CROBOHUB Croatian Robotics Digital Innovation Hub, hosted within Innovation Centre Nikola Tesla (ICENT), is the key Croatian facility to support companies to become more competitive by improving their business/production processes as well as products and services by up-taking digital technologies and robotic solutions.

CROBOHUB acts as one-stop-shop, helping Croatian companies to digitalise their business through efficient orchestrating of various stakeholders in robotic innovation ecosystem such as research institutions, business support institutions and businesses operating in the field of robotics that may contribute to the development and application of advanced robotic systems in manufacturing. CROBOHUB also provides connections with investors, facilitates access to financing for digital transformations, helps connect users and suppliers of robotic innovations across the value chain and foster synergies between digital and other key enabling technologies (such as biotech, advanced materials, etc.). Digital technologies.

Digital Innovation Services and Facilities

Cranfield University is host to a range of Digital Innovation Opportunities, supported through its Research and Innovation Office and several domain-specific digital innovation centres, including DARTeC (Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre, IVHM (Integrated Vehicle Health Management), IMEC (Intelligent Mobility Engineering Centre), AIRC (Aerospace Integration Research Centre), CUBIC/Cranfield Innovation and Technology Centre, Cranfield Eagle Labs, with over 100 members from Aerospace, Transport, & Manufacturing sectors. Furthermore it supports SMEs through its ERDF grants (Innovation in Manufacturing, Aerospace and Green Economy https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/business/develop-your-technology-and-produc…). It offers data engineering testbeds supported by a range of state of the art digital design, modelling and simulation tools, IoT-enabled physical testbeds, as well as latest Augmented Reality and visualisation technologies, and a recently launched digital control centre, making it the first Digital Ait Traffic Control Tower in the UK. It includes High Performance Computing platforms, namely ‘Astral’ and ‘Delta’, with the latter distributed computing system offering 18 Tflops across its 1280 cores, equipped with 2.4GHz memory, 4x NVidia K80 GPUs for accelerated compute capabilities, accessed via its PBS pro scheduler, and using EDR Infiniband networking (100Gbps), 117TB of usable scratch storage, with applications software stored on separate redundant BeeGFS file store. Data-driven innovation is a key activity across a large spectrum of Cranfield University activities, benefiting direct industrial members of its centres, associate members, clients, and partners of the above.

Digital Innovation Hub Centres

DARTeC: The 67m£ Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre with strong funding from industry (Thales, SAAB, Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited, Aveillant) and a strong focus on connected systems) presents new opportunities for Digital Twin technologies across the spectrum of activities supporting the Digital Aviation technologies of the future.

Integrated Vehicle Health Management Centre (IVHM), with members/clients such as Boeing, BAE Systems, THALES and Meggitt involved in cutting edge development and innovation on data-driven vehicle health management services, strongly linked to Digital Twins.

IMEC: The Intelligent Mobility Centre together with the MUEAVI (Multi User Environment for Autonomous Vehicle Innovation) offer a strong innovation environment to boost the impact of Digital Twin technologies on connected and autonomous vehicles.

AIRC: The Aerospace Integration Research Centre jointly funded by Rolls Royce and Airbus is a central hub for Aerospace Research and Innovation, including facilities with visualisation screens, flight simulators, air traffic management simulator, drawing also also capabilities of the on-site Cranfield airport, National Flying Laboratory Centre, large scale gas turbine test area, would offer opportunities for Digital Twin technologies.

Cranfield Innovation Centre, Technology Park (hosting among other the Nissan Technical Centre), and Cranfield University Business Incubation Centre (CUBIC), Cranfield Eagle Labs for avaiation technology supported by Barclays, along with IMAGE initiative (Innovation in Manufacturing, Aerospace and Green Economy) offer thriving Innovation Hub opportunities, which alongside Cranfield’s links with National Innovation Hubs (Digital Catapult, Transport Catapult, and High Value Manufacturing Catapult) in various contexts will offer interfacing and innovation diffusion opportunities.

Cranfield University Context

Cranfield is a specialist postgraduate university that is a global leader for education and transformational research in technology and management.

We are focused on the specialist themes of aerospace, defence and security, energy and power, environment and agrifood, manufacturing, transport systems, and water. Cranfield School of Management is world leader in management education and research.

We are home to many world-class, large-scale facilities which enhance our teaching and research. We are the only university in Europe to own and run an airport and to have airline status.

Cranfield teaches over 4,500 postgraduate students each year and employs 1,500 academic and support staff. We have the largest number of engineering master’s students in the UK. Our staff-to-student ratio is one of the best for any university in the UK (one member of academic staff to every seven students).

We work closely with business, industry and government across the world. Through our industry partnerships, applied research projects and our executive education and professional development programmes, we currently work with over 1,500 companies and organisations.

