Leonardo presents a road map for the Company’s innovation and research through the launch of Leonardo Labs with the aim to strengthen technological development and competitiveness

Genoa  02 December 2019 12:42

  • In the next five years, Leonardo expects significant recruitment of young researchers from all over the world who will work alongside the Company’s experts. It will be an opportunity to attract resources from abroad
  • The focus of Leonardo Labs will be on new technologies: Big Data, high performance computing and simulation, Artificial Intelligence and autonomous systems, quantum technologies and cryptography, electric mobility, materials and structures
  • Profumo: “The road map ensures a long-term growth which will address the challenges of the third millennium in a sustainable way. The objective is two-fold: satisfying the market demands which drive innovation and anticipate innovation which, in turn, will generate new market demands”
  • Cingolani: “The Leonardo Labs will be based on a corporate research structure, active on cutting-edge programmes in the medium-long term, transversal to the business areas of the Company, able to develop the future’s technologies and to anticipate the market demands. The initiative is a key factor for Leonardo’s competitive growth”
  • One of the laboratories will be located in Genoa, where one of the most powerful computers in the world will be installed to enhance national supercomputing capabilities

 

Developing the technological know-how and products in an increasingly competitive international context, enhancing research and making of it a common factor for all corporate business structures. It is the goal of the Leonardo Labs, the technological incubators at the center of the road map for research and innovation, presented in Genoa at the Leonardo Innovation Award 2019

The road map aims to strengthen the company’s technological research. This will be also achieved through a network of external experts following the open innovation approach, the acceleration of digitalised processes, and the development of technologies as drivers to effectively compete in international markets. The challenge is to respond to both short and long-term needs, designing products and services that will be able to guarantee Leonardo’s growth in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.

Over the next five years, it is anticipated that the laboratories will see the recruitment of young external international researchers, focused on well-defined activities and under the supervision of experts and internal researchers. It will be an opportunity to attract talents also from abroad.

An interdisciplinary community will be created for technological development and future. Among the main research areas are: Big Data, high performance computing and simulation, Artificial Intelligence and autonomous systems (uncrewed), quantum technologies and cryptography, electric mobility, materials and structures.

Leonardo’s CEO, Alessandro Profumo, commented: “The road map ensures a long-term growth which will address the challenges of the third millennium in a sustainable way. The objective is two-fold: satisfying the market demands which requires continuous innovation, and on the other hand it will anticipate innovation which, in turn, generates new demand. The Leonardo Labs will also allow a continuous flow of talents to ensure flexibility and renewal, both in terms of capability and professional skills. This is based on an international scale model and our evolution of technological trends”.

“The Leonardo Labs - states Roberto Cingolani, Leonardo’s Chief Technology and Innovation Officer - will be based on a corporate research structure and will be responsible for working on cutting-edge programmes in the medium to long term, transversal to the business areas of the Company, able to develop the future technologies and to anticipate the market demands. The initiative is a key factor for Leonardo’s competitive growth”.

The Leonardo Labs will develop highly innovative technologies. These new structures will be built near Leonardo’s main industrial sites in Italy with the aim to facilitate the transfer of technology maximising the benefits of the reference territories, whilst also consolidating collaboration with local institutions. The Genoa area, among the headquarters of the Leonardo Labs, will host in particular one of the most powerful existing computers which will significantly strengthen supercomputing capabilities of the Company and of the nation, in Big Data and in autonomous and intelligent systems.