SMAUG Project team interviews!
We are thrilled to present our remarkable team and the collective journey we are embarking upon to a safer maritime environment!
As we gather in unity, each consortium partner brings a unique set of skills, perspectives, and expertise that contribute to the dynamic tapestry of our collaboration. The SMAUG team forms a cohesive force driven by a shared vision and a commitment to excellence aiming to improve and enhance the security of ports and their entrance routes.
A highly experienced consortium consisting of 22 partners including Universities, Research Centres, SMEs, Law Enforcement Agencies, Public authorities, Coastal / Border guards and Private organisations which span across 7 EU countries (Spain, Estonia, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Norway) countries shaping the SMAUG consortium!
Let’s sail away to meet the SMAUG partners.
Smartlex (Italy)
Margaret Varilek introduces Smartlex and her views on the SMAUG project!
Let us know more about yourself. How your expertise is linked with the project. What drives you to be involved in the project?
Smartlex was founded to build technological and organizational bridges between legal constraints and the development of innovations. In SMAUG, the role of legal rules is particularly pervasive as well as ethical and safety implications. So, the purposes of SMAUG are fully within our grasp, and both the work to be done together and the excellent quality of the consortium left us no choice: we had to cooperate actively to SMAUG.
Smartlex’s role in SMAUG. In which activities you are involved? Which results do you expect to generate?
Smartlex, along with other partners, will handle the legal and ethical framework that applies to SMAUG’s technology. This is not a small endeavor whenever a project will develop new technology, processing data flows, using machine learning and unmanned drones in port waters, but it is certainly interesting to investigate the ethical and legal aspects. We hope first of all to provide excellent guidance to the consortium on legal and ethical research, pointed specifically at how they can process personal data and any other data sets to be used in the project. Open science means making data that is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable, not just for this project but for future use as well. Now that the AI Act is here, we will also be investigating its application to SMAUG’s use of machine learning.
How do you think SMAUG is expected to impact the community?
SMAUG will impact different communities with its outputs. One not so explicit one is the cultural impact we want to provide with it. It is a truly interdisciplinary project that is building a community and a language to share different competences. In addition to the results and impacts already named in the proposal and by colleagues we think an important legacy of SMAUG will be a committed new interdisciplinary community of diverse stakeholders driven by passion for research, attention to developing sustainable EU-values based solutions and aiming to innovation and fast uptake of solutions.
And finally, what is the most exciting part of the SMAUG project?
There is a lot of satisfaction in solving a problem for society: let’s increase the defense of our EU ports from possible illegal intrusions or hazards. Being called to contribute to making the EU ports a safer place, working together with smart teams of scientists, technologists, customs and port authorities, and lawyers to come up with totally new solutions? That’s a privilege.
Explore Smartlex: https://www.smartlex.eu/
Discover the SMAUG team!