Arezzo – November 20, 2020. SECO invests in Unis-IA: SECO is pleased to announce its participation in the latest initiative promoted by the University of Siena in the field of Artificial Intelligence research.
“Unis-IA”, as the project is named, serves as an informal network for the study, investigation, and development of applications within the realm of Artificial Intelligence. It involves joint laboratories of universities and private enterprises, with 25 research groups spanning various disciplines, from engineering to medicine, life sciences to business, marketing, economics, communication, archaeology, and education. The objective of the Unis-IA network is to coordinate and foster collaboration among participating groups to facilitate the attraction of students, researchers, companies, funding, and the design of research and technology transfer activities in the field of AI. Through the “Unis-IA” network, effective models of teaching and research in the field of Artificial Intelligence will be devised and propagated, emphasizing interactivity and an action-research approach, to facilitate knowledge circulation, develop cutting-edge technologies, and promote their transfer to the industrial sector.
It is through one of these research laboratories that SECO becomes part of the “Unis-IA” network, aligning well with the company’s innovative nature, always pioneering multidisciplinarity and engaged in frontier topics.
UDOO Lab, born from the partnership between the University of Siena, SECO, and AIDILAB, is a joint public-private laboratory where multidisciplinary skills intertwine to initiate new projects and drive innovation. This new project stands as further evidence of SECO’s innovative orientation, firmly believing in the potential for different sectors to create high-value experiences and projects. This mirrors what happened with AIDILAB, an Interaction Design and IoT company with which SECO has collaborated for years to bring innovation to the industrial sphere and, since 2018, has become part of the SECO Group. The encounter between SECO and AIDILAB gave birth to UDOO, the open-source single-board computer for makers and professional developers, around which a vibrant community has flourished, boasting over 100,000 developers worldwide.
“SECO has always believed that the most fruitful collaborations stem from diversity and the convergence of different worlds moving towards a common goal. By entering the ‘Unis-IA’ network through UDOO Lab, SECO will have the opportunity to participate actively and contribute within a multidisciplinary ecosystem focused on promoting technological innovation, especially in the field of Artificial Intelligence where SECO is investing on multiple fronts,” states Daniele Conti, President of SECO.
Maurizio Caporali, CEO of AIDILAB, adds: “AIDILAB has always maintained close ties with the University of Siena, and UDOO Lab consolidates the successful collaboration that has been ongoing for years through various research projects. Unis-IA is an initiative that perfectly aligns with the company’s developments in the intelligence of things where artificial intelligence is distributed across objects.”
For Antonio Rizzo, Professor of Interaction Design at the University of Siena and founder of AIDILAB, “the challenges posed by the new frontiers of technological innovation increasingly demand multidisciplinarity and the ability to create value through group work. Unis-IA is a step in that direction that can offer UDOO Lab opportunities for cross-pollination from new areas of research and expertise.”
As part of the “Unis-IA” network, UDOO Lab will have the chance to engage in regional, national, and European research projects to promote scientific dissemination and foster the culture and use of AI-related technologies, a continuously evolving and expanding sector.
SECO
SECO is an Italian center of excellence in high-tech for computer miniaturization and the Internet of Things (IoT). Since 1979, the company designs and produces a range of embedded systems – from single Micro Computers to integrated, ready-to-use systems. With over 380 employees and a turnover of €66.5 million as of December 31, 2019, SECO serves various industrial sectors, including biomedicine, wellness, industrial automation, and transportation, with market-leading clients such as Cimbali, Esaote, Evoca, and Technogym. The company is one of the founders of the international computer miniaturization standard Qseven® and partners with major global high-tech companies such as Intel®, Microsoft®, AMD®, NXP®, NVIDIA®, Wind, and Telenor. It has established collaborations with universities, research centers, and innovative start-ups, operating globally with offices in Italy, Germany, the U.S., India, and Taiwan. Backed by the Italian Technology and Growth Fund managed by Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR, in 2019, SECO further expanded its scope by completing two significant acquisitions. In China, it acquired a majority stake in Fannal Electronics CO. Ltd to reinforce R&D investments and production capacity. In the U.S., SECO acquired 100% of InHand Electronics, a company based in Maryland specializing in designing and producing low-power rugged microcomputers, mobile devices, and software for OEMs in portable devices, IoT applications, and military/defense, industrial, medical, transportation, and infotainment markets. To complement its IoT technology/product portfolio, in July 2020, SECO acquired Ispirata, a start-up providing integrated solutions to companies entering the IoT/Embedded world, accessible and ready-to-use for optimized field data management. In June 2020, SECO’s BOD approved the project for listing on the stock exchange. For more information: www.seco.com
Contacts:
SECO SpA
Simona Agostinelli
Marketing Communications Director
Tel. +39 0575 26979
simona.agostinelli@seco.com
COMMUNITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISERS
Tel. +39 3357357146
seco@communitygroup.it
