The EU is at a defining moment in history. The consequences of the pandemic and the supply chain crisis that happened afterward made Europe realize that manufacturing sovereignty had to be put up front in its agenda. If you add on top of that the Russian war on Ukraine, the geopolitical cocktail makes certain measures inevitable.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated the need for European Manufacturing Sovereignty recently. Now SHOP4CF (Smart Human Oriented Platform for Connected Factories), an EU-funded project within the eighth framework program Horizon 2020, announces the launch of its latest open call to accelerate the EU into the 4th Industrial Revolution. This final round of funding aims to modernize the manufacturing sector by funding use cases designed to establish new human-centric approaches to rote and repetitive industrial processes.
With the help of ISDI Accelerator, SHOP4CF program will offer funding and mentoring during the eight months of development and implementation of the use-case solutions. The 12 use cases selected will receive an equity-free sum of up to €100K to eradicate monotonous and laborious work through the power of automation while increasing human productivity through smart assistance technology via a set of modular software components (with optional hardware).
SHOP4CF applicants seeking to solve real challenges in a manufacturing environment and improve human safety and well-being at work are encouraged to apply by answering questions like:
- Which are the most relevant workers or worker groups that are affected by the use-case implementation?
- What is the main relevant human-related issue to be solved or improved?
- What kind of human-technology interaction does the use-case introduce?
- How will the use-case improve the competitive position of the organisation?
In the two previous calls, SHOP4CF has already successfully supported 19 use cases. Successful applicants will receive eight months of support and mentorship, technology training, business and funding coaching, and a lump-sum cheque for up to €100,000.
Interested applicants can complete their online application via this link until October 31st.
For more information, please watch this short video about the SHOP4CF project: link.
