The European project - funded under Horizon 2020 - involves Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things applied to manufacturing and infrastructure and is the result of the joint action of the University of Bologna, the National Institute of Nuclear Physics, Cineca, the Emilia-Romagna Region with Art-ER, Bonfiglioli and Marposs to experiment with Big Data technologies and supercomputing for businesses, creating models capable of simulating production processes in the laboratory, detecting errors and criticalities before going to production. 

In addition to local partners the project will also include international leading companies and scientific institutions such as Siemens, the Supercomputing Center in Barcelona and the Fraunhofer Institute in Munich.

IoTwins will be based in the Emilia-Romagna Data Valley and will experiment with new technologies for the digitization of industrial processes and products, with 12 test platforms that will create "digital twins," i.e. virtual copies of industrial processes that will be used to test plants and infrastructure management tools in advance. It will be used to evaluate in a virtual reality the advantages and disadvantages of industrial processes that will be then applied to production in advance. The project will also include the possibility of using the tool for small and medium-sized enterprises.

IoTwins is one of the most important European projects of Horizon 2020, the European Framework Program for Research and Innovation. It is therefore one of the most important projects in terms of economic value, scientific expertise and relevance of the parties involved. The project’s scientific and research contents are applied to production plants in the manufacturing sector and will be managed in partnership by research institutions and companies in Emilia-Romagna. 

It provides for a total investment of 20 million euros, and is coordinated by Bonfiglioli Riduttori and can count on the scientific coordination of the University of Bologna, on the computing infrastructures of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics and Cineca and on the support of the Emilia-Romagna Region, through Art-ER, the regional company supporting innovation, attractiveness and internationalization of the territorial system, for the exploitation and dissemination of the project results at regional, national and European level. In addition to local partners the project will also include international leading companies and scientific institutions such as Siemens, the Supercomputing Center in Barcelona and the Fraunhofer Institute in Munich.

“Being the leader of this project," said Sonia Bonfiglioli, chairwoman of Bonfiglioli Group, "is a source of pride, but it also means an assumption of responsibility. We have the chance to show how valuable the ability to work in a team of international companies is, where the vision of digitalization is still focused on being at the service of people and their environment. For us, the application that will improve the performance of our products for the exploitation of wind energy underlines Bonfiglioli's attention to operating, researching and pursuing a general growth that is not "an end in itself" or "no matter what". For Bonfiglioli, social responsibility has always been an indisputable value and reference in every activity. Therefore, choosing this area of application is as much a token of digital innovation as it is a contribution to a more sustainable environment."