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On 26^th and 27^th of November TESTUDO 2nd physical plenary meeting was held in Athens (Greece), hosted by EYDAP and Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH).

The meeting was focused on discussing the preparation for the upcoming UC1 and further planning for execution of UC3. All partners have been familiarised with the areas of operations and potential constraints for the trials implementation.

As part of the meeting, the consortium had an occasion to visit and learn about the EYDAP’s assets in the Attica region to understand operational processes and protocols of an example infrastructure to better prepare for implementation of the trials validating TESTUDO technological solutions via selected use-cases.

On October 16-17, 2024, the Center for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) showcased TESTUDO at the Research and Innovation Symposium for European Security 2024 (RISE-SD 2024) in Chalkidiki, Greece, as a co-organising project.

Dr. Stella Parisi presented TESTUDO, highlighting its approach, architecture, strategic objectives, and development cycles for its three Use Cases. The project also disseminated its objectives via a dedicated booth featuring a roll-up banner, promotional video, and brochures, allowing Dr. Parisi to engage with attendees. RISE-SD 2024 focused on EU R&D projects in areas such as Critical Infrastructure Protection, Cybersecurity, and Crisis Management, with panels and workshops supported by EC officials, experts and project representatives. The event was co-organised by 40 projects and attended by around 100 participants from various sectors.

On September 20^th 2024, Dr Konstantinos Ioannidis from Center for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) presented the TESTUDO project on behalf of the coordinator, Dr. Stefanos Vrochidis (Researcher Grade B’) during the EU CIP & ECSCI Webinar: The Double-Edged Sword of AI in Critical Infrastructure Protection.

The purpose of the webinar was to explore how Artificial Intelligence can enhance the resilience of critical infrastructures, while addressing potential risks introduced by AI systems.  Experts and stakeholders from various industries actively participated, engaging in an interactive discussion and sharing their insights and experiences.

During the presentation, Dr. Ioannidis highlighted the challenges posed by cognitive and predictive intelligence for threat/risk identification and operational support in critical infrastructure protection. Focusing primarily on robotic platforms, he introduced the innovative solutions offered by TESTUDO to tackle these challenges. These solutions include visual and multispectral detection, object recognition on embedded systems, activity recognition, cyber threat identification, explainable AI (XAI) for threat assessment, and prediction models using Digital Twins. The positive reception and active participation from stakeholders emphasized the importance and relevance of TESTUDO to the future of critical infrastructure protection. The recording of the online seminar is available here.

On July 12th 2024, NTT DATA had the opportunity to present TESTUDO project to the representatives from the Sapienza University of Rome. A group of researches and professors visited the NTT Data office in Rome with a keen interest in public sector initiatives and projects.

During the meeting, the TESTUDO partner introduced their service line of innovation & advanced technologies, particularly focusing on Digital Twin and its applications in urban planning, infrastructure and city development.

The presentation was well-received and the stakeholders engagement was a positive indication of the project’s relevance in the public sector.

On 25 and 26 June 2024 TESTUDO project, represented by CERTH and DBC, has taken part in the Projects to Policy Seminar, organised annually by the European Research Executive Agency (REA) and the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) and welcoming all the coordinators of the newly launched EU-funded security projects.  

The aim of the event is to raise awareness among the relevant policy DGs on the new initiatives as well as to provide the projects with a guidance on the policy-related outputs that the policy DGs are interested in.

Besides the presentations of the agenda, the event encompassed break-out sessions of four thematic areas (Fighting Crime and Terrorism & Critical Infrastructure, Strengthened Security Research and Innovation, Disaster-Resilient Societies, Border Management), where the different projects could discuss on how to build awareness of the Commission Policy Units on the potential evidence-based inputs stemming from the projects that may be useful for further shaping of the EU regulations, provisions and recommendations.

It was also a great occassion to seek a common understanding among the projects representatives on what a policy deliverable is and how it may be used by the Commission Policy Units to shape the security future of the EU.

On 17-21 June 2024 Sieć Badawcza Łukasiewicz – Przemysłowy Instytut Automatyki i Pomiarów PIAP (PIAP) presented TESTUDO project on its stand at the 2024 edition of the EUROSATORY event – the largest international exhibition for the land and air-land defence and security industry, organised bienially in the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre in France.

Acting as a key interface between all the players in the international community, EUROSATORY brings together more than 100,000 professionals working with defence and security and managing crisis situations: businesses, governments, military staff, institutions and private bodies as well as supranational organisations.

On 5-8 May 2024 the Law and Internet Foundation (LIF) presented TESTUDO project at HEMUS Conference – a part of International Defence Equipment and Services Exhibition HEMUS 2024.

The exhibition is the biggest annual defence and security event in the country of Bulgaria and one of the biggest in the region, with more than 200 registered participants, representing EC institutions, universities, research centers and military.

On 9th-10th May 2024 the project’s 1st physical meeting after the KoM was held. The meeting was organised by Vicomtech in the beautiful city of Donostia-San Sebastian in Spain. It was an occasion to summarise and present the project progress across all active work-packages as well as to discuss among all partners the plans for further activities in the next months.  

On 12-14 April 2024 TESTUDO partner ACCELIGENCE LTD participated with a stand in the AUTOMATION and ROBOTICS EXPO 2024, held in Athens, Greece. ACCELI presented the prototypes of their UAVs, which will be utilised among different TESTUDO assets:
CERBERUS: a versatile octa-copter UAV capable of being equipped with a dedicated onboard processor.
DIOPTRA: an electric fixed-wing aircraft with Vertical take – off and landing capabilities.

TESTUDO partners attended the first workshop with end users that was organised on March 20th and 21st in the DFKI premises in Berlin, Germany, within the context of WP3 activities. The purpose of the workshop was to develop the description of the use cases, discuss the user requirements, the technical requirements and engage in preliminary discussions on the trials for the TESTUDO solution.  

Partners from PROSEGUR, ADSENSUS and SATWAYS, along with CERTH as project coordinator, contributed to the moderation of the workshop. Representatives from EYDAP and INTERBIAK attended as end users, providing vital information and details on the infrastructure, operational protocols, human resources and procedures that will define the development of the TESTUDO solution and the three trials. Partners from ACCELIGENCE, INTERBIAK, VICOMTECH, NTTD-IT, T4i, TEKNIKER and DFKI actively engaged in discussions focused on the technical aspects of the TESTUDO solution and its implementation. 

The outcomes from the first workshop with the end users contribute to the WP3 deliverables and offer a solid background that is essential for the technical partners in their activities for TESTUDO, as well as to the critical infrastructure operators that will benefit from a solution that will meet their specific needs.