Lab
SCANNING —— LISBON
N 41.21° · W 8.55° PORTO / PT
Solutions
Projects

R&DStudioEst. 1999

From research to reality.

We are FTP — a Portuguese laboratory translating scientific investigation into applied, high-impact enterprise systems.

/ Chapter 01 · Manifesto

We don't build software. We build the layer underneath where research becomes a button you can press, a decision a machine can explain, a cost that quietly disappears.

— FTP / R&D Department · Porto
/ Chapter 02 · The Lab

A laboratory
shaped like a company.

00 years since 1999
0 projects active R&D consortia
0 countries PT · TR · KR · ES · RO
0 papers IEEE · Procedia · 2025–26
/ Chapter 03 · Project I of V
ITEA · Norte 2030 · 14 partners Ongoing · 2023–2026

EARS

Intelligent Recommendation for Remote Services

A federated, explainable recommendation framework that learns across nine sectors — IT, healthcare, justice, e-commerce, telemarketing, industry, logistics, electronics, software — and explains every suggestion it makes. Open-source. Privacy by design.

  • Recommender Systems
  • Explainable AI
  • Federated Learning
  • Context-Aware
/ Project II of V
ITEA 4 · Smart Industry · 12 partners Ongoing · 2024–2026

EXPAI

Smart Industry · Explainable AI for Industrial Control

Closing the gap between black-box AI and high-precision factory floors. Computer Vision over sensor streams, automatic 3D retopology, autonomous mobile robots — under an XAI layer that makes every decision auditable.

  • XAI
  • Computer Vision
  • AMR Robotics
  • 3D Retopology
/ Project III of V
ITEA · Norte 2030 · 16 partners Ongoing · 2024–2027

ELFMO

Enterprise Large Foundation Models

A risk-based engineering framework that lets enterprises adopt foundation models without losing control of data, IP or compliance. Modular ERP integration. Cegid PHC-aware chatbot. Foundation models living inside the systems your business already runs on.

  • Generative AI
  • LFM Adaptation
  • ERP Integration
  • GDPR · AI Act
/ Project IV of V
ITEA 4 · 19 partners · 5 countries Ongoing · 2024–2027

CAPE

Cognitive Assistant for Phygital Environments

A retail platform fusing AI, IoT, blockchain and deep learning — five use cases spanning smart manufacturing safety, store ops, employee well-being and personalised commerce.

  • IoT
  • Blockchain
  • Deep Learning
  • Computer Vision
/ Project V of V
Cross-domain · 12 partners Finished · 2022–2023

OMD

Cognitive Service Demand Management

Voice + text understanding for a real e-commerce use case (Nimco, Portuguese footwear). Proof that NLP-driven service management could quietly outperform rules-based ticketing.

  • NLP
  • ML
  • Speech-to-Text
/ Chapter 04 · Atlas

From Porto
to the world.

PortoHQ MadridEXPAI BucharestOMD · EARS AnkaraEARS · EXPAI DaeguEXPAI plenary Canada Ukraine Great Britain
Plenaries in Ankara (Nov '25) and Daegu (Apr '26). Next stop: a unified ITEA review demo.
/ Chapter 05 · The Minds

The people
doing the thinking.

Companies that integrate applied AI don't react to the market — they anticipate it.
Fábio · Department Head
With AI, the limit is no longer time — it is imagination.
Teixeira · R&D · ELFMO
Innovation is born when we turn recurring effort into permanent solutions.
Cruz · R&D · Computer Vision
Blending a little bit of magic with a lot of intelligence to build the future.
Mariana · R&D · 3D Graphics & EXPAI
From the chaos of ideas to the elegance of outcomes — turning them into flight.
Isabel · Project Manager
/ Final Chapter · Invitation

Where digital trust begins.

Continue scrolling — the lab, in detail.

↓
/ Innovation Lines
Computer Vision· Intelligent Automation· Data Analytics· Digital Twins· Predictive Systems· Applied R&D· 3D & Computer Graphics· Computer Vision· Intelligent Automation· Data Analytics· Digital Twins· Predictive Systems· Applied R&D· 3D & Computer Graphics·
/ Solutions & Services Innovative solutions & professional services.

