iDotto Research Project

Progetto di ricerca iDotto

Description and Purpose

The aim of the project was to develop an innovative application for tourists in mobility, capable of automatically and in real time adapting an audio commentary based on their behaviour in space and time. To this end, Duel developed a methodology for the text composition and inviduale track codification, which allows a subsequent dynamic assembly of the individual pieces in order to create a meaningful text. Therefore, appropriate software modules have been developed for the construction of the text offered to the tourist, based on the current position, previous listening history and his/her expressed preferences. The correlation between user position and text to be listened to, consistent with the sites and monuments to be described, has led to the need to assign a geographical area of competence to each single track, expressed in georeferencing terms. By cooperating with communication science experts and professionals in the sphere of culture, the project has ended with the drafting of original texts for a pilot area according to the methodology. 

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Achievements

With the research project, an app prototype and the technological service platform for the real-time distribution of geolocalized information is completed. For the entire duration of the projects, Duel made use of the scientific cooperation of Centro Interdipartimentale Digilab of Sapienza University of Rome.
The iDotto project for mobility tourism was financed by the POR FESR 2007-2013 of Regione Lazio, bid “Innovation of small and micro enterprises”.

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Further Developments

At a later time, the prototype engineering was carried out, with the development of the iDotto app, released for iOS and Android environments in May 2013.

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Progetto Jump Traffic Jam

JTJ Research Project

Project Description and Purpose

The Jump Traffic Jam (JTJ) project aimed at the design, implementation and experimental verification of a new data processing architecture for real time traffic report production, elaborated according to dynamic position and user profile data, and generated automatically by means of natural language, for listening via smartphone apps in total road safety.

The project involves a research and development activity for generating short and medium term traffic forecasts to be integrated into the new architecture and processing the production and distribution of customized information. The system integrates information deriving from institutional sources, ensuring their verification and normalization in terms of consistency of content, geo-referencing and time synchronization of the event.

Achievements

Along with the research project, the prototype of an app for users in mobility has been built.

For the development of the system, Duel made use of the scientific cooperation of three departments of Sapienza University of Rome (Digilab; Department of Computer, Automatic and Management Engineering; Research Centre for Transport and Logistics).

The VIVA project – Advanced system for three-dimensional virtual advertising, has been funded by the ROP-EURDF 2007-2013 of the Lazio Region, tender bid “RSI executive projects of SMEs in single or associated form related to technological frontiers”..

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Further Developments

Later, Duel engineered the prototype, developing the Spy Traffic app, released in December 2015 for the iOs operating system.

Since 2015, Duel has also been responsible for the functional and territorial extension of the project by developing the TOV – Traffic Over Voice platform. Today, TOV is the subject of an exclusive technical-commercial partnership with TomTom®.

Progetto pubblicità virtuale VIVA

VIVA virtual advertising system

Project Description and Purpose

Virtual advertising was created with the objective to send diverse advertising content to the various audiences during a sporting event. Thanks to the specialized know-how gained through many years of experience in research and innovation and product and service creation for international broadcasters, Duel has designed a system that solves the most common problems in virtual advertising production during a live event.The system is designed to fit into a normal digital TV shooting environment and supports, with the same hardware, a virtually unlimited number of SD or HD cameras.

The research project’s objectives have been:

  • The optimization of the lens calibration model, the simplification and drastic reduction of time, for the procedures and calculations related to the models creation.
  • “On-site” procedures simplification and reduction in set up time so as to enable them to be used by camera operators without the support of specialised personnel.
  • The option to insert 3D graphic contributions, animations and films, in the context of television images.
  • The option to insert virtual input, existing in the field of filming, eliminating the current insert constraint on monochromatic areas required by chroma keying systems.

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Achievements

The project has led to research results of international relevance, illustrated in the scientific article Novel Patterns for Zooming Camera Calibration during the CompIMAGE 2012 International Conference.

The activities and results of the research project have been carried out with the collaboration of the Automatic, Management, and Computer Engineering Department of Sapienza University of Rome.

The VIVA project – Advanced system for three-dimensional virtual advertising, has been funded by the ROP-EURDF 2007-2013 of the Lazio Region, tender bid “RSI executive projects of SMEs in single or associated form concerning technological frontiers”.

