Robotics

Specific Challenge: Continuous and consistent support to roadmap-based research will be essential to attain a world-leading position in the robotics market. The priorities in this specific challenge are based on input from the Public-Private partnership in Robotics[1], also building on the results of previous calls.

Collaborative projects will cover multi-disciplinary R&D and innovation activities like technology transfer via use-cases and industry-academia cross fertilisation mechanisms. PCP will further enable prototype development and stimulate deployment of industrial and service robotics.

Scope:

a.      Research & Innovation Actions to advance key technologies relevant for industrial and service robotics

In terms of market domains, the priorities are: healthcare, consumer, transport.

The primary goal is to significantly improve the level of industrial and service robotics abilities in the context of the above mentioned market domains by addressing: adaptability, cognitive ability, configurability, decisional autonomy, dependability, flexibility, interaction capability, manipulation ability, motion capability, perception ability.

To reach this ambitious goal, key robotics technologies need to be advanced in the particular fields of cognition, human-robot interaction, mechatronics, navigation, perception. This includes technology combinations such as grasping and dexterous manipulation, physical HRI, mobile manipulation, reactive planning and other combinations, in particular those that connect the key technologies above. The priority market domains cover also enabling robotics technologies for disabled people; this applies in particular for people with upper, lower limb disabilities and/or amputees allowing them to gain functionalities with exoskeletons or prostheses.

To prove the exploitation potential of the results the project outcome is to be shown in market domain-relevant demonstrations proving an increased TRL.

b.      Innovation Actions: Technology transfer - Industry-academia cross-fertilisation

The aim is to gear up and accelerate cross-fertilisation between academic and industrial robotics research to strengthen synergies between their respective research agendas through joint industrially-relevant scenarios, shared research infrastructures and joint small- to medium-scale experiments with industrial platforms. Proposals are expected to demonstrate technology transfer in professional or service robotics, in application areas such as manufacturing, commercial, civil, agriculture, healthcare, consumer or transport.

Activities are expected to be clustered to facilitate a sectorial structured dialogue and to substantially improve overall impact. The action may involve financial support to third parties in line with the conditions set out in Part K of the General Annexes. In such case, the consortium will define the selection process for additional academic/research organisations, industry or end-users as appropriate to carry out the experiments in order to reach the objectives defined in the proposals.

c.       Innovation Actions: Technology transfer - Robotics use cases

Using leading edge science and technology, a targeted effort will aim at introducing, testing and validating promising and innovative robotics solutions in industrial and service sectors. The focus will be on the robust operational deployment of these robotic solutions, based on performance objectives, metrics, and user needs. The strong involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the value chain is essential.

d.      Pre-commercial procurement in robotics

Demand-driven innovation actions will be pursued in areas of public interest, including pre-commercial procurement of innovative robotics solutions for the healthcare sector.

e.       Coordination Actions: Community building and Robotic competitions

         Supporting the European robotics community with respect to networking, education, outreach, public awareness, technology watch, standardisation, and industry-academia collaboration as well as building links to national programmes and initiatives. Also, ethical, legal, societal and economical aspects of robotics will be addressed to ensure wider take up of the technology by citizens and businesses.

         Support International cooperation, where the impact of the action is demonstrated and matching resources are provided from cooperating parties.

         Coordinating work on the next generation of cognitive systems and robotics to reinforce the links between the different research disciplines ensuring transfer of knowledge and community building. 

         Coordination and support actions for organising robotic competitions will be called for to speed up progress towards smarter robots.

Expected impact:

         Increase Europe's market share in industrial robotics to one third of the market and maintain and strengthen Europe's market share of 50% in professional service robotics by 2020.

         Increase Europe’s market share in domestic service robots to at least 20% by 2020.

         Improve the competitiveness of Europe's manufacturing sector, in particular SMEs, address pressing technological challenges and the effect of an aging workforce.

         Improve Technology Readiness Levels of robotics technologies.

         Increase Industry-Academia cross-fertilisation and tighter connection between industrial needs and academic research via technology transfer, common projects, scientific progress on industry-driven challenges.

         Deploy robotics technologies in new application domains.

         Contribute to an inclusive society through robotic technologies (e.g. exoskeleton, advanced prosthesis).

         Address ethical, legal and societal issues and engage the wider public.

         Create and maintain world class research in Europe and achieve excellent standards of publications and research outputs.

         Ensure sufficient numbers of well-trained professionals required by the growth of the industry.

         Ensure wide use of shared resources.

         Contribute to the community building of the European robotics community.

Types of action:

a.       Research & Innovation Actions – A mix of proposals requesting Small and Large contributions are expected

b.      Innovation Actions – Proposals requesting a Large contribution are expected

c.       Innovation Actions – A mix of proposals requesting Small and Large contributions are expected

d.      Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) Cofund actions – Proposals requesting a Large contribution are expected

e.       Coordination and Support Actions

[1]     The input comes from the  Strategic research agenda of the PPP that is publicly available on the euRobotics AISBL website (http://www.eu-robotics.net/ppp/downloads/); its content results from continuous consultation of the whole European robotics community. The prioritisation of the topics follows a formal procedure established by the euRobotics AISBL, whose membership is open to all European stakeholders in Robotics – http://www.eu-robotics.net/ppp .