Driving digital transformation through advanced AI and specialised software engineering. Five domain-agnostic engines you can drop into a real business, each one a side door from a peer-reviewed paper.

  1. Live demo
    /01

    Hybrid Explainable Recommender

    e-commerce · cross-domain · Wordpress

    A hybrid explainable recommendation system that delivers personalised suggestions with clear, evidence-based reasoning behind every result.

    Our Hybrid Explainable Recommendation System is designed to deliver not only highly relevant recommendations, but also clear and meaningful explanations behind each decision.

    In many systems, recommendations are presented as opaque outputs — users see what is suggested, but not why. This solution addresses that gap by combining advanced recommendation modelling with built-in explainability, making every result both accurate and interpretable.

    What It Does

    The system analyses multiple layers of user and product signals to generate personalised recommendations, including:

    • Historical interaction behaviour
    • Purchase and conversion patterns
    • Collaborative signals across similar users

    Each result is accompanied by a short, natural-language explanation grounded in real data — derived directly from the evidence used during ranking.

    Why It Matters

    Understanding why something is recommended increases trust, improves user experience, and supports better decision-making. The system ensures that:

    • Recommendations remain consistent and justifiable
    • Explanations are aligned with actual model behaviour
    • Outputs can be validated and trusted

    Key Capabilities

    • Personalised recommendations based on user behaviour and contextual signals
    • Built-in explainability with evidence-based reasoning
    • Hybrid modelling combining historical, behavioural, and collaborative data
    • Natural-language output with human-readable explanations
    • Reusable, domain-agnostic architecture

    How It Works

    The system uses a hybrid recommendation model to rank items based on multiple signal sources. An integrated language model translates structured evidence into short explanations, ensuring every recommendation is both data-driven and understandable.

    Designed for Adaptation

    This system serves as a foundational layer adaptable into project-specific solutions. Its modular design allows integration into different platforms while preserving both recommendation performance and explainability.

    • Recommender Systems
    • Explainable AI
    • Hybrid Modelling
    • Natural-Language Output
    • Domain-Agnostic
  2. Live demo
    /02

    Multimodal Emotion Recognition

    customer experience · workplace

    Voice prosody, facial micro-expressions and spoken content fused into a unified emotional profile — real-time, privacy-aware, federated-ready.

    Our Multimodal Emotion Recognition system reads the full signal a person sends: how they sound, how their face moves, and what they say. Instead of relying on a single channel, it fuses audio, video and text into one coherent emotional state — with both category and intensity.

    The architecture is designed for sensitive contexts: inference can run locally on the edge, models are federated-ready so personal data never has to leave the device, and the same engine works across customer-facing and workplace deployments.

    What It Does

    • Analyses voice tone, rhythm and prosody
    • Reads facial expressions and micro-expressions
    • Processes spoken content and contextual metadata
    • Predicts both emotion category and intensity

    Why It Matters

    Improves customer satisfaction by adapting to emotional context in real time. Detects stress, discomfort and disengagement early — before they escalate. Supports employee well-being via continuous, opt-in sentiment monitoring.

    Key Capabilities

    • Multimodal detection across audio, video and text
    • Real-time inference suitable for live interactions
    • Federated learning ready — train without centralising data
    • Privacy-aware design with on-device processing options
    • Configurable emotion taxonomies for different domains

    How It Works

    Three specialised encoders extract signals from voice, face and text in parallel. A fusion layer combines them into a unified emotional embedding, which a downstream head translates into category + intensity predictions. The whole pipeline runs on commodity hardware with low latency.

    Designed for Adaptation

    Drop the engine into a contact-centre, a retail experience, an HR well-being programme or a clinical study — the same core adapts via lightweight fine-tuning. The system is the multimodal foundation behind our work in EARS and ships with privacy controls aligned with GDPR and the AI Act.

    • Multimodal Detection
    • Real-time Inference
    • Federated Learning Ready
    • Privacy-Aware
    • Audio · Video · Text
  3. Live demo
    /03

    ERP Virtual Assistant

    Cegid PHC · Sage · Cegid Primavera

    An intelligent conversational interface that simplifies how businesses interact with their management systems — invoices, reports, forecasts and answers, without the menus.

