The TWINS4TS – Digital Twins & AI for Tâmega e Sousa’s Industry initiative is promoted by the Tâmega e Sousa Business Council (CETS), in co-promotion with the School of Technology and Management of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (ESTG). The project addresses the need to bring the region's industrial SMEs closer to advanced digital technologies with potential for application in their production processes.
The Tâmega e Sousa region has a strong industrial specialization, but many SMEs face challenges in their digital transformation journey. Varying technological maturity, lack of specialized digital skills, difficulty in identifying suitable solutions, and the need to enhance productive and environmental efficiency justify a collective and proximity-based intervention.
According to António Novais, President of CETS, TWINS4TS aims to promote the awareness, training, and digital literacy of industrial SMEs, encouraging the integration of technological solutions like digital twins and artificial intelligence. These technologies are crucial for process optimization, operational efficiency improvement, and strategic decision-making support.
Throughout the operation, awareness actions, technical webinars, practical guides, a sectoral technological mapping, and advanced training scenarios in a simulated industrial environment will be developed. These resources will enable companies to better understand their starting point, recognize modernization opportunities, and access applicable technical knowledge.
Support from COMPETE 2030 is vital for realizing this intervention with territorial scale, technical rigor, and collective reach. The funding allows for the mobilization of specialized teams, development of open-access content and methodologies, promotion of actions targeting industrial SMEs, and strengthening the link between companies, CETS, and ESTG.
With TWINS4TS, the ambition is to create conditions for a more informed adoption of technologies such as digital twins, artificial intelligence, industrial data analytics, Industrial Internet of Things, cloud computing, collaborative robotics, augmented reality, additive manufacturing, blockchain, and cybersecurity. The goal is to contribute to more competitive, efficient, and sustainable industrial SMEs, enhancing the region's capacity to respond to the challenges of Industry 4.0 and the dual digital and ecological transition.
