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A spin off of Politecnico to revolutionize the optic fiber market

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PhotonPath , a spin off of Politecnico di Milano incubated by Polihub, is ready to land on the market in 2021 with an innovative technology that promises to revolutionize telecommunications: the introduction of chips equipped with photonic circuits instead of electric ones, able to reduce the size and costs of optical fiber networks .

“A couple of customers are already testing our applications - says to Sole24ore the co-founder Douglas Aguiar - and we are planning to finalize these demos in in the next few months. The target, in three years, is to build 3 thousand units a year to reach the goal of five million in revenues".

PhotonPath nasce dal lavoro congiunto durante il dottorato di Douglas Aguiar, CEO e Alumnus in Ingegneria delle telecomunicazioni e Emanuele Guglielmi, CTO e Alumnus in Ingegneria elettronica, che hanno lavorato nel campo della fotonica integrata.

Thanks to the collaboration between two research groups of the Politecnico (the Photonic Devices Group and the I3N Lab) of the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB), in 2019 they created this start- up deep tech - a spin off of the Politecnico - with the aim of improving the quality and programmability of fiber optic telecommunications networks.

Photonpath fibra ottica
Credits: Business Insider

This takes place through the marketing of miniaturized chips in which, in addition to electrical signals, light signals are also propagated. The advantage of the technology is that it offers the possibility to reprogram the chip according to the specific needs of the individual customer.

"This is a very valuable feature for network operators, who see data traffic needs constantly changing within their networks. Thanks to integrated photonics, our control and calibration algorithms, network equipment becomes smaller, consumes less energy, is more performing, and is cheaper " says Aguiar to Business Insider .

He adds:

"The problem is that the constant growth in capacity and performance that has taken place over the last 30 years is reaching a limit and new technologies are needed to support it: this is where integrated photonics and our chips come into play".

The goal starting from 2021 is to enter the global telecommunications market and to produce 3000 units of the product within five years, eventually bringing integrated photonics into other segments of market.

MAP is the magazine of the Alumni of Politecnico di Milano The magazine is your compass to navigate everything that is developing and changing in our University. Below you will find a related article : if you like what you are seeing, support us . You will be able to collect your copy for free.

Credits header: Polihub

Blockchain: liberté et égalité

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Digital Talks organizzato dal chapter internazionale Alumni Politecnico di Milano Parigi in collaborazione con Castaldi Partners.

Speaker: Gaspare Gori, avvocato del foro di Parigi e Roma – co-responsabile corporate M&A, responsabile nuove tecnologie a CastaldiPartners
Marianna Belotti, Alumna del Politecnico, vicepresidente di APP, studentessa CIFRE CNAM e ingegnera al Groupe Caisse des Dépôts.

Moderatore: Giuseppe Sangiovanni, Alumnus del Politecnico, tesoriere di APP e partner di Linkers, M&A Director

rebattoni home 2

Digital: what to expect in Italy

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Stefano Rebattoni, chief executive officer of IBM Italia and Alumnus in Management Engineering, in a recent interview with Wired outlined what we should expect from the digital sector in Italy in the near future.

"I believe that the priorities for Italy - from our point of view - are the digitization of the public administration, the financial sector and our manufacturing industry as well as the industry of made in Italy. We therefore need to accelerate in this regard. "

There has been a change of perspective, that the health emergency has contributed to revolutionize, in the perception of digital technologies, transforming them into fundamental elements for the survival of businesses. The driving forces of this change will be artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud .

“2020 has canceled a lot of myths revolving around the digital sector. I think today both the leadership and the general public are more aware of the positive aspects of technologies. "

To manage the change there will be a need of collaboration and digitization , of which Rebattoni and IBM are active promoters in two macro areas: small and medium-sized private enterprises , are provided with a specially designed training and support path, as well as ad hoc technological solutions, and public administration, where digital skills should be integrated.

rebattoni digitale
Credits: www.corrierecomunicazioni.it
PANDEMIC AND DEVELOPMENT FOR THE FUTURE

In addition to training the sectors on digital issues, among the innovations IBM is working on there is also the digital health pass , a sort of health "passport" that allows you to always have information with you of a health, such as vaccination status or positive or negative Covid19 status.

