| Jun 14, 2012 |
Billion-euro research race enters closing stage |
| (Nanowerk News) EU scientists and member states will decide over the next six months which future high-tech industries – from a choice including robot servants and nano clothing – should receive a €1 billion European funding boost. |
| Six so-called 'future and emerging technologies' (FETs) - all based in the ICT sector - are vying for a prize of up to €100 million each year over a decade, with at least one pilot guaranteed to claim the bounty. |
| The selection will be closely watched since any eventual winners will carry the endorsement that they are strong hopes for Europe's industrial future. |
| The six programmes have just completed a year-long pilot period and are now producing lengthy proposals in their attempt to win the coveted status of >FET flagship initiatives. The competition is intense since each consortium is backed by several university research departments and the private sector. |
| Robots and nano clothes |
| They include attempts to shrink microchips to nanoscale using graphene materials, to create a simulation of the human brain and the development of advanced mapping of biological data for health services. |
| Other programmes envisage the large-scale manufacture in Europe of domestic 'slave' robots designed to imitate the basic thinking patterns of animals, and nanomaterials designed to record minute fluctuations in body behaviour. |
| Another programme is seeking to create a super-computer that will allow social scientists to apply mathematical equations to the data surfeit arising from the ICT revolution and globalisation. |
| One official close to the decision-making process told EurActiv that no one programme has so far emerged as an early favourite. "They are all holding their firepower for their proposals," he said. |
| Member states involved in the final choices |
| The pilots must submit to a complicated multistage application process over the next six months, with their bids first being considered by an independent scientific advisory group to the European Commission. |
| The decision will ultimately rest with delegates from the member states who must also green light the winning programmes. |
| The €100 million figure is calculated to account for a Commission contribution in association with EU countries, incorporating contributions from institutions, national and regional funding agencies and industry. |
| Winning ideas are likely to be those combining broad support from the private sector, a geographic scope covering several member states, and with ideas for growth-stimulating innovation. |
| Source: EurActiv |
