Since its very beginning, Aitek participates in national and European research projects

Continuing research efforts are essential to develop product and process innovation and maintain a high level of competitiveness.
For this reason, Aitek participates in national and European funded research projects and joins in consortia and industrial districts promoting partnerships between companies, Universities and Research Organizations.
The result is the industrialization of solutions that contribute to increasing the efficiency and security of our customers’ activities, but also and above all to improving everyday life by making it more sustainable, simpler and more functional.
Thanks to this commitment and the expertise acquired in managing major projects, Aitek established itself as a technology advisor to support the Customer’s strategic innovation processes.
Over the years Aitek has taken part in dozens of funded research projects, at times playing important coordinating roles. Today, our commitment is aimed at developing applications based on the most advanced artificial intelligence techniques in numerous operating scenarios:
- Automotive: design and development of Driver Monitoring Systems installed and tested on driving simulators or real vehicles in collaboration with car manufacturers and industry-leading companies;
- People security: video monitoring of crowded environments such as railway stations, installation and testing of cutting-edge solutions for counting people
- Security of critical infrastructure: definition and implementation of video analytics applications that can be integrated into complex and heterogeneous cyber-physical systems for the monitoring of civil works;
- Road network monitoring: intelligent video analytics applications, especially focused on protecting vulnerable users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists;
- Ports and Logistics: automation of goods handling processes and transit control systems at road or rail access gates;
- Maritime security: implementation of monitoring systems that integrate multispectral cameras and video analytics algorithms based on artificial intelligence techniques;
- Smart agriculture: video analytics applications for processing images acquired by drones;
- Retail and advertisement: in-store video analytics applications and platforms for the management of smart interactive kiosks for department stores and shopping malls.
Projects currrently underway

REXASI-PRO
An AI algorithm must be safe, reliable and useful, in a word “trustworthy.” Aitek will play a key role in the project, defining these requirements, which will be the basis for the realization of an innovative wheelchair capable of self-piloting using sensors, drones and cameras, an application in which Aitek will be able to bring into play its established expertise in Deep Learning and Cyber Physical Sytems.
Research Programme: HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-01-RIA
Duration: 36 month (10/2022 – 09/2025)

SMARTSTOP – Piattaforma per il monitoraggio SMART fermate della rete di mobilità pubblica attraverSo Tecniche di videO analytics Per il tramite di intelligenza artificiale
Study and prototyping of a data collection data monitoring platform in the smart mobility field to improve the quality of logistics management processes in an urban mobility context, thereby increasing their efficiency and safety. Aitek develops AI-based video analytics solutions for monitoring safety and people at bus stops.
Research Programme: Regional Operational Programme (2014-2020), Liguria Region
Duration: 18 months (September 2021 – February 2023)

MORE THAN THIS – A new MObility REgulation THinking ANd THoroughly Innovative inSpired
Development and testing of a scalable people counting and flow management solutions applied to the Genoa Subway with asset-light gates. In particular, Aitek develops video analysis solutions for counting people entering and leaving the station as well as the number of passengers going to or coming from the platforms, boarding or alighting from trains.
Research Programme: Regional Operational Programme (2014-2020), Liguria Region
Duration: 18 months (September 2021 – February 2023)

APPRAISE – fAcilitating Public & Private secuRity operAtors to mitigate terrorIsm Scenarios against soft targEts
The EU-funded APPRAISE project will develop an integrated threat intelligence solution designed for protecting the augmented cities environment. Building on the latest advances in big data analysis, AI and advanced visualisation, the project will offer unprecedented capabilities to predict and identify criminal and terrorist acts. Aitek will lead the Work Package Real-time early detection of security threats in soft targets, developing innovative video surveillance solution leveraging on Artificial Intelligence approaches.
Research Programme: H2020-SU-SEC-2020 – Topic: SU-FCT03-2018-2019-2020 – Information and data stream management to fight against (cyber)crime and terrorism
Duration: 24 months (01/09/2021 – 31/08/2023)

FRACTAL
The goal of this project is the creation of a cognitive node for the processing of heterogeneous data, providing native support for the use of advanced Artificial Intelligence techniques. In particular, Aitek coordinates a use case together with the University of L’Aquila. This use case is aimed at developing an intelligent interactive totem capable of collecting local information and consequently adapting the information content shown.
Research Programme: H2020-ECSEL-2019-2-RIA
Duration: 36 months (01/09/2020 – 31/08/2023)

NEXTPERCEPTION
The goal of this project led by VTT (Finland) and NXP (The Netherlands/Germany), is to develop next generation smart perception sensors and enhance the distributed intelligence paradigm to build versatile, secure, reliable, and proactive human monitoring solutions for the health, wellbeing, and automotive domains. Aitek will work on the definition of innovative Driver Monitoring System (DMS) based on video processing.
Research Programme: H2020-ECSEL-2019-2-RIA
Duration: 36 months (01/05/2020 – 30/04/2023)
Website: www.nextperception.eu/

STEP – SmarT Education Platform
The project aims to create an innovative training system based on augmented and virtual reality applicable in heterogeneous professional context. Such system will be a multi-channel and multi-platform system usable according to the SaaS – Software as a Service paradigm. Aitek will deal with the Artificial Intelligence components used both in the realization of the simulated scenario and in the evaluation of the learner.
Research Programme: Ministry of Economic Development, Italy
Duration: 36 months (01/01/2020 – 31/12/2022)

TRUSTONOMY (Building Acceptance and Trust in Autonomous Mobility)
Study and validation of enabling technologies for the construction of semi-autonomous vehicles, in order to guarantee their safety, trust and acceptance by. In particular, the role of Aitek consists in the development of data processing solutions (in particular audio and video) based on Artificial Intelligence in order to monitor the status of the driver, particularly in potentially dangerous scenarios during the transition between autonomous and manual driving modes.
Research Programme: H2020-MG-2018-TwoStages
Duration: 36 months (01/05/2019 – 30/04/2022)
Website: h2020-trustonomy.eu/

COMP4DRONES (Framework of Key Enabling Technologies for Safe and Autonomous Drones)
Research project with the aim of providing a framework of key enabling technologies for safe and autonomous drones. It brings to bear a holistically designed ecosystem from application to electronic components, realized as a tightly integrated multi-vendor and compositional UAV embedded architecture solution and a tool chain complementing the compositional architecture principles. Aitek provides its video processing capabilities in an applicative case study about smart agriculture.
Research Programme: ECSEL-2018-2 – RIA
Duration: 36 months (01/10/2019 – 30/09/2022)
Website: www.comp4drones.eu/