The two projects are a device for diagnosing skin melanoma at an early stage and Smart E67, which aims to increase the efficiency and safety of passenger and cargo mobility in the Central Baltic region by introducing smart transport systems.
In total, 262 applications were evaluated in the competition, with 25 making it to the finals, so Latvia is punching well above its weight by getting two projects into the final stages.
The RegioStars competition also includes public voting. It will start on September 2, and everyone interested will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite project.
The finalists will meet in person to present their projects to the audience and the jury. This will take place in Brussels during the European Week of Regions and Cities from October 7 to 10. The winners will be announced during the RegioStars ceremony on October 9.
What are these projects?
- The skin cancer diagnostic device is a project realized through a collaboration between the Institute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy (IAPS) of the University of Latvia (UL) and Riga Technical University. It was developed in the first round of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) practical orientation research project titled Portable Device for Early Non-Contact Diagnosis of Skin Cancer. After the project’s completion, UL chose to conclude a license agreement with the company Bdetect in a public auction. Bdetect continues to develop the product with the aim of bringing it to the market. The research was also carried out under the Fundamental and Applied Research Program, in the project Improving the Accuracy of Early Diagnosis of Skin Cancer with Neural Networks.
- The Smart E67 project was implemented under the Central Baltic cross-border cooperation program 2014-2020. The initiator and leading partner was the State Limited Liability Company Latvian State Roads, and the project was executed in collaboration with the Estonian Road Administration. As part of the project, variable information road signs have been installed, existing traffic lights have been modernized and adapted to an adaptive working mode, new weather stations have been installed and existing ones have been modernized, and a real-time traffic video surveillance and accident prevention solution has been created at two important traffic junctions. In Latvia, the Smart E67 project aims to increase the efficiency and safety of passenger transport flow and cargo transportation on the Via Baltica section from Ainaži to the Lithuanian border. Elements of the smart transport system have also been installed in Estonia. The total cost of the project was 2.5 million euros, of which 85% was co-financed by the ERDF.