    Our ERP Virtual Assistant turns the ERP from a menu-driven tool into a conversational partner. Instead of navigating layers of forms and reports, users simply ask — and the system delivers documents, summaries, forecasts and answers grounded in their own business data.

    The assistant connects directly to Cegid PHC, Sage, Cegid Primavera and other ERPs, blending natural language understanding with domain-specific business logic so that every reply is both contextual and operationally accurate.

    What It Does

    • Generates invoices & financial documents automatically
    • Produces periodic reports and performance summaries
    • Delivers AI-powered forecasts from historical data
    • Answers business queries in natural language

    Why It Matters

    Reduces time spent on repetitive admin. Makes business data accessible to non-technical users. Enables faster, data-informed decisions. Provides proactive insights instead of reactive reporting.

    Key Capabilities

    • NLP layer over the ERP — talk to your business in plain language
    • Automated document generation (invoices, orders, statements)
    • AI forecasting trained on the client's historical operations
    • Multi-source data aggregation across modules and systems
    • Custom ERP API connectors — Cegid PHC, Sage, Cegid Primavera and beyond

    How It Works

    A natural-language layer interprets user intent, maps it to ERP-native operations, and orchestrates the right modules to answer or act. Forecasts and summaries are produced by domain models trained on the client's own historical data, so output stays specific and accountable.

    Designed for Adaptation

    Built as a modular layer on top of the existing ERP, it extends without disrupting. New connectors, new business rules and new data sources can be added incrementally — the assistant evolves alongside the operation.

    • NLP over ERP
    • Automated Documents
    • AI Forecasting
    • Multi-source Aggregation
    • Custom ERP API
  4. Live demo
    /04

    Autonomous Agent Systems

    automation · orchestration

    AI-powered systems that execute tasks independently, make informed decisions, and coordinate operations with minimal human intervention.

    Our Autonomous Agent Systems turn isolated automations into a coordinated, goal-driven workforce. Each agent owns a slice of the operation — planning its own actions, calling the right tools and APIs, and adjusting based on feedback — so the whole pipeline keeps moving without a human at every step.

    Agents collaborate through a shared orchestration layer that tracks state, handles handoffs and resolves conflicts. The result is a system that operates more like a team than a script: resilient to surprise, capable of branching, and observable end-to-end.

    What It Does

    • Plans, executes and adjusts actions on feedback
    • Operates across multiple systems and APIs
    • Handles sequential and conditional task chains
    • Learns and improves through contextual feedback

    Why It Matters

    Adapts dynamically to context without manual intervention. Integrates multiple systems into unified workflows. Acts proactively rather than reactively. Reduces operational overhead and human error.

    Key Capabilities

    • Autonomous execution of long-running, multi-step tasks
    • API integration with internal and external services
    • Multi-step workflows with branching and recovery
    • Adaptive learning from outcomes and human feedback
    • Self-managing — agents allocate work amongst themselves

    How It Works

    A central orchestrator decomposes the goal into tasks and assigns them to specialised agents. Each agent reasons over its own tools, calls APIs, and reports back. The orchestrator keeps a shared memory of state and outcomes, enabling agents to coordinate, retry intelligently, and learn from previous runs.

    Designed for Adaptation

    Built as a modular framework: new agents, new tools, new domains can be added without rewriting the core. The same engine underpins automations across customer service, operations and back-office processes — and is reused inside our work on EARS and ELFMO.

    • Autonomous Execution
    • API Integration
    • Multi-Step Workflows
    • Adaptive Learning
    • Self-Managing
  5. Live demo
    /05

    Retopology Converter

    3D pipelines · games · industrial viz

    Transforms high-poly models into optimised low-poly meshes while preserving essential detail and visual fidelity. Clean, quad-based topology suitable for animation and real-time applications.

    Our Retopology Converter takes dense, scan-derived or sculpted geometry and rebuilds it as clean, animation-ready topology — automatically. The result preserves silhouette and surface detail while replacing chaotic triangulation with predictable quad flow.

