Work Packages

Create an Iliad SoS architecture (the DTO) that defines the specific Pilot Context Twin’s (PCT) interfaces and interoperability, setting the DTs’ layouts, including available data, sensors, AI methods and models, relevant standards and best practices to form a core user capability. Progressively implement the outcome of other Iliad WPs, while continuously engaging and responding to feedback from the internal and external users and stakeholders.

a) Develop a conceptual operational framework of blending existing and new monitoring systems to achieve downscaling and localization at DT pilots, reaching a super-resolution reconstruction, resolving small-scale ocean processes;

b) Consider, select, build, test and deploy a series of novel operational cost-effective automated monitoring systems, recording parameters never measured earlier at such scale;

c) Integrate these sensors on existing vehicles (drones, buoys, gliders) and collect RT ocean data, once selected;

d) To evaluate sensor systems and their operation;

e) Acquire socio-economic archived and current production data and indicators on marine and maritime activities;

f) Integrate ocean data (historical, hindcasts, reanalysis, forecasts) from existing data platforms and networks; and

g) Create and document best practices and standards, identifying which are used in this task.

WP3 aims at developing a citizen community around the Iliad project. Citizens will be encouraged to understand their role in managing the marine environment, motivated by becoming part of the decision-making process involving policy makers and other stakeholders. WP3 will carry out actions for citizen engagement and will provide Iliad with a MarketPlace for citizen science Apps and a set of analysis and early warning functions based on the data acquired thanks to the Iliad citizen communities.

The Iliad Digital Twin of the Ocean (DTO) will be realised as an Ocean Interoperability Data Space. This data space will provide interoperability support for the heterogeneous and increasingly growing set of data and services available for the Oceans and will directly contribute to a European Ocean Data Space. It will be built using the GAIA-X/IDS federated architecture approach. This includes a Federated Data/Service Catalogue with a Federated Identity service using OAuth2 and X509 standards harmonised with the NEXTGEOSS DataHub for support of the Iliad Marketplace. The Ocean Interoperability Data Space will be supported by the semantic Ocean Information Model and Vocabulary (OIM) and further by services for semantically enhanced data discovery and datasets. The Digital Twin of the Ocean (DTO) will be supported by the open Ocean Data Platform of C4IR Ocean – with the associated Contextualisation services powered by Cognite Fusion for time and space interoperability resolution mappings and harmonisation. The access to the DTO will have a basis in existing standardised OGC spatial APIs (WFS, WCS, WMS etc.) but will be enhanced by new Digital Earth and Digital Twin APIs provided as an evolution of the OGC standard Environmental Data Retrieval (EDR) API. The integration of real-time streaming into the DTO will be provided by the integration with the StreamHandler platform and Distributed Data Access (DAP) protocols by Intrasoft and RAMANI based on opensource streaming technologies (Apache etc.). WP4 connects to the data and services available both from WP2 through various web portals also to Citizen Science data from WP3. It provides data and services further for WP5 and WP6.

1. Establish a service processing layer to support the application packaging and seamless orchestration of existing computing resources, including a combination of cloud and HPC, along with the necessary software artifacts to enable the implementation of AI/Analytics services and facilitate access to the processing outputs.

2. Leverage of the processing layer to implement an extensible set of adaptive and easily-configurable services and tailored tools for the production of high added-value information for decision-making, combining numerical modelling, analytics and ML techniques, in order to instantiate tailored analysis, forecasting and simulation services as required by pilots.

3. Co design with stakeholders and assist them in assembling, configuring and deploying the AI and analytics services they require in the scope of the Pilot Context Twin (PCT).

4. Obtain stakeholders’ feedback, validate results obtained through these methods and refine underlying services with each development cycle.

WP6 will research, design, test and implement the DTO Interactive Environment (IE). The IE is composed of the frontend products and services that will make the DTO a highly useable, engaging and immersive platform for different user groups and use-cases. This includes the design and development of the overall and specific types of user experiences (UXP); user interactions(UI) and (graphical) user-interfaces(GUI); geo-data-3D-visualisation; outputsystem (reports) / dashboards / components and the modules that enable 3D immersive-interaction in V/AR. The design and development approach in WP6 will be highly iterative (agile development) with extensive user / stakeholder co-design. WP6 will work in collaboration with WP4 and WP5 (back-end development) and WP7 and WP8 (use-cases and dissemination). The design of the IE will be highly modular and adaptable, allowing the selection of templates, user views, plug-ins, difficulty levels etc.

1. Engage end-users in testing and validation of DTO products and services.

2. Demonstrate how these products and services deliver synergies, increase benefits, and reduce risks for businesses and communities involved in the ESB Digital Blue Economy.

3. Assess the effectiveness of the DTO towards sustainable Ocean ecosystem management.

To ensure Iliad DTO’s policy impact, esp. with respect to the EGD and DigitalStrategy commitments as well as citizen and multi-stakeholder participation, WP8 will a) develop a set of policy engagement tools that can be used by the Iliad policy network(s), Iliad Academy, and other interested parties and b) engage key stakeholders to assess the current state and work to make progress on the goals of DestinE, Mission Starfish 2030 report, EGD, UN Decade for Ocean Science in Sustainable Development, and the UN SDG. In focus will be policy harmonisation between EU member states and non-EU countries, particularly signatories to regional and international marine-related agreements, such as, the Barcelona Convention for the Mediterranean Sea, Bucharest Convention for the Black Sea, etc. The Iliad project will follow up with DestinE activities through interacting with various work packages that are relevant to the activities undertaken. In particular, it will be related to WP10 and specifically tasks 10.2, 10.6, 10.8 and WP11 and task 11.6. Both WP4 and WP5 members will participate in these activities to ensure that the Iliad technologies and development will be aligned with the evolution of DestinE, in order to ease the later integration of the DTO into DestinE.

1. Design an exploitation package with effective business models to ensure sustainability of the Iliad DTO and related services beyond the duration of the project

2. Ensure all Results and Background IPR is protected.

1) Support cross-sectoral engagement by coordination of different internal and external engagement activities,

2) Enhance the use of the developed DTO by enabling and facilitating participation, knowledge transfer and skills of all players, from stakeholders, scientists, policy makers to citizens,

3) To optimise impact-driven activities and their outputs by connected WPs, particularly WP1, WP2, WP7, WP8, WP9, & WP11,

4) Create and document best practices for capacity development, and

5) Sustain the use of the Iliad’s capacity-development infrastructure.

WP11 will maximise the impact of the project’s results through dissemination and communication to relevant audiences. It will create a strong project identity and brand that will be carried throughout Iliad's outputs and services.

Create the necessary governance structure for effective project management.

The objective is to ensure compliance with the 'ethics requirements' set out in this work package.