Call4Services is the title of the new initiative of CTE Next, the House of Emerging Technologies of Turin, Italy: a project financed by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy (MIMIT) with FSC 2014-2020 funds and aimed at setting up, in close collaboration with Turin's universities, research centres and incubators, a widespread technology transfer centre on emerging technologies related to 5G in strategic vertical sectors for the territory.
The CTE Next project relies on a wide network of partners to support start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at all stages of the development of their innovative solution. The following are part of the partnership promoted by the City of Turin: Politecnico di Torino, University of Turin, LINKS Foundation, CIM4.0, I3P, 2i3T, Digital Magics, CSI Piemonte, 5T, Fondazione Piemonte Innova, Talent Garden and TIM.
A call to support innovation
Through the new Call4Services, CTE Next will select parties interested in taking advantage of CSI Piemonte's services support for the technological development of Proof-of-Concept (PoC) and prototypes of future Public Administration (PA) services in the innovative urban services vertical. Innovative solutions will have to make use of 5G when fully deployed and must be based on one or more of the technologies identified as emerging (e.g. AI, Blockchain, Internet of Things); they must also have a level of technological maturity commensurate with the objective.
The enabling potential of the 5G network could be used, for example, to:
- enable real-time distribution and enjoyment of streaming content;
- implement distributed and massive IoT deployment;
- ensure 'mission critical' actions.
Innovative experiments that can demonstrate the technical feasibility of the solutions adopted will be supported. Eligible companies are SMEs and start-ups, Italian or foreign, with innovative solutions with a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) greater than or equal to 4. Collaboration between two small and medium-sized enterprises, two start-ups or a SME and a start-up is possible when submitting a project. In particular, a synergy proposal between a company that has already successfully worked in cooperation with the public administration and a company with innovative solutions that has not yet had the opportunity to do so, in order to combine their respective competences for the realisation of a new product/service, will be recognised.
The available services
CTE Next, through its partner CSI Piemonte, will offer the winning companies of the call the possibility of support for the development of a PoC or prototype, structured around one or more of the following services:
- PoC design: the purpose of this service is to assess the technical and experiential objectives of the Proof-of-Concept, supporting and guiding its development.
- AI consultancy: the service aims to provide tools, platforms and knowledge in the areas of 'Conversational solutions (chatbots)', 'Text classification' or 'Machine learning-based services'. Depending on the project specificities, the business area and the type of solution required, the service aims to accompany groups in the set-up of artificial intelligence-related projects by offering an informative contribution and sharing solutions, practices and methodologies.
- Blockchain consultancy: providing beneficiaries with project support, tools and experience in the design and implementation of Blockchain technology services in the PA environment.
- Virtual Reality (VR) consultancy: consulting for the construction of metaverse or virtual reality related services using CSI Piemonte's visors and laboratories.
- Data Analytics (ML) consultancy: use of the IoT Yucca platform. Provision of a work area (tenant) for project experimentation in the area of the Internet of Things and big data. Within the framework of the Next project, activities will be carried out to prepare the work area, support the installation of smart objects / data streams, support the use of rapid prototyping solutions (widgets provided by the platform).
- Coworking space in preparation for the demo.
How to participate in the call
To apply for the call, you need to download the form from the Call4Services section the CTE Next website and fill it in completely. To finalise your application, send the filled out document by September 15th, 2023 to the e-mail address cte-servizi@piemonteinnova.it.
Proposals received by the deadline will be analysed on the basis of:
- consistency with the objectives of CTE Next and the potential added value of the service to increase the technological maturity of the solution in the adoption of 5G and emerging technologies;
- feasibility, in terms of ability and willingness to accompany the company within the limits and timeframe dictated by the project.
The evaluation process will be coordinated by the vertical partner CSI Piemonte, in liaison with the lead partner and Fondazione Piemonte Innova; companies will be informed about the results of the Call within 30 days after its closure.
For further information, it is possible to write an e-mail to cte-servizi@piemonteinnova.it.