Future Interactive Technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are set to change the way people communicate, interact and share information on the internet and beyond.
The next generation internet should be at the heart of the Industry 4.0 revolution and the digitisation of industry as drivers for the competitiveness of the European economy. It should create new business opportunities for a wide range of sectors, from manufacturing and robotics to healthcare, education, entertainment and media. It should be a source of creativity, directly supporting cultural and creative industries operating in a European hub that is trusted globally.
Last week, the EC organised a webinar on Interactive Technologies for H2020 ICT-25-2018-2020 as part of the Work Programme covering the same years. The webinar explained the main priorities for the ICT-25 call, which has a submission deadline in November 2018.
The call aims to address the challenge of forging a competitive and sustainable ecosystem of European technology providers in interactive technologies, by supporting a pan-European coordination effort strengthening collaboration and increasing European innovation capaicty through the development of new authoring tools and access to a broader community.
Two types of actions will receive funding provided they successfully meet the call criteria.
1. Interactive Community Building - Coordination and Support Action:
A common research agenda and technology transfer strategy.
A platform gathering and sharing knowledge, algorithms and tools for new interactive technologies.
Support for research and development teams in integrating their tools into the platform.
Unique access point for innovators, SMEs and industrial companies as potential adopters of European interactive technologies when developing their products and services.
2. Future Interaction - Research and Innovation Action:
R&I actions should strengthen European research and industrial capacities in one of two ways:
Better exploit opportunities offered by multi-user interactions, researching and developing technologies that augment human interaction in groups within both professional and private contexts.
Develop future interactive systems that offer higher quality experiences. For instance, through systems that are mobile, support additional senses, have higher accuracy or incorporate bio or environmental sensors.
