The Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) is excited to participate in the Maritime Digitalization Research Infrastructure (MDigi-I) project,  recently funded by the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (CyRIF) for 2.8 million Euro under a call for the development of Strategic Research Infrastructures. MDigi-I is a 3-year project that started in January, 2024, with the goal to establish the national strategic infrastructure for Cyprus that promotes research and innovation in maritime digitalization.

The project’s consortium consists of 11 partners and is led by Dr Ioannis Kyriakides, Research Director for Marine Technology at the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI). The remaining 10 partners are: the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), Columbia Shipmanagement, Ayia Napa Marina, Electi Consulting Ltd, A.T. Delevant Business Solutions Ltd, MarineFields Holdings Limited, Cyprus Shipping Association, Cyprus Ports Authority, University of Zagreb, and Research Institutes of Sweden. The CUT research team is comprised of Dr Herodotos Herodotou, Dr Michalis Michaelides, Dr Andreas Kouspos, Dr Katerina Hadjisolomou, and Nicos Evmides, all from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering and Informatics.

The general objective of the project is to create a new research infrastructure that will stimulate synergies and provide the means for the development and uptake of maritime digitalization technologies that will improve safety, security, and efficiency for the economic and environmental sustainability of Shipping - Marine Transport activities, one of the key priorities defined in the Smart Specialization Strategy for Cyprus (S3Cy).

The proposed research infrastructure will have the potential to evolve into a Center of Excellence in maritime digitalization technology, to facilitate the development, testing, validation, demonstration, and training, becoming a nucleus of multidisciplinary research, innovation, and practical implementation for shipping and marine transport activities. It will offer access to the necessary physical spaces, equipment, services, human resources and its network, to enable individuals and entities to conduct research and deliver innovation in theory and methods, hardware (IoT) and software (signal processing, AI/ML) applications, for smart and connected ships, harbor facilities, digital twins, decision support systems, and digital platforms. This will support information sharing and co-development, and facilitate the synergy between humans, organizations, and cyber-physical systems. The infrastructure’s assets, having a total cost of 1.3 million Euro, will be organized in openly accessible testbeds and laboratories, which include: a) the Ayia Napa Marina Testbed, b) the Limassol Port Testbed, c) the CMMI Maritime IoT Laboratory, and d) the Columbia Shipmanagement Floating Laboratories.

For more information see https://www.mdigii.eu/.

Herodotos Herodotou, herodotos.herodotou@cut.ac.cy

Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering and Informatics at the Cyprus University of Technology.