ENGINEERINGNET.EU -- September 18th 2012 marked a milestone for the future of European Robotics. Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with representatives of the European robotics industry and research, to advance the preparations for a Public-Private Partnership in Robotics.
The "Public-Private Partnership in Robotics" represents a major change in the organisation of the European robotics community.
It aims at 'boosting research, development and innovation in robotics in Europe by jointly developing and implementing a strategic research roadmap'. The private side of the Robotics PPP is represented by euRobotics aisbl, a non-profit organisation with members of the robotics industry.
Dr. Herman Bruyninckx, Professor at University of Leuven and Vice-President for research at euRobotics aisbl, signing on behalf of the robotics research community, said: “Compared with other PPPs the robotics PPP has a unique cooperation between academia and industry. This will be a major advantage in the continuing process of bridging the gap and helping to strengthen the innovation within robotics by turning research into products and services more efficiently.”
FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME
The upcoming EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation called Horizon 2020 will be running from 2014 to 2020 and the main source of funding for the PPP in Robotics. The main goals of Horizon 2020 are reflected in the objectives of the PPP in Robotics. Apart from strengthening the competitiveness of European Robotics, the PPP also targets at making the research & innovation cycle more efficient, shortening time to market of research and addressing major societal challenges.
