Presented the ‘Smart Infrastructure’ report, prepared by the TIM Study Center with Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, Digital Innovation Observatories of the Politecnico di Milano and Comtel Innovation. Smart sensors and monitoring systems for the safety and sustainability of energy, water and road networks.
Awarded the winners of the TIM Smart Infrastructure Challenge, the Open Innovation initiative in which more than 100 startups, scaleups and companies with innovative solutions participated.
An Italy where road conditions are monitored in real time, possible failures in water and energy networks anticipated, and the costs of operating and maintaining civil works significantly reduced is already possible. Artificial Intelligence and IoT can transform infrastructures into smart grids, make them more efficient, reduce waste, minimize risks and ensure greater resilience, with more reliable and sustainable services for citizens.
This is the concrete vision that emerges in the new ‘Smart Infrastructure’ report produced by the TIM Study Center, in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, 5G & Connected Digital Industry and Internet of Things Observatories of the Politecnico di Milano and Comtel Innovation and presented today at the TIM Innovation Lab in Rome. Artificial Intelligence, smart sensing, and robotics and drone technologies, supported by high-performance 5G connections and advanced cybersecurity solutions, represent a major driver of development capable of redesigning Italy’s energy, water and road networks, and reducing by up to one-third the cost of managing and maintaining civil works.
According to the study, intelligent monitoring systems can prevent up to 27 percent of the collapse of the oldest structures and reduce up to 31 percent of the total operating costs of road networks (tunnels, bridges, roads) and other civil works, extending the life of the infrastructure, with huge economic benefits for Italy, up to a total savings of more than 54 billion euros in the useful life of new critical infrastructure based on the investments planned for the five-year period 2026-2030.
In electricity grids, the use of IoT sensors and advanced management platforms allow optimizing distribution, reducing losses, and lowering overall costs by nearly 700 million euros per year. The transformation of electricity grids from the centralized to the smart grid model will increasingly enable the integration of the use of energy from renewable sources (wind, solar, etc.). In the water sector, the challenge is even more urgent: water losses touch about 42 percent nationwide, with peaks above 55 percent in the South. With smart meters and advanced monitoring and management systems, Italy can generate savings of about 2.6 billion euros by 2030 by monitoring consumption and detecting hidden faults in real time.
“The digital challenge of Italy’s infrastructure can no longer be postponed. They are the backbone of the country’s economic development” – said Elio Schiavo, TIM’s chief enterprise and innovative solutions officer. “Investing in their digitization means guaranteeing safety, efficiency, sustainability and enables the transformation of our territory into a smart land, an essential step for Italy’s development. To innovate in this sector, it is necessary to network and create a collaborative ecosystem with startups and cutting-edge companies, so as to accelerate this technological revolution and strengthen skills.” .
As a testament to the concrete commitment, TIM Enterprise today awarded the winners of the ‘TIM Smart Infrastructure Challenge,’ an initiative that is part of the Group’s Open Innovation program, carried out in collaboration with Arduino, Cyber 4.0, eFM, Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, 5G & Connected Digital Industry and Internet of Things Observatories of the Politecnico di Milano, SOCOTEC Italia, 28DIGITAL and the support of Alaian.
The challenge, which saw the participation of more than 100 startups, scaleups and innovative companies from around the world, identified a number of outstanding solutions based on Artificial Intelligence and IoT. Winners will be offered a technological, commercial or research collaboration with TIM Enterprise and its partners in order to accelerate their growth in the market.
In particular, TIM awarded CAEmate, with a platform that integrates Digital Twin, real-time IoT sensor data and predictive AI for preventive infrastructure maintenance.
Additional awards given for the TIM Smart Infrastructure Challenge are:
– PipeIn, an Arduino award winner specializing in modular robotics, advanced sensors and AI for predictive inspection of hidden pipes and infrastructure;
– Hermes Bay, awarded by Cyber 4.0, for advanced digital security solutions that combine strategic intelligence, cyber-security and tailored SaaS platforms;
– GiPStech, an eFM award winner, with a scalable indoor location technology based on the smartphone’s geomagnetic field;
– Xplora, awarded by Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, which uses sensor fusion and AI to create reliable 3D maps for underground excavations;
– TOKBO, recognized by the 5G & Connected Digital Industry and Internet of Things Observatories of the Politecnico di Milano, for innovation in IoT predictive monitoring using sensorized bolts;
– TITAN4, awarded by SOCOTEC Italy, with an AI-powered platform to facilitate predictive maintenance through satellite data and sensors;
– Entopy, awarded by 28DIGITAL, with a Decision Intelligence platform based on Digital Twin and AI to interpret complex data.
The full “Smart Infrastructure” report can be found at the following link.