A solution that can facilitate the post-pandemic world, which could also help restart society and therefore also the economy.

“In short, the digital sector is turning from a necessity into an opportunity. If it does not become a central topic now, I wonder if it will ever happen".

Credits header: Wired

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A scholarship in collaboration with Fondazione Poffe

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One of the goals of the community of Politecnico di Milano is to support, also financially, the best students through scholarships.

Some of the scholarships are financed by external institution, such as the Andrea Poffe Fellowship for Young Talents, which is supported throught the Fondazione Poffe, established in memoriam ofAndrea Poffe, Alumnus of Mechanical Engineering who passed away prematurely in 2020 at 40 years old.

andrea poffe
Andrea Poffe founded Zero Gravity (Credits: Corriere della Sera)

“When Andrea suddently passed away, a support network around him spontaneously started a fundraising campaign and we reached 45 thousand dollars in a few days. And we thought to offer scholarships to help talented students like him, to have other people like Andrea in our lives. It will be offered every year and we plan to expand the program with other donations " says Fabrizio Fantini to Corriere della Sera .

The scholarship, intended for a high school student, will start from the 2021/2022 academic year and will be awarded on merit, financial needs and entrepreneurial ambition. The coverage of university fees will be 100% for the entire three-year course of study at the Politecnico di Milano and more than 80% of the tuition for accommodation and extracurricular activities at the prestigious Collegio di Milano.

The merit requirements are indicated on the Poffe Foundation website and applications are open until as of June 1, 2021.

Do you wish to launch a campaign to establish a scholarship? Visit our section on the website dedicated to the donation options of Politecnico di Milano. Visit the website

Credits header: https://www.fondazionepoffe.org/

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The new number of MAP is about to be published

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Leafing through the pages of MAP we will travel from the classrooms of the Politecnico to new planets to be explored together with the main characters of this issue.

We will learn more about Alumni Companies , such as the one of Alessandro Pedretti, inventor of a anti-Covid fabric, and of the Alumni Gabriele Natale and Marco Caglieris, each carrying the Politecnico for the seven seas in each own way. We will travel to the Silicon Valley with Paolo Sacchetto (from Apple) and we'll go to Mars with Marco Dolci, responsible of the under-robotic system of the rover Perseverance.

We will sneak into the laboratories of the Politecnico di Milano, to witness the first interaction between light and matter, to take a ride on one of the most innovative driving simulators in the world and to find out how a bridge is tested to be safe over the years. We will read about many research projects funded by Alumni and the community around the world.

Guardalo qui:

Don't miss the next number of the Alumni Politecnico di Milano magazine!  

Social innovation through" humanly right "technology, to build a sustainable future for our world, is not an unambitious goal ... but we get there by working together, Polytechnic and Alumni: in Milan, in Italy, all over the world ... beyond… towards the borders of the Solar System, as you will read in the journey of these pages designed for you, written with you. .»

– Enrico Zio |President of the Association of the Alumni of Politecnico di Milano Rector's Delegate for Alumni and individual fundraising at Politecnico di Milano

Support the Alumni Politecnico di Milano to recieve a copy of the MAP at your home

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Blockchain and its application, between scenarios and responsibilities

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Since the first prototype of blockchain was proposed in 2008 with Bitcoin , the technology has evolved significantly from public distributed ledgers to private alternatives (or semi-private) that can be adapted to different uses.

The evolution of Blockchain will be at the center of the Digital Talks of Tuesday April 20th, organized by the International Paris Alumni Chapter: “Blockchain : liberté et egalité ”.

blockchain
Credits: Launchpresso on Unsplash

During the webinar we will try to identify, both from a technological and legal perspective , a series of issues that have been raised by the introduction of a revolutionary technology such as blockchain within traditional business schemes.

WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN?

blockchain can be considered as a quantum leap from distributed database technology; in fact, it allows to share a large register of transactions that are read, validated and stored in transaction blocks linked together, which form a chain of blocks - that is a blockchain .

The majority of blockchain applications integrate the technology to reach goals of:

  1. decentralization, 
  2. transparency and traceability 
  3. automation and scheduling 

The decentralized logic , proposed by blockchain technology, aims at replacing some actions reserved to a trusted intermediary ( trusted third party ) with pieces of code that execute transactions in a programmed and automatic way.

In this context, it is essential to identify the responsibilities of the parties that interact through blockchain transactions executed on time or in a programmed manner (the so-called smart contracts).

In the legal field, the contractual relations between the parties must analyze and describe in simple language the pieces of code that characterize the blockchain protocols used for the exchange of assets on blockchain (crypto-assets).

LEARN MORE AT THE DIGITAL TALK

Il digital talks “Blockchain: liberté et egalité” sarà un’opportunità per conoscere meglio questa tecnologia e l’applicazione dei noti smart contracts. L’appuntamento è per martedì 20 aprile, alle ore 18.30.

Gaspare Gori , lawyer of the Paris and Rome bar - co-head of corporate M&A, head of new technologies at CastaldiPartners and Marianna Belotti , Alumna of the Politecnico, vice president of APP, CIFRE CNAM student and engineer at Groupe Caisse des Dépôts.

digital talks blockchain

Moderator: Giuseppe Sangiovanni, Alumnus Politecnico, treasurer of APP and partner of Linkers, M&A Director.

The Digital Talk will be held in french.

SIGN UP FOR THE DIGITAL TALK

Credits photo home & header: Clint Adair on Unsplash and Terry on Unsplash

Gymnasio, a robot as a virtual personal trainer

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A robot that becomes a virtual personal trainer : it's not science fiction, but Gymnasio , a device that uses artificial intelligence to monitor the positions of the human body during training.

The startup behind the project has been funded by three Alumni of Politecnico di Milano and two Alumni of Politecnico di Torino, and is among the winners of Switch2Product, the program that champions innovative solutions on the market, new technologies and new business ideas and is supported by Politecnico and from Polihub.

The team met in Alta Scuola Politecnica, during the entrepreneurial program 'Pioneer' of the School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SEI) of Turin in a project in collaboration with Sprint Reply and supervised by Prof. Barbara Caputo (PoliTo), and by Prof. Cesare Alippi (PoliMi).

The objective is twofold: to make safe and personalized training accessible to as many people as possible and to revolutionize the home fitness market, which has had a surge during the pandemic .

Gymnasio
Credits: www.gymnasio.it
Gymnasio
Credits: www.gymnasio.it
HOW DOES GYMNASIO WORKS?

Gymnasio is able, thanks to the 3D camera and artificial intelligence algorithms , to correct movements and posture, manage personal records, track progress and give precise feedback during training.

gymnasio
Credits: www.gymnasio.it

Starting from Pepper , the first version of the device with the appearance of a humanoid robot, the Gymnasio team then modified the device with more compact and accessible forms , ideal for training at home in times of pandemics.

“The pandemic played a fundamental role. We will not be able to replace the empathy of a human: we want to give an alternative that can be purchased by everyone and that can be used at home. " declares to TG1 Daniele Gusmini , Alumnus of Automation Engineering and Control Engineering and CEO and co-founder of the start up.

The product, still in the prototype stage, thanks to its small size can be used anywhere and in the future it will be available on the market thanks to a subscription .

Il Design per la vita nello Spazio

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Design for Space: what does it mean?

In questo Digital Talks, organizzato assieme a Fondazione Politecnico di Milano, è stato approfondito il tema sempre più attuale della vita nello spazio, guardando al ruolo che il design può avere nel migliorare le condizioni di permanenza e di lavoro degli astronauti e nel proporre metodi e strumenti per affrontare condizioni ambientali estreme trasformandole da limitazioni in opportunità.

