Projects that suggest the use of artificial intelligence to detect febrile people and a remote screening of patients are among the ten chosen in the 3rd category selection financed by SENAI, Embrapii and ABDI
O Innovation Notice for Industry already selected 25 projects in the Covid-19 Mission category, which will receive R$ 24.5 million contributed by the National Service for Industrial Learning (SENAI), by the Brazilian Industrial Research and Innovation Company (Embrapii) and the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI).
In the third stage, 10 proposals were chosen to prevent, diagnose and treat the effects of the new coronavirus.
Among those approved is the company's project Opto development of a computer vision and artificial intelligence software platform for remote detection of febrile people. The system will use thermal cameras to identify people with fever and send an alert so that they are referred to health services. The idea is that the platform monitors industrial and commercial environments, allowing a safe resumption of productive activities in the country and greater control of the covid-19. The project will be implemented in partnership with the SENAI Institute of Innovation Embedded Systems, located in Santa Catarina.
The company Novus it was another one selected with a project that seeks to reduce the contamination of health professionals during the screening of patients in health centers. A system will be developed using cameras and sensors for temperature, heart rate, percentage of oxygen in the blood, respiratory rate and blood pressure. The idea is also that the data obtained in the screening feed databases of hospitals with the profile of patients and the risk classification, through artificial intelligence algorithms, to help in the management of the units.
Another solution chosen is the development of an antiviral coating that is easy to apply, using a spray, based on silver nanoparticles. The coating can be applied to surfaces such as door handles, cabinet handles, tables and benches, service counters, stair railings and corridors, among others. The project was presented by TNS Nanotechnology and by Paumar (WEG Paints) and will be carried out in partnership with the SENAI Institute of Innovation in Electrochemistry, in Curitiba.
15 projects had already been selected
In the previous two stages, 15 projects had already been chosen, which proposed, among other measures, the development of a disinfection system for public transport with type C ultraviolet rays (UV-C); the manufacture of an easy-to-use monitor for rapid diagnosis of patients with pulmonary deficiency and the adaptation of veterinary ventilators for use by humans. Proposals will still be selected in a fourth stage. The Innovation Call for Industry will invest a total of R$ 30 million in projects in the Covid-19 Mission category. All ideas will be developed in the network of 27 SENAI Institutes of Innovation and 60 SENAI Institutes of Technology distributed throughout the country.
“At this point, we need to join efforts to help fight Covid-19. It is essential to support projects in the productive sector that can contribute to the current situation of the coronavirus crisis. The partnership between Embrapii, ABDI and SENAI seeks to bring good projects that present a short-term solution. As an institution linked to the MCTIC and MEC, Embrapii has sought to support innovation in the industry as much as possible ”, says the director of Planning and Management at Embrapii, José Luis Gordon.
“One of the differentials of the SENAI Innovation Institutes is the ability to support the national industry to develop innovative solutions quickly and on a national scale”, says SENAI director-general, Rafael Lucchesi. ”The network has a partnership with Embrapii, which has the most agile and unbureaucratic financing mechanism for innovative projects in the country, and ABDI in promoting projects and articulating mechanisms to support innovation. Partnerships are essential to overcome the great challenge posed by the new coronavirus ”, he adds.
“In this phase of the Covid-19 Mission action, the SENAI-ABDI-Embrapii partnership selects robust projects with great potential to contribute to the measures for combating, diagnosing the disease and treating patients. In a short time, the solutions will be able to help contain the pandemic and bring a scenario of greater security for Brazilians ”, affirms ABDI's president, Igor Calvet.
Embrapii accredits SENAI Institutes
Embrapii also announced the selection of three more SENAI Innovation Institutes to join its network. They are: the Institute of Biosynthetics and Fibers, the Institute of Green Chemistry, both in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and the Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanocomposites, in São Bernardo (SP). The new Units will have Embrapii R$ 18.7 million available for PD&I in partnership with Brazilian companies.
Embrapii finances up to a third of innovation projects by Brazilian companies with non-reimbursable resources from the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications; and Education. The values of the organization are added to the resources of the units themselves and the counterparts of the companies. The expectation that the accreditation of new units will generate R$ 56 million in new RD&I projects with companies.
The selected areas of competence have a high demand for innovation and the market and can contribute to increasing the availability of sustainable products of international standard in the country, either by improving processes or developing new technologies.
The entry of technologies in biosynthetics and fibers in the experience hall of the Embrapii Units network will allow the industry to produce solutions in the chemical and industrial biotechnology areas. The area of green chemistry, which allows the recovery of industrial waste, is also in line with the development of sustainable chemical substances and processes. Competence in advanced materials will allow to improve and create products and processes that, in turn, can generate cost reductions, more advanced technologies and more productive systems.
By being accredited in the network, the Institutes can offer the industry, in addition to the possibility of non-reimbursable financing, experience in monitoring all phases of the project and in risk management. Since its foundation, Embrapii has already closed 900 projects with a total value of R$1.45 billion. With the new result, the number of accredited Units reaches 44.
These are the projects selected by the Innovation Notice for the industry in the third stage:
SENAI operates on four fronts
SENAI has put its infrastructure at the service of fighting the coronavirus pandemic on four fronts: 1) detection and diagnosis, by supporting greater production of tests for detecting the virus; 2) prevention, with help in the manufacture of personal protective equipment (PPE); 3) treatment of patients, when working on the maintenance of stationary mechanical respirators and 4) support for the manufacture and development of new equipment.
SENAI Institutes have qualified researchers, equipment and cutting-edge infrastructure for the development of innovative products and processes, as well as for the provision of consulting and metrology services. Since the network of 27 SENAI Innovation Institutes was created in 2013, more than R$ 1 billion has been invested in 1,086 completed or ongoing projects. The structure has more than 700 researchers, of which about 44% have a master's or doctorate. Currently, 12 centers are Embrapii units, and have differentiated funds to finance strategic research and innovation projects. The network of 60 SENAI Institutes of Technology, which began to be implemented in the 1990s, has a technical staff of approximately 1,200 specialists and consultants who provide services seeking to improve the quality of products and services, productivity and business competitiveness.
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