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Leonardo, which operates in the defence and aerospace sector, is the Event Partner of Dronitaly. Salvatore Scervo, head of the Innovation, Labs & Intellectual Property division of Leonardo: “It is essential to direct technological development towards concrete and innovative projects that can have a real and positive impact on people's lives and on society." Paolo Angelini, CEO of BFWE - BolognaFiere Water&Energy: “The objective is to grow together in the area of Artificial Intelligence applied to mobility and autonomous transport".
The next appointment of Leonardo's Drone Contest is at Dronitaly, the leading event for civil drones for professional use organized by BolognaFiere Water&Energy (BFWE), scheduled to take place from 9 to 11 October 2024 in Bologna (www.dronitaly.it). During the event, of which the giant company in the defence and aerospace sector is an Event Partner, the award ceremony of the winner of the competition will also take place (10 October), as well as a special event which will see the participation of the 7 universities that participated in the contest (11 October).
The Drone Contest
Now in its fifth edition, Leonardo's Drone Contest, conceived and developed in collaboration with seven prestigious Italian universities, is a project created to promote innovation in the field of artificial intelligence applied to unmanned systems. The main objective is to encourage the creation of an ecosystem that fuels innovation and which involves the synergistic participation of large companies, universities, SMEs, spin-offs and start-ups.
During the competition, which will be held on 9 and 10 October, teams from the seven universities – the Polytechnic of Turin, the Polytechnic of Milan, the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa, the Tor Vergata University of Rome, the Federico II University of Naples and the Polytechnic of Bari - will each have twenty minutes to demonstrate their developments. The seven participants will put on show their collaborative systems, which include drones and ground robots, in a scenario that simulates an urban environment. The robots will perform specific tasks that support and accelerate the human decision-making process and hence reduce the speed of intervention.
Behind the contest that may appear to be a simple game, is the desire to direct technological development towards concrete solutions that can be applied in complex contexts such as the inspection of areas where natural disasters have occurred, inspection of sites that are difficult to access, and monitoring of areas at risk.
“The Drone Contest is not just about a technical challenge for students but it is about a very close collaboration between Leonardo and the Universities which offers the opportunity to train and develop young talents", said Salvatore Scervo, Senior Vice President Innovation Labs & Intellectual Property at Leonardo. “Some participants of past editions now work for the Innovation Leonardo Labs, Leonardo’s laboratories dedicated to leading-edge technological research and development. In these laboratories, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and all the digital technologies for solutions in the areas of autonomy, materials, energy and quantum, play a pivotal role in the development of the Group's solutions".
The focus of the next edition of Dronitaly is innovation and research to develop new technological solutions for the transport of people and goods and for all activities that are carried out with the use of drones, such as inspections, site inspections, monitoring, research, rescue operations and environmental monitoring.
“We are proud that Leonardo has chosen Dronitaly for the next Drone Contest. Indeed, one of our objectives is to create a hub that brings together leading companies, research entities and advanced training institutions, SMEs and start-ups in order to be able to grow together in the field of Artificial Intelligence applied to mobility and autonomous transport", commented Paolo Angelini, CEO of BFWE, BolognaFiere Water&Energy.
Furthermore, this year, following the major technological and regulatory developments underway, BFWE has decided to launch a new dissemination format, the ConventionHUB, i.e. a special 400 m2 area open on four sides designed by the famous architect Giancarlo Zema, Guest Designer and Art Director of Dronitaly. This area will accommodate the conference hall, the area for B2B meetings with stakeholders, and an exhibition area where the best current projects will be put on display.
As a sounding board, Dronitaly will take place in conjunction with another three events: Fueling Tomorrow that deals with the transformation of fuels and new energy carriers in the transport and industrial sectors, within the ecological transition framework, SAIE which operates in the construction sector, and Asphaltica which operates in the road construction sector. These events potentially involve audiences that could be interested in the use of remotely piloted vehicles for their activities.
The events in their entirety will host over 600 exhibitors and some 40,000 visitors are expected. A community of around 1,000 journalists and numerous Media Partner newspapers will collaborate with targeted meetings and original interviews, disclosing the strategies and projects of leading innovative companies.
EHang, eVertisky, Bluenest, Polis Consulting are Platinum Sponsors while ABzero, SmartKO and Solapave are Gold Sponsors. In particular, during the demonstration, EHang will present, for the first time in Italy, its EHang216-S model, the latest edition of the electric self-driving passenger drone. Watergas.it is Dronitaly’s Main Media Partner.
Pictures: https://www.bfwe.it/mirumir/download/downloader.php?id=517
Leonardo is an international industrial group, among the main global companies in Aerospace, Defence, and Security (AD&S). With 53,000 employees worldwide, the company approaches global security through the Helicopters, Electronics, Aircraft, Cyber & Security and Space sectors, and is a partner on the most important international programmes, within these sectors, such as Eurofighter, NH-90, FREMM, GCAP, and Eurodrone. Leonardo has significant production capabilities in Italy, the UK, Poland, and the USA. Leonardo utilises its subsidiaries, joint ventures, and shareholdings, which include Leonardo DRS (72.3%), MBDA (25%), ATR (50%), Hensoldt (22.8%), Telespazio (67%), Thales Alenia Space (33%), and Avio (29.6%). Listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (LDO), in 2023 Leonardo recorded new orders for €17.9 billion, with an order book of €39.5 billion and consolidated revenues of €15.3 billion. Included in the MIB ESG index, the company has also been part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) since 2010.
BFWE is a joint venture founded in 2021 by BolognaFiere and Mirumir with the aim of developing an entrepreneurial project that contributes to knowledge and to the sharing of issues connected to the economic and social value of water, energy and innovative technological applications. The events managed by BFWE are:
ACCADUEO, an international event that has been the reference point for the water sector for over 30 years at the national and international level (https://www.accadueo.com). The event takes place in Bari on even-numbered years, and in Bologna on odd-numbered years;
Fueling Tomorrow, an event dedicated to the transformation of fuels and to the use of new energy vectors in the transport and industrial sectors (https://www.fuelingtomorrow.it);
Dronitaly, an event dedicated to civil drones for professional use (https://www.dronitaly.it).
For further information:
BFWE Press Office: Elena Veronelli // ufficiostampa@mirumir.it // https://www.bfwe.it/
