This year, the theme of the Altice Labs meeting was "Innovation from Portugal to the World". Of course, innovation was the guest of honor at this anniversary party, where Altice Portugal offered guests several demonstrations of the technology developed in Aveiro, as well as 25G-PON technology:
- The future of satellite communications
- The technology that will revolutionize medical education
- The contributions of new applications, based on 5G and Artificial Intelligence, to making homes and cities more functional
Ana Figueiredo, CEO of Altice Portugal, Alexandre Fonseca, Co-CEO of the Altice Group, Alcino Lavrador, General Director of Altice Labs, José Ribau Esteves, Mayor of Aveiro and Fernando Araújo, President of the SNS, were the speakers at the event. This 7th anniversary was also attended by Lloyd Felton, CEO of British operator and Altice Labs client County Broadband, who testified to the importance and role of applying Portuguese technology and innovation across borders.
"Ambassador of Portuguese engineering to the world", in Ana Figueiredo's words, Altice Labs exports products and solutions to more than 60 countries, reaching the homes of more than 300 million people around the world: "Altice Labs' technology is now all over the world, from New York to Paris, and as far afield as India, Kenya and Australia. We have put Portugal on the world infrastructure map".
Under the motto 'From Portugal to the World', Ana Figueiredo also highlighted a path made of innovation whose growing international recognition is distinguished by the 22 innovations on the European Commission's Innovation Radar and the 20 or so international patents won in the last four years.
In keeping with tradition, the anniversary of Altice Labs was marked by the moment when the group lifted the veil and anticipated some of the trends of the future of technology, applied to various sectors, from communications to education, from health to industry. The 7th anniversary of Altice Labs was thus celebrated with the presentation of prototypes and demonstrations, the launch of products and services and the unveiling of projects of national and international prominence that mark the future of national innovation.
With an exhibition of innovative and disruptive systems, guests had the opportunity to see first-hand demonstrations of these new technologies, which were divided into 5 areas: 5G, Ultrabroadband, Artificial Intelligence, Future Communications and Data.
The solutions presented were developed by the innovation laboratory, or in partnership with universities and other leading entities in the sector, demonstrating how Altice Labs has been applying and disseminating its knowledge capital in technology enhancement processes, presenting advanced solutions capable of opening horizons from Portugal to the world.
Industry, agriculture and the cities of the future
- UltraBroadband - Altice carried out the first real demonstration in Portugal of 25G-PON technology connected to the public network. More than doubling the 10Gbps that currently reaches the optical fibre network, the new high-speed network makes it possible to expand industrial and business applications in cases where, for example, the activity involves real-time synchronization processes or high video and data rates.
In a world where customers' comfort, safety and quality of life increasingly depend on technological solutions, the innovation center also demonstrated that ultra-broadband can play an important role in people's lives, which is at the heart of Altice Portugal's strategy. Through the Connected Home solution, a system based on a multiplatform mobile application, it is now possible to control all the technology in a home home, making it smarter and more sustainable.
- Industrial 5G Private Network Applications - The demonstration of the 5G Stand Alone, Indoor and Outdoor network solution, designed for industrial and port scenarios, was one of the highlights of the program. It was possible to watch a drone interact with an autonomous ground transportation vehicle, simulating the delivery of critical equipment in an industrial environment. During the demonstration, the result of a partnership with Youship and BeyondVision, both vehicles transmitted video in real time via Altice Labs' 5G network.
- Virtual Reality in Medical Education - This demonstration, in partnership with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon, used an emerging technology that is being implemented in undergraduate medical education at that Faculty. In practice, it's a new way of teaching future doctors, placing them in a simulated/immersive scenario, using virtual reality glasses, before they are called upon to perform surgical interventions on real patients.
- Satellite communications - One of the most promising applications presented by Altice Labs is the integration of non-terrestrial networks with 5G networks. There are currently many nanosatellite applications for earth exploration. However, they can only establish communication when they are positioned over a dedicated ground station. The Aveiro innovation laboratory's focus is on
in developing a technology that places a kind of 5G/6G terminal on the nanosatellite and which, in turn, will communicate with a cellular network base station, thus entering the terrestrial network. This solution presents Altice Labs as a future provider of two-way telecommunications systems between space and earth. The laboratory is forming a consortium with the Instituto Superior Técnico and the University of Luxembourg to jointly apply for the project to the European Space Agency. The ambition of this alliance also involves the development of a nanosatellite that will be an evolution of ISTat-1, on display at the Altice Labs anniversary. The guests were able to see first-hand what will be the first Portuguese university CubeSat to be launched into space.
- Exploring Data - In the field of data processing, the meeting also served to reveal how the two new platforms, which have arrived to revolutionize cities and agriculture, will work.
Live!Urban is a platform that brings together the various urban management systems based on data from a city's various services (energy, waste management, water, environment, etc.). The system facilitates the analysis of decision-makers responsible for managing and improving the quality of life of a city's inhabitants.
In the field of agrotech, Live!Green is based on the same principle: gathering and processing statistical data in order to improve decision-making. In this demonstration, it was possible to see the practical application of the platform in the fields of Madeira banana production and grapes for wine production.
Startup Lisboa is a partner of the Altice International Innovation Award (AIIA)
The Altice Labs anniversary event was the stage chosen for the presentation of what is currently the largest prize money awarded in the country in the area of technological innovation.
In what is already the seventh edition of the AIIA award, Altice is once again promoting and recognizing entrepreneurship and talent in the technology, innovation and sustainability sector in 2023.
This year, the group unveiled Startup Lisboa's entry into the Altice Innovation Award partner ecosystem, by hosting and supporting the incubation phase of the winning startups.
Also, for the 7th consecutive year, ANI is once again teaming up with AIIA to award the Born from Knowledge (BfK) prize. The best "born from knowledge" finalist project resulting from research and development (R&D) activities will receive 2,500 euros in this edition, along with the Tree of Knowledge, a work of art symbolizing the enhancement of national scientific and technological knowledge.
In 2023, the competition categories will remain the same:
- the Startup Category, which aims to reward entrepreneurs and startups in the incubation phase, open to all European Union countries, the Academy Category, focused on doctoral students enrolled in Portuguese universities of any nationality
- and the "Includes" Category, sponsored by the Altice Foundation, which aims to distinguish inclusive projects aimed at making information and communication technologies and technological accessibility solutions available to citizens, particularly those with special needs.
Since 2017, the Altice International Innovation Award has received more than 500 applications and awarded prizes totaling more than 460 thousand euros.