We are ranked number one in the UK for research income from industry per academic, with 81% of our research classed as world-leading or internationally excellent by REF (Research Excellence Framework, 2014). 

We formed in 1946 as the College of Aeronautics, the first postgraduate college of its kind. The School of Management was founded in 1967.

  Digital technologies.

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is a UK based technology innovation centre and the process arm of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

CPI collaborates with universities, SMEs and large corporates to help overcome innovation challenges and develop next generation products and processes. Operating across a broad range of technologies, we support our partners at every step of the way; from concept to market; business support to technology development; from scale up to supply chain intervention

Our partners operate across diverse markets including Healthcare, Food & Agriculture, FMCG, Electronics, Energy, Transportation and Construction. CPI is able to support such a broad-base of industries through our unique innovation processes, together with our diverse and expanding platform of technological expertise.

Overall the combination of CPI’s innovation processes and our outstanding scientific expertise, enables our partners to get more products to market faster, and at a lower overall cost. Digital technologies.

CP Lab is based in Newcastle University and consists of  a team of multi-disciplinary researchers, with a primary focus on modelling and simulation for dependable cyber-physical systems. CP Lab is a key component of the University’s £58m investment in its Urban Sciences Building (USB) and consequently in urban sustainability research.

As part of the University, the Lab is non profit making and measures its success by the quality of its work (referenced by academic papers and conference talks) by engagement with external organisation and by the impact on the real world that such work has.

The Lab’s research focuses on CPS applications such as transport, agriculture, smart buildings and smart grids and our work is often associated with modelling platforms:

Overture – a tool supporting modelling in VDM notation
Crescendo – a tool supporting collaborative modelling between different engineering disciplines
Symphony – a toolsuite supporting modelling systems of systems

These tools allow visualisation and modelling of both cyber-physical systems and systems - of - systems and therefore reduce greatly the time and cost associated with development and enhancement of such systems. As part of the team who developed these tools from scratch, the Lab is well placed to offer expert advice and help to Organisations in need of such service.  Digital technologies.

We are the innovation ecosystem of urban mobility solutions for cities and corporations, to accelerate the transformation and digitalisation of the sector, with particular focus on Southern Europe. Formally established as non-profit organization (association) in 2017 but operating and engaging actors since 2015, our ecosystem gathers 500 startups & SMEs (140 are associates, within the verticals of shared mobility, smart cities, electric mobility, smart logistics, autonomous and connected mobility), 225 corporates, 120 investors and 16 cities located mainly in Spain. 

Main activities are:

- Related to SMEs and corporates:  Digital transformation by working on open innovation, pilot testing, scale-up of solutions and business development.

- Related to Cities: pilot testing, citizen engagement & social awareness on new sustainable mobility services and technologies.

Activities that boost the digital transformation of local SMEs comprise the following:

Use of digital technologies developed by start-up, to facilitate their acquisition and usage by SMEs (Ex: multimodal platforms, booking services, etc.).
Compilation of data generated from the activity of local SMEs to optimize their business processes.
Institutional communication and lobby to change framework conditions and regulation, in order to facilitate access to global digital markets.
Partnership and consortium building with the aim of facilitating local SMEs participation in international projects (EU H2020) focused on accelerating digital transformation, and replication of innovative business models.
Webinars and online seminars to increase digital and skills awareness and help local SMEs to improve their availability of financing & funding.
Investment events to raise up finance resources for digital innovation and new disruptive business models.
Digital technologies.

CONFIRM DIH is focused on the application of digital innovation across the manufacturing value chain to foster growth and competitiveness in the Irish manufacturing industry and enable Irish based manufacturing SME and larger companies to compete within the rapidly changing global landscape.

 

Smart manufacturing involves optimising production systems, developing Smart products, Smart machines, Smart production systems, and Smart supply chains by adding intelligence, and enhanced information technology and IoT.  These new technologies will be at the heart of: Industry 4.0, the factories of the future, increasing product line adaptability, enabling real-time decision making, shortening supply-chains, and speeding up the development of new innovations to produce higher-quality goods at reduced costs across all industry sectors.

 

The CONFIRM DIH incorporates a Centre of Excellence with shared research facilities, access to state-of-the-art equipment and a broad ecosystem of stakeholders. CONFIRM DIH offers technology and support services to companies of varying sizes from SME and Mid-Caps to large MNEs. It provides access to knowledge, expertise and training in the smart manufacturing domain. CONFIRM’s solutions, moreover, provide for different customized approaches addressing companies on different innovation stages, from awareness raising and maturity level identification for newcomers to digitization, to tailored solutions and services for starter companies, to full systems solutions for advanced companies

 

Confirm is a not-for-profit, national strategic initiative supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the Irish national foundation for investment in scientific and engineering research. The Confirm DIH draws on the expertise of 9 core Irish research performing organisations (RPOs), 16 international collaborations, and numerous industry partners across MNC and SME sectors to deliver cutting-edge research and development projects in the smart manufacturing domain. It provides the skills and services required to place Irish-based industry at the forefront of the smart manufacturing revolution, helping companies of all sizes - ranging from SME to larger organisations - compete globally at the highest level.  

