Robotics in Croatia is a growing trend, with the constant advancement of technology and innovation, Croatia is putting both feet forward when it comes to developing not only robots, but knowledge.

As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of December, 2018, one Osijek-based startup has successfully developed an autonomous robotic platform for cargo transfer and has since presented it to some major global players, names including Orbico, Atlantic and Tokić are now testing it.

The Osijek startup, Gideon Brothers, has thus developed the first Croatian industrial robot. What it involves is an autonomous robotic platform for cargo transport, within the scope of the ''warehouse of the future'' that is increasingly being used by the likes of Amazon and Alibaba, as well as numerous other major logistics and merchants.

It doesn't have a name, at least not for now, but the Croatian autonomous ''robo-warehouse'' has an enviable performance. It can work properly without interruption for 24 hours per day, every day of the year. Its battery allows it to withstand a shift of six hours per piece, and then when the discharged battery is replaced with full one, and the job can continue. It's also fast.

The new step forward in robotics in Croatia, which is also miracle of high technology in itelf, was developed by a team of five doctors of science and 26 experts in the field of hardware and software in Croatia. The robo-warehouse is also a very attractive business product. In less than two years since its inception, this Osijek startup has developed technology which is ten times cheaper and more powerful in collecting its environmental data than the type which is currently the most widely used - the LIDAR driving system.

One example of this are the systems used by Tesla motors in their cars and trucks. Gideon has upgraded LIDAR with its own solution that combines stereo cameras and artificial intelligence (deep learning).

When asked whether the robot has already been seen by some of the biggest global players, such as Amazon and Alibaba, Milan Račić, the co-founder and director of development of Gideon Brothers didn't want to reveal any specific names, while emphasising that they have indeed presented their product "to some of the world's biggest players".

What has been very openly confirmed is that the Osijek startup will target both small and medium-sized companies on a global scale with its product.

"Such robots enable small and medium-sized companies to boost their efficiency and come up to the scale of the same level of competitiveness in transport and logistics which only some of the biggest international companies currently have. Of course, the biggest players are aware of this and they're actively following this technology," Račić says.

Three companies, operating in more than thirty countries and having a massive annual income of over three billion euro, are the first buyers, more specifically, they're the first commercial reference of Gideon's robo-warehouse, which is a major boost not only to this startup in particular but to robotics in Croatia as a whole.

The use of various robotics in Croatia is on the up, and Milan Račić says their product will provide a competitive advantage for Croatian companies and will continue to transform them. Mladen Pejković, senior executive of the Atlantic Group, says that digital transformation is considered an important element for future competitiveness. "That's why we're very excited about the pilot project with Gideon Brothers in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics in our logistics operations," noted Pejković.

"The pace of change will only accelerate in the future, and our partnership with Gideon Brothers will give us tools in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics that will help shape that future," stated Branko Roglić.

Ivan Gadže of the large company Tokić said that in parallel with engaging the best people to help them realise plans to spread to other EU markets, they want to provide their employees with the very best tools to help them achieve this.

"Strategic cooperation with Gideon Brothers is seen as an opportunity to introduce smart automation into our business and we reiterate the success we've achieved in Croatia on the international scene," said Gadže.

Matija Kopić, co-founder and CEO of Gideon Brothers, revealed that along with Milan Račić, his new startup, Gideon Brothers has three other co-founders who have helped significantly in the development of the first Croatian industrial robot. One of those individuals is Josip Cesić, he is one of the authors of the most successful algorithms in the world for simultaneous localisation and mapping, which is based on stereo cameras.

Then comes Edin Kočo, who led in the design and production of robo-warehouse, and had previously designed and manufactured robots for inspection in nuclear power plants. Last but by no means least, the fifth co-founder of Gideon Brothers is Kruno Stražanac, who is a big data expert, extremely knowledgeable in data analysis and technical support.

Kopić stated that he is lucky to live in such an incredible age, because Gideon Brothers has managed to accomplish something that many of the previous theoreticians of robotics could have only dreamed of.

He points out that this success is a result of very strong support from both Croatian and foreign investors. "The support of our investors and clients confirms our conviction that autonomous robots equipped with visual perception will deeply and positively change our society," added Kopić.

In just two years, the Croatian startup Gideon Brothers underwent two rounds of investment. It received 16.3 million kuna or 2.2 million euro in investment from 21 investors.

Make sure to follow our dedicated Made in Croatia and business pages for more information on robotics in Croatia and much more.

