NTT Data has opened its new innovation centre in Barcelona, which will also be dedicated to co-creation with customers and partners. The NTT Data Living Lab aims to promote knowledge-sharing as a way to transform ideas into solutions with real impact. The choice of Barcelona responds to the company’s strategy of centralising its efforts in this city, where it already has over 4,000 employees.

In the words of NTT Data Iberia CEO Victor Lopez-Barrantes, “Innovation is the basis for progress”. In that vein, he also explained, “We find ourselves in a time of great uncertainty globally, with transactions that affect all areas of society and the economy, and we can only continue to move forward if we anticipate, innovate, co-create with clients and partners and commit ourselves to providing solutions to the new challenges facing the market and society”.

Digital identity and virtual reality
Important national and international projects have already emerged from the new innovation hub, with outstanding initiatives in the field of digital identity, one of the company’s specialist areas. These include initiatives that have been developed in the eIDAS ecosystem (regulation and implementation of electronic identification services and digital signatures) and in deploying the future European Digital Identity Wallet, which ensure interoperability, security and trust in digital services, all with the aim of building a more inclusive and secure digital Europe.

There are also important examples in virtual reality, such as the development of a platform designed for companies to create and adapt immersive experiences, something which has already been tested in several industries. This tool, which grew out of a technology innovation competition at the Living Lab itself, generates digital experiences that replicate real-world learning scenarios while creating interactive virtual spaces to offer customers around the world a means to explore products and services.

Validation and actual implementation
The new centre has specific spaces to encourage co-creation with customers and partners. The complete innovation cycle can be covered in its various areas, from idea generation to validation and actual implementation. The co-creation rooms in particular facilitate both collaborative work and design solutions, with technological advancements  being developed and tested intensively in the “garage”. The Tech&Solutions Space offers immersive experiences that allow you to explore real-world use cases and understand how technology makes it possible to put innovative ideas into practice.

Artificial intelligence also plays a prominent role at the Living Lab, which complements the AI centre of excellence the company launched in Barcelona in 2018. The new facility is already working on the functional spatial assistant Rita, capable of interacting with users on multiple screens with spatial recognition and voice interaction. Work is also underway on Alia, a pioneering European Union initiative to provide a public infrastructure for AI resources.

^{Photo: NTT Data}