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“Novel Patterns for Zooming Camera Calibration”

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Further Developments

In the two-year period of 2013-2015, based on the technological results achieved with the development of the VIVA system, Duel has subsequently developed a new platform, Rembrandt, which offers the unique functionality of producing advertising content of the TV signal transmission device.

Content customization, made possible by the rendering made in the TV signal receiver, multiplies revenues from advertising space.

Consequently, Rembrandt proposes a radical change in the business model on the market for pitch-side advertising space during live streaming sports events.

Sustainable Mobility Project

Optimization system for the delivery of goods in the metropolitan area

POR FESR 2014/2020 – Public notice ‘Sustainable and Smart mobility’ referred to in Det. n. G08725 of 29 July 2016 – Integrated Projects

The Duel project “Optimization of the delivery of goods in the metropolitan area”, has been recognized by Lazio Innova S.p.A. as deserving of public contribution, given its social and innovative value. The project started in December 2017. All activities were completed in January 2019.

Project Objectives

The aim of the project was to develop an ICT service platform and a virtual assistant that, using traffic information from various sources, vehicle performance data and sophisticated optimisation algorithms, would assist the driver and the transport company in implementing innovative distribution schemes, both through dynamic route and delivery planning and through smart vehicle monitoring, in order to optimize the service in terms of business profitability, reduction of environmental impact and benefits for city residents and users.
Drivers’ access to the services has been made possible both through web applications and through native mobile applications for iOS and Android platforms, which can be installed on drivers’ smartphones and possibly interfacing with the CAN Bus of the vehicle to acquire useful data for performance calculations.
For larger fleets, a dedicated device has been made available, developed on the TomTom Bridge hardware platform, which can be installed onto the vehicle and interface with the CAN Bus and possible NFC (Near Field Communication) devices for driver identification.

Innovative project features

The project aimed to develop services that complement those offered by traditional fleet management systems, dedicated to assisting drivers during the fulfillment of the mission and optimizing their performance as opposed to the management of the fleet as a whole.
Indeed, the system is designed to offer its functions both directly, by means of graphical interfaces accessible from browsers and applications for mobile devices, as well as to other applications, by means of appropriate APIs, agnostic with respect to the programming language used, which make it possible to integrate it with third party infrastructures.
The developed service platform introduces a paradigm shift with respect to existing systems in terms of planning the transport vehicles missions, moving from planning based on static information to real-time dynamic information planning based on the most important aspect that determines the efficiency of the distribution service: traffic in large urban areas.
Another unique aspect of the project is the use of a virtual assistant: a software system that follows drivers along their route, informing them regarding traffic conditions, the next steps of the delivery schedule and any other event of interest, using voice messages for evident safety reasons.
Finally, the proposed system allows the company to measure the performance of drivers and vehicles, by acquiring the necessary data from the mobile device and CAN Bus of the vehicle, with which it interfaces via OBD-Bluetooth converters and processing them to obtain both real-time information, such as emissions and fuel consumption, and more complex information resulting from the data processing of the entire mission or a
a number of missions.
This information is made available through reports and dashboards provided by the platform interfaces. In this context, the project aims to include a smart freight vehicle fleet management system that, through the use of technology, is able to provide a solution to urban logistics problems.

Project testing and results

Duel has conducted the testing phase of the platform and the services it provides in partnership with two companies in the industry.
For testing, TomTom® Bridge devices were installed on four vehicles.
After entering the desired destinations on the web service platform, the systems worked out for their drivers the most efficient delivery schedule for the most efficient route to be taken in real time.
The planning system allowed the driver to always follow the optimal route, taking into account city traffic and timeframes.
During the execution of the delivery schedule, the driver was proactively alerted in case of traffic and viability problems and was advised to re-plan if this proved to be advantageous with respect to the initial planning.

On board, diagnostic devices installed on the OBD door measured the vehicle’s performance in terms of time saved and fuel consumed, in relation to the driver’s behavior.
Both companies have responded positively to the encouraging results resulting from the use of the devices.

Further developments

Based on the technological results achieved, Duel has subsequently industrialized the new platform under the name Urban Logistics.