 

The Confirm DIH is an open platform to accommodate the diverse digital innovation needs of the manufacturing industry in Ireland and will be a driving force in the delivery of technological advances and expertise for a smart manufacturing innovation ecosystem. Confirm’s core research activity is in the areas of:

Data Analytics
Artificial Intelligence
Predictive Modelling
Decision Analytics
Enterprise Modelling & Simulation
Software Systems
Human Computer Interaction
Security & Integration
Networking Systems & IoT
Sensors
Robotics & Control
Product & Process Modelling
Material Processing

 

To maximise the impact of our research initiatives, the Confirm DIH coordinates R&D and innovation activities, provides communication & outreach to the manufacturing industry, promotes a positive perception of manufacturing in wider society, contributes to the development of a skilled human resource pipeline for the manufacturing industry, provides a liaison between companies and a network of experts, and promotes new collaborative multi party national and international research projects to implement digital technologies for Irish based manufacturing companies.  Digital technologies.

Confapi Digital Innovation Hub Confapi is part of the Italian national Industry 4.0 network.  It is a no profit organization which aims at supporting SMEs in implementing Industry 4.0 in order to  increase their competitiveness both nationally and internationally. Confapi Digital Innovation Hub Confapi has the task of spreading the culture, knowledge and enabling technologies, through a series of innovative activities and services aimed at the digital transformation of businesses, technology transfer, innovation and research. It is an important project for the entire system and affects all associations in the national territory. Confapi Digital Innovation Hub Confapi boasts partnerships with prestigious public and private entities operating in research and technology transfer (universities, innovation clusters, research centers, technology consortia), which have collaborative relationships with Confapi at national level and local level through territorial associations.

The main important activities of Confapi DIH are to:

 spread the culture and knowledge on Industry  4.0 technologies
enhance the network and the sharing of experiences between entrepreneurs in the areas of digital transformation
encourage collaboration between Small and Medium-sized Industries and local Research and Innovation networks
support access to facilities and laboratories where companies can test technologies which have been introduced within the company
Orient SMEs towards managerial training and qualified company staff
Promote training courses on sector-specific advanced skills
design and implement, in the domain of new technologies, services and higher, initial and continuous, open and remote training programs
carry out training activities for entrepreneurs and managers on soft skills, with an interdisciplinary approach to digital transformation
support entrepreneurs to evaluate digital marketing tools
offer advice to companies to access facilitation measures to dedicate an intervention in the Enterprise 4.0 key.
promote cooperation between the world of research (Competence Center, Universities, Research Centers, Innovative Companies, ...) and the world of SMEs
support companies in the planning of Innovative Investments
develop and maintain contacts and coordinate DIH Confapi's activities with other companies, research centers, consortia, associations, business networks, national and international bodies
analyze and identify new business opportunities in the new technologies sector
act as the reference center for the collection and dissemination of information and technical proposals in the interest of SMEs, of advanced technology products and services in the domain of new technologies
organize seminars, conferences and other events at national and international level in the domain of technology, of a popular and / or educational nature, also with the aim of promoting the image of the company at national and international level

 

  Digital technologies.

The Competence Center Mittelstand 4.0 Berlin is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs. It aims at providing support to German SMEs to digitalise their businesses. For this purpose events, trainings, workshops and projects re funded by the ministry. The Competence Centre started in 2016 and since then has reached out to about 30.000 SMEs throughout Germany. It is run by the Federal Associationof SMEs, the Bundesverband mittelständische Wirtschaft, and supported by scientific experts, such as for example the Hasso Plattner Institute, the University of Potsdam and the University of Brandenburg. 

As the hub is funded, all costs are already covered. The approved budget for the work of our competence centre is  around 4.500.000 Euro for the period of Mai 2016 until Apirl 2019. No further investments are taken during the funding period. Because of this situation all information provided by the hub are not linked to any product and therefore totally neutral. The aim of totally neutral information to SMEs can therefore be granted.

The formalised end-time is 30th of April 2021 because funding ends at this time. As of Mai 2021 the hub could be continued provided that a the consortium is able to establish a business model. 

Following partners support the Bundesverband mittelständische Wirtschaft with their expertise: 

Hasso-Plattner-Institute (HPI) : The HPI oversees all trainings and workshops offered by the Competence Centre Berlin. It applies the design thinking method in all formats and helps SMEs to identify their potential of a digital business model. The workshops and trainings are taking place in Berlin and will be rolled out in the coming two years also in other regions in cooperation with other Competence Centres.

