ISI Future Wine Tavern – A look back at the project conclusion featuring exciting projects

What ISI Was All About

ISI was an FFG COIN development project. The BISS (Innovative Software Systems) division of FOTEC—the research company affiliated with the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt—collaborated with companies from Lower Austria and across the country to investigate how innovative software technologies (ranging from mixed reality and AI to cross-platform development) could deliver tangible benefits in real-world industrial and operational settings. This was not a theoretical exercise, but rather a series of use cases involving real corporate partners and genuine problems, resulting in solutions designed to prove their worth in actual operations.

Facts and Figures

Over the course of the project, the following were achieved:

• 34 use cases
• 21 corporate partners
• €580,000 in follow-up contracts generated directly from the project

Corporate partners included Kotanyi, Brucha, Lohmann & Rauscher, Steirerfleisch, Smartflower, WNSKS, Wewalka, and ADC, among others.

Selected Use Cases

At the final presentation, the corporate partners showcased a selection of their case studies. Here is a cross-section:

• Sojarei – Quality assurance in packaging: A system comprising a camera, scale, signal light, and web app automatically takes a photo once the weight has stabilized and uses text recognition to compare the label against reference data. Deviations are detected immediately rather than at a later stage in the process.
• Lohmann & Rauscher – Mixed reality for training: A tablet-based AR demonstrator allows users to experience an endoscopic treatment procedure that takes place inside the body—a process otherwise difficult to visualize or explain—without any risk to patients and with the ability to repeat the simulation as often as desired.
• WNSKS – AI-supported app for supervisory personnel: A cross-platform solution simplifies the documentation of official actions, assists with identity verification, and makes activities transparent and traceable for administrative purposes.
• Wewalka – automated packaging barcode verification: A laboratory setup systematically compares different scanners based on reading distance, angular tolerance, and light robustness to ensure reliable inline verification during production.
• ADC – remote water level measurement: A LoRa sensor takes automatic measurements and transmits data directly to the FOTEC backend, replacing the need for weekly manual measurements on-site using a laser distance meter.
• Steirerfleisch – AI-based product recognition: A trained model automatically identifies the contents of crates during production; the system is now being rolled out for operational use beyond the scope of the ISI project.

Insights from the accompanying research

Alongside the technical use cases, IMC Krems conducted interviews with companies and FOTEC project managers to examine the actual impact of digitalization across four dimensions: business models, processes, skills, and technology maturity. Here are a few key takeaways from the ongoing analysis:

• Technical expertise needs to be brought in-house before a skills gap arises—or a partner must be strategically engaged for this purpose.
• A prototype is just a starting point, not an operational system: the transition from a pilot model to real-world application must be factored in from the very beginning.
• Funding acts as a door-opener for initiatives that otherwise would never have been launched.
• Impact can only be assessed if baseline measurements are taken beforehand.

Digital Innovation Hub East

During the event, Georg Wernitznig also presented the Digital Innovation Hub East—a free service for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lower Austria, Burgenland, and Vienna, offering information sessions, workshops, and implementation projects focused on digitalization.

Thank you

Special thanks to the InnoLab at the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt for hosting the event, to the ecoplus "Haus der Digitalisierung" for organizing it, to all corporate partners for their collaboration throughout the project, and to everyone who attended on September 17th.