Click here for the original article by Bernard Ivezic for Poslovni Dnevnik

As Index writes on the 8th of December, 2018, a talented Croatian robotics team from the Josip Antun Ćolčić elementary school in Đakovo has been placed into the final round of the MakeX competition, among sixteen of the best teams in the world.

The members of the Croatian team, Ana Švegli and Iva Mijakić, under the mentorship of Tomislav Milanović, impressed all those present in China where the competition in educational robotics, MakeX, is being held.

The Croatian competition has been organised by the Institute for Development and Innovation of the Youth (IRIM). The aim of this, as well as of all of the other projects, is to enable all students in the Republic of Croatia to have equal opportunities participate in the development of robotics, automatics, and other needed programming skills.

The most successful Croatian robotics team from the national MakeX competition flew all the way to China, and this competition is otherwise IRIM's most extensive educational and competitive project to date, as well as the largest unified robotics competition in the whole of Europe. An afternoon of preparations now awaits the innovative young Đakovo robotics team, and tomorrow will bring the final round of the competition. Other teams are continuing on with technical challenges as an additional part of the competition.

"The tempo of the competition is very demanding, but our team is fantastic. Many of them are getting along well with the teams from China and from other countries, and here, we're (almost) an attraction, everyone wants to get a picture with the teams,'' wrote Paolo Zenzerović of the Institute for Development and Innovation of the Youth on his Facebook profile.

In addition to the competition itself, the presentation of Makeblock products was also held today, and the Croatian robotics team played around with a laser cutter and made a personalised Croatian Makers bear, they also got to see a fully functional wooden mBot robot.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated Made in Croatia and lifestyle pages for more on Croatia's young talent, as well as on domestic innovation and technology.

The agreement on cooperation between five Slavonian counties, which is the foundation for their joint participation in the preparation and implementation of the development projects in Eastern Croatia, was signed in Osijek-Baranja County, reports hrturizam.hr on December 6, 2018.

It took more than 20 years for officials to finally realize that it is only with the synergy that Slavonia can grow and develop. Still, better late than never, and it is never too late. Only those who are proactive, creative, innovative and those who want to deal with market-based development can progress.

Osijek-Baranja County, as the seat of scientific, economic, cultural and numerous other institutions in Eastern Croatia, is the leader in the development of Eastern Croatia. The initiative for joint representation towards the national, European and other sources of funding was initiated by Osijek-Baranja County Prefect Ivan Anušić, and supported by prefects of Požega-Slavonia, Brod-Posavina, Virovitica-Podravina and Vukovar-Srijem Counties.

“We want to work and act in synergy as a region and act in that way towards both the Croatian government and the European institutions through the office in Brussels. This will strengthen our status, our lobbying efforts and influence with the European Commission as a region, as well as with the Croatian government,” said Ivan Anušić, the prefect of Osijek-Baranja county.

He stressed that the five Slavonian counties were still grouped in the NUTS II statistical region together with the city of Zagreb. "I will remind you that Zagreb is at 125% of the EU development average, which means that it is more developed than the EU average. Our counties and their financial potential are definitely below the EU level but, in this way, we have been administratively categorized to be at the same level of development as Zagreb, which prevents us from implementing EU projects because we have to participate in their financing with a very high percentage of funds. In the future, a new statistical region will be created which will include just our counties without the city of Zagreb, as is the practice elsewhere in Europe where major cities belong to separate regions and are not merged with rural areas. This is the first step in that direction, and I am sure we will do an excellent job for our five counties, as well as for whole Croatia,” said Prefect Anušić.

The agreement creates the preconditions for the joint representation of the five Slavonian counties in Brussels through the office of the Osijek-Baranja County Development Agency, a project whose implementation is expected in the coming year.

One of the first joint projects will be the Days of Croatian Tourism 2019, which will be held in Slavonia and will jointly showcase the tourist potential of Eastern Croatia, which could become a national and international tourism brand.

Synergy was one of the main goals of the initiative to hold the Days of Croatian Tourism in Slavonia. First of all, it is necessary for the whole of Slavonia to be presented as a single tourist brand ؘ– Slavonia – which is already underway. To achieve this, it is required to develop the synergy among all local tourist boards and stakeholders, as well as to create a joint development and promotion plan. The second step is to define the joint tourist offer and attractions, which must be accessible through a single platform. The next step involves travel agencies which have to be introduced to the destination since they are the ones selling tourist packages and bringing tourists. That is why, as part of the #DHTSlavonia (Days of Croatian Tourism Slavonia) initiative, negotiations were held with the UHPA (the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies) to hold the UHPA Days in Slavonia, which has been confirmed.

