Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AeroSTREAM (Strengthening Research and Innovation Excellence in Autonomous Aerial Systems)
Período documentado: 2022-07-01 hasta 2023-09-30
Built on lessons learned and experience gained upon successful implementation of twinning project AeroTwin, the project AeroSTREAM is conceived as an effort to stream AeroTwin positive effects on a network of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to enlarge the capacity for research and innovation and to prepare and establish long-lasting and integrated cooperation between those institutions and their partners in the local ecosystem. The essential support to reach this objective will come from internationally leading HEIs and innovation-intensive organizations from Spain, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. The long-lasting and integrated cooperation between institutions will be established in the field of autonomous aerial systems (AAS) applications, with emphasis on smart agriculture, forestry and logistics.
The project objectives are:
Objective 1
Integrated and long-term cooperation between HEIs from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with international partners in the field of autonomous aerial systems applications, with emphasis on smart agriculture, forestry, and logistics.
This Objective will be achieved through 1) the Identification of resources and challenges of w-HEIs, 2) the Preparation of an action plan for long-term cooperation and 3) The Preparation to embark on the future European Universities Initiative.
Objective 2
Increase in scientific excellence profiles of HEIs from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of autonomous aerial systems, and sharing of capacities with international partners.
This objective will be achieved through 1) Raising scientific excellence, 2) Promoting talent and preventing brain drain and 3) Implementation of a shared infrastructure plan
Objective 3
Improvement of quality of innovation management, technology transfer and citizen involvement of HEIs from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This objective will be achieved through: 1) Developing an innovation strategy, 2) Strengthening innovation capacity, 3) Mainstreaming the entrepreneurial mindset of researchers, 4) Inducing cooperation with industry stakeholders, 5) Outreach to children, schools, and the general public and 6) Open Science.
Research areas that are going the focus of project AeroSTREAM are AR1: Smart Agriculture, AR2: Forestry and AR3: Logistics.
The project objectives are:
Objective 1
Integrated and long-term cooperation between HEIs from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with international partners in the field of autonomous aerial systems applications, with emphasis on smart agriculture, forestry, and logistics.
This Objective will be achieved through 1) the Identification of resources and challenges of w-HEIs, 2) the Preparation of an action plan for long-term cooperation and 3) The Preparation to embark on the future European Universities Initiative.
Objective 2
Increase in scientific excellence profiles of HEIs from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of autonomous aerial systems, and sharing of capacities with international partners.
This objective will be achieved through 1) Raising scientific excellence, 2) Promoting talent and preventing brain drain and 3) Implementation of a shared infrastructure plan
Objective 3
Improvement of quality of innovation management, technology transfer and citizen involvement of HEIs from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This objective will be achieved through: 1) Developing an innovation strategy, 2) Strengthening innovation capacity, 3) Mainstreaming the entrepreneurial mindset of researchers, 4) Inducing cooperation with industry stakeholders, 5) Outreach to children, schools, and the general public and 6) Open Science.
Research areas that are going the focus of project AeroSTREAM are AR1: Smart Agriculture, AR2: Forestry and AR3: Logistics.
To achieve Objective 1, the Consortium focused its efforts on three main tasks during the first reporting period. First, a report on current resources and challenges at HEIs in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (widening HEIs or w-HEIs) was prepared based on questionnaires and a SWOT analysis (report in Deliverable D1.1). The report is a basis for the development of the long-term cooperation strategy between the partners and the innovation strategy, both of which will be developed in the next period. In addition, each wHEI member of the consortium has accepted a gender equality plan (report in Deliverable D1.2). As a second task, a methodology for the development of a long-term collaboration strategy was developed and a first version of an infrastructure-sharing plan was produced.
The third task was involvement in European University Alliances - the consortium met with two existing alliances to learn about their participation. Initial meetings and discussions were held with the UNIC alliance, in which the University of Zagreb participates. UNISA applied to participate in several European alliances in the 2023 call and was accepted as a member of the EUPeace Alliance.
To achieve Objective 2, four short visits of WHEI partners to international partners were conducted, where PhD students and senior research staff visited partners to work on a common topic. Seven expert visits, three research training, and two summer schools were organized, all dealing with different topics in the field of aerial robotics. Of particular interest were two multi-robot summer schools organized by F4F and CTU in Prague, which included numerous lectures and hands-on training by prominent researchers in the field. In addition, an open remote laboratory was developed in the framework of Open Science and infrastructure sharing among partners, with a procedure for applying and participating in experimental campaigns organized by the CTU and F4F.
To achieve Objective 3, the first version of the innovation strategy for wHEIs was prepared (reported in Deliverable D3.1) and a methodology for developing a detailed strategy with a list of events to be organized in the second year was created. Two large end-user workshops were also organized - DroneDays in Zagreb and BoundingBox in Osijek. Both events consisted of presentations and an exhibition area where WHEI consortium members presented their research and gained a lot of attention from end users, researchers and the local community. DroneDays also organized two roundtable discussions on startups in aerial robotics and public acceptance of drones. Flight demonstrations were also organized for the general public. Two innovation training sessions were organized by CTA and ICENT. A total of 20 events were organized for the general public and children.
The third task was involvement in European University Alliances - the consortium met with two existing alliances to learn about their participation. Initial meetings and discussions were held with the UNIC alliance, in which the University of Zagreb participates. UNISA applied to participate in several European alliances in the 2023 call and was accepted as a member of the EUPeace Alliance.
To achieve Objective 2, four short visits of WHEI partners to international partners were conducted, where PhD students and senior research staff visited partners to work on a common topic. Seven expert visits, three research training, and two summer schools were organized, all dealing with different topics in the field of aerial robotics. Of particular interest were two multi-robot summer schools organized by F4F and CTU in Prague, which included numerous lectures and hands-on training by prominent researchers in the field. In addition, an open remote laboratory was developed in the framework of Open Science and infrastructure sharing among partners, with a procedure for applying and participating in experimental campaigns organized by the CTU and F4F.
To achieve Objective 3, the first version of the innovation strategy for wHEIs was prepared (reported in Deliverable D3.1) and a methodology for developing a detailed strategy with a list of events to be organized in the second year was created. Two large end-user workshops were also organized - DroneDays in Zagreb and BoundingBox in Osijek. Both events consisted of presentations and an exhibition area where WHEI consortium members presented their research and gained a lot of attention from end users, researchers and the local community. DroneDays also organized two roundtable discussions on startups in aerial robotics and public acceptance of drones. Flight demonstrations were also organized for the general public. Two innovation training sessions were organized by CTA and ICENT. A total of 20 events were organized for the general public and children.
The short-term visits, trainings, expert visits, and summer schools organized during the first reporting period provided a great boost and new knowledge to the participants from the different universities, as most of them were interacting and collaborating with these experts in the field of aerial robotics for the first time. This was also a unique opportunity (especially for Bosnia and Herzegovina) to be able to participate in such events. Several of the short visits will lead to joint papers.
In order to keep track of the project implementation, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were defined to clearly show the progress of the project and the impact on the beneficiary groups from w-HEIs. In the first reporting period, 60% of all KPIs are exceeding expectations.
In order to keep track of the project implementation, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were defined to clearly show the progress of the project and the impact on the beneficiary groups from w-HEIs. In the first reporting period, 60% of all KPIs are exceeding expectations.