AI, IoT and the Smart Factory: Takeaways from AHI HUB in Bari

Innovation becomes real when it reaches processes, skills and the day-to-day decisions companies make.

On 8 October 2026, at Porta Futuro – Ex Manifattura Tabacchi in Bari, EIT Manufacturing South took part in “From Artificial Intelligence to the smart factory: technologies, skills and innovation for SMEs”. The meeting was organised by Confartigianato Imprese Bari-BAT-Brindisi and AHI HUB as part of the Festival dell’Economia Pugliese 2026 (FEP2026). We announced the event here.

The session focused on real applications, available technologies, and new tools to support SMEs through digital transformation. It covered Artificial Intelligence, IoT, robotics and the smart factory.

Domenico Colucci, COO and co-founder of Nextome, opened with a microlearning session on practical applications. Three companies then shared their experience:

• Ingenia, on digital transformation, software and AI solutions
• Dimensione3, on Digital Twin and immersive technologies
• Ampero, on using Artificial Intelligence to automate industrial design processes

Together, these contributions showed how innovation can become useful solutions. Companies can use them to organise processes more effectively, build new skills and become more competitive.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to present AHI HUB, Apulian Human Innovation Hub. AHI HUB connects businesses with technology, training and innovation tools. EIT Manufacturing South is one of its partners, alongside Confartigianato Imprese Bari-BAT-Brindisi (lead and implementing partner), PNO Innovation, Artigianfidi Puglia, Confartigianato Imprese Puglia and Cooperform Puglia.

Gianluca Fusillo, Programme Manager Funded Projects, attended on behalf of EIT Manufacturing South. He spoke about the hub and about the role of innovation in manufacturing. He noted that innovation is a practical lever for SMEs. It helps them strengthen their processes, develop the right skills and access the tools and networks they need to grow.

For Confartigianato, supporting SMEs on this journey means creating the right conditions for new technologies and new skills to become a concrete part of business growth.