The VRE4EIC project will create a Europe-wide interoperable Virtual Research Environment to empower multidisciplinary research communities and accelerate innovation and collaboration. It will addresses key data and software challenges in supporting multidisciplinary data driven sciences, including: 1) understanding complex user requirements across domains by closely involving committed user communities; 2) improving the quality of VRE user experience by providing user centered, secure, privacy compliant, sustainable environments for accessing data, composing workflows and tracking data publications; 3) increasing VRE usage in multidisciplinary research domains by abstracting and reusing building blocks and workflows from existing VRE initiatives; 4) improving the interoperability of heterogeneous discovery, contextual and detailed metadata across all layers of the VRE; and 5) promoting the exploitation of VRE4EIC solutions to different research communities and commercially.

Innovation and creativity are predictors of success in a knowledge-based. Yet the fuzziness and unpredictability of the creative workflow remains an obstacle for effective ICT support. Tools that require users to formalize and structure their ideas and working processes to a degree at odds with creative practice are frequently rejected. The IdeaGarden project therefore starts from an understanding of creative problem solving as a complex and situated knowledge practice rather than as a set of well-defined methods and techniques. The project will develop a creative learning environment, capitalizing on the notion of visual information mash-ups as catalysts for creative working and learning. Adopting a practice-oriented approach will further the understanding of creativity in different settings and open up new perspectives for ICT support. This perspective will also give rise to new methods for seeding and cultivating creative knowledge practices in workplace and educational settings. To leverage the capabilities of current ICT systems, new interactions techniques will be devised that enable users to stay in control and collaboratively navigate the creative process, handling multiple types of resources. In addition, taking benefit of the linked Data paradigm will provide new possibilities for creative search, the construction of knowledge as well as the reflection of the collaborative process.

Currently, much of the data we use, e.g. demographic records, clinical statistics, personal and enterprise data as well as many scientific measurements cannot be reproduced. However, there is overwhelming evidence that we should keep such data where it is technically and economically feasible to do so. Until now this problem has been approached by keeping this information in fixed data sets and using extensions to the standard methods of disseminating and archiving traditional (paper) artifacts. Given the complexity, the interlinking and the dynamic nature of current data, especially linked Open Data, radically new methods are needed. DIACHRON tackles this problem with a fundamental assumption: that the processes of publishing and preservation data are one and the same. Data are archived at the point of creation and archiving and dissemination are synonymous. DIACHRON takes on the challenges of evolution, archiving, provenance, annotation, citation, and data quality in the context of linked Open Data and modern database systems. DIACHRON intends to automate the collection of metadata, provenance and all forms of contextual information so that data are accessible and usable at the point of creation and remain so indefinitely. The results of DIACHRON are evaluated in three large-scale use cases: open governmental data life-cycles, large enterprise data intranets and scientific data ecosystems in the life-sciences.

The creation of 3D models for ancient monuments is a not an easy task, due to the difficulty of creating a dimensionally accurate 3D model and a 3D virtual representation of the monument. In the last 5 years Terrestrial Laser Scanners (TLS) have been introduced in order to enhance the development of 3D models of monuments and the promotion of cultural heritage. The process of scanning, data processing and documentation of cultural heritage monuments, includes several stages in order to create a complete 3D model. Furthermore, even if TLS has clear advantages against conventional 3D model techniques, as far as accuracy, speed, reliability and quality of 3D data obtained is concerned, it has only a small infiltration to the market. This is due to the complexity of the overall 3D scan process and the lack of standardization of the different requested products. The Project 3DSYSTEK aims to cover these needs by developing a novel system for 3D Documentation, Promotion and Exploitation of Cultural Heritage Monuments via complete 3D data acquisition, 3D modeling and Metadata recording. It will combine: 3D terrestrial laser scanning procedures,3D modeling procedures, Recording of Metadata in all phases (3D data acquisition, 3D data processing, production of final products), Recording of annotations that can be used in all phases. The production of automated product results, including all integrated Metadata, according to the user needs.

The 3D-COFORM project will advance the state-of-the-art in 3D-digitsation and make 3D-documentation an everyday practical choice for digital documentation campaigns in the cultural heritage sector. The project addresses all aspects of 3D-capture, 3D-processing, the semantics of shape, material properties, metadata and provenance, integration with other sources (textual and other media); search, research and dissemination to the public and professional alike. A strong technical research program is complemented by research into practical business aspects: business models for exploitation of 3D assets, workflow planning and execution for mass digitisation, socio-economic impact assessment; and above all the creation of a Virtual Centre of Competence in 3D digitization.

The ICS-FORTH Ambient Intelligence (AmI) Programme is a long-term horizontal interdisciplinary RTD Programme aiming to develop and apply pioneering human-centric AmI technologies and Smart Environments.The Programme constitutes a platform for cooperative research towards developing and studying AmI-related technologies and assessing their impact upon the individual, as well as upon the society as a whole, but also as a unique showcase for demonstrating the potential, added-value and benefits of AmI technologies in different aspects of everyday life and activities. The AmI Programme builds on the scientific know-how and technical expertise of ICS-FORTH in a number of contributing critical domains such as Human-Computer Interaction, Universal Access, Artificial Intelligence, Semantic-based Knowledge Systems, Robotics, Computational Vision, Networks and Telecommunications, Information Security, Distributed Systems, Computer Architectures, Microelectronics, Sensors and Biomedical Informatics.

The Vikelaia Municipal Library of Heraklion, with funding from Greece and the European Community, implemented a digital library of historical documents within the framework of the national Information Society programme. The purpose of the project was to develop a digital library of historical documents that would support the electronic documentation , the thematic classification of documents and the creation of a website for information and easy, controlled access to the archival material. The digital library except from traditional finding aid capabilities, supports the semantic indexing of documents and their multifaceted classification based on concepts. The archival material concerns the Turkish Archive of Heraklion , the Archives of Dimogerontia and the archives of newspapers and magazines of the Vikelaia Municipal Library. The digitized material included 100,000 A3 pages of the Turkish Archive of Heraklion, 100,000 A3 pages of the Archives of Dimogerontia and 300,000 A2 pages of the newspapers and magazines archive