotic AM cells which allow for the creation of large-scale components with no limits in scale, shape, or materials. Caracol’s LFAM systems use a broad range of high-performing polymers and composites. Thanks to the creation of proprietary algorithms and the development of an innovative and patented extrusion system, CARACOL has transformed robotic supports into an integrated AM technology. CARACOL has developed advanced manufacturing solutions for custom metal components based on Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) technology. Specifically, WAAM technology, leverages wire arc welding techniques to build up metal structures layer by layer, offering a cost-effective method for producing large-scale, robust components and enabling the delivery of tailored AM solutions for aerospace, automotive, energy, and marine applications.

Consorzio Intellimech is a private non-profit research consortium founded in Bergamo (Lombardy, Italy) in 2007 to fill the gap between the research and the industrial sector, promoting the collaboration of companies of different sizes and from various industrial domains. The consortium currently involves more than 50 high-tech enterprises, making it one of the most important Italian private initiatives in this field. Intellimech's research activity primarily focuses on the Smart Factory field, including ICT, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented/Virtual Reality, Robotics and Human-Robot Interaction. Intellimech manages applied R&D and interdisciplinary experimental activities into pre-competitive technological platforms and prototype production for innovative infra-sectorial applications to serve the partners. Moreover, Intellimech has experience concretizing shared research activities through vertical projects tailored for specific partners. Intellimech relies on two laboratories: JOiiNT Lab, established in partnership with IIT and focused on advanced robotics, and SmartLab, a demonstrative laboratory where machines from Intellimech partners are interconnected following the Industry 4.0 paradigm.

Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne (SIPBB) is a private Swiss non-profit organisation that performs and supports industry-focused applied research and development. As part of the national and international network of the Switzerland Innovation Foundation, SIPBB wants to generate research investments from abroad, promote Swiss innovation and startups and implement research results into marketable products. The Swiss Smart Factory is one of four research centres of SIPBB. Since its opening, the Swiss Smart Factory has established itself as the first test and demonstration platform for Industry 4.0 in Switzerland. It has become a supermarket of ideas where companies of all sizes are welcome to learn and find what technology fits the needs of their company and product. With the lighthouse project, an entire production ecosystem demonstrate how Industry 4.0 can already function today. The team around research manager Dominic Gorecky and project manager Michael Wendling brings the know-how to the project as well as the network of SSF. The support association "Swiss Smart Factory" already has over 70 members, 60 of whom are involved in the lighthouse project. With the lighthouse project, we are heading towards the "transparent factory". Visitors to SSF can follow the entire product lifecycle along the production ecosystem - from product design to packaging. To build smart production and generate higher added value, technologies are not used individually, but together. In doing so, we focus not only on the machines, but on the entire environment - building, infrastructure and machine. Our out-of-the-box thinking allows us to do test runs without generating huge investments at the company. The important thing about the lighthouse project is that the focus is never on the product (a drone in the first project) but always on the means of production.