    The system was designed to live inside production pipelines: studios can drop in raw assets and get back meshes that are immediately usable for rigging, baking, real-time rendering or industrial simulation — without weeks of manual cleanup.

    What It Does

    • Reduces mesh complexity automatically
    • Preserves core geometry and shape
    • Maintains visual fidelity end-to-end
    • Generates clean quad-based topology

    Why It Matters

    Cuts production time and manual effort. Ensures consistent topology quality across an entire pipeline. Enables faster iteration and scaling for game development, film and industrial visualisation studios.

    Key Capabilities

    • Fully automated retopology — no manual quad-drawing required
    • Quad-based output suitable for animation and subdivision
    • Geometry & silhouette preservation across LODs
    • Real-time engine ready — Unreal, Unity, web 3D out-of-the-box
    • Batch processing for asset libraries and scan archives

    How It Works

    The pipeline analyses the input mesh's curvature, feature lines and topology flow, then generates a new quad-dominant surface aligned to those features. UVs and normals are transferred from the source so the converted asset retains its original look while running orders of magnitude lighter.

    Designed for Adaptation

    The converter is modular: studios plug it into existing DCC workflows (Blender, Maya, Houdini) or call it as a service from their own asset pipelines. The same engine underpins our work in EXPAI (industrial 3D) and is reused across consumer and enterprise projects.

    • Automated Retopology
    • Quad-Based Output
    • Geometry Preservation
    • Real-time Engine Ready
/ Expert Services
FTP Academy

FTP Academy

Visit Academy ↗

An innovative learning platform designed to empower the professionals of tomorrow. High-quality training programs across a wide range of technology fields, with practical learning, continuous development and tailored learning paths.

Open to candidates between 18 and 40 years old. No strict academic prerequisites for beginner courses. What matters: genuine interest in technology, motivation to learn and evolve.

  • Practical Learning
  • Tailored Paths
  • DGERT Certified
  • Mentorship
Appstudio

Appstudio

FTP's dedicated environment for designing, prototyping and delivering custom business applications at speed. Modular components and modern development practices translate complex business requirements into functional digital products.

From internal tools to customer portals and mobile apps. We combine reusable building blocks with tailored business logic so every application fits operations and scales as they evolve.

  • Internal tools & dashboards Operational apps that streamline daily work.
  • Automation bots & notifications Smart agents that monitor data and act.

How we work

  1. Discovery We sit with your team to understand the process, the pain points and the goal.
  2. Prototype We turn the idea into a working prototype quickly so you can react to something real.
  3. Build & iterate We refine the solution with continuous feedback until it fits like a glove.
  4. Deploy & support We ship it, train your team and stay close to evolve as your business changes.
/ Trusted by Leading Partners
Sanimaia· Edgar Praça· NorSafe· Nimco· Glintt Healthcare· BEIA· ARD Group· KAIST· Sanimaia· Edgar Praça· NorSafe· Nimco· Glintt Healthcare· BEIA· ARD Group· KAIST·
/ International R&D Projects Five projects.
Five countries. One consortium pulse.

The lab's active and recent international collaborations — the Problem each one set out to solve, and the Solution we shipped.

OMD

Cognitive Service Demand Management
Finished · 2022–2023 Cross-domain · 12 partners

Problem

Modern service organizations face increasing complexity in managing incoming requests across multiple channels and domains. Traditional e-commerce, ticketing and support systems struggle with inefficient allocation, high operational costs, lack of intelligent prioritization, limited NLP understanding and fragmented knowledge bases.

Solution

A cross-domain cognitive service management platform leveraging ML, Deep Learning, NLP and optimisation. Real-world use case with Nimco — an AI-powered chatbot with text + voice input that understands customer queries, extracts intent, applies ML filtering and recommends footwear with personalised reasoning.

  • NLP
  • ML
  • Speech-to-Text
  • Optimization
Partners (12):

EXPAI

SmartIndustry · Explainable AI for Industrial Control
Ongoing · 2024–2026 ITEA 4 · Smart Industry

Problem

The transition to Smart Industry faces critical obstacles: AI "black boxes" hard to interpret, traditional 3D modelling that yields heavy geometry hindering real-time simulation, and a lack of seamless integration between sensor data, autonomous robotics and design tools.

