Editorial

ITEA’s environment is an ever changing one. And another change is just ahead of us. By the end of 2019, Fopke Klok will be leaving the ITEA Office! It is hard to imagine... On behalf of the ITEA Community, I thank him warmly. He has been at the heart of the engine ensuring that excellence of operations has steered us on a stable course when the climate has been tough and when we have been continuously rejuvenating ITEA. Merci Fopke! Read about his journey in ITEA in this edition.

On 21 March, the ITEA Board labelled 17 innovative R&D projects from ITEA 3 Call 5. The report on this Call gives me the opportunity to push a few messages: ITEA is open (54% of the partners are new companies), ITEA has impact on human capital with the unique experience acquired by ITEA project leaders (74% of the ITEA project leaders have not been an ITEA Project Leader before). ITEA is a unique position to analyse the last trends in innovation, especially on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Have a look at this report to learn more on this.

Today’s digital society is about efficiency and dangers. Have a look at the FUSE-IT end-user happiness story around building security and you will find good news. Also check the Metaverse1 Success Story, which connects real and virtual perception in a unified world of the future. You will also appreciate some of the impact ITEA has on standards.

Vinnova is a strong believer in ITEA. Vinnova’s Programme Manager, Andreas Allström, tells us how many companies like car or aircraft manufacturers consider themselves software companies. He explains how Sweden recovered from the telecommunication crisis through the rise of digital SMEs. The new focus for Sweden is AI and ITEA will continue to support Vinnova in this direction. We welcomed Saab into the ITEA Board, joining Ericsson, to represent Sweden. ITEA Board member Stefan Andersson stresses in his interview why cooperation is important to ensure innovation. The ITEA OPENCPS project helped them to learn and implement innovations in AI and machine learning, and win the race in the cyber environment.

Artificial Intelligence is our next frontier and ITEA has been exploring this new world for some years. Read the State of the Art around semantic technologies in traditional industries like Building and Construction.

ITEA likes to highlight projects and innovative SMEs. IKANGAI, an Austrian SME, is creating the new digital tools for retailers confronted by competition with the ecommerce giants. The ITEA project SoRTS solved the challenge to couple real-time feedback of imaging and therapy systems during interventions. This world premiere drastically reduces the cancer radiotherapy side effects on healthy cells by tracking body movements during radiation.

In May, the UK EUREKA Chairmanship team organised the EUREKA Global Innovation Summit 2019 in Manchester. 200 Korean companies joined this event showing the impact of Europe when we all collaborate together and when are open to the rest of the world. Martin Benedikt from VIRTUAL VEHICLE Research Centre showed how the ITEA project ACOSAR impacted the market, and many members of the ITEA Community stressed some innovation directions we are working on. Casper Garos from Philips explained how ITEA partnerships between large companies and SMEs delivered global market impact. The ITEA project AVANTI was among the 5 finalists for the EUREKA Innovation Award 2019. The EUREKA NL Chairmanship team 2019/2020 is already preparing the next EUREKA Conference, on 5 September, the day after the ITEA PO Days 2019, so make sure to be there, and don’t delay your registration for the PO days 2019. It will be full. See you in Amsterdam!

Philippe Letellier