IoT start-ups can receive grants up to €150,000
- September 8, 2021
- Steve Rogerson
European IoT start-ups and SMEs can apply for grants of €100,000 to €150,000 through IntellIoT, a pan-European project focusing on developing an IoT framework in agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing.
Building on enabling technologies such as 5G, cyber security, distributed ledgers, augmented and virtual reality, and tactile internet, the framework allows the creation of IoT environments that execute autonomous applications.
With the intention of building an active IoT ecosystem around its framework, IntellIoT is conducting an open call to engage additional European small- and mid-sized companies. Participants will join IntellIoT and receive funding of up to €150,000 each.
Since the project’s start in October 2020, the IntellIoT consortium comprised of 13 European organisations has developed a framework to build IoT environments for autonomous applications endowed with machine-learning capabilities and built-in security and trust that circulates around the human user. By launching this open call, the consortium hopes to broaden its network to companies that are interested in collaborating and extending the IntellIoT framework and its applications in dedicated pilot projects that will run for six months starting in February 2022.
Eligible for the support are organisations incorporated in EU 27 states and countries associated with Horizon 2020 with up to 250 employees and a turnover of less than €50m.
They can apply in one of these four categories: framework extensions, autonomous agriculture vehicles, patient monitoring and human-machine cooperation in manufacturing.
On framework extensions, IoT applications must move from the cloud to the edge to amplify their performance level, create a more stable operation, and enable faster response. To facilitate this transformation, IntellIoT provides the means to build localised IoT environments that incorporate heterogeneous devices such as edge computers and resource-constrained devices that can collaboratively execute highly automated IoT applications.
To extend the IntellIoT framework further, participants could integrate digital-twin tooling, products for edge and 5G infrastructure, blockchain-based marketplaces, autonomy-supporting technologies, devices or tools supporting human-machine interaction, data analytics platforms, or sensing technology.
According to the International Labor Organization, an estimated 170,000 agricultural workers are killed each year. This includes, as one of the most frequent factors, deadly accidents involving farming vehicles and cutting and piercing tools. The IntellIoT framework implements the so-called human-in-the-loop in an agriculture use case where the farming vehicle is equipped with cameras and sensors and can semi-autonomously perform tasks such as ploughing or spraying.
Human intervention is only requested in uncertain situations, such as where animals are on the path, unknown barriers or unclear sensor data. Then, a human operator takes remote control of the vehicle using VR technologies that display a 360˚ live stream. In this case, participants could for instance integrate drone technology or other smart farming products that improve the framework and the agriculture applications.
Cardiovascular diseases are the number-one cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. IoT can help prevent a significant number of deaths by facilitating guided recovery and rehabilitation at home. The framework enables AI-driven IoT applications to provide support for health monitoring and interventions while carefully preserving the security and privacy of patients’ data. This way, patients can re-immerse into their normal environment safely and are managed during their recovery mostly remotely.
These products are therefore increasing patients’ comfort levels and reducing risks related to frequent hospital visits. IntellIoT is looking for participants with medical AI devices that support open and secure sharing of the data, AI models, data and analytics applications, and wearable technologies.
For manufacturing, IntellIoT empowers flexible and customised manufacturing cells based on collaborative IoT and edge devices that enable distributed AI. An intelligent IoT environment can optimise paths of data gathered from customers. With this acquired product data, it can then select machines for production steps. Smart contracts based on distributed ledger technology are concluded between customers, plant operators, machines, robots and services. Goods are transported by robots and controlled through in-built AI.
The IntellIoT infrastructure aims to enable tactile, reliable and secure remote operation using AR and VR technologies. Participants could propose to integrate novel AGV technologies, localisation and navigation for manufacturing plants, process industry machinery, additive manufacturing machinery, or new sensor technologies.
Start-ups and SMEs can submit their applications until 1 November 2021.