Solution

An XAI framework that promotes a flexible, controlled, transparent digital environment. Centralised sensor collection, Computer Vision making AI decisions understandable, automatic retopology and procedural modelling for real-time-ready geometry, optimised AMR operation. Direct gains in production-line efficiency and reliability.

  • Explainable AI
  • Computer Vision
  • Predictive Maintenance
  • Anomaly Detection
  • AMR Robotics
  • 3D Retopology
Partners (12):

ELFMO

Enterprise Large Foundation Models
Ongoing · 2024–2027 ITEA · Norte 2030

Problem

Companies want the transformative potential of Generative AI and LFMs (GPT, BARD, FALCON) but face substantial costs, heavy resource allocation, strict compliance. Concerns around data security, IP, bias, fairness, transparency and alignment with GDPR / AI Act make reliable adoption difficult — and monolithic ERPs (Cegid PHC, Cegid Primavera, Sage X3, SAP, Dynamics) limit customisation and AI integration.

Solution

A risk-based engineering framework enabling fast, informed, trustworthy LFM adoption in enterprise environments. Methods, tools, sector benchmarks, open-source infrastructures, and evidence-based evaluation aligned with GDPR + AI Act. National use case: a modular integration platform evolving from monolith to microservices, with a specialised Cegid PHC chatbot.

  • Generative AI
  • LFM Adaptation
  • ERP Integration (Cegid PHC)
  • Modular Monolith → Microservices
  • Open-source AI
  • GDPR · AI Act
Partners (16):

CAPE

Cognitive Assistant for Phygital Environments
Ongoing · 2024–2027 NORTE0230-FEDER-01241200 · ITEA 4

Problem

The retail sector plays a crucial role in the EU economy but faces significant challenges in sustainability, digitalisation and skills. Single-modality systems and static in-store experiences struggle to deliver the personalised, adaptive interactions modern shoppers and employees expect.

Solution

An initiative transforming the shopping experience and the working environment in retail through AI, Blockchain, IoT and Deep Learning. Personalised experiences, optimised robots and kiosks, innovative resource management, employee tracking and customer engagement — five use cases spanning consumer UX, personalisation, satisfaction, manufacturing safety and store operations.

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Blockchain
  • IoT
  • Deep Learning
  • Computer Vision
  • Recommender Systems
Partners (19):
/ Published · 2025–2026

Peer-reviewed. Reproducible.

The lab's work is checked in the only place that counts — by other labs. A non-exhaustive selection from the last 18 months.

Backed by ITEA· ANI· European Union· Norte 2030
/ The Lab Team

The minds bridging
scientific discovery and business reality.

Department Head

Fábio

Department Leadership & Strategy
Companies that integrate applied AI don't react to the market — they anticipate it.
André portrait
Technical Lead

André

FTP Academia & Executive Strategy
Limits shape vision. Direction transforms imagination into reality.
Isabel portrait
Project Manager

Isabel

About Us, Blog & General Management
From the chaos of ideas to the elegance of outcomes — turning them into flight.
Teixeira portrait
R&D Developer

Teixeira

AI & ELFMO Project
With AI, the limit is no longer time — it is imagination.
Couto portrait
R&D Developer

Couto

AI & ELFMO Project
Cruz portrait
R&D Developer

Cruz

Computer Vision & E-commerce
Innovation is born when we turn recurring effort into permanent solutions.
Gaspar portrait
R&D Developer

Gaspar

ERP Automation & EARS
When all think alike, then no one is thinking.
Mariana portrait
R&D Developer

Mariana

3D Graphics & EXPAI
Blending a little bit of magic with a lot of intelligence to build the future.
R&D Developer

Tiago

Technical Support & Development
/ FTP Insights & Innovation Field notes from the frontiers.

Exploring AI, international R&D collaborations, and industrial technology — straight from the consortia.

EARS workshop participants in the review room in Ankara

EARS Project — Plenary Meeting in Ankara

On November 4 and 5, 2025, Ankara became the meeting point for the international consortium of the EARS project — Environment Adaptive Recommendation System. At the facilities of partner ARD Group in the Turkish capital, the teams gathered for two focused working days, where technical progress gave way to concrete decisions and strategic alignment gained the solidity that only in-person presence can provide.

