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Call key data
Next Generation eXtended Reality
Funding Program
Horizon Europe - Cluster 4 - Destination 6: A Human-centred and Ethical Development of Digital and Industrial Technologies
Call number
HORIZON-CL4-2023-HUMAN-01-21
deadlines
Opening
08.12.2022
Deadline
29.03.2023 17:00
Funding rate
100%
Call budget
€ 26,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
between € 5,000,000.00 and € 8,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
Call objectives
The following two types of research and innovation proposals are expected:
- The development and integration of advanced XR hardware components, including the use of already available technologies, such as chips, displays, optics and sensors, for a new generation of XR devices providing greater visual, wearable, vestibular and social comfort. Special relevance should be given (a) to technological breakthroughs in photonics and new materials aiming to increase the image quality and to reduce the size and weight of XR devices; (b) to displays and optical elements bringing the capabilities of XR devices closer to those of the human vision; (c) to more efficient architectures for enhanced performance, reduced power consumption and improved heat dissipation; (d) to novel systems that cater to the widest range of users, including those that need prescription correction; (e) to advanced optical- and photo-detector technologies for sensing systems, including sensing data processing; (f) to innovative XR connectivity components supporting the demanding requirements on latency, data rates and resilience; and (g) to novel materials with tailored optical, mechanical and processing properties for a tight integration of subcomponents, enabling overall miniaturization and environmentally sustainable mass-production of future XR devices.
At least one proposal of this type will be funded.
- The development of new solutions aiming to improve the user experience, skills and capacity in social and professional XR setups. This includes tools and services for the creation and management of interactive virtual worlds such as metaverse and 3D models, realistic full body avatars and intelligent agents. The solutions should also seek to enhance the interoperability, performance and accessibility of XR experiences. The proposals should include prototypes validated in realistic scenarios, proving how innovative the developed solutions are, how they exploit synergies between disciplines and domains, and how far beyond state of the art they go.
At least one proposal of this type will be funded.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.
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Expected results
- Next generation of XR devices and applications, which are human-centred, and provide intuitive and realistic user experiences, by exploiting cross fertilisation between technologies such as 5G/6G, IoT, data, artificial intelligence, edge and cloud computing, and microelectronics but also across domains of use such as (but not limited to education, manufacturing, health, cultural heritage, media and security).
- More realistic, more affordable and gender-neutral devices and applications, developed by European companies, respecting European values of ethics, privacy, security and safety, aiming at technological sovereignty and resilience.
Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), Morocco (المغرب), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom
eligible entities
EU Body, Education and training institution, International organization, Natural Person, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
Mandatory partnership
Yes
Project Partnership
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
- third countries associated to Horizon Europe - see list of particpating countries
Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
- at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.
A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
Specific cases:
- Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.
- Associated partners — Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any conditions regarding associated partners set out in the specific call conditions.
- Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.
- EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
- Joint Research Centre (‘JRC’)— Where provided for in the specific call conditions, applicants may include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC but the JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the JRC may accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding or participate as an associated partner, and would accede to the consortium as a member.
- Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. However, if the action is in practice implemented by the individual members, those members should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible
other eligibility criteria
Activities are expected to start at TRL 2 and achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project.
For the Technology Readiness Level (TRL), the following definitions apply:
- TRL 1 — Basic principles observed
- TRL 2 — Technology concept formulated
- TRL 3 — Experimental proof of concept
- TRL 4 — Technology validated in a lab
- TRL 5 — Technology validated in a relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
- TRL 6 — Technology demonstrated in a relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
- TRL 7 — System prototype demonstration in an operational environment
- TRL 8 — System complete and qualified
- TRL 9 — Actual system proven in an operational environment (competitive manufacturing in the case of key enabling technologies, or in space)
Additional information
Topics
Relevance for EU Macro-Region
EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region
UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)
project duration
36 months
Additional Information
All proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Proposals must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents, e.g. plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the results including communication activities, etc.
The application form will have two parts:
- Part A (to be filled in directly online) contains administrative information about the applicant organisations (future coordinator and beneficiaries and affiliated entities), the summarised budget for the proposal and call-specific questions;
- Part B (to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system) contains the technical description of the project.
Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system).
The limit for a full application (Part B) is 45 pages.
To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded not only in order of ranking but at least also to the highest ranked proposal of each type (Type I Development and integration of advanced XR hardware components, Type II development of new solutions aiming to improve the user experience, skills and capacity in social and professional XR setups), provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Call documents
HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 4, Destination 6HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 4, Destination 6(799kB)
Contact
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