The mission of the Poste Italiane Research Centre is to introduce new methods and tools to support the Company’s activities and business. For this purpose, it conducts research projects in collaboration with universities, research centres and local institutions, experimenting with and implementing the new solutions.
The Centre is divided into two areas:
- the Project Financing Area, which deals with project financing for scientific and industrial research programmes focused on ICT, including socially-oriented projects. The projects are chosen in keeping with Poste Italiane’s corporate strategies following a thorough analysis of the financing proposals available at an italian and international level;
- the Prototype Projects Area , which develops experimental prototypes for innovative products and services. This is followed by a pre-industrialisation stage in which checks are performed to verify the feasibility of integrating the prototypes into the Company’s systems.
The main activities are:
- searching for new financing opportunities in innovative fields for Poste Italiane’s business;
- design and development of innovative solutions based on the new financing opportunities;
- application of scientific research results to new prototype projects;
- collaboration with internal structures to launch the developed projects.
Application areas of research
It can be used to:
- improve the quality of pre- and after-sales customer support;
- improve the effectiveness of company communication as a means of disseminating information and creating dialogue with the Company’s partners (existing and potential customers, suppliers, branches across the country, sales-chains and agents);
- redefine internal company processes and integrate workflows on a single platform (order and transaction automation, real-time coordination of customer requests, production logistics and warehouse availability).
The term “eGovernment” refers to the use of ICT technologies in the provision of public services.
Two of the most important benefits are the savings that can be made in terms of time and cost for citizens and public bodies, and the development of a Public Administration that is results-oriented, focused on citizens and based on the laws of the market.
Following the global development of the Internet, most businesses operating in the tourism industry have now migrated to the Web. Blogs and social networks are the ideal platform for exchanging opinions and information and for sharing a wide range of materials such as photos and videos.
The keywords of the Web 2.0 Era are collaboration and sharing. In this context, users take on an active role as researchers, commentators and content generators.
For this purpose companies use: the typical tools of the Web 2.0 Era (blogs, wiki, RSS, etc.); technological approaches such as BPM (Business Process Management) for optimising, monitoring and integrating company processes; RIA (Rich Internet Applications), which deliver the same functions as desktop applications without the need for a hard disk; SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture), a software architecture that supports Web services and guarantees interoperability between different systems, allowing for integrated and transparent use of individual applications.
Funded Projects

Funding Entity: European Commission
Program: H2020-EU.2.1.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
Status: Completed
Web Site: https://www.indimoproject.eu/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/INDIMO_H2020
Pagina Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/indimo-h2020/about/
CONTEXT

