TRANSNET

In southwestern Europe and other areas, networks are a vital part of our society, such as electricity, gas, heating, water, transportation, telecommunications and waste management. In order to improve their efficiency and to reduce their expenditure (costs and losses), it is essential to connect these networks with each other. University campuses are circumscribed places that combine all these types of networks. Academic institutions intend to highlight the skill and talent of researchers, turning university campuses into a showcase for advanced technologies of the future. As part of the Tr@nsnet project, the collaborating universities have created test models in their laboratories that can be replicated on their other mutual campuses, thus helping to spread knowledge.

Network providers are looking for different aspects:

1. Confirm the effectiveness of their technical solutions before launching them on the market.
2. Ensure user acceptance.
3. Create new approaches based on the know-how, experience and skills of academic researchers.

One type of collaborative space that is ideal for gathering the necessary know-how to meet these needs is the Living Lab:

Living Labs act as intermediaries, connecting citizens, research organizations, businesses and government agencies to solve problems in a wide variety of areas, from agriculture to health, including tourism, the environment and participatory democracy. They focus on co-creation of joint value, rapid prototyping, and testing and scaling of innovations and ventures. Co-creation involves involving all stakeholders, in particular end users, in the innovation of technologies and services. These Living Labs are open innovation ecosystems in real environments that use iterative feedback processes throughout the life cycle of an innovation.

On the other hand, the advantages of Living Labs are:

1. Reduction in the time needed to develop products and services.
2. Reduced risk associated with development.
3. Greater participation of end users.
4. A more enriching and deeper connection with users.