Between October 2nd and 8th, another edition of Aveiro Tech Week took place. This initiative brought to the city of Aveiro a diverse program of activities dedicated to the latest trends and advances in the technological world. Altice Labs once again assumed the role of main sponsor of this big event, being present for several moments.
The official opening ceremony of the 4th edition took place at Teatro Aveirense and was attended by João Paulo Firmeza, then director of the Innovation Strategy and Digital department, and the actual General Manager of Altice Labs. He highlighted the “umbilical relationship between Altice Labs and the Aveiro region” and gave a presentation about our company. “We have been pioneers in many areas” and “have made a strong contribution to the digitalization of the country. From Aveiro, we work with a team that manages to have products and services in more than 60 countries around the world and allows us to say that 300 million people have contact with the technology we develop”, he said during his speech. Finally, he mentioned several Altice Labs projects that are underway in the municipality and that have an impact on citizens’ daily lives.
On October 4th, a conference was held to discuss the importance of access to urban data in territorial management as well as raise awareness about the importance of its security in the digital modernization of society. Filipe Cabral Pinto, leader of the Exploratory Innovation – New Trends group at Altice Labs, was one of the guest speakers at this discussion. He highlighted the work carried out on the urban platform Live!Urban and emphasized its importance for collecting, storing, and analyzing municipal data, enabling knowledge-based decision-making.
Also on October 4th, the “National Network of Test Beds” workshop was held at Edifício Atlas, aiming to present some of the Test Beds directly linked to Aveiro and to discuss their role and impact in supporting innovation and consequent economic development, particularly in the transition from the validating phase of disruptive products and services to the commercialization phase. Some of the Test Beds promoted by entities such as HORSE (formerly RENAULT CACIA), The Navigator Company, Brisa/Altice Labs, Ubiwhere, and PCI – Creative Science Park Aveiro Region were presented.
From October 2nd to 4th, a hackathon took place at Fábrica da Ciência, where Altice Labs contributed with a challenge aimed at fostering innovation and creating disruptive solutions for certain urban scenarios. Mentors Fausto de Carvalho, Gonçalo Machado, Ricardo Machado, and Sara Loureiro from the Innovation Strategy and Digital department supported the four teams involved in the project. On the final day of the hackathon, the three best projects had the opportunity to present a 5-minute pitch to the jury and showcase their solution. The jury, comprising people from various companies, including António Pereira from Altice Labs’ Innovation Strategy and Digital department, selected the winning team – LocoTech. Their proposed application uses a neural network algorithm on existing data to predict future scenarios. The goal was to provide policymakers with a tool to simulate changes in
scenarios (creation of green areas or housing, etc.) in the city and see their impact on the data being monitored via fixed or mobile screens, Virtual Reality, and/or Augmented Reality glasses. The winning team was awarded a cash prize of €5,000.
In addition to the actions mentioned above, throughout the week, several conferences, workshops, and demonstrations took place in various locations around the city. A highlight was the Prisma/Art Light Tech festival, which challenged people to experience technology, art, and culture through exhibitions, art, artistic, light, and sound installations, and performances.