INDIMO is part of the H2020-EU.3.4. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport program, specifically in the MG-4-5-2019 - An inclusive digitally interconnected transport system meeting citizens' needs topic.
The rapid expansion of digital solutions for the management of mobility and logistics systems, together with the digital information provision, have allowed the emergence of the "connected traveler", who can independently make decisions on travel routes, modes and departure times based on multimodal route planning and provide immediate feedback on service quality or problems via connected mobile devices. Furthermore, the digitization and proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICT) have stimulated the emergence of disruptive technologies and business models such as on-demand mobility and logistics solutions.
Connected smartphones have also enabled new on-demand logistics services, which offer customers the possibility to order, track and receive goods when and how it is convenient for them. At the same time, crowdsourcing delivery services have also opened up many possibilities for social innovation and new business models in which people can easily become part of the logistics chain.
NDIMO aims to provide, through innovative services, an answer to address the key challenges of logistics in environmental, organizational and social cohesion terms.
The project aims to create a user-centered digital transport system, in which the needs of all parts of society are taken into consideration, the services are inclusive and universally accessible, and safety is guaranteed.
OBJECTIVES
INDIMO underlines the need for researchers, operators, developers and policy makers to take into account the point of view of the different user groups during the process of developing digital mobility solutions and, in particular, aims to analyze and support the mobility needs of citizens vulnerable to exclusion (elderly, children, disabled, poor, poorly educated).
The general objective is therefore to extend the benefits of the new and emerging interconnected digital transport system to people who currently face obstacles to the use of these systems due to limited physical or cognitive accessibility to digital interfaces or socio-economic barriers.
The project aims to outline models and guidelines to support a 'universal design' approach for digital mobility. It develops through the phases of mobility needs main characteristics identification, tools co-design and their effectiveness co-evaluation, re-design, transfer and diffusion, to always keep in adequate consideration the user groups’ needs.
The methodology is supported by a series of pilots, each one oriented to verify the identified solutions validity to favor the spatial and economic inclusion of the residents in the reference areas. The creation of 5 pilots, in different logistic areas, is expected to be implemented in 5 different countries: Madrid (Spain), Antwerp (Belgium), Emilia Romagna (Italy), Berlin (Germany) and Galilee (Israel).
THE ROLE OF POSTE ITALIANE
Poste Italiane contributes to the development of an innovative logistics model in rural areas by participating to one of the 5 Pilots in collaboration with ITL - Foundation Institute for Transport and Logistics in Bologna (Pilot 1 - Introduction of digital technology to allow e-commerce in rural areas ), installing one or more digital lockers in a chosen location in the Rhine Valley in order to provide residents with a personalized service for sending /receiving parcels and for accessing digital services such as payments, facilitating (reducing) the need for mobility and thus improving:
- the level of tailored parcel delivery services through digital tools to respond to the needs of users in sparsely populated, rural areas.
- the social inclusion of those citizens that for several reasons cannot have access to the same services compared to the cities and specifically: elderly people, migrants or communities of foreign people living in low level economic conditions, people with low level of digital knowledge and education.
- the digital education of people that live in areas characterized by an elevated digital divide, hoping to develop a digital culture.
CONSORTIUM PARTNERs
The project coordinator is VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL (Belgium), in cooperation with the following partners:
VDI/VDE Innovation und Technik GmbH | Belgium |
INTERUNIVERSITAIR MICRO-ELECTRONICA CENTRUM | Belgium |
cambiaMO S.C.M. | Spain |
DEEP BLUE SRL | Italy |
TECHNION - ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | Israel |
MOZGASSERULTEK BUDAPESTI EGYESULETE | Hungary |
FUNDACION ZARAGOZA LOGISTICS CENTER | Spain |
POLIS – Promotion of Operational Links with Integrated Service | Belgium |
EUROPEAN PASSENGERS' FEDERATION IVZW | Belgium |
Door2Door GmbH | Germany |
Vivero de Iniciativas Ciudadanas | Spain |
CoopCycle | France |
Fondazione Istituto Sui Trasporti e la Logistica | Italy |
RESULTS
INDIMO Inclusive Digital Mobility Toolbox - https://www.indimoproject.eu/indimo-digital-mobility-toolbox/
What is it
It is an interactive set of 5 online tools, intended for a practical use and available in six different languages. It offers access to the INDIMO methodologies and the research documentation, including templates and examples of their use.
Who is it for
It has been developed to help developers, policy makers and service operators to design and implement accessible and inclusive mobility solutions for all kinds of digital mobility and delivery services.
It provides recommendations and advice to:
- Design digital transport solutions that are better tailored to citizens’ needs, especially those of users who experience barriers in using digital services, by means of the UDM – Universal Design Manual.
- Design universally understandable interfaces between transport end-users and the digital mobility system, through the UIL – Universal interface language manual.
- Ensure data protection and cybersecurity in digital transport solutions, by means of the CSG – Cybersecurity and privacy assessment guidelines.
- Evaluate the compliance of digital mobility solutions and services with the universal design principles, through the online SET – Service evaluation tool.
- Identify, select and filter a list of recommendations derived from our research with end users in the INDIMO Recommendations browsable list.
Each tool provides access to project results such as research insights, methodologies, surveys, exercises, documents, templates and a list of recommendations. All provided materials are open access and they can be used to analyse, evaluate and re-design all kinds of digital mobility services.
THE PROJECT PLATOON – Digital PLAtform and analytical TOOls for eNergy
Funding Entity: European CommissionProgram: H2020-EU.2.1.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
Status: Active
Web Site: https://platoon-project.eu
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PLATOON_EU
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/platoon-h2020
During the last few years the electricity sector is experiencing its most dramatic transformation since its creation. Nowadays electricity covers almost 20% of global energy consumption and it is expected to rise exponentially during the next decades both in absolute and relative terms. This growth is mainly driven by three factors: 1) world population increase, 2) need for greener energy sources to fight global warming 3) the disruption of new technologies such as electric transportation and digital technologies.
At the same time the digitalization of the energy sector is rapidly increasing through the adoption of "disrupting" technologies in all components of the energy network which capture huge amounts of data and allow higher levels of operational excellence. The Big Data infrastructure of modern 'Smart' electricity networks provides an ideal ecosystem for exploiting the knowledge inherent in the data.
The PLATOON project intends to create a secure cyber digital platform which, by using distributed processing and data analysis technologies for optimized real-time management of the energy system, provides effective support to industry experts.
A reference architecture will be developed and used to build and implement replicable energy management solutions that will help to increase energy consumption from renewable sources, manage Smart electricity grids, increase energy efficiency and optimize the energy resource management.
The project includes 7 pilots, for different energy spheres, implemented in 4 different countries that provide real energy 'Big Data' situations: Italy, Belgium, Spain and Serbia.
The project will strengthen European efforts for the modernization of electricity grids, as it focuses attention on innovative 'smart' network services through the exploitation of the knowledge inherent in data, and will offer consumers access to cheaper and more sustainable energy, maximizing social well-being.
CONTEXT

