Innovative UPC solutions and technology to improve life in cities, in the Smart City Expo World Congress 2023

The session will take place on Wednesday 8 November from 10.30 am to 12.45 pm on the stand of the UPC (Hall 2, floor 0, stand D36). Other participants will be the spin-offs ABLE Human Motion, Aridditive and HONEXT, which emerged from the university and will also be present in the UPC exhibition space.

This year, some of the prototypes of UPC projects and spin-offs selected for the fair will be presented: a prototype of a robot that can talk and carry out every day and care tasks, samples of sustainable construction materials based on fibres from clothes waste and textile remnants, an interactive model that will show the integration of flows between buildings and urban agriculture for an ecological transition in cities, a system based on IoT that can improve the performance of batteries in fire detection systems developed in collaboration with the company Detnov Security S.L., and a digital display totem that acts as a virtual assistant and that, through the use of artificial intelligence, helps users to find out about, apply for and manage social grants from the local government. In addition, a robotic exoskeleton will be demonstrated that is designed to help the mobility of people with spinal cord injuries, as well as two concrete 3D printed prototypes and a prototype constructed with a fireproof, sustainable material based on industrial fibres from the paper and cardboard industry.

In addition, two European projects will be presented. The first is the Master of Science in Smart, Secure and Interconnected Systems (MERIT), led by the Manresa School of Engineering (EPSEM UPC) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), whose aim is to increase the number of digital specialists and promote retraining in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity on the internet of things through a master’s degree that will be launched in September 2024. The second is INDUSAC, whose aim is to develop and validate a new last-generation system of collaboration, to optimise cooperation between the industrial sector and the academic world, and facilitate joint creation processes through innovative, person-centred methodology.

As part of this event, Silvia Chellini, from the CIT UPC's Transfer and Innovation Area, will give a talk entitled Innovative Solutions for More Sustainable and Inclusive Cities on the opening day, Tuesday 7 November from 18.15 h to 18.25 h. The talk will be held in Hall 1, Plaza Innovation.

Session ‘Shaping the Urban Future: UPC Solutions for Greener, Sustainable, Inclusive and Digital Cities’

PROGRAMME | 8 NOV 2023 10.30 AM - 12.45 PM

📍 Hall 2, Floor 0, Street D, Stand 36. 

10.30 - 10.40 h. RECYBUILDMAT: Construction materials based on recycling fibres from clothing waste and textile remnants.

Josep Claramunt, researcher from the Textile Technology Research Group (TECTEX), of the Institute of Textile Research and Industrial Cooperation of Terrassa (INTEXTER) at the UPC.

10.40 - 10.50 h. BINAFET: Integrating agriculture into buildings and modelling strategies for air reuse in cities.

Marcel Macarulla, researcher from the Construction Research and Innovation Group (GRIC) at the UPC.

10.50 - 11.00 h. MobilitApp: Deep learning to predict citizens' transport modes while ensuring data security.

Mónica Aguilar, researcher in the Smart Services for Information Systems and Communication Network (SISCOM) group at the UPC.

11.00 - 11.10 h. Gavius: A virtual assistant to process social grants through an app.

Karina Gibert, director of the Intelligent Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Research Group (IDEAI) at the UPC.

11.10 - 11.20 h. ROB-IN: Robots for continual personalised assistance that can explain themselves.

Carlos Escolano, researcher from the Centre for Language and Speech Technologies and Applications (TALP) at the UPC, and Roberto Ariosa, researcher at the Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics - IRI (CSIC-UPC).

11.20 - 11.30 h. Energy information in digital administration: design of a model of Building Renovation Passport based on BIM and Blockchain.

Rolando Biere and Paúl Espinoza, researchers at the Centre for Land Valuation Policy (CPSV), from the research group Quality of Urban Life: Innovation, Sustainability and Social Engagement (QURBIS) at the UPC.

11.30 - 11.45 h. Coffee break.

11.45 - 11.55 h. Smart sensing and monitoring of fire detection systems: IoT to improve battery efficiency in fire detection systems.

Amaya Balaguer, from the company Detnov Security S.L.

11.55 - 12.05 h. INDUSAC: Improving the collaboration between business and academia.

Andreu Corominas, International Projects at the UPC Technology Center (CIT UPC).

12.05 - 12.15 h. MERIT: A dynamic, international educational ecosystem aiming to reduce Europe’s skills gap among digital specialists.

Sara Hortal, International Projects Unit UPC Manresa.

12.15 - 12.25 h. SPIN-OFF ABLE Human Motion, the world's most lightweight, quick to adjust and accessible exoskeleton.

Katlin Kreamer, Product Manager at ABLE Human Motion.

12.25 - 12.35 h. SPIN-OFF Aridditive, pioneer in high performance concrete 3D printing for an advanced construction.

Arnau Cumelles, Chief Operating Officer at Aridditive.

12.35 - 12.45 h. SPIN-OFF HONEXT® Board, a certified Circular by design and carbon-negative alternative for a safe and healthy built environment.

Karlijn Rademakers, Head of Manufacturing Operations and Engineering.

Follow the UPC's activity at #SCEWC23.