Ne hanno parlato la prof.ssa Annalisa Dominoni e il prof. Benedetto Quaquaro, Responsabili del corso di Space Design “Space4InspirAction”, Scuola del Design, Master of Science in Integrated Product Design. Moderato da Ing. Daniele Bignami, Project Manager e referente Collana Springer “Research for Development”, Fondazione Politecnico di Milano

Politecnico-Milano-bluscuro

"5 per mille": discover high impact research at Politecnico

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The "5 per mille" donations that reached Politecnico di Milano are destined to high social impact research projects: environment, energy, communities, urban regeneration, fragile population and developing countries were some of the themes touched by our researchers through the years.

This year projects benefiting from these grants have had an important focus on health protection. In 2020, Politecnico was able to make around 500 thousand euros from "5 per mille" donations, financing a total of 5 new projects starting in the coming weeks. We will also look more into the projects on MAP number 9, due out in April . Let's have a first look at them together!

BAMBI|Balloon Against Maternal BleedIng

The goal is to design a kit that fights post-partum hemorrhage (PPH) , making the device cheaper and more practical than those currently used.

The goal is to get a social patent and at a cost of $ 5 , which will make the device affordable even for low-income countries. In addition to being cheap, BAMBI must be fast and easy to use because, in the most severe cases of bleeding, the woman can lose half a liter of blood per minute.

BAMBI could represent a life-saving solution in all those countries and contexts where it is difficult to access timely treatment.

The project involves the departments of Chemistry, Mechanics and Design.

polisocial bambi
Credits Polisocial
Coltivare_Salute.Com | Cities and Health Centres for Resilient Communities

The project aims to enhance the role of the Community Health Houses (CdS) , which are structures on the Italian territory, halfway between the hospital and a treating doctor, designed for less serious patients.

The potential of these health facilities is very high and could have a strategic role in local medicine, to support hospitals and clinics in the management of patients who are not in emergency; however, at the moment the Houses of Health are little used.

Some researchers from the Polytechnic have opened a local co-design table in the city of Piacenza , where they plan to build a new Casa della Salute and experiment with new elaborate solutions.

The project involves the departments of Architecture and Urban Studies, Architecture, Construction Engineering and Built Environment, Management Engineering and Design.

polisocial coltivare salute
Credits Polisocial
HANDS | Health AND urban Space in Chamanculo, Mozambique

The research promotes innovations aimed at mitigating the structural sanitary vulnerability of the inhabitants of the Chamanculo district in Maputo.

To do this, HANDS proposes to activate a "Social Laboratory" dedicated to the production of Polichina , the sanitizing liquid Made in CMIC ( we talked about Polyquin here ) which will allow, in addition to sanitizing, to reduce the waste of drinking water, with savings of over 95%.

The second objective is to transfer technological skills to local stakeholders in the field of waste management and energy production on an urban and domestic scale.

The project involves the departments of Architecture, Construction Engineering and Built Environment, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Energy and Chemistry CMIC.

polisocial hands
Credits Polisocial
MakingMEV | Developing a multiple ventilator for pandemic emergencies

MEV - Multiple Emergency Ventilator is a emergency ventilator that can support 10 patients breathing simultaneously, with one pressure intrinsically safe maximum inspiratory breath (Ppeak) and which prevents mechanical ventilator damage.

The research project aims to create the first prototype, validate its functionality in the laboratory and analyze its potential for transfer to the clinic.

The project involves the departments of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Mechanics, Management Engineering and has as partner the Anesthesia and Intensive Care Department of the Maggiore Policlinico Hospital. We talked about the MEV respirator on the issue 8 of MAP, dedicated to polytechnic research to deal with the Coronavirus emergency .

polisocial makingmav
Credits Polisocial
SAFER project | New technologies for securitiy and efficacy of respiratory support during emergencies and context with few resources

SAFER also deals with respirators , in this case the goal is to create a personal respiratory device (for one patient only) to be used outside the ICU that is simple, robust and not so expensive.

To achieve it, innovative materials, new technologies and 3D printed spare parts will be used, which will facilitate supply in times of emergencies and in the case of limited resources, such as in low- and middle-income countries. The forecast is to create a prototype , test the performance, usability and scalability of the project.

