EU Call: IoT Pilots

Specific challenge: In order to make use of the rich potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) in real-world scenarios, technologies and tools developed so far need to be demonstrated in controlled environments with the ultimate goal of validation. Given the specific nature of this Call, widely replicable pilots are targeted in view of solving specific societal challenges, in the context of EU-Brazil cooperation.

Given the considerable amount of work carried out on M2M/IoT and Cyber Physical Systems architectures (e.g. IoT-A), platforms (e.g. FIWARE, CRYSTAL, SOFIA) and standards (e.g. oneM2M) over the last few years, pilots are encouraged to exploit this previous work where applicable. The goal is to further demonstrate the generic applicability of these architectures, platforms and standards and to identify where standards are missing or should evolve, as well as relevant pre-normative activities.

Pilots aim at validating IoT approaches to specific socio-economic challenges in real-life settings. Pilots' objectives include user acceptability, technology assessment and optimisation, business model validation, approaches to sustainability and replicability. They should be implemented through close cooperation between users and suppliers with the active involvement of relevant stakeholders on the demand side.

Scope: IoT finds applicability in a broad range of industry, business and public services scenarios. Specific focus will be on implementing pilots incorporating the whole value-chain, and involving all relevant stakeholders, in particular end-users. Where relevant, institutional involvement may be appropriate.

The joint call would support three pilots each addressing a distinct area among the following areas of interest for EU-Brazil collaboration:

• Environmental monitoring: Environmental and carbon footprint –as well as energy and water consumption- can be drastically reduced by an optimised management both along and across value-chains.Sensors can be used to measure and monitor a series of distinct environmental variables. The data collected across different areas can in turn be used for data analytics and decision-making. A pilot combining a system approach to integrate a large number of sensors across a large set of variables will test the acceptability and scalability of the selected IoT platform and test how to optimise results and reduce costs, as well as validating standards and interoperability.
• Utilities: smart water management: Smart water management can reduce leakages, optimise watering and irrigation and improve water consumption both in cities and for agricultural purposes.A pilot focusing on integrated solutions enabling real-time interconnection of heterogeneous sensors and actuators, geo-localisation and data fusion including data from meteorological forecast will test the acceptability and scalability of the selected IoT platform. High reliability and low maintenance costs are key parameters as well as the possibility to replicate the pilot in other locations.
• Utilities: energy management at home and in buildings: A group of IoT use cases in the area of the residential smart grid that involve the use of a home energy management system (HEMS) that would exploit automation and self-learning capabilities to monitor and steer local energy consumption (electricity and carbon fuels) and generation. This includes the better steering of HVAC units according to thermostats, weather forecasts, dynamic electricity pricing, and availability of (locally) generated renewable energy.
• Smart assisted living and wellbeing: A group of IoT use cases which use intelligent devices (e.g. wearables, sensors, smartphones, and intelligent home appliances) to autonomously generate reports on an individual's physical activity, overall vital signs and well-being. It allows the use and sharing of generated data for personal use or report to specific services (e.g. doctors, nurses, dieticians and sport coaches) through connected devices. It also enables "smart assisted living": the remote follow-up of vulnerable people (children, elderly, hospital patients, etc.) and the automated notification of emergency services, family, etc. when necessary.
• Smart manufacturing: customisation: A group of IoT use cases that enable the production of customised outputs. Such production systems combine the low unit costs of mass production processes with the flexibility of individual customisation. This includes:
  • Continuous Additive Manufacturing;
  • Flexible automation for robot manufacturing;
  • Robot systems for additive manufacturing;
  • Production of one-of-a-kind customer designs; and dynamic production systems and shop floors - mobile robot for efficient and flexible use in cleanrooms.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU up to EUR 1.5 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately by three distinct projects. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts. Three projects in three different areas are expected.

Additional information can be found here.