RIGA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Latvia's engineering solutions company Aspired will launch the Nextgen Microfactories project on Thursday to develop smart, highly automated small-scale factories using cloud computing and AI-controlled robots for greater efficiency and environmental sustainability, LETA news agency has reported.
The initiative is part of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), a European program supporting research, testing, and deployment of new technologies. An agreement on its implementation was signed on June 30, with activities set to run until the end of 2027.
The project's total cost is 7.4 million euros (about 8.65 million U.S. dollars), including 5.57 million euros from the European Resilience and Recovery Mechanism.
Aspired said the project will create solutions for robots using local cloud computing, advance industrial automation, develop decentralized manufacturing systems, and build management systems for smart industrial facilities.
The Nextgen Microfactories project is implemented by Aspired with partners TestDevLab, Ventspils High Technology Park, Dati Group, TechGym, Asya, and Natrix, and involves contractors from three European Union countries with their own IPCEI-CIS projects: Siemens of Germany, Engineering Ingegneria Informatica of Italy, and Tilde of Latvia. (1 euro = 1.17 U.S. dollar) ■