The project involves the departments of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Mechanics and Chemistry.

polisocial safer
Credits Polisocial
POLISOCIAL AWARD: AN INSTRUMENT IN ITALY FOR RESOURCES WITH HIGH SOCIAL IMPACT

Funded research projects are selected each year through a competition of proposals, the Polisocial Award . First in Italy among academic initiatives of this type, it aims to support and launch research projects and an ethical approach to academic work that enhance the social impact of polytechnic skills, with a view to sustainability over time and with the 'goal of giving space to young researchers.

DONATE YOUR "5 PER MILLE" AT POLITECNICO
dona al 5 per mille
hub malpensa

An Alumnus designs the new hub of DHL Express in Malpensa

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“The new DHL Express Italy hub in Malpensa represents the first of three projects we are developing in Italy for the German company. This project aims to combine the enlightened vision of the company into tangible projects, introducing a new way to conceive and experience logistics: not just a place dedicated to sorting goods but an integrated hub that promotes the culture and mission of the company. , through highly evocative, as well as highly efficient spaces ". Massimo Roj, Alumnus of Architecture of Politecnico di Milano, describes the new hub of DHL Express inagurated in Malpensa and realised by Progetto CMRof which he is CEO and founder. 

In almost thirty years of activity, Roj has spread - together with Progetto CMR, one of the leading Italian companies in the integrated design sector - Italian culture and good practices of international and sustainable architecture. The project in Malpensa is the first of other gateways that are going to be realised by DHL in Italy. 

hub malpensa massimo roj
Credits Progetto CMR
INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS OF SPACE AND TECHNOLOGY 

Con oltre 50.000 metri quadri di progetto, 110 milioni di euro di investimento e più di 1000 dipendentithe new operative structure of DHL has become the fourth biggest in Europe and the more sustainable and technologically advanced one, developed in its entirety in BIM.  

Located in the south part of the Malpensa Airport, it has a "T" structure that will host a logistic hub, a wharehouse of 12.000 square meters and a factory on two floors and office spaces, more than 7000 square meters with a panoramic rooftop, rooms for meetings and for customer experience.

The characterizing element of the project is the presence of the Connector, a space that allows visual continuity between offices and warehouse and the creation of a sort of "agora" easily accessible by anyone who works in the building for moments of break and network.

One of the major elements of technological innovation is the material used for the casing, composed of triple-chamber alveolar polycarbonate : a light recycled and recyclable material, which allows the illumination of indoor environments through natural light, with considerable energy savings, and which at the same time guarantees excellent thermal and acoustic insulation.

Cover Photo: Progetto CMR

ann2 macchina volante home

"Where we are going we do not need roads"

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Ann 2 it is a two-seater aircraft of the Stovl type, ie a short or vertical take-off and vertical landing, it can travel up to 600 km at a speed of 300 km per hour.
It is built in composite materials also taking advantage of 3D printing, has hybrid power, can be driven in autonomous mode.

Its developer is Lucas Marchesini, Alumnus of Areonautical engineering at Politecnico di Milano, founder and CEO of MANTA AIRCRAFT, describes Ann2: "To some it may seem like a car with wings, but in reality it has little to do with a car. It's more similar to an airplane", but is much smaller than a plane and is able to take off and land in very small environmente (or vertically) A plane almost suitable for urban environments, which is one of the directions in which the areonauthical industry is moving towards.

In the future, aircrafts of this type could be used in the transport of goods and people as well as to facilitate city mobility, being used as couriers and flying taxis; but also for search and rescue operations, surveillance (for example environmental) and medical transport, which are all operations now carried out by helicopter with very high costs. Grazia Vittadini, CTO Airbus, also talked about it in MAP # 5 .

  • ann2
    Credits: Lucas Marchesini

Ann2 is in the testing phase: The flight tests of the prototypes in 1: 3 scale are underway while from 2022 the first prototype in real size will take off.

Photos from MantaAircraft.com