ASP projects
Students participate to multidisciplinary projects, focusing on real and relevant problems, proposed as a collaboration between universities and external institutions (i.e., firms, governmental or research institutions).
Project teams consist of 7/8 students from different schools and are therefore intrinsically multidisciplinary. Each project team is assisted by tutors with a multifaceted background, selected among the Faculty of Politecnico di Milano and Politecnico di Torino as well as among experts of the proposing external institutions. Tutors advice students and periodically review their intermediate results.
Teams are provided with funds that allow them to make study trips, attend conferences, buy books and materials to help develop the project. The project plan and budget is defined by the team and agreed with the tutors.
Projects are focused on four “problem-based learning” tracks:
These projects are based on investigating innovation opportunities in a variety of industries. As an example, they can try to identify the benefits at company level of the new technologies available in the market.
These projects are based on creating and furthering knowledge for companies, public and private institutions for structuring and solving complex problems.
These projects are based on investigating entrepreneurial opportunities with a particular focus on hi-tech start-ups. These projects try to analyse the scenario of high-tech start-ups and evaluate their impacts at different levels.
These projects have the aim of understanding potential positive changes that an organization can implement to address a pressing social issue and favouring people engagement for social and community development.
For more information, please write an email to projects@asp-poli.it.
The results of the projects from the 1st to the 15th ASP cycle are reunited and published in books that can be downloaded here.
Last ASP projects
Industry & Innovation
Urban areas, due to their high population density, intensive infrastructure, and concentrated economic activities, are responsible for approximately 70% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and consume around 65% of the world’s total energy. In this context, Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) have emerged as an innovative and decentralize solution capable of reducing the environmental impact of cities by enabling local production, consumption, and sharing of clean energy.
AI-STABLEPOWER aims at developing methodologies for the analysis of power system stability by means of state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. Indeed, monitoring stability is a major concern for Transmission System Operators (TSOs), as the ongoing displacement of conventional generators by renewable generation technologies has reduced system inertia, thus affecting system stability.
The project aims to research, develop and implement a highly accurate 24/7 cloud-type classification system (CTCS). This classification system uses two advanced all-sky smart cameras that capture images in both visible and infrared domains, enabling accurate sky coverage classification. Smart all-sky cameras sensors refine and improve data collections and incorporate numerous measures to ensure a consistent data flow and minimize classification errors.
Aim of the project is to carry out a comprehensive and multidisciplinary evaluation of the potential to upgrade the plastic sorting plants with such technologies; this will include some preliminary theoretical evaluations, some practical testing on both an experimental facility owned by Corepla and a full-scale sorting plant, an environmental, economic and social assessment, the latter related to the potential loss of work. Finally, the outcome of the work will become inputs for the eco-design of the plastic products that will allow a better sorting and handling at the plants.
The goal of this project is to develop a life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impact and costs of a hypothetical OAWE farm. Moreover, the analysis would allow one to identify inefficiencies within the actual AWE systems and understand how to improve performance and sustainability, quantifying the impacts by means of standard and customized indicators and adapting AWE to the harsh marine environment
The project focused on renewable materials originating from forestry, as they are a sustainable building solution and display a favourable market outlook. Two case studies were explored to validate the MIP: a MIP prototype for a bamboo bookcase produced by the NGO Casa Congo in Nicaragua and a web-based platform for the LSB panel industrially manufactured by BNext in Italy.
The Moon Outpost Smart Structures (MOSS) Project has a multidisciplinary research initiative aimed at establishing a sustainable lunar infrastructure using In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) technologies.
The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive tool that evaluates the competitiveness of sustainable propulsion systems for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), focusing on emerging technologies like Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).
The uFactory approach not only reduces reliance on global supply chains and lowers transport emissions but also responds to growing market demands for customization, fostering sustainable urban manufacturing ecosystems.
The VisioMAC initiative aims at introducing quality control along the production line of tires. The project was conducted in collaboration with the Michelin site of Cuneo, where we attended to the steps of tire production: mixing and calendaring, extrusion and tissue cutting, carcass assembling, green tire (unvulcanized tire) fabrication, curing, and final inspection.
