Final Report Summary - FOKSAI (SME Focused KM System to support extended product in ambient intelligence domain)
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) already offering products with ambient intelligence (AmI) elements, intended to introduce new and/or improve their current products with even more AmI features, seeing this as their crucial competitive edge. For such products they needed a sophisticated support system.
The main goal of the FOKSAI project was the development of a knowledge management (KM) system as an extension to AmI-products for SMEs in four industrial areas. The new methodology and tools were expected to considerably contribute to the competitiveness of the European manufacturing SMEs by enabling them to increase the application level of the state of the art, knowledge-based Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions in their production programmes, as the innovative form of after-sales product and customer support.
To achieve the main goal, common for the four consortium SMEs, FOKSAI project had developed the sophisticated support system to the companies' AmI-products. All these SMEs were introducing or planned to introduce in the near future new and/or improve their current products with more AmI features seeing this as a crucial competitive edge. The business objective to be achieved through the application of the project results was to provide a comprehensive solution of the support to extended products from the AmI domain.
The specific project objectives were:
-to complete the testing of the early prototypes of the FOKSAI methods & tools in the SME end-users environment and to use the test results for the optimisation of the early prototype;
- based on the inputs of early prototype testing, to specify and develop the full prototypes;
- to integrate these full prototypes at the end-user sites, and to test and verify it;
- to use the test results for the optimisation of the FOKSAI solution, and to plan the necessary enhancements of the system.
- In parallel to the technical activities to carry out the innovation related activities, i.e. to disseminate and exploit the results of the project and to define plans for the exploitation and dissemination of the results after the end of the project.
Technically seen, the project results were:
the FOKSAI methodology for introduction of knowledge-based product-support solutions as extensions of AmI-products, comprehensively observing business and organisational issues relevant for SMEs;
the knowledge-based system to support extended AmI-products, affordable for the SME manufacturers.
The main goal of the FOKSAI project was the development of a knowledge management (KM) system as an extension to AmI-products for SMEs in four industrial areas. The new methodology and tools were expected to considerably contribute to the competitiveness of the European manufacturing SMEs by enabling them to increase the application level of the state of the art, knowledge-based Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions in their production programmes, as the innovative form of after-sales product and customer support.
To achieve the main goal, common for the four consortium SMEs, FOKSAI project had developed the sophisticated support system to the companies' AmI-products. All these SMEs were introducing or planned to introduce in the near future new and/or improve their current products with more AmI features seeing this as a crucial competitive edge. The business objective to be achieved through the application of the project results was to provide a comprehensive solution of the support to extended products from the AmI domain.
The specific project objectives were:
-to complete the testing of the early prototypes of the FOKSAI methods & tools in the SME end-users environment and to use the test results for the optimisation of the early prototype;
- based on the inputs of early prototype testing, to specify and develop the full prototypes;
- to integrate these full prototypes at the end-user sites, and to test and verify it;
- to use the test results for the optimisation of the FOKSAI solution, and to plan the necessary enhancements of the system.
- In parallel to the technical activities to carry out the innovation related activities, i.e. to disseminate and exploit the results of the project and to define plans for the exploitation and dissemination of the results after the end of the project.
Technically seen, the project results were:
the FOKSAI methodology for introduction of knowledge-based product-support solutions as extensions of AmI-products, comprehensively observing business and organisational issues relevant for SMEs;
the knowledge-based system to support extended AmI-products, affordable for the SME manufacturers.