PLATOON si colloca nell’ambito del Programma H2020-EU.2.1.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), specificatamente nel topic DT-ICT-11-2019 - Big data solutions for energy.
THE ROLE OF POSTE ITALIANE
Poste Italiane participates in the project by contributing to the writing of the requirements for the development of the Big Data platform and tools for analyzing data and defining the model related to activities in the energy system.Poste Italiane also participates in one of the 7 "End use of energy" drivers in collaboration with 'Roma Capitale', evaluating the results of the designed solution applied to a set of buildings with relevant characteristics and datasets.
OBJECTIVES
The project aims to improve energy system efficiency strategies through the creation of an innovative and flexible platform, COSMAG (Comprehensive Architecture for Smart Grid) compliant, which is:• Interoperable: to manage a wide spectrum and heterogeneous data sources, formats, interfaces;
• Compatible: with legacy systems and applicable European standards;
• Secure: to allow governance and secure management of stakeholder information;
• Easy to use: for those operating in the energy sector.
ATTACHMENTS
PARTNERS
ENGIE | France |
FUNDACION TECNALIA RESEARCH & INNOVATION | Spain |
RHEINISCHE FRIEDRICH-WILHELMS-UNIVERSITAT BONN | Germany |
FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V. | Germany |
ENGINEERING - INGEGNERIA INFORMATICA SPA | Italy |
VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL | Belgium |
INSTITUT MIHAJLO PUPIN | Serbia |
GIROA SOCIEDAD ANONIMA | Spain |
SISTEPLANT SL | Spain |
SAMPOL INGENIERIA Y OBRAS S.A. | Spain |
TECHNISCHE INFORMATIONSBIBLIOTHEK (TIB) | Germany |
POLITECNICO DI MILANO | Italy |
ROMA CAPITALE | Italy |
POSTE ITALIANE | Italy |
MANDAT INTERNATIONAL ALIAS FONDATION POUR LA COOPERATION INTERNATIONALE | Switzerland |
FUNDINGBOX ACCELERATOR SP ZOO | Poland |
INDRA SOLUCIONES TECNOLOGIAS DE LA INFORMACION SL | Spain |
COMSENSUS, KOMUNIKACIJE IN SENZORIKA, DOO | Slovenia |
CLUSTER DE ENERGIA | Spain |
UDG ALLIANCE | Switzerland |

DIODE: D- FLIGHT INTERNET OF DRONES ENVIRONMENT
Funding Entity: European Commission
Agency: SESAR JU

Status: Active
Contact: info@diodeproject.eu
Site: http://www.diodeproject.eu/
The drone market is growing rapidly and the fields of application have significantly increased. It is also an opportunity for economic expansion and for the development of new and innovative services.
The project, providing a complete set of basic and advanced U-Space services, aims to demonstrate, through real-world missions performed with drones of different sizes and features, that the implementation of U-Space services (U1, U2 and U3) guarantees an adequate level of safety and performance both in the air andat ground level. This will be achieved through the evaluation of safety and regulatory compliance, live tests and demonstrations conducted in different scenarios (including urban and airport environment and BVLOS flights) with simultaneous missions, operating to pursue specific business or recreational objectives, completely integrated with traditional aeronautics.
CONTEXT
U-space
DIODE is part of the European Network of U-space Demonstrators, launched by the European Commission on 19 October 2018.
THE ROLE OF POSTE ITALIANE
Poste Italiane participates in the project with an active role in defining the study plan, coordinating communication and dissemination activities and performing one of the 11 demonstration missions, which provides the delivery of "goods" by drones in an emergency scenario or adverse logistics conditions.
OBJECTIVES
Through the D-flight platform (service delivery platform for U-Space management), DIODE will demonstratethe achievement of an adequate level of security for UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and the operation of UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems), supporting their integration within traditional crewed traffic and making Italy an European leader in the process of development, use and provision of airspace reserved for DRONES (U-Space).
ATTACHMENTS PARTNERSEnav
Techno sky
Leonardo
Telespazio
e-geos
IDS Ingegneria dei Sistemi
Poste Italiane
AIVIEWGROUP
NAIS
EUROUSC Italia

Citizen Reinforcing Open Smart Synergies
- Funding Entity: European Commission - Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) - Pilot actions - Type B
- Title: Citizen Reinforcing Open Smart Synergies
- Acronymus: CROSS
- Project number: CIP IST PSP 325141
- Status: Active
The aim of the CROSS project is to support volunteer activities by creating a digital platform bringing together Public Administrations, volunteer organisations and end users.
The goal of the CROSS platform is to support the provision of non-monetary economic services as part of a programme of social support for European citizens belonging to specific social categories.
Stakeholders include: citizens, voluntary organisations and volunteers, municipalities and state/regional offices funding voluntary organisations for the provision of services to eligible citizens.
The project is divided into four areas of action:
- Mutual service communities for assistance to elderly people;
- Communities for social inclusion of unemployed, new poverty, immigrates;
- Learning communities for support to school dropouts and low culture people;
- Communities of volunteers assisting persons with disabilities.

