iMan Norte Hub - Digital Innovation Hub for Customer-Driven Manufacturing @ Norte

Portugal: North (Portugal)

Overview

The mission of the iMan Norte Hub - Digital Innovation Hub for Customer-Driven Manufacturing @ Norte - is to foster the digital transformation of manufacturing companies of the Northern Region of Portugal (Norte) and to nurture the respective innovation ecosystem. The main objectives of the iMan Norte Hub are to facilitate and foster manufacturing technology adoption and diffusion in the areas of cyber-physical production systems (CPPS) and robotics, and to improve the collaboration in the ecosystem by linking research institutions, industrial technological centers, industrial associations, incubators, science and technology parks, industrial companies, technology companies, training institutions, and government agencies.

The iMan Norte hub organizes dissemination and matchmaking activities (workshops, seminars, and  open days), offers coaching and connection to funding sources, and promotes the services offered by its service providers group, such as research and development, feasibility studies, technology roadmaps, consultancy on technology selection and implementation, and training. Research institutions, industrial technological centers, industrial associations, science and technology parks, incubators, and technology companies compose the hub’s service providers group.

The iMan Norte Hub is hosted by the Portuguese Production Technologies Cluster -PRODUTECH - a national non-profit association of manufacturing technology providers, and is coordinated by a managing team with members from PRODUTECH, INESC TEC (research institute), UPTEC (Science and Technology Park) and the four industrial technological centers in the region: CATIM (metal working and machinery), CITEVE (textile and clothing), CTCP (footwear), CTCOR (cork). These seven non-profit organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the terms of collaboration among them to manage and sustain the iMan Norte Hub.

The creation of the iMan Norte was funded by the European Project BEinCPPS (Business Experiments in Cyber-Physical Production Systems, http://www.beincpps.eu/) in the scope of the I4MS program (ICT Innovation for Manufacturing SMEs, http://i4ms.eu/) and has the institutional support of the Portuguese Secretary of State of Industry and the Norte Portugal Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N). Digital technologies.

Sectors
Agriculture, forestry and fishing - Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities - Silviculture and other forestry activities - Fishing and aquaculture - Manufacture of leather and related products - Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. - Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products - Manufacture of paper and paper products - Printing and reproduction of recorded media - Manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials - Mining and quarrying - Mining of coal and lignite - Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas - Mining of metal ores - Other mining and quarrying - Mining support service activities - Other services activities - Activities of membership organisations - Repair of computers and personal and household goods - Other personal service activities - Other manufacturing - Public administration and defence; compulsory social security
Technology
Micro/nano electronics - Sensory systems - Photonics and imaging technologies - Screens and display technologies - Communication networks - Cyber physical systems - Robotics - Internet of things - Artificial intelligence - Mobility & Location based technologies - Interaction technologies - Cyber security - Advanced, or high performance computing - Big data, data analytics, data handling - Virtual, augmented and extended reality - Simulation, modelling and digital twins - Gamification - Software as a service and service architectures - Cloud computing - Logistics - Internet services - New media technologies