A Significant European Recognition for Innovation in Infrastructure Monitoring
We are proud to announce that CAEmate has been awarded third place at the SET4FUTURE / ERCI Innovation Award 2026, one of Europe’s leading competitions dedicated to technological innovation in the fields of infrastructure, mobility, and railway engineering.
This achievement represents an important recognition of our commitment to research and innovation and validates the work we have been carrying out in the fields of Digital Twins, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), and predictive infrastructure management.
What is the SET4FUTURE / ERCI Innovation Award?
The SET4FUTURE Innovation Award is organized by Rail.S, one of Germany’s leading innovation clusters for railway technology and smart mobility. The competition recognizes products, services, technologies, and business models that contribute to shaping the future of infrastructure and transportation.
The award also serves as a gateway to the ERCI Innovation Awards, organized by the European Railway Clusters Initiative (ERCI), a network bringing together railway and mobility clusters from across Europe. ERCI represents thousands of companies, research institutions, universities, and innovation stakeholders working to accelerate technological advancement and sustainable mobility solutions.
Applications are evaluated by an independent jury based on criteria including:
- Degree of innovation;
- Technological maturity;
- Economic and societal impact;
- Market potential;
- Contribution to sustainability;
- Collaboration between industry and research organizations.
The 2026 edition concluded with the award ceremony held in Dresden, Germany, during the Rail.S Summer Festival. Winning projects are further showcased within the European innovation ecosystem and gain visibility among key industry stakeholders and decision-makers.
The Award-Winning Innovation: WeStatiX SHM
CAEmate received this recognition thanks to WeStatiX SHM, our next-generation platform for infrastructure monitoring and digital twin-based asset management.
WeStatiX SHM combines:
- Finite Element (FE) simulation models;
- Real-time sensor data;
- Continuously updated Digital Twins;
- Advanced predictive analytics and decision-support tools.
Unlike conventional monitoring systems that primarily focus on collecting and visualizing sensor data, WeStatiX SHM integrates physics-based simulation with real-world measurements to provide a reliable and continuously updated representation of structural behavior.
The platform enables infrastructure owners, operators, and engineering firms to assess structural performance in real time, improve maintenance planning, and make more informed decisions throughout the asset lifecycle.
A New Paradigm for Structural Health Monitoring
The submission presented to the competition highlighted how WeStatiX SHM introduces a paradigm shift in the Structural Health Monitoring sector.
Traditional SHM solutions typically rely on threshold-based alarms, historical data analysis, or purely data-driven approaches. While valuable, these methods often struggle to accurately represent the actual behavior of complex infrastructure assets.
WeStatiX SHM overcomes these limitations by integrating physics-based finite element models with real-time monitoring data. Through continuous model calibration, the Digital Twin remains synchronized with the physical asset, enabling real-time safety assessment and predictive analysis based on the actual structural response.
This approach bridges the gap between monitoring and engineering analysis, transforming raw data into actionable insights that support safer and more efficient infrastructure management.
From Research to Real-World Deployment
WeStatiX SHM has already reached a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7–8, having been successfully validated in real operational environments on more than 400 infrastructure assets, including bridges and viaducts.
The platform is currently deployed by major infrastructure operators across Europe and demonstrates how Digital Twin technologies can move beyond research environments to deliver tangible value in everyday asset management.
By enabling continuous monitoring and predictive maintenance strategies, WeStatiX SHM helps reduce maintenance costs, prevent structural failures, extend asset lifetimes, and support more sustainable infrastructure management.
Recognizing Innovation Through Collaboration
This award reflects not only the efforts of the CAEmate team but also the value of collaboration with infrastructure owners, engineering firms, universities, and research institutions.
The development of WeStatiX SHM has been driven by the belief that the future of infrastructure management lies in the integration of advanced simulation, real-time monitoring, artificial intelligence, and Digital Twin technologies.
Receiving third place at the SET4FUTURE / ERCI Innovation Award 2026 confirms the relevance of this vision and encourages us to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation in infrastructure engineering.
We would like to thank all our partners, clients, and collaborators who have contributed to this achievement and continue to support our journey toward smarter, safer, and more resilient infrastructure.