Thus, all of Slavonia will have an opportunity to present its tourist offer to travel agencies and directly meet with the agents and representatives of travel agencies. When everything is done and defined, the grand finale of the Days of Croatian Tourism (DHT) will be an icing on the cake and a great free marketing campaign.

The DHT in Slavonia will generate thousands of earned media reports (valued in millions) before, during and after the event. This is an opportunity to tell a positive story about Slavonia, a chance to promote the whole destination, an opportunity to impress all the DHT guests, a chance for them to become the destination ambassadors.

Thus, the year 2019 will undoubtedly be a major positive turning point for Slavonia since both the UHPA Days and the Days of Croatian Tourism will be held in Slavonia (in Vinkovci and Osijek, respectively). We hope that this will be a moment that will awaken and shake up all the tourist industry representatives and that the destination will know how to take advantage of this for the long run.

Synergy is critical for the potential actually to be realized. Slavonia does not have time to wait for another next ten years for things to change for the better. Slavonia does not need aid, but market-based development. And tourism is an opportunity which Slavonia has to take advantage of due to its incredible potential.

For more on the Days of Croatian Tourism event, which was held on Hvar this year, click here.

Have you ever wondered what Uhljebistan means? We use the word a lot here at TCN and often are quick to forget that not everyone will be aquainted with it (lucky them). In brief, the word encompasses uhljebs - those individuals typically working in Croatia's numerous state bodies who want nothing more than to make your life needlessly complicated, for no gain, and then hopefully charge you a few kuna along the way.

If you'd like to take a more in depth journey into the world of Uhljebistan, click here and get to know some of the apparently unstoppable yet totally useless, self-important and self-serving cogs of the Croatian state.

You'd think that in this day and age, where people often love animals more than they do other people, placing a few signs on the street letting the world know you've lost your beloved pet and would like to find them, would be no problem at all. In fact, you'd think it would be encouraged. Apparently not, at least not in Osijek.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 28th of November, 2018, after her seven-year-old Siamese cat disappeared, one Osijek resident decided to place some signs in her neighbourhood letting others know about the cat's disappearance, and offering a reward for anyone who finds the cat. Soon after, the woman's mother, whose phone number was placed as a contact number on the sign, received an unexpected call. Instead of it being someone with news of the cat's whereabouts on the other end of the line, it was a communal officer, writes Glas Slavonije.

"He told her [her mother] that we had two hours come and remove all the signs, because we'd otherwise have to pay 1,000 kuna for each sign. I have to admit that we'd put many signs up, and we mostly put them on bus stops, that is, at higher levels, on poles, etc. I saw a lot of ads put up in such places, so I didn't think that I wouldn't be permitted to put a poster up about my missing cat. As soon as we were cautioned, we went and removed all of them,'' said the woman, whose publication on Facebook has been shared a lot, namely by other rightly irritated animal lovers.

So, if you've lost your cat, make sure you're willing to pay a ridiculous amount of money to put up an innocent sign asking your fellow local residents for help, because God forbid someone goes without making money from your problems.

Make sure to follow our lifestyle page for more.

The Šagulje Wast Management Center is the joint project of Brod-Posavina, Požega-Slavonia, and part of Sisak-Moslavina County in Eastern Croatia. 

Istrian hotels could be offering the cured meats, cheeses, wines, and free-range eggs from Slavonian farmers in the next tourist season. 

Nine months ago, the first health tourism cluster in eastern Croatia was presented, called Pannonian Health, which today brings together twelve members of different health, tourism and business profiles, and whose main goal is to develop and promote the town of Osijek and eastern Croatia as new desirable destinations for health and tourism, reports Glas Slavonije on November 22, 2018.

During this time, the cluster has developed a strategy and opened up for new companies that see their interest in health tourism. The cluster manager Manuel Magdić explained who are the ideal potential partners for this business and promotion concept.

Who are currently members of the Pannonian Health Cluster and what are the benefits of being a member?

We currently have twelve members, from the field of health services, hospitality and accommodation services, as well as transportation, education and information technology. Our members are Air Pannonia, Bizovačke Toplice Spa, Čes Dental Centre, Lege Artis Polyclinic, Maksimilijan private accommodation services, Edukos Instruction Centre, Dr. Balog Eye Polyclinic, Dr. Saša Đukić Dental Medicine Clinic, Svijetli Dvori winery, Szabo winery, and companies providing us with IT support, Ofir and Betaware. We have decided that the founders and their representatives are members of the cluster steering committee.

We are open to all other companies which see their interest in being part of the Pannonian Health cluster, provided they operate in the fields of medicine, transportation, catering and accommodation services and entertainment, and that their ideas and diversity can contribute to our development.

