CRS4 TECHNOLOGY CATALOGUE

DP4Lab

Digital Platform for Labs

Platform for testing and validating multi-sector IoT solutions

Background

The rapid evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT) is paving the way for the development of smart cities, where large volumes of diverse data from sensors and devices is integrated, managed and transformed into useful information.

However, cities and SMEs often lack scalable, interoperable and collaborative enabling platforms to experiment with, develop and implement IoT solutions in real-world contexts across various application domains (energy, mobility, environment, etc.).

What does the DP4Lab platform offer?

DP4Lab is an enabling platform for the testing and validation of multi-sectoral IoT solutions, developed as part of the Cagliari Digital Lab project.

It is designed as a living laboratory for innovation in smart cities, focusing on IoT data collection, integration and interoperability, advanced analysis, geospatial visualisation and decision support.

The web-based platform offers a multi-tenant, scalable and interoperable architecture that collects spatio-temporal data from various sources, processes it and visualises it via an interactive 3D geospatial interface, facilitating real-time monitoring and decision-making.

The platform enables the creation of a real-world experimentation environment where stakeholders can design, test and scale IoT solutions, accelerating innovation whilst reducing implementation risks, thereby bridging the gap between research prototypes and operational smart city services.

The truly innovative element is not a single technology, but the combination of IoT, cloud, microservices and open standards to create a scalable, interoperable and replicable urban platform

Innovative features

A “living lab” approach that enables real-world experimentation and co-creation
A multi-tenant architecture that supports multiple users (e.g. SMEs) simultaneously
Integration of open-source technologies (FIWARE, Keycloak, Grafana)
Advanced 3D geospatial visualisation for intuitive data interpretation
Microservices-based design ensuring scalability and flexibility
Integrated security and identity management (IAM) for complex ecosystems

Potential users

Public authorities and local councils
SMEs developing IoT applications
Urban planners and smart city managers
Researchers and innovation labs
Systems integrators and IoT developers

Sectors impacted

Smart cities and urban innovation
Digital public infrastructure
IoT platforms and data ecosystems
Mobility and smart transport systems
Environmental monitoring and urban services

Main application areas include: IoT data collection, integration and interoperability, advanced analytics, geospatial visualisation and decision support

Economic and social value

Optimization of public spending (more efficient decision-making)
Stimulating innovation and SMEs (living labs)
Creation of new data-driven markets (new business models)
Attracting investment (investors, startups, projects)
Improvement in quality of life (more efficient urban services)
Environmental
sustainability
Participation and transparency
Support for public policy (data-driven evidence)
Digital inclusion (reducing the digital divide among regions and users)

Additional resources and information

Impagliazzo, Carlo, Muriel Cabianca, Maria Laura Clemente, Giuliana Siddi Moreau, Matteo Vocale, and Lidia Leoni. 2024. “A Testbed Platform to Support an IoT City Lab” IoT 5, no. 1: 35-57. https://doi.org/10.3390/iot5010003

Status

Type of innovation:
incremental, modular

Product type:
software

Emerging
technologies
adopted:
IoT; Architettura a microservizi; Cloud computing; Data analytics and Visualisation; 3D geospatial visualisation.

Stage of technological
development:
TRL 6

Limitations:
For usability, it requires large screens

Intellectual property
characteristics:
proprietary code

Other partners:
No

Keywords

Smart Cities
AIoT (Artificial Intelligence + IoT)
Digital Twin & Urban Data Platforms
Data-Driven Decision Making

Contacts

Carlo Impagliazzo
– industrial collaborations
– pilot projects and demonstrators
– technology transfer (licensing)

For information:
valorisation@crs4.it

Date

Last update:
25/03/2026