AI-PHOQUS

AI-PHOQUS aims to strengthen the LENS Infrastructure, internationally recognized for its excellence in photonics and its applications, as well as in Quantum Science and Technology (QT), through the establishment of three new nodes in Naples, Lecce, and Messina.

This enhancement will rely on the synergistic contribution of Operational Units that are already active nodes of other research infrastructures: - I-PHOQUS (a network established within the framework of Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, PNRR, by the LENS, CUSBO, BeyondNano,

and ELI research infrastructures), providing expertise in photonics and quantum technologies; - SoBigData (an ESFRI-path research infrastructure strengthened through the PNRR), contributing expertise in big data management and the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, with a focus on open science and the ethical use of data; - SLICES (an ESFRI research infrastructure), supporting the evolution of the Internet, including the integration of classical and quantum networks; - EUAPS (a research infrastructure established through the PNRR), providing capabilities in high-energy laser sources.

AI-PHOQUS will create a new multidisciplinary environment for collaboration between public and private stakeholders, progressively integrating AI and atom- and photon-based quantum technologies with the photonics, manufacturing, and advanced networking value chains.

The combination of quantum technologies, photonics, and AI within the framework of advanced hybrid networks—both classical and quantum—offers enormous and far-reaching potential across scientific and industrial domains.

The scientific and infrastructural ecosystem of AI-PHOQUS will represent a unique example both in Italy and across Europe, acting as an extraordinary catalyst for economic growth and technological development in the country, particularly in Southern Italy.