Pristupačnost
FER's spin-off InEMsens, as the only one from Croatia, received financial support for a six-month project within the NATO acceleration program DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic), on the topic of Sensing and Surveillance.
The topic of the project is advanced sensor technologies and their application in the civil sector and security and defense systems. The FER team is led by researcher Davorin Ambruš, and it also includes Marko Šimić, Ph.D., Dorijan Špikić, Ph.D., and the dean of FER, prof. Vedran Bilas, Ph.D., as technical advisor.
"By participating in the DIANA program, FER becomes a globally recognizable research institution in the development of technologies with applications in the civilian and security sectors. This year's call for participation received more than 2,600 applications from almost all NATO member countries, and FER's spin-off company "This is an important step for Croatia in strengthening competitiveness in industries that connect these sectors, which will also contribute to the security and economic growth of the country," Bilas pointed out.
During the program, the FER team will have the opportunity to improve the level of technological readiness of its detection system, test technical solutions at the NATO Test Center, and benefit from mentoring and networking with researchers, start-ups, end users, and potential investors. The majority of project activities will be carried out in one of Europe's leading technology hubs, the DualTech by Takeoff accelerator in Turin.
"Within the topic, FER's InEMsens team proposed a solution for rapid detection and identification of buried metal objects using advanced electromagnetic sensors and artificial intelligence. This solution can be used for humanitarian demining and smart mapping of underground infrastructure, as well as robotic systems for rapid detection explosive devices in military missions, and decision support systems", explained Davorin Ambruš.
The company InEMsens was founded by the researchers of the "Laboratory for Intelligent Sensor Systems (LISS)" from FER, with the aim of commercializing the research results achieved within the research project "METASHAPE – Empowering handheld metal detectors with shape-based target discrimination for use in humanitarian demining". The company has licensed the technology from FER and is currently working on its upgrade, as well as developing a business model.
DIANA through NATO's so-called The Challenge Program for innovative SME companies and startups encourages the proposal of technological solutions for national defense plans and programs. The main criteria for the evaluation were innovation, clarity of the solution in the context of dual-use systems, and technical feasibility.