A UC3M project wins the madri+d Award for Participation in Europe
5/4/21
5Growth, a European research project about 5G networks, coordinated by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), has won the madri+d Award for Participation in Europe. The aim of this award is to recognise the internationalisation efforts of research groups in universities and other centres in the Community of Madrid.
The 5Growth project has been selected from a total of 15 candidates of European projects coordinated by institutions in Madrid that were presented in the “Participation in Europe” category of these awards. 5Growth seeks to test and validate the current performance of 5G networks in vertical industries, such as Industry 4.0, Transport and Energy, with automated and Artificial Intelligence solutions. In this sense, it will implement 5G technology in four real-world environments in order to validate the operation of these new telecommunications networks.
The 5G technology being implemented within the framework of this project will increase the speed (compared to current 4G communication) by ten, as well as decrease latency (the delay in the propagation of information packages within a network) and increase the reliability of communications. “All of this will make applications such as the self-driving car, augmented reality or the connection of multiple devices to the Internet a reality, in what is called the Internet of Things”, explains the project’s lead researcher and coordinator, Carlos J. Bernardos, from the UC3M’s Department of Telematic Engineering.
The aim of the 5Growth project is validating the benefits associated with this technology in real-world environments (departing from the laboratories where the initial 5G tests were carried out) and using specific applications. This will allow 5G technology to be used in environments previously disregarded for mobile communications technologies, such as factories of the future which “will have levels of automation and precision that have never been seen until now, thanks to 5G”, says Carlos J. Bernardos.
5Growth is an R&D&I consortium funded by the European Commission, coordinated by the UC3M. The project began in June 2019 and will run for 33 months. There are 21 institutions from seven European countries working on the project, including universities and research institutes, (in addition to the UC3M, the Centre TecnològicTelecomunicacions Catalunya, the Instituto de Telecomunicações, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the Polytechnic University of Turin, and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies), global providers (Ericsson, InterDigital, NEC, Nokia), operators (Telefónica, Telecom Italia, Altice Labs/Portugal Telecom), vertical industries (COMAU, EFACEC, INNOVALIA), and SMEs (Mirantis, Nextworks, Telcaria).
madri+d Award for the Best Idea
In addition, In this edition of the awards, the start-up ienai SPACE, which is part of the corporate portfolio of technology-based companies belonging to the Incubator in the UC3M’s Science Park, has been awarded the madri+d Award for the Best Idea for the development of electric propulsion modules for small satellites.
This company, driven by three former UC3M students who received their PhDsfrom the University, Sara Correyero Plaza, Daniel Pérez Grande and Mick Wijnen, offers scalable propulsion systems that are fully tailored to the needs of each client, as well as support and consultancy services related to platform architecture and mission analysis.