The University of Potsdam (UP) is responsible for the evaluation and the development of a digital maturity model for SMEs. This tool will help SMEs to find out which stage of digital maturity it has already reached. According to the result the SME can reach out to the Competence Centres and get help where needed.

The Technische Hochschule Brandenburg (THB) oversees the implementation of digital projects. The Competence Centre Berlin works on 60 digital projects. Five projects are fully implemented and present as a result a prototype solution. Other projects are short and present as a result a strategy that can be implemented. All solutions are based on a prototypic situation and are therefore applicable to a wide range of SMEs with comparable challenges.

The Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) is an important link to the start-up community in Berlin. The HIIG is networking actively to Start-ups and identify new trends that could be relevant for SMEs. It provide information to the consortium on innovative working methods and contributes to the matching between SMEs and Start-ups. The HIIG also implements digital projects.

The Bundesverband mittelständische Wirtschaft (BVMW) coordinates the consortium, establishes the network to SMEs in Germany, actively informs about all activities of the Centre and is networking with key players in the field of digitalisation and SMEs. Digital technologies.

Sviluppo Como - ComoNExT is a Scientific and Technological Park & Innovation Hub, which hosts 131 innovative SMEs (april 2019), among them 30% are start-ups. Sviluppo Como - ComoNExT shareholders is a public-private mix, since The Como Chamber of Commerce detains the 43% of shares. Due to this configuration, Sviluppo Como - ComoNExT acts as a no-profit body.

ComoNExT fosters the development of new enterprises through its certified business incubator. The certification is granted by the Italian Ministry for Economic Development.

For more information: https://www.comonext.it/en/the-park/

ComoNExT is a space for both mature companies, with well-established products, services and markets, as well as innovative startups, selected through targeted calls launched by the Chamber of Commerce or through the call named “Bando per l’innovazione”. The purpose to innovate is the common denominator of all our businesses. Physical proximity among companies and the patterns of knowledge exchange implemented by the Park, promote the development and integration of business skills and so an equivocal wealth for the growth of each of them.

The Park supports the creation and the growth of innovative companies offering specialized management consulting tutorship, technology transfer services and favorable technical and logistical solutions.

Since 2010, thanks to Como Chamber of Commerce, we proposed 8 calls for start-up ideas: we received 398 structured proposals aiming at entering in our incubation program. A qualified commission evaluated all of them, 120 were admitted to a private session with the commission itself, 38 have been admitted to the program. Beyond the calls we meet more than 50 people a year who presents their business idea: we give them a first orienteering, both on the idea and on public calls and financing. Our incubation program develops on specific needs of each business idea.

ComoNExT main goals are basically three: to attract innovative businesses; to transfer innovation to the territory; to encourage new business development by incubating startups.

In June 2017 ComoNExT launched the NExTInnovation ® initiative, an innovation transfer model developed by the hub to promote the awareness and to support the introduction of Digital transformation and innovation processes in enterprises, with particular attention to SMEs. This TT model gathers all the competences available in the Park and thanks to the creation of “variable setting” consultancy groups it offers technology and digital transfer opportunity to companies.

For more information: https://www.comonext.it/en/next-innovation/#cn_next_innovation Digital technologies.

CNA Emilia Romagna is a non-profit, independent association for the representation of the interests of the artisan enterprises operating in the Emilia Romagna region. In coherence with the national plan for Industry 4.0 and the directives promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development, CNA Emilia Romagna supports companies in the passage towards the new production model of Industry 4.0, through its Digital Innovation Hub: CNA Hub 4.0. The know-how developed in years of collaboration with national and European partners on the themes of innovation and technology transfer has strengthened the role of CNA Emilia Romagna- CNA HUB 4.0 and its capacity to act as facilitator of digital innovation in the Emilia Romagna region, as it acts as a point of reference for European and regional projects and activities aimed at innovation.

CNA Emilia Romagna - CNA HUB 4.0 coordinates a network of 10 Digital Innovation Hubs (DIH) located in the regional area, which deal with offering SMEs tools, services and consultancy within the Industry 4.0 program, starting from an analysis system of the level of technology readiness of small companies able to simplify the identification of TRL.

The main services offered to companies regard:

Innovation and research: organizational innovation, digitalization, management consultancy, matching between the business world and high level skills, technology transfer, patents and certifications.
Training and competences: development of training courses together with companies, training courses managed by experts, financings to training, integration of highly qualified profiles.
Financial and credit advice: identification of funds, search and assistance on tax reliefs, credit plan.
Internationalization: scouting for financing opportunities, commercial action planning, access to new markets.
Digital technologies.