Automated Road Safety: Enhancing Sign and Surface Damage Detection with AI

Public transportation plays a crucial role in our lives, and the road network is a vital component in the implementation of smart cities. Recent advancements in AI have enabled the development of advanced monitoring systems capable of detecting anomalies in road surfaces and road signs, which, if unaddressed, can lead to serious road accidents. This paper presents an innovative approach to enhance road safety through the detection and classification of traffic signs and road surface damage using advanced deep learning techniques. This integrated approach supports proactive maintenance strategies, improving road safety and resource allocation for the Molise region and the city of Campobasso. The resulting system, developed as part of the Casa delle Tecnologie Emergenti (House of Emergent Technologies) Molise (Molise CTE) research project funded by the Italian Minister of Economic Growth (MIMIT), leverages cutting-edge technologies such as Cloud Computing and High Performance Computing with GPU utilization. It serves as a valuable tool for municipalities, enabling quick detection of anomalies and the prompt organization of maintenance operations

zIA: a GenAI-powered local auntie assists tourists in Italy

The Tourism and Destination Management Organization (DMO) industry is rapidly evolving to adapt to new technologies and traveler expectations. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers an astonishing and innovative opportunity to enhance the tourism experience by providing personalized, interactive and engaging assistance. In this article, we propose a generative AI-based chatbot for tourism assistance. The chatbot leverages AI ability to generate realistic and creative texts, adopting the friendly persona of the well-known Italian all-knowledgeable aunties, to provide tourists with personalized information, tailored and dynamic pre, during and post recommendations and trip plans and personalized itineraries, using both text and voice commands, and supporting different languages to satisfy Italian and foreign tourists expectations. This work is under development in the Molise CTE research project, funded by the Italian Minister of the Economic Growth (MIMIT), with the aim to leverage the best emerging technologies available, such as Cloud and AI to produce state of the art solutions in the Smart City environment.

Personalized Conversational Travel Assistant powered by Generative AI

The Tourism and Destination Management Organization (DMO) industry is rapidly evolving to adapt to new technologies and traveler expectations. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers an astonishing and innovative opportunity to enhance the tourism experience by providing personalized, interactive and engaging assistance. In this article, we propose a generative AI-based chatbot for tourism assistance. The chatbot leverages AI ability to generate realistic and creative texts, adopting the friendly persona of the well-known Italian all-knowledgeable aunties, to provide tourists with personalized information, tailored and dynamic pre, during and post recommendations and trip plans and personalized itineraries, using both text and voice commands, and supporting different languages to satisfy Italian and foreign tourists expectations. This work is under development in the Molise CTE research project, funded by the Italian Minister of the Economic Growth (MIMIT), with the aim to leverage the best emerging technologies available, such as Cloud and AI to produce state of the art solutions in the Smart City environment.