The basic benefit of being a cluster member is the promotion of business activities through available marketing channels at the national and international level. This includes creating a complete company profile in German and English on the cluster’s website, with the possibility for direct communication with customers, ads on social networks such as Facebook and Instagram, Google AdWords advertising, printed promotional brochures, leaflets and booklets, as well as the presentation of companies at health fairs and conferences. Many may not know this, but the cost of attending conferences and fairs on health tourism with the opportunity to present your business is exceptionally high, so the cluster is a perfect opportunity for companies to present their offer to international clients. All members are represented equally with other members.

Do you have the initial feedback from foreign agencies and tourists? Have you already seen the first results of being part of a cluster?

“Ten days ago we were in Turin, and last month in Austria. The feedback is excellent because most European countries have a positive perception of Croatia. Our goal is to connect members with international agencies and providers so that they send potential customers to our region. That was our task in Austria, but also in Crikvenica, where we participated in a conference organized by the Kvarner cluster, learned from their experiences and experiences of successful destinations in the field of health tourism such as Malaysia. We had the opportunity to get introduced to some of the agents from Europe, with whom we immediately got in touch.

For now, we have individual visits to our members, mostly from Austria and Germany. There are also many of our people who work abroad and are emotionally linked to Croatia and come here with their whole families, enjoying the tourist offer of our region. We see them as our strongest ambassador. We are confident that we have high-quality professionals in this town and region and that we can offer top-notch service.

What is the vision of the Pannonian Health cluster’s development?

There are several clusters in Croatia presenting and integrating the health tourism offer of particular regions. Our long-term plan is to connect with as many such organizations as possible to present the whole of Croatia and the Pannonian region as a desirable destination for health and tourism. As the name of the cluster says, we do not want to limit ourselves just to Slavonia and Baranja in the long run. We are open for cooperation with companies from neighboring countries, the Pannonian region, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary, especially because such cooperation opens up the possibility for projects through the EU cross-border cooperation initiatives.

Are there any preconditions that future members need to fulfill to become part of the cluster?

The main precondition is to have a website translated into German and English to enable potential clients to consider whether they want to cooperate. If the website and promotional materials are not ready immediately, there is a transition period for new members. It is also important that team members speak German and English and that the company can be classified into a category such as medical services, transportation, accommodation, catering, education or entertainment. Of course, we are open to all those who can contribute to the Pannonian Health cluster with their activities and want to support this idea. We invite them to join us with their proposals, donations or some in some other way, and we will gladly introduce them as partners of Slavonia and Baranja. We also invite all tourist agencies who see their interest in health tourism to come to us.

For more on health tourism in Croatia, click here.

Translated from Glas Slavonije (reported by Nefreteta Z. Eberhard).

Virovitica is by far one of Croatia's most overlooked cities. Located what feels like a world away from the hustle and bustle of desirable Dalmatia and the funk of the capital city, not far from the Hungarian border, this quiet continental Croatian city is like a step back in time, with all but its highly advanced budget for next year, it seems.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of November, 2018, Virovitica will have the largest budget in its entire history in 2019, it adds up to about 286,175,000 kuna, an amount the city councillors adopted at their fifteenth regular session.

At the session of the city council, it was stated that in relation to last year, Virovitica's budget plan had increased by a considerable 13 percent, mainly due to large and significant urban projects that will be co-financed by European Union funds and the state budget itself. In addition to providing funds for the material expenses and the investment maintenance costs, the City of Virovitica expects continued work on projects which have already begun being worked on, as well as some brand new investments.

Thus, the city's 2019 budget includes funds to continue the construction of the Centre for Education and Rehabilitation and three-part school sports hall in the amount of 27,150,000 kuna and the reconstruction of the City Park and Castle Pejačević in the amount of 28,200,000 kuna. There are two projects which mainly involve the energetic restoration of buildings, including the "Cvrčak" kindergarten and the Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić primary school, both in the amount of 1.620.000 kuna, according to a report from Glas Slavonije.

In addition, the City of Virovitica has plans for a few totally new investments, including the construction of a sports and recreation centre in Virovitica - a complex which will be built on the site of some former barracks, worth 26,300,000 kuna, an increase in the overall energy efficiency of public lighting worth 14,350,000 kuna, and the energetic renovation of various buildings, a cultural centre, and the reneal of the of the sport community building, worth a massive 16,330,000 kuna.

In addition to all of the aforementioned, there are also plans for several more projects, including the construction of communal infrastructure, rearranging the traffic zone around the Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić primary school, road construction in certain areas, car park construction, and other infrastructure projects described in more detail in Virovitica's construction program for 2019.

