Libelium is present throughout the entire value chain of AI and Data Spaces in the European Union

May 13, 2024

Libelium stands as a key ally in digital transformation and the fight against climate change within the ambitious projects led by the European Union. With a role that spans the entire value chain of the European data strategy, from data generation to implementation in use cases, including the metaverse, data spaces, digital twins, and Artificial Intelligence, Libelium offers a comprehensive proposal that assists European cities on their journey towards digitalisation and sustainability.

From Data to AI Services

In projects like CitCom.ai and BeOpen, Libelium demonstrates its capability to collect and manage data through advanced IoT solutions, becoming a crucial piece that enables the analysis and interpretation of large volumes of information. Within the ‘BeOpen’ project, Libelium aids numerous cities in generating with IoT technologies. The goal is to transform large data volumes into valuable and real-time information about municipal management, citizen services, and urban variables such as traffic and air quality, thus enhancing everyday life in cities. Cities like Cartagena, Naples, Porto, or Vilnius are actively involved in the project, which includes strategic partners like FIWARE, Ubiwhere, or Latitudo40.

The EU launched a significant investment of more than 220 million euros to accelerate the development of responsible artificial intelligence (AI) in Europe. For this purpose, it created a sandbox called CitCom.ai, a space for testing and validating AI algorithms in real cities.

Valencia, in particular, has become a significant hub for CitCom.ai, serving as one of the three major research nodes on artificial intelligence in Europe. The city has installed a Testing and Experimentation Facility (TEF) that facilitates collaboration among various stakeholders, including public administrations, universities, and technology companies. This project lays the foundation for AI Sandboxes, offering safe environments for the development of new services such as those already being developed in Spain with the support of SEDIA and SEGITTUR.

In cooperation with the city of Valencia, Libelium has deployed a project using artificial intelligence and dispersion models to generate healthy and efficient routes, considering air quality and traffic, facilitating connectivity between different neighbourhoods and favouring circulation among commercial areas. This is a prime example of how Artificial Intelligence is supporting sustainable, resilient, and data-driven urban development. As the European Green Capital this 2024, Valencia is a great example and benchmark in these initiatives that value public entities’ efforts like Las Naves and results from projects like Matchup.

On the next step of the value chain is the DOME Project, where Libelium’s AI services are part of this digital marketplace forming part of a consortium of 39 European organisations from 14 countries to support the infrastructure and cloud-to-edge services in Europe. By meeting the EU market’s requirements, the quality of DOME’s service catalogue will ensure its reputation for building a brand of reliable information, through governance mechanisms and trust transactions, aligned with the specifications of Gaia-X. The aim of DOME is to create cybersecurity infrastructure aligned with the European Wallet and the European blockchain network (EBSI), enabling a single digital data market.

A unique data market for all Europe

The i3-MARKET project and its Intelligent, Interoperable, Integrative and deployable open source MARKETplace with trusted and secure software tools for incentivising the industry data economy. Alike the involvement and participation of Libelium as a partner, i3-MARKET also provided a rich and easy way to acquire know-how information and background technologies implemented for this purpose.

Data Spaces are a unique opportunity to reach a deep digital transformation and cooperation across organizations, so the cooperation to enable an interoperable, secure, and scalable approach for Data Spaces is one of the key opportunities to enable a Digital Single Market.

Artificial Intelligence to Solve Specific Use Cases

The European Union considers that Artificial Intelligence should help solve actual and specific use cases. The Local Digital Twin Toolbox is an initiative by the European Commission designed to support the digital transformation of communities and cities within the European Union. This project is part of the Digital Europe Programme and focuses on the use of local digital twins, which are virtual representations of physical assets and processes that allow for data-based decision-making in real time.

The project’s goal is to advance the digital maturity of European cities, particularly those less prepared for digital transformation, and ensure that technology is accessible to everyone, including rural and urban areas. More specifically, with this toolbox, cities can accelerate the resolution of more concrete use cases, such as tourism, sustainability, or agriculture with the different data spaces.

A way to bring data closer to EU citizens is to show it to them. As part of our journey towards data democracy, it is crucial that data be represented, made more accessible, and “digestible” for the citizenry. Here enters virtual reality, data visualisation, and ultimately, the metaverse.

Libelium picks up the gauntlet to bring data into reality in a project led along with Nunsys and key technology partners such as the Polytechnic University of Valencia, GFZ Potsdam, Barcelona Super Computing Centre, and Engineering.

From Use Case to Metaverse

The CitiVerse project, led by the company Unity, which develops the most popular video game engine on the market, aims to build interconnected virtual worlds that represent and are synchronised with their physical counterparts, providing services and virtual environments accessible to citizens and other users through digital avatars. Thus, a CitiVerse is a series of interconnected and distributed hybrid and virtual worlds that represent their physical counterparts and are synchronised with them. It offers new virtual goods (administrative, economic, social, political, and cultural), services, and capabilities to city and community agents, such as citizens, represented as digital avatars.

Libelium will help build these metacities with its data and algorithms around air quality, mobility, or parking management, to name a few examples.

In each of these projects, Libelium works with top-level partners. Each contributes their bit with the goal of building a more sustainable and digitalised Europe that leverages the full potential of data to make better-informed decisions that improve the quality of life for citizens and governance.

iris360, a data space to centralize European projects

iris360 embodies the European philosophy of harnessing data and translating it into practical use cases, bridging the gap between data acquisition and real-world applications.

Data Collection: iris360 could gather data from a variety of sources such as IoT devices, sensors, and online interactions. This data collection is crucial for creating a comprehensive dataset that can be used to address specific needs within different sectors.
Data Processing and Analysis: After collection, data must be processed and analysed. iris360 uses advanced data analytics, AI algorithms, and machine learning techniques to turn raw data into meaningful information. Third party algorithms can be integrated in iris360. Data can eventually be put to work in the real world by using actuators from the iris360 platform.
Development of Digital Twins: iris360 can create digital twins or virtual replicas of physical systems or environments. These digital twins can simulate real-world scenarios, allowing for testing and optimisation of different approaches in a risk-free environment. envair360 is an iris360-based digital twin for the design and management of the low-emission zones that the EU is urging cities to create.

Application in Use Cases: The insights gained from data analysis are then applied to specific use cases. For instance, envair360 is used in LOw Emissions Zones planning, the insights could help in traffic management, public safety, and infrastructure development.
Reporting and compliance: An essential part of the process is ensuring that all data handling and applications comply with relevant regulations and standards. iris360 incorporates mechanisms for reporting and compliance to ensure KPIs achievement, such us adherance to Sustainable Development Gaols or Green Deal. This not only protects the data but also builds trust with stakeholders and the public.
Collaboration and Integration: iris360 facilitates collaboration between various stakeholders like government bodies, private companies, and the public so transparency and and more inclusive decision-making is guarantee.