Analysing and redesigning the complex and delicate relationship between humans and Artificial Intelligence (AI), in order to create a synergy capable of fully exploiting the power of AI, while maintaining human control: this ClearBox's goal, the company that won first place in Alessandria at the 15th edition of the Start Cup Piemonte Valle d'Aosta 2019, an initiative promoted by I3P, 2i3T and Enne3 incubators to support the birth of knowledge-intensive start-ups and promote the economic development of Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta regions.
ClearBox AI Solutions has an international team also composed of Italian researchers who, after experiences abroad, have chosen to return to Italy to launch this entrepreneurial project. ClearBox, which is incubated at I3P - the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, proposes anthropocentric Artificial Intelligence solutions: applied to Machine Learning (ML) models, they are able to investigate the variables for which the model has made a certain decision and generate an explanation that is understandable even to less experienced users.
"ClearBox's platform helps system users (operators, analysts, managers) to discover and intervene in cases of impartiality, inaccuracy or inefficiency of ML models. By being able to explain how ML models behave, it is possible to build trust in the system, to achieve compliance with the latest regulatory schemes and to make responsible, informed, non-discriminatory and justifiable decisions," explains the ClearBox team, which is awarded a €10,000 prize for the project. The company's aim is to seek further Proof-of-Concept to test its platform, to be launched with companies that use AI systems and intend to do so in a transparent, ethical, compliant manner.
In second place at the Start Cup Piemonte Valle d'Aosta was Enermove, supported by I3P: the startup designs, builds and installs systems for the wireless recharging in motion of manually-guided industrial electric trucks for logistics and large-scale distribution, thus eliminating the current problems of recharging and the costs of downtime. Enermove won a cash prize of €7,500.
Usophy, from I3P, comes last on the podium: it is basically the "Netflix for university books", a digital platform allowing university students unlimited on-demand access to all academic texts through a monthly subscription. The project is awarded a cash prize of €5,000.
In fourth place ex aequo were: Argo, which targets the small satellite market and has developed a production reality dedicated to the assembly, integration and testing of star trackers for small satellite platforms based on innovative attitude determination algorithms; Aquaseek, which proposes a technology capable of supplying unlimited water to dry and remote regions starting from elements that are available everywhere, such as air and heat; ReVideo, whose business idea is a video-therapy based on light pulses at predetermined wavelengths that can stop the advancement and, above all, reduce damage to eyesight due to certain degenerative diseases.
The first 6 overall winners also acquired the right to participate in the PNI 2019, the National Innovation Award, the " Champions' Cup" among the winning business projects of the 17 regional Start Cups, which will be held in Catania on 28 and 29 November 2019.
The Start Cup Piemonte Valle d'Aosta organising committee:
"The 15th edition saw a significant increase in the number of entrepreneurial projects compared to the last edition, and the finalist projects present themselves with excellent growth potential in different technological fields." "The participation of new Sponsors and industrial and financial Partners demonstrates the importance that the event has acquired over the years for the local ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship. In the process of enhancing new entrepreneurial projects, university incubators also play a fundamental role through their network of relationships with research centres, investors and industrial partners, with the aim of promoting the economic development of the area and creating new jobs".