EDITO initiative showcased at 2025 Osaka World Expo with AI-powered avatar
From April 13 to October 13, 2025, the EDITO initiative will showcase European innovations in ocean science at the Osaka Expo in Japan. Selected by the European Commission’s DG RTD and DG MARE to highlight key Horizon Europe projects, the EDITO exhibition will align with the event’s central theme, “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”, along with its sub-themes “Saving Lives”, “Empowering Lives” and “Connecting Lives”.
EDITO’s AI-Powered Avatar: An Interactive Ocean Science Experience
To engage visitors at the Osaka Expo, the EDITO initiative has co-developed with German organisations go Ava and facts&fiction an AI-powered avatar, programmed to provide real-time insights into the European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO). The avatar will communicate with attendees in English and Japanese and offer dynamic, interactive conversations on a wide range of topics, including:
- What is the European Digital Twin Ocean, and how does it function?
- Why is the European Union investing in a digital twin of the ocean?
- How will the EU DTO benefit coastal communities, marine conservation, and sustainable ocean management?
- What are the What-if Scenarios, and how do they support decision-making?
- How do artificial intelligence and high-performance computing enhance ocean modelling and prediction?
- Who is involved in building the EU DTO, and how can people engage with it?
Here is a sneak peek at the EDITO’s avatar in the Osaka Expo:
In the Spotlight: Marine Plastics & Coastal Hazards
During the expo, the avatar will also present engaging demonstrations of how the EU DTO can help tackle two critical ocean issues.
Marine Plastic Application: The EDITO-Model Lab Marine Plastic Tracker application provides users with interactive What-If Scenarios towards safeguarding marine environments and coastal communities from plastic pollution. Our digital twin technologies can improve marine plastic’s monitoring, mitigation, and prevention strategies.
Plastic pollution density and transportation can be seen here in an example scenario located in the North Sea.
Coastal Hazards Applications: The EDITO-Model Lab Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Hazards application provides users with an interactive, AI-powered What-If Scenario that optimises coastal resilience strategies based on intertidal seagrass protection.
Plastic pollution density and transportation can be seen here in an example scenario located in the North Sea.
Visitors will have the opportunity to interact with the avatar by asking questions as if they were talking to a real person, gaining tailored insights on ocean science, and learning how the EU DTO can support sustainability and climate action.
Stay Connected with EDITO
As a flagship contributor to the European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO), EDITO-Model Lab is developing next-generation ocean models that harness artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. These models will be integrated into the EDITO public infrastructure, which is being built by EDITO-Infra — a common data lake powered by EMODnet and the Copernicus Marine Service. This infrastructure will provide access to our Focus Applications and What-if Scenarios aimed at advancing ocean monitoring, management, and conservation.
The EDITO presence at the Osaka Expo underscores its commitment to scientific outreach and international collaboration. Stay informed about the latest developments and contributions of the EDITO-Model Lab and EDITO-Infra to the European Digital Twin Ocean by following our updates on LinkedIn and X, and subscribing to our newsletters (email and LinkedIn).
- Portability and interoperability of numerical models and simulation techniques
- Optimisation and adaptation to new and future computing platforms
- Coupling, interaction and hybridisation between different numerical models and Machine Learning components to represent ocean physics, biogeochemistry, biology and ecology
- Flexibility in use, configuration design and simulations to suit applications
- Virtual Ocean Model Lab is a co-development platform to connect developers of various models, users willing to produce simulations using AI and ML, and associated infrastructure providing access to different computing (HPC, CLOUD) and data storage and dissemination resources (data lake)
- Usage examples and user support for Focus Applications and What-if Scenarios
