Research aimed at growth
Through our research projects, Futura Sistemi has achieved and continues to achieve important goals, developing knowledge and skills that make us able to face any challenge.
Futura Sistemi has been operating since its establishment in the sector of developing customized solutions for its customers. Over time, some of these have taken on the dimensions of real projects in their own right. To date, our project sector deals with the study and development of specific solutions in various application sectors. Among these we can recognize:
PAPIRO
The aim of the project is the study and research of a new software platform suitable for the creation of tools for the management of data and events in the territory with the use of thematic maps, route search, detection of moving objects, document management and for easy retrieval of information.
The fundamental objective will be to standardize the vision of the data present within companies by making them available to a large number of users through a unique, common, simple and immediate interface. The project originates from a simple underlying idea: the observation that there is no personal computer user who has not acquired specific knowledge of Office Automation products (Excel, Word, Access, etc.) and who has not developed production skills daily of documents relating to your area of expertise. Normally these are documents that reside on your personal computer or on servers within a specific structure, mostly processed, stored and used from a sectoral perspective. In many cases the documents in question relate to limited areas and refer to events, technologies or interventions to be carried out in particular areas of the territory.
Papiro aims to connect these vast bodies of data to each other through an intuitive geographical interface, thus offering users the possibility of querying any document in a simple and coherent way, by means of the classic mouse click and carrying out a automatic interpretation of the data itself through the preparation of thematic maps. The availability of various bodies of data and documents relating to various activities or objects is not always accompanied by easy query and information retrieval tools. The same query by example mechanisms can be used by users with average experience and in any case do not allow conceptual immediacy.
On the other hand, the same GIS (Geographical Information System) tools available on the market today are reserved for specialized users. With the Papiro project we want to provide simplified procedures for finding and interpreting information. Today this problem is also significantly increased by the enormous amount of data made available by the Internet. In summary, it is possible to state that, at the end of the project, it will be possible to provide customers with technology capable of immediately allowing the development of applications characterized by a highly intuitive user interface. This purpose will be achieved by building specific libraries, controls and objects in general that allow operations to be automated.
The platform is aimed at two different types of users:
- end users
- developers
The end user, through the simplified interface provided by the package, will be able to prepare their own maps and connect their documents to them through logical links. He will also be able to search for routes on the map and exploit all the potential that the platform provides. The programmer, taking advantage of the integration of the Visual Basic for Application development environment, will be able to customize the maps in such a way that they meet the needs of a more demanding user. As regards the final product, i.e. the different maps created from time to time through the aforementioned platform, it is aimed at those users who find themselves in the position of having to manage information that can be represented by means of objects, i.e. data (relating to systems , technologies, people etc.) that lend themselves to being identified as objects on a map prepared by the user.
PROJECT STATUS: COMPLETED
CUBA
Software platform for the creation of information tools at the service of users on the move. The aim of the project is the study and research of a software platform suitable for the creation of tools for the availability of information, the management of data visualization in a browser and the study of a technology for the exploitation of information on the positioning of a user in movement. The equipment used by the user can be varied: from cell phones with new emerging standards to palmtops with Internet connection, from classic notebooks with a web interface card to satellite systems installed on vehicles.
PROJECT STATUS: RESEARCH PHASE
PARTNER
Path Allocation Re-engineering of Timetable Network for European Railways European cross-border rail freight transport should become more flexible. To this end, the EU-project PARTNER was recently launched under the leadership of the German Aerospace Center and with support from the European Commission. The main objective is to make the access to the rail network for train operators more flexible, thereby encouraging a modal shift from roads to rail for international freight transport.
The project PARTNER is coordinated by the German Aerospace Center’s Institute of Transport Research in Berlin and is comprised of several large and medium scale enterprises as well as universities. These participants from four European countries include Siemens Informatica Italy and Siemens Austria, the SME Futura Sistemi, the universities of Bologna and Tilburg, and a user group with Infrastructure Managers Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and Brenner Basistunnel EWIV. The acronym PARTNER stands for Path Allocation Re-engineering of Timetable Network for European Railways. The project was started in October.
The duration is 24 months and the budget of the project is 1.9 million €. The European Commission supports the project under the auspices of the 5th Framework. For several years, the European Commission has supported the development of the rail sector into an open market with free access to the Trans European Rail Freight Network for all train operators. Currently, the schedule for cross-border passenger and freight traffic within Europe must be planned over a year in advance. This long timetable can be attributed to the complexity of the European rail network, the sheer volume of rail traffic, and the different planning systems in the Member Countries. Freight transport is particularly adversely effected by these difficulties as shippers and logistics firms often demand transport services on short notice. The provision of prompt and high-quality service remains a major challenge facing managers of the rail infrastructure. To address this challenge, the project PARTNER will develop an Internet based interface between the European rail infrastructure managers. This should enable infrastructure managers to provide fast responses to train operators requesting train path access at international freight corridors.
A new charging tool will be included to help levy the fee. Consequently, the time to plan a new train path should be reduced to about one week. This should, in turn, increase freight capacity by rail in Europe. In implementing the project, the participants will concentrate on large, international rail corridors. Moreover, the project will exploit the work undertaken within former EU projects in the 4th Framework and will cooperate with parallel endeavours. Specifically, the “One-Stop-Shops” set up by rail infrastructure managers should be better networked. In the past years, the “One-Stop-Shops” were established in 17 Member Countries to support EU-directives on free access to the European rail network. They presently enable access to the rail network along the “North-South Freight Freeway,” which extends from northern Norway to Sicily.
PROJECT STATUS: RESEARCH PHASE