Program: European Space Association
Geographical coverage: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (see the call page for updates)
Available contribution: 60 k€ maximun contribution per project with a maxim of 75 % co-funding (i.e. project budget should be 80 k€ max)
Deadlines: December 6th 2019 13:00hr CEST.
The Internet, created to provide resilient and interoperable communication across the globe, has evolved to transport today an immensurable amount of data and this continuing evolution will greatly impact many areas from industry to health care provision, to traffic management and intelligent logistics.
During the last decade, the following trends have emerged as part of what we call “Future Internet”: the Tactile Internet, the Physical Internet, the Internet of people and Internet of Free Speech. Applications using these technologies are growing at a fast pace and spreading through a large variety of sectors and industries. The implications to society and applications for specific industries – including banking and finance, connected driving, utilities, transport, media and creative industry – are limitless.
The Future Internet services requires the use of innovative ways of combining geo-referenced data with satellite derived data as open data, businesses data and volunteered data. Satellite communications and 5G networks underpin these applications providing ubiquitous connectivity and data relay capability. Exploitation of space-based assets data opens therefore new opportunities to develop applications related to the “Future Internet”.
Tactile Internet (TI). The envisioned purpose of the tactile internet is to enable the delivery of real-time control and physical (haptic) experiences remotely, that means to provide a medium for remote physical interaction in real time with exchange of closed-loop information between virtual and/or real objects, i.e. humans, machines, and processes by enabling haptic interaction with visual feedback. At the application level, automation, robotics, telepresence, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) all play a role. In this way, the Tactile Internet should be able to simultaneously accommodate applications, such as manufacturing, e-health, training, education, road traffic, gaming and others.
Physical Internet (PI). It represents an innovation in logistics which is based on the working principles of the digital Internet. An internet-like network for goods means no data is encapsulated in data packets, but goods are encapsulated in PI-containers. Furthermore, PI-containers are routed through the network via PI-hubs, like data packets are routed through the internet by routers. Most candidate PI architectures highlight the necessity of real-time continuous communication and positioning of the PI-containers. At sea or in zones not covered with cellular networks, the use Satellite Communications is a must to accommodate for ubiquitous communication requirements. The same goes for satellite navigation in order to always locate the PI-container along its path. Applications of the PI could be discovered in the logistics sectors that have most to gain from the PI capabilities, as for example the secure transport of medical goods (drugs, blood samples,..) and the delivery of fresh food requiring timely delivery and monitoring of integrity of the goods.
Internet of People (IoP). In the Internet of people, users’ personal mobile devices will assume a special role as the main interface connecting people to the Internet. As they will be the “gateways” through which the users access the internet, they become the proxies of their human users in the cyber world. The users’ personal devices are not anymore passive generators and consumers of data, but they play an active role, either through local decisions, or through collaborative decisions with other devices with which they interact by incorporating models of their human users’ behavior. Stretching this vision further, IoP could embrace even a tighter integration between the Internet and humans, allowing humans themselves to contribute (cognitive) resources to the Internet functions. In IoP, humans can also be “used” as network nodes. Applications of IoP could be discovered in creative industries, personal services and others.
Internet for All People. The benefits of the Internet are not accessible to everyone. In particular, one fundamental human right, the right to speech (Freedom of expression is recognized as a human right under article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) is denied to many world citizens due to a lack of economic means to purchase or contract the communication means or censorship of the information to be transmitted or retrieved by authorities. Satellite Communications, and in particular upcoming satellite constellations, have the strongest potential to deliver the Internet for All People. Not just for the ones who can afford it or the ones authorized by their institutions, but for all. The potential market is large and includes countless NGOs operating abroad, poor communities and individuals facing critical or life-threatening situations.
1. Register by completing the online questionnaire on ESA-STAR Registration (this provides for the minimum ‘light registration’)
2. Download the official tender documentation (Invitation to Tender) and create a ‘Bidder Restricted Area’ via EMITS Reference AO8872 from October 28th 2019.
3. Write your proposal and obtain a Letter of Support from your National Delegation, if needed (see Authorisation of Funding section below).
4. Submit your proposal via ESA-STAR Tendering by December 6th 2019 13:00hr CEST.