Personal Information
- Name: Ezequiel Simeoni
- Position/Title: Technical Manager (Chief engineer on behalf of Indra)
- Department: Indra Sistemas S.A.
Professional Background
Briefly describe your professional background and area of expertise:
I am a biomedical engineer with a PhD in biomedical engineering. My background is in electrophysiology applied to neuroscience, specifically brain-machine interfaces and neuroprosthetics. I have experience in leading multidisciplinary innovation teams in healthcare and other industries (energy, food and more). Although my current role is mainly managerial, I'm a hands-on engineer and enjoy being involved in experimentation and the generation of ideas.
What inspired you to pursue a career in this related field, e.g., aviation etc?:
The EPIIC project is my first project in the field of aviation. What captivated me the most was the idea of doing science with technology I became very familiar with in my previous jobs, but now with a clear path towards the evolution and market launch. The idea of working with colleagues from the most varied backgrounds (AI engineers, data scientists, software engineers, UX/UI engineers and others) was very exciting, and it promised to drive ideas and development in a way I had never experienced before. So, I dove in!
Role in EPIIC
What is your role in the EPIIC project?
I am currently the technical lead for the EPIIC project on behalf of Indra. This role involves overseeing the development of the Crew Monitoring System and managing the consortium's involvement in this work package, in addition to Indra's own developments. I collaborate closely with my colleagues involved in WP2, WP6, WP8 and WP9 to fully ensure the consistency and focus of our company’s efforts.
Can you describe your main responsibilities and tasks?
My job is to plan Indra's actions within and across work packages. I set the development goals and the technology maturation roadmap for all the project's components we develop. I address inter work package actions and help building collaborations and synergies with other partners. I also handle project requests regarding consortium management and make sure that the official documentation is delivered on time from our side.
How does your work contribute to the overall goals of the EPIIC project?
On one hand, my colleagues and I are committed to delivering high-quality research outcomes, to better understand the role of the different technologies studied across the different physiological conditions the pilot may experience during a mission. On the other hand, I always try to seize every opportunity of collaboration with other companies, to boost joint innovation efforts, and combine background knowledge and technologies (if possible).
" Working alongside colleagues from the top companies in military aviation, combined with high-quality research and a drive for innovation, creates a rare and powerful environment for progress.”
Project Insights
What do you find most exciting about working on the EPIIC project?
Working alongside with colleagues from the top companies in the industry of military aviation in Europe, is exciting enough. But, on top of that, there is also high-quality research involved and an incredible thrive for innovation supported by experts and end-users… that combination is rare to find all together in one job!
What has been the most challenging aspect of your work on this project?
It is key for any R&D team to become aware of the genuine requirements of users, incorporating their active involvement in the development process. In the context of EPIIC, fighter pilots are not always reachable, and tackling the research path for Crew Monitoring System models has proven to be challenging. Most of our data originates from volunteers (not pilots), and our experiments are unable to replicate the varied circumstances encountered by pilots during a mission. A similar challenge is encountered in our multimodal interaction solutions. The ideation of interaction methods for the new generation human-machine interfaces requires active collaboration between designers and pilots. The integration of multimodal interaction technologies into the cockpit in an unobtrusive manner is a very complex task.
Can you share a significant milestone or achievement your team has reached so far?
One of the most significant achievements in 2024 was the assembly of the real-time stress inference architecture for the Crew Monitoring System. Additionally, we successfully demonstrated our eye-tracking solution for multimodal interaction, which allows the pilot to control a graphical user interface using only eye gestures. Moreover, earlier this year, we tested the first prototype of our brain-computer interface, with promising results. And last but not least, we are very proud of our progress in implementing enhanced augmented reality to improve the pilot's situational awareness.
"One of the most significant achievements in 2024 was assembling the real-time stress inference architecture for the Crew Monitoring System, along with successful demonstrations of eye-tracking control and our first brain-computer interface prototype."
Personal Experience
What have you learned during your time working on EPIIC?
There is strength in numbers. It is important to focus interdisciplinary work on a common goal and to try to find synergies between project partners wherever possible.
How has this project influenced your professional development?
On one hand, the project has made me more aware of the importance of using all the technological tools at our disposal, especially those based on artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the diversity of vision that comes from approaching a problem with the help of professionals from different backgrounds undoubtedly enriches the added value of any solution. This way of working and thinking about solutions has been very satisfying.
“It is key for any R&D team to truly understand user needs, but in EPIIC, direct access to fighter pilots is limited—making data collection and interaction model development a real challenge."
Fun Facts
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?:
Mostly, I enjoy spending time with my family (my wife, my son and my dog). I am also interested in finance, and I really enjoy reading and understanding what is going on in the stock markets, so I usually spend a few hours in the evenings doing that. I also recently discovered cryptocurrencies and have been tirelessly trying to build my own bot that can predict their ups and downs (obviously without success). The rest of the time I'm usually watching car races or getting inspired by some YouTube traveler to organise our next trip.
Share a fun fact about yourself that your colleagues might not know:
I use font size 18 to write emails and zoom to 150% to read PDFs when no one's watching. I also talk to my dog.