The AMSHI project aims at contributing to reduce the urban heat island effect, by designing a self-locking paving block with a low degree of embodied energy for public spaces.
The objective of AppDCO2 is to support enterprises with specific applications either in their decision-making process when choosing their tech partner companies or in assessing the impact of their internal applications and finding ways to reduce it.
Academic research
In the contemporary urban context, where cities face mounting pressures from rapid population growth and climate change, food security emerges as a critical challenge requiring innovative solutions. By 2030, nearly 60% of the global population will live in cities, placing new pressures on already vulnerable food systems. In this context, vertical farming emerges as a highly promising solution. However, it still requires deeper investigation, particularly with respect to effective implementation strategies. FARMER was
established in response to this metropolitan imperative. Its mission is to develop a research-driven project focused on analyzing urban food security challenges and formulating effective methodologies to
address them through vertical farming technologies.
In the Italian context, where mountains and remote valleys suffer from limited accessibility and inadequate infrastructure, depopulation naturally emerges as a consequence for villages and towns located in those areas. This, in turn, makes efforts to revive local communities increasingly challenging. To reverse this trend and ensure the long-term viability of local economies, a deep understanding of the issue and well-informed decision-making are essential. GORSE was established in response to this challenge. Its mission is to develop a research-driven project focused on analyzing the various causes of depopulation and formulating effective methodologies to address them, ultimately aiming to repopulate these areas and revitalize local communities.
The Making@Clinics project explores the integration of advanced digital fabrication technologies, particularly 3D printing, into clinical environments to enable on-demand production of patient-specific devices. While applicable to diverse healthcare solutions such as hearing aids or orthotics, the project’s main case study focuses on sensor-equipped orthodontic aligners. These smart aligners enhance personalization, monitor wear compliance, and help prevent dental damage. The overarching goal is to develop compact “3D printing corners” that merge cutting-edge technologies with structural sensing, giving healthcare professionals direct control over design and production.
The project addresses the strategic transformation of motorway toll stations into advanced multimodal hubs. With the implementation of the free flow system, which removes physical toll barriers, these
infrastructural nodes can evolve from simple transactional points into gateways connecting the motorway network with public transport, rail, micro-mobility, and logistics. The overarching vision is to reduce
traffic congestion and enhance regional accessibility through smoother and more integrated connections.
Peripheral nerve injuries (PNIs) interrupt the transmission of motor and sensory signals between the brain and body, causing both physical disability and severe psychological consequences. Patients with PNIs
are eight times more likely to develop anxiety and depression, while the healthcare burden, including surgery, rehabilitation, and disability support, can exceed two million dollars per case. With incidence
expected to rise due to aging populations and the growing prevalence of hypertension and diabetes, new therapeutic approaches are urgently needed.
Today, vineyard pruning still relies heavily on skilled human labor. To address this, an increasing number of research initiatives are exploring the transition from traditional manual practices to fully autonomous robotic systems. The VinPRO project contributes to this effort by developing an integrated robotic pruning platform composed of a custom-designed gripper for vineyard environments, an advanced computer vision system to detect branches, a control algorithm to optimize cutting actions, and a virtual reality (VR) tool to model vines and simulate pruning strategies. At its core is a Kinova Gen3 Lite robotic arm, mounted on a mobile rover that serves as the physical backbone of the system.
The BIMChain for Site 4.0 project represents a groundbreaking solution, fusing BIM and blockchain technologies to revolutionize communication, transparency and management methods.
The aim of the project is to face bone fractures crisis adopting a twofold approach, considering both fracture prevention and treatment.
With the digital boom disrupting traditional retail paradigms, Sunglass Hut, part of the Italian-based Luxottica Group, recognized the imperative to adapt to the new trend asking the Alta Scuola Politecnica team to develop a strategy that could seamlessly merge the attributes of both virtual and physical realms, fulfilling the customers’ desires for an encompassing user experiences.
