I. PANARETOU - CHAR. KOSTOPOULOS OE

Their core work

OPTIONSNET is a Greek technology SME specialising in real-time people localisation systems and decision support tools for safety-critical environments. Their core work combines wireless sensor networks and digital signal processing to track personnel positions in complex, GPS-denied environments such as ship interiors and offshore platforms. They translate this tracking data into actionable emergency response guidance — telling operators who is where and how to evacuate them safely. Their commercial focus is on deploying these systems in regulated, high-risk industries where worker safety is both a legal obligation and a commercial liability.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), OPTIONSNET focused tightly on the maritime passenger transport domain — specifically tracking people aboard large ships during emergencies and supporting evacuation decisions. By their second project (2019–2022), they retained the same technical core — localisation and decision support — but pivoted the application domain to offshore oil and gas, where incident alert systems and worker muster management are the priority. The shift suggests a deliberate strategy: master the technology in one regulated industry, then port it to adjacent high-risk sectors with similar compliance pressures and willingness to pay.

OPTIONSNET is expanding from maritime passenger safety into the broader industrial safety market — the logical next step would be further adjacencies such as underground mining, large-building emergency management, or hazardous manufacturing facilities.

How they like to work

OPTIONSNET participates exclusively as a consortium partner rather than a project leader, suggesting they contribute a well-defined technical capability — localisation hardware, signal processing, or DSS integration — rather than driving the project agenda. With 16 unique partners across only 2 projects they appear to operate within mid-sized, multi-national consortia of 8–9 partners each, typical of Innovation Actions targeting commercial deployment. No repeat-partner pattern is detectable at this scale, meaning they are likely comfortable working with new teams on each project.

OPTIONSNET has collaborated with 16 distinct organisations across 7 countries through their two projects, suggesting exposure to a genuinely pan-European consortium environment despite their small size. Their Greek base in Patra has not limited their international reach, and both projects brought in partners from multiple EU member states.

What sets them apart

OPTIONSNET occupies a narrow but defensible niche: real-time indoor localisation specifically engineered for large-scale emergency scenarios in environments GPS cannot reach. Unlike generic IoT or tracking vendors, their validated use cases are in regulated safety-critical industries — maritime and offshore — where technology must survive certification scrutiny and perform under crisis conditions. For a consortium that needs a credible, deployable localisation and decision support component with commercial-readiness evidence, they are one of very few SMEs in Greece with that specific track record.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LYNCEUS2MARKET
  The project that established OPTIONSNET's foundational IP in wireless indoor localisation for ship evacuations, directly targeting market deployment (hence the '2MARKET' suffix) rather than pure research.
• OffshoreMuster
  Largest EC grant received (EUR 464,975) and proof of the company's ability to transfer its safety-localisation expertise into the strategically important offshore oil and gas sector.