Internet of Things and Platforms for Connected Smart Objects

Specific Challenge: The evolution of the Internet of Things embedded in Smart Environments and Platforms forming a web of ""everythings"" has been identified as one of the next big concepts to support societal changes and economic growth at an annual rate estimated at 20%.

The overall challenge is to deliver an Internet of Things (IoT) extended into a web of platforms for connected devices and objects. They support smart environments, businesses, services and persons with dynamic and adaptive configuration capabilities.

The biggest challenge will be to overcome the fragmentation of vertically-oriented closed systems, architectures and application areas and move towards open systems and platforms that support multiple applications. The challenge for Europe is to capture the benefits from developing consumer-oriented platforms that require a strong cooperation between the telecom, hardware, software and service industries, to create and master innovative Internet Ecosystems.

This topic cuts across several LEIT-ICT challenges (smart systems integration, cyber-physical systems, smart networks, big data) and brings together different generic ICT technologies (nano-electronics, wireless networks, low-power computing, adaptive and cognitive systems) and their stakeholder constituencies. Their applicability across multiple application domains (e.g. ehealth, energy, food chain, intelligent transport and systems, environmental monitoring and logistics) bridges the gap to applications-specific developments under the H2020 Societal Challenges.

Scope: The scope is to create ecosystems of ""Platforms for Connected Smart Objects"", integrating the future generations of devices, embedded systems and network technologies and other evolving ICT advances. These environments support citizen and businesses for a multiplicity of novel applications. They embed effective and efficient security and privacy mechanisms into devices, architectures, service and network platforms, including characteristics such as openness, dynamic expandability, interoperability, dependability, cognitive capabilities and distributed decision making, cost and energy-efficiency, ergonomic and user-friendliness. Such Smart Environments may be enriched through the deployment of wearable /ambulatory hardware to promote seamless environments

The Smart Environment(s) will provide a basis and methodology for developer's communities to test and validate in large-scale experiments low cost applications of e.g. wireless networks such as WSNs, M2M, and networked objects and spaces, as well as heterogeneous deployments and should be driven by use cases.

a.      Research & Innovation Actions  are focussed on the following:

Architectural concepts and concepts for semantic interoperability for ""Platforms for Connected Smart Objects"", which can cover multiple use cases whilst responding to specific requirements in terms of security, dependability, cognition and prioritised event processing.

-       Dynamically configured infrastructure and integration platforms for ""Connected Smart Objects"" covering multiple technologies and multiple intelligent artefacts, potentially including robots, and heterogeneous integration levels; dynamically configured information representation and interpretation leading to an extended Internet of Things. Developments include aspects such as:

-       Efficient integration of the next generation of smart devices into self-adaptive, robust, safe, intuitive, affordable and interconnected smart network and service platforms. This includes Dynamic Spectrum Access and Network Management techniques to solve the connectivity challenges to enable tens of billions on new wireless connections for the IoT.

-       Provisioning of information processing/reasoning, potentially covering self-organising systems and autonomous behaviour.

-       Methods for flexible, reliable and interoperable APIs supporting the development of use cases and allowing application developers to produce new added value across multiple systems, including partial opt-out capabilities.

Reference implementations including proof-of-concept, large-scale demonstrations and validation driven by innovative use scenarios, also leveraging on platforms developed elsewhere in the programme^[1]. Smart homes, workplaces, public spaces, context aware commercial environments and smart cities are targeted and potential use scenarios include health, energy, mobility and commercial services amongst others.

Proposals requesting a Large contribution are expected. The action may involve financial support to third parties in line with the conditions set out in Part K of the General Annexes. The consortium will define the selection process of additional users and suppliers for which financial support will be granted (typically in the order of EUR 50.000 – 150.000[2] per party).  Maximum 30% of the EU funding requested by the proposal should be allocated to this purpose.

b.      Support Measures

Measures for development of ecosystems driven by European players around the platforms e.g. communities of open API developers for low cost applications, networking of stakeholders, contribution to pre-normative activities and to standardisation, development of business models, innovation activities which aim at stimulating platform adoption (e.g. pre-commercial procurement), and activities to increase societal acceptance and foster specific education.

One Co-ordination and Support Action must stimulate the collaboration between selected projects and between the potential platforms. It will also derive exploitation strategies, on how to make successful ecosystems emerge, to involve the user in the development process and to respond to the societal challenges for Europe.

Expected impact:

• Emergence of a European offer for integrated IoT systems and platforms with identified players capable of acting as technology and infrastructure integrators across multiple application sectors.
• Availability of architectures and methodologies that can be used by integrators and SME's to provide IoT turnkey solutions in a variety of application fields.
• Dissemination and availability of results for technology transfer and pre-normative activities e.g. in standardisation fora , open source initiatives and/or relevant bodies like the EIT.

         Facilitation of platforms for co-creation of products and services in open innovation ecosystems including all relevant stakeholders.

Types of action:

a.       Research & Innovation Actions – Proposals requesting a Large contribution are expected

b.      Coordination and Support Actions

[1]     In that context, proposers may want to consider the ""FIRE"" experimental platform developed in ICT11 and ICT12 as one possible platform supporting large scale experiments, where applicable, as well as relevant developments in the robotics domain, in ICT23 and ICT24.  

[2]    In line with the Rules for Participation Article 19 (7) the amounts referred to in Article 137 of the Financial Regulation may be exceeded where it is necessary to achieve the objectives of the action.