Horizon 2020 - The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
- Funding Entity: European Commission
- Status: Active
Horizon 2020 is a new European Community Integrated Programme devoted to financing Research and Innovation. It was launched on 1 January 2014 and will run until 31 December 2020. Its goal is to offer research scientists the tools they need to carry through their projects, thus creating jobs, sustainable growth and social progress. The innovative aspect is that funds will be provided not only for research activities but also for the pre-sales stages of new products and services.


InViMall (Intelligent Virtual Mall)
- Funding Entity: MiSE - Ministry of Economic Development
- Status: Active
- Contact info: info.ricercaeinnovazione@posteitaliane.it


The SAPI (Automatic System for the Visually Impaired) project
- Funding Entity: MIUR - Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research
- Executive Decree: no. 1642 of 2 August 2006
- Status: Completed


The SIPAC Project (Innovative solutions for Public Administrations and Citizens)
- Funding Entity: MiSE - Ministry of Economic Development
- Ministerial Decree: no. 01758 of 3 September 2012
- Status: Completed
- Contact info: info.ricercaeinnovazione@posteitaliane.it
- central and local Public Administrations;
- companies and public and private organisations which need to send documents and streamline their operating procedures;
- citizens, the primary users of the eGOV platform.


The DiGiCult project (Promotion of Widespread Cultural Resources)
- Funding Entity: MIUR - Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research
- Status: Completed
- Contact info: info.ricercaeinnovazione@posteitaliane.it
Building on its experience as an intermediary between the Public Administration, citizens and service providers, Poste Italiane has chosen to invest in the cultural sector so as to mediate between cultural heritage management authorities and tourists. DiGiCult was set up to support business activities connected with the use of cultural heritage. The project is aimed at public authorities, institutional tourism websites and end users.


The FIBAC project (Innovative Fruition of Cultural Heritage Assets)
- Funding Entity: MIUR - Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research
- Title: Innovative Fruition of Cultural Heritage Assets
- Acronymus: FIBAC
- Project number: PON 01 02705
- Status: Completed
- Contact info: info.ricercaeinnovazione@posteitaliane.it
The aim of this project is to update the processes for promoting and using cultural heritage, adopting Web 2.0 tools and re-mediation techniques in order to support visitors during the lifecycle of their museum experience.
The project is focused on the definition of a system for the dynamic generation of customized routes in museums and art galleries (both real and virtual) in order to deliver context-aware information which will allow a better understanding of the artworks on the base of a narrative structure.
Experimentation at Museum of Capodimonte in Naples proves the feasibility of the proposed innovative services.


The MODERN project (Architectural Models for the Definition, Execution and Reconfiguration of User-Centric Processes in Enterprise 2.0)
- Funding Entity: MIUR - Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research
- Title: Architectural Models for the Definition, Execution and Reconfiguration of User-Centric Processes in Enterprise 2.0
- Acronym: MODERN
- Project number: PON 01 01949
- Status: Completed
- Contact info: info.ricercaeinnovazione@posteitaliane.it
In order to adapt to the rapid changes of the market and stay competitive, modern enterprises must take into account the management of intellectual assets by leveraging technologies like Social Networks and Semantic Web, in order to promote human interactions and between people and effective sharing of information through systems. This was the starting point for the MODERN project.

Electronic Payment System and Value Added Multichannel Services
- Funding Entity: MIUR - Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research
- Status: Completed
This project aims to support the diffusion of an innovative model in the field of electronic payments and in the provision of digital services. In particular, it studies the development of a platform for handling electronic currency transactions based on the use of Multifunctional Payment Cards capable of integrating electronic meal vouchers, loyalty systems, utilities and mobility services in a single device. The next step will be to transfer the Card’s basic technological infrastructure onto latest generation smartphones and tablets so as to encourage the reduction of cash usage in micropayments.
Publications
Certification Services

Poste Italiane’s CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) is part of the European CERT network’s Trusted Introducer service and a member of ENISA, the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security. It is also FIRST’s member, the global Forum for Incident Response and Security Teams.