Research & Development (R&D) is one of Vastalla's core activities. R&D has a strategic value for Vastalla and is a major competitive advantage. R&D activities are performed on its own or on behalf of thirds.

In the R&D field, Vastalla also conducts co-design activities. Co-design activities are done together with the Client and are aimed to design, develop, prototype and test a new product or service. Co-design is made in a combined risk-sharing and profit-sharing agreement between Vastalla and its Client.

STEPS (Systems and Technologies for Space Exploration) Space Project

In R&D, Vastalla takes part in STEPS project, whose leader is Thales Alenia Space. Other partners are present in the project: among them the Politecnico of Turin, the University of Turin, the University of Eastern Piedmont, ALTEC and other qualified SMEs.

This Space project, which lasts for three years and is co-financed by Piedmont Region using European funds, aims to study new technologies that may be used in the robotic or human space exploration, with particular attention to Moon and Mars exploration.

Vastalla is responsible for activities in two work packages:

• WP 1.D - this work package is focussed on developing new methodologies and IT support tools to multidisciplinary engineering design;
• WP 1.I - this work package aims to develop an innovative Human Machine Interface fit for a Moon or Mars exploration mission.

SMILE-O (Smart Metering for Local Energy Optimization) Energy project

Vastalla takes part in the two-year R&D energy project named SMILE-O: this project focuses on smart energy monitoring in a prosumer (producer-consumer) approach.

On the final demonstrator there will be a wind turbine connected over-the-air to a energy monitoring platform. Vastalla will take responsibility, other than the energy monitoring platform, also to merge local weather data with the aim to forecast in the short term the wind turbine real output.