Digital technologies
Sardinia has historically been involved in a large number of aerospace development initiatives, starting with the launch of the first sounding balloons in the 1950s for the study of cosmic rays, and the experimentation of launches into the upper atmosphere, which in the 1960s sanctioned Italy’s entry into the Aerospace Club.
Subsequently, local infrastructure has always played a role in space launcher testing activities, until the most recent years, when the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) was inaugurated in 2013 and the establishment of the Sardinia AeroSpace District (DASS) materialized in October of the same year.
CRS4, now a member of DASS, joins this development process, with its expertise in modeling and space data management, and with the COSMIC project, funded by the Italian Space Agency, which since 2009 has initiated a chain of development of new technologies for human space exploration.
Aerospace today is definitely one of the most technology-intensive sectors, deeply connected with cutting-edge areas such as: materials technology, telecommunications, autonomous navigation systems, robotics and human-machine interfaces in boundary conditions.
Developments in these areas, combined with tremendous advances in digital technologies, are also causing a radical transformation in many of the traditional industries seemingly far removed from the domain of aerospace.
The working group of the new Digital Technologies for Aerospace sector already has significant know-how on the application of digital technologies toward a wide range of application domains.
In the application of this knowledge to the aerospace domain, we aim both to provide continuity to the more challenging goals set at the time of the COSMIC project, and to serve as a guide for the development of new planning, specifically geared to practical spillovers to the local area, with cross-transfer of expertise with DASS members and other stakeholders, and targeted transfer of innovation to the enabling sectors of the local economic system.
