Leonardo Group Innovation Awards 2023: Winners and Highlights

Leonardo Group Innovation Awards 2023: Summary of Proposals and Winners

This edition received 1,070 proposals, an increase of 320 from the previous year, with the participation of 2,282 people from the Leonardo Group, including 50 Research Fellows from Leonardo Labs.

Awards Categories and Winners

1. Best Development 2023

   • Winner: SEE-ALL
   • Team Members: Massimiliano Dispenza, Massimiliano Proietti, Pierfrancesco Ulpiani, Ugo Zanforlin, Lorenzo Francesco Livi

2. Digital Transformation

   • Winner: Predictive 4 logistics and HELIanalytics
   • Team Members: Giorgio Cova, Francesco Pierpaoli, Massimo Manzini, Matteo Aldo Bonvicini, Michele Cremona, Simone Bogni

3. Innovative Idea

   • Winner: ARCS: Active Radar Cross Section
   • Team Members: Francesco Flora, Stefano Martorana, Francesco Acerra

4. People First

   • Winner: Dinner by Leo
   • Team Members: Matteo Piviotti, Chiara Ferraris, Giuseppina Nugnes

5. Sustainability

   • Winner: Circula Chip: recovery of strategic materials
   • Team Members: Francesco Scavone, Luca Latessa

6. Innovative Factory

   • Winner: Leonardo Digital Production System
   • Team Members: Lauren Orszt, Amy Lauder, Helen Allen, Jackie Paterson, Luke Stammers, Scott McManus, Vanessa Caluban, Neil Silcock, Josh Munn
7. Interdivisional Idea
   • Winner: O.N.E.: On-board Neural Engine
   • Team Members: Luca Monorchio, Andrea Bonzano, Christian Giusti, Francesco Ferrari, Luigi Ciolli, Matteo Santini, Roberto Luisi

Award Benefits

Winners of the Interdivisional Idea category received additional funding to assess the applicability and business impact of their projects.

Impact on Leonardo’s Patent Portfolio

The proposals that lead to industrial applications contribute to Leonardo’s patent portfolio, which grew by 37% in 2023. Notably, 80% of new patents focus on Platform and System Design (37%), Material Structures & Manufacturing (26%), and Integration (24%). This also marks the first patents filed by Leonardo Labs, a network that collaborates with universities and research centers to foster innovation.