Make sure to keep up to date with more information like this by following our lifestyle page.

An unusual but excellent agreement on cooperation signed between one Croatian university and Carlsberg Croatia is set to bring students closer to their potential employers, and connect theory and practice to help keep young people in Koprivnica.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 16th of November, 2018, on Wednesday, November the 14th, 2018, a press conference was held at the North University at the University Centre in Koprivnica, where the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Koprivnica educational facility and no less than Carlsberg Croatia was held. The press conference was attended by Helle M. Petersen, the president of Carlsberg Croatia's management board, dr. sc. Mario Tomiša, the vice president of the Koprivnica University Centre, associate professor. dr. sc. Vlado Tropša, the vice chancellor for teaching and student affairs, as well as other heads of study programs of the aforementioned University.

With signing the said cooperation agreement, a period begins in which students and the Koprivnica brewery (part of the Danish Carlsberg Group) are expected to find ways to work together. Student practices, the visiting of various experts from Carlsberg at the university, as well as connecting through other projects will be mutually beneficial.

Helle M. Petersen, CEO of Carlsberg Croatia, noted during the introductory part of the conference: "The collaboration of the economy and educational institutions is the only safe way for the whole society to progress. Koprivnica is a wonderful place to live, with many advantages offered by its residents, and for young people to remain here we need to connect a professional perspective to it, too. At Carlsberg, we're proud that we've always been a learning organisation and have been developing our people, and that's why we want young people to recognise the benefits of working in an international environment, a company that deals with such a passionate and interesting thing, as is beer production.''

Assoc. prof. dr. sc. Mario Tomiša emphasised that this cooperation will strengthen the link between Koprivnica and international companies: "Koprivnica is a small town, and we who were born here have been living with Carlsberg since our youth, our family, friends and our associates work there, the Carlsberg connection is a long-standing and powerful one, and North University wants this link to be deepened even further, to the satisfaction of all three sides.''

During the conference, Tomiša emphasised that the agreement encompasses cooperation on scientific research and professional projects, cooperation on teaching at the university in question, as well as in the development of knowledge, skills and competences of students.

"We're happy that Carlsberg Croatia has recognised the quality of our studies and has decided to support us in an effort to provide students with more through their studies. Lifelong education, programs which connect theory and practice, and connecting students with their potential employers; these are all areas in which the university has impressive results. This year, the university opened up a new undergraduate degree in Food Technology, and in the second and third year, we focus on beer production. Today, we have 27 study programs at the university, so we can cooperate with Carlsberg on a series of other directions such as economic and technical logistics, sustainable mobility and logistics, media design, business, and management,'' concluded Tomiša.

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Could Slavonia become Croatia's very own Tuscany through the story of its local wine? Possibly, as Kutjevo has seen a massive 54 million kuna investment into its new area.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of November, 2018, on Friday in Kutjevo in Slavonia, a new investment in the Galić winery worth a massive 54 million kuna was presented, the huge investment will increase the winery's capacity by as much as one-third, as they announced.

Of the 54 million kuna, 35 million kuna was invested in the building itself and another 19 million kuna into the equipment. Winery owner Josip Galić pointed out that the winery will remain a boutique winery, and will follow all the current trends, continuing to produce quality wines, rather than focus on mass production.

"Although our winery could be considered a miracle of modern technology and has equipment that even the world-renowned wineries would envy, we're just starting to build our story in Kutjevo. The ultimate goal is to develop the whole region, we want to make a Croatian Tuscany out of Slavonia, as it justifiably deserves it,'' explained Josip Galić, the owner of the winery. The CEO of Galić wine, Andrej Markulin, pointed out that this year, the winery is celebrating ten years of business and wants to intensify its production of "serious" wines in the long run.

The winery in Slavonia looks simply like brick and concrete, but attracts tourists and wine lovers from all over the world, and the attraction is intensified just by viewing the interior and getting to know the equipment that the world's best manufacturers are currently offering.

"With new technology and equipment, we have all the conditions [available to us] to achieve this goal very quickly," he pointed out. The winery began with seven hectares of vineyards and 30,000 bottles of wine. Today, there are 55 hectares, and some of the grapes are from local wine growers.

The capacity of the new winery is 630,000 bottles, which is 30 percent more than there is at the minute, and their annual production is 330,000 litres. In addition to wine production and grape growing, Galić launched chestnut and blueberry growing this year, into which there will be an additional investment of 8.5 million kuna.

Want to keep up with more news like this from Slavonia and from across the country? Make sure to follow our lifestyle and Made in Croatia pages for more.