The increase of life expectancy, together with a greater occurrence of many illnesses (such as stroke), has caused a huge
The Green roof Technology Assessment (GreenTA) project investigated the cost and benefits arising from the installation of green roofs, while
The world is facing a great challenge in transitioning to new, clean energy systems to contrast climate change, while the
The aim of this project is to explore how the power of generative technologies can support the design of new products or services to help people in a shift toward more environmentally sustainable behaviors
The FutureHome project aims to revolutionize the smart home market by developing an innovative business model and digital platform that allows users with low expertise level in automation in implementing their smart solution. FutureHome will offer a fair and objective comparison among different smart home devices and suggestion tailored to costumers’ needs. The prominent goal is optimizing energy consumption, promoting significant economic savings, and ultimately improving the overall quality of life for its users.
Fans can invest directly in their favorite artists’ music production (or other activities), receiving a return based on their success. This model allows emerging artists to self-finance without long-term, often unfair, contracts with labels, and enables established artists to fund new or independent projects with direct support from their fanbase. Quarkk’s goal is to provide artists a space for expressing themselves freely and financing their projects with direct support from their fans.
OASIS: Optimal Allocation and Sizing of Infrastructure for charging electric
vehicle basing on predictive Simulations.
Unlike traditional methods that search for the best model only considering the performance on the downstream task, NebulOS also takes into the energy consumption when training a model on a specific hardware, producing tailored designs on a variety of different devices. This ensures that the final model aligns with the end-user’s unique needs, resources, and preferences.
Rising sea levels are tearing more and more coastlines from the earth, submerging cities, ecosystems and entire cultures. F.U.S.S. (Floating
Social media has set the stage to a complex, quickly changing and hyper-connected environment in which people interact with each
Nowadays, the textile industry has a massive environmental impact, involving depletion of resources in the production of garments and a
The project presentations of #AltaScuolaPolitecnica offered an important opportunity to show the work developed by ASP students across a broad range of topics, including energy, sustainability, social challenges, and digital innovation.
The project presentations of #AltaScuolaPolitecnica offered an important opportunity to show the work developed by ASP students across a broad range of topics, including energy, sustainability, social challenges, and digital innovation.
The MI AMI BEATs project, developed within the Alta Scuola Politecnica program and in collaboration with MI AMI Festival organizers in Milan, addresses the challenge of designing a transparent, accessible, and data-driven sustainability evaluation framework for music festivals. It aims to bridge the gap between rising environmental expectations and the lack of standardized tools for sustainability assessment in the music industry.
The ISOLAx project is an innovative urban regeneration initiative designed to tackle the intertwined issues of housing inadequacy, social fragmentation, and economic decline in Taranto’s historic Old City, an area plagued by vacant buildings and precarious living conditions.
RECycled Pavilion is a temporary architectural installation realized in the city of Concepción (Chile) as part of the 10th anniversary of the largest free music festival in the country, REC Festival. The project was developed by an international team of students and teachers from the Alta Scuola Politecnica in collaboration with the Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD, Chile) and was realized in March 2025.
The FoSCHe project represents an innovative advancement in the field Children’s Palliative Care, by proposing to integrate a design-driven methodology in such a delicate healthcare environment. At the core of this initiative is the Liber- meta-design framework, which serves as a comprehensive tool for developing innovative and inclusive design projects: it emphasizes a holistic approach, addressing the emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of children and their families, trying to promote human connections and interpersonal relationships.
The ZeCRoCo project aims to enhance the environmental sustainability of a 28-storey social housing building by focusing on two main areas: reduction of Embodied Carbon and reduction of Operational Carbon.
The AQUA project aims to create a set of guidelines for Aquaseek to enter the humanitarian water market.
In the wake of increasing incidents of violence against women, the ‘Signal for Help’ (SFH) has surfaced as an invaluable silent beacon. Developed as a discrete hand gesture for women under duress to indicate their plight, its importance became even more pronounced during the pandemic when virtual communication surged. The S2CITIES project seeks to amplify the efficacy of this signal through technology.
Groma study deals with the creation of a Cultural Pole in Ivrea devoted to the valorization of the city and
Host2026 is a research project that originates from the challenge of the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games (OPGs) in Valtellina.