EDITO-Model Lab wraps up co-design phase with empowering testers’ workshop
In the vast sea of European initiatives dedicated to studying and safeguarding the marine ecosystem, the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EU DTO) emerges as a revolutionary force. The potential benefits that this groundbreaking tool can add to the current European ocean numerical modelling landscape are considerable.
Beyond the intricacies of the technical construction and interoperability of such revolutionary tool, there is a large strong need to foster collaboration among developers, testers, and users. It is therefore crucial to establish a co-design framework that ensures the future EU DTO not only meets but exceeds the expectations that surround it.
With this challenge in mind, the teams at EDITO-Model Lab, and at our sister project, EDITO-Infra, have orchestrated a series of engaging events — from dynamic discussion meetings to hands-on hackathons. These initiatives aim to involve diverse users’ communities at every stage of EU DTO development.
Following the recent EDITO-Model Lab User’s Co-Design Meeting, where the project’s Virtual Ocean Model Lab was put to the test, we hosted a Co-Design Review Workshop on 22-23 November 2023, at the Deltares facilities in Delft, The Netherlands. This workshop focused on validating and refining the inventory, mock-up, Proof of Concept, and specifications crucial for delivering the EDITO-Model Lab Technical Architecture, paving the way for the Integration activities planned for 2024.
Embracing the ‘dare to share’ philosophy at the core of our consortium partner and host, Deltares, the event brought together over 60 participants from the project’s 13 partners, its Advisory Board, and external parties from across Europe. This collaborative evaluation not only showcased the work accomplished this year, but also set priorities for the next two years of our contribution to the EU DTO's construction. We gathered valuable feedback on what the users expect from the future EU DTO.
The event provided an overview of the results of this year’s co-design phase, exploring the multiple system components and applications. The interactive panel discussions and audience questions sparked genuine interest among external guests. They were particularly drawn to the platform that EDITO-Infra is creating, and to the tools and application demonstrations from EDITO-Model Lab. This interaction generated fruitful suggestions on enhanced interoperability and compatibility for new, external workflows.
In particular, the event attendees had the opportunity to learn more about the link between both projects. While EDITO-Infra is contributing to the build out of the public infrastructure of the EU DTO, EDITO-Model Lab is developing the next generation of ocean numerical models to be integrated in that infrastructure, providing access to various Focus Applications and simulations of What-if Scenarios for the sustainable management of marine environments.
Through its events, the co-design phase of EDITO-Model Lab is showcasing to testers and future users how the project results can be integrated into the public infrastructure of the EU DTO, paving the way for other EU projects to do the same soon. The event also served to align the EDITO-Model Lab priorities for the future, with various discussions about three levels of service and effective strategies for engaging potential users. Best practices from other projects were shared on incorporating various stakeholders in the co-design of the EDITO-Model Lab’s Focus Applications and What-if Scenarios, namely to discuss their scientific content and technical design.
Over two days, the EDITO Model-Lab User’s Co-Design Meeting generated numerous outcomes and insights. The technical discussions covered doubts and wishes around the AI-based ocean emulator implementation, capabilities and functionalities of the underlying models built by the consortium, such as unstructured grids, performance and resolution, APIs and OGC standards ensuring compatibility with other solutions, as well as scalability of computing resources. The results of the event will now be meticulously analysed, filtered, and, where appropriate, incorporated into the EDITO-Model Lab Strategic Plan and upcoming phases of the project. For more information on the technical aspects, feel free to reach out via email.
This event marks the conclusion of the co-design phase of EDITO-Model Lab, signalling our readiness to launch the integration phase. The next major step involves consolidating individual components into the first demonstrator of the European Digital Twin of the Ocean.
The EDITO-Model Lab team extends heartfelt thanks to all contributors, whether within our consortium partners or among external stakeholders, beta testers, and end users, in particular the representatives of EDITO-Infra, ILIAD, ACCIBERG, ActNOW, CoCliCo, DT-BIOFLOW, ECOSCOPE, ESiWACE3, NECCTON, Mission Atlantic, RESTCOAST, Destination Earth, Copernicus Marine Champion User Advisory Group, Early Career Ocean Professionals, and UN OceanPrediction DCC who attended this event.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates on the construction of the EU DTO. In the meantime, we invite you to subscribe to our mailing list and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter/X for the latest developments.
- 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
