Italian SME building augmented reality smart glasses with AI and 5G integration for security, manufacturing, and public safety applications.
YOUBIQUO is an Italian SME that designs and develops augmented reality smart glasses and AR-based solutions for professional applications. They build wearable AR hardware and software that integrates with 5G networks, AI, and computer vision to serve sectors like law enforcement, public safety, and manufacturing quality control. Their core business is turning AR headsets into practical field tools — connecting them with deep learning, digital twins, and edge computing to deliver real-time situational awareness in demanding operational environments.
AR is the thread across all four projects — from their own Hologlass product to DARLENE's law enforcement AR glasses, 5G-EPICENTRE's network applications, and OPTIMAI's AR-enabled manufacturing inspection.
DARLENE combined deep learning and computer vision with AR glasses for law enforcement; OPTIMAI applied AI-enabled instrumentation for manufacturing quality control.
Both DARLENE (5G network integration) and 5G-EPICENTRE (multi-access edge computing, containerized network functions) explored 5G as the connectivity layer for AR field devices.
OPTIMAI (EUR 426K, their largest per-project funding) applied AR and AI to manufacturing process optimization through digital twins and virtualization.
YOUBIQUO started with a clear product focus: their own augmented reality smart glasses (Hologlass, 2019), funded through the SME Instrument Phase 1. From 2020 onward, they pivoted from hardware development to applying their AR glasses in specific professional domains — first law enforcement and public safety (DARLENE), then 5G network infrastructure (5G-EPICENTRE), and manufacturing quality control (OPTIMAI). The evolution shows a company that built a core product and then systematically explored vertical markets for it, adding AI, 5G, and digital twin capabilities along the way.
YOUBIQUO is moving from pure AR hardware toward AI-integrated, 5G-connected AR solutions for industrial and public safety verticals — expect them to deepen in smart manufacturing and digital twin applications.
YOUBIQUO primarily joins consortia as a specialist technology partner (3 out of 4 projects), contributing their AR hardware and integration expertise. They coordinated one project (Hologlass) which was a small SME Instrument grant for their own product validation. With 41 unique partners across 13 countries from just 4 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia — typical of Innovation Actions and security research projects where many complementary partners are needed.
Despite only 4 projects, YOUBIQUO has built a wide network of 41 partners across 13 countries, reflecting participation in large EU consortia in the security and digital domains. Their geographic reach is pan-European with no obvious concentration in any single country cluster.
YOUBIQUO occupies a rare niche: they are both an AR hardware manufacturer and an integration specialist who can embed their devices into complex professional workflows. Unlike pure software companies offering AR apps, they control the full stack from glasses to AI-powered applications. For consortium builders, they bring a ready-made AR wearable product that can be adapted to specific use cases — security, manufacturing, emergency response — without starting from scratch.