The digital world is, by nature, dynamic. Contexts shift, users evolve, and needs transform at a pace that traditional systems struggle to match. EARS was created precisely to answer this challenge: to develop a recommendation system capable of interpreting data in real time, adapting to complex environments, and continuously improving the experience of its users.

To make that possible, the project combines Artificial Intelligence technologies, data integration, and advanced recommendation models, validated across different use cases by a consortium of international partners with complementary expertise. It is an approach that recognizes that truly robust solutions are built in collaboration.

FTP had a particularly relevant role at this plenary as the leader of WP5 — Integration, Pilots and Validation — the work package that ensures everything developed within the project actually finds application in the real world. The meeting in Ankara was an opportunity to assess the progress of the ongoing activities, clarify open technical questions, and prepare the next milestones for development, integration, and demonstration.

Some issues resist video calls and email threads. The technical complexity of EARS — with multiple partners, interdependent technological components, and distinct use cases — requires, at certain moments, the same table and the same space. Ankara was one of those moments: two days in which doubts were resolved in minutes, decisions that had been pending for weeks were taken together, and coordination between teams gained a fluidity that distance rarely allows.

More than a technical status point, this plenary was a moment for consolidating the relationships that sustain the project, strengthening communication, aligning expectations, and creating the human conditions for the next stages to unfold with greater confidence and effectiveness.

EARS is a reminder that technological innovation always has two inseparable dimensions: the quality of the solutions being developed, and the ability of the people developing them to work together, align their visions, and turn technical knowledge into results with real impact. Ankara reinforced both.

Because to innovate is also to integrate — technologies, data, perspectives, and people.

EXPAI consortium members during the Korea plenary visit

EXPAI Korea Plenary

Between April 13 and 15, Daegu opened the doors of the EXPAI project to the world. At Nanosystems' facilities, the Portuguese, Korean and Spanish consortia met for a plenary that was much more than a technical agenda — it was a meeting of minds, cultures and shared ambitions.

Significant advances were discussed: Portugal's path on automatic retopology, the potential of combining Korean LiDAR sensors with Portuguese 3D scanners, data interoperability between partners, common APIs, and integration of all use cases into the platform developed by the Spanish consortium for the next ITEA review.

Cross-cutting all advances, Explainable AI (XAI) asserts itself as a strategic axis of the consortium — systems not only intelligent, but transparent, interpretable and truly useful.

ELFMO participants outside the Porto venue

ELFMO in Porto

How we are bringing Large Foundation Models to the local enterprise ecosystem — methods, tools, sector benchmarks and open-source infrastructures for reliable adaptation, with evaluation aligned with GDPR and the AI Act.

/ About

Innovating at the intersection of
Enterprise Management & Artificial Intelligence.

Who We Are

FTP is a Portuguese technology company based in Porto with a multidisciplinary team of approximately 30 specialists. Originally founded in 1999 to implement and support Cegid PHC management software, FTP has evolved into a global technology provider. Our portfolio now spans Artificial Intelligence, Bespoke Software Development, Cybersecurity, and Infrastructure Administration.

  1. ~30Specialists
  2. GlobalPresence
  3. AI & R&DFocus
  4. Full-StackServices
Operational Excellence & Security

FTP has transitioned to a mature, documented information security framework aligned with ISO/IEC 27001 principles and GDPR compliance. For FTP, security is a strategic priority that ensures contractual trust and operational resilience for our clients.

  • ISO/IEC 27001
  • GDPR
  • AI Act aware
  • PME Líder
  • DGERT certified
Global Reach

From Porto to the world. Active R&D consortia and field plenaries across Portugal, Türkiye, South Korea, Spain, Romania, Belgium, Finland.

  • Porto · HQ
  • Ankara · EARS
  • Daegu · EXPAI
  • Helsinki · ELFMO
  • Madrid · EXPAI
/ Let's Collaborate

Start a partnership with the
FTP AI Lab.

Get in touch with the FTP AI Lab team. We're ready to build the future together.

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