Tech start-ups and SMEs share €90m of EU funds to disrupt the European markets
European Commission
MEMO
Brussels, 18 September 2014
Tech start-ups and SMEs share €90m of EU funds to disrupt the European markets
#DisruptiveInnovation @ICTinnovEU @H2020SME
The European Commission is committing €90 million to Open and Disruptive Innovation over the next 12 months.
A new tool to help doctors communicate with non-responsive patients; a cloud-based irrigation controller to improve water efficiency on farms by up to 30%; an "electronic nose" to better determine how fresh your food is - these are a few of the 30 tech SMEs and start-ups to receive EU funding. Find out who the tech winners are and what their idea is about in the Annex.
SMEs from Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and the UK were selected to receive €50 thousand each (€1.5million overall EU funding) over 6 months at most, to render their business idea technically and commercially viable.
European Commission Vice-President @NeelieKroesEU said: "I always believed SMEs generate the kind of innovative ideas that bring growth and jobs, the ideas Europe needs today. This new instrument was created to precisely unleash this potential, to allow individual SMEs access funding that can allow them make their brilliant idea a reality. I want to congratulate the first set of winners and invite more of Europe's brilliant innovators to come ahead. The future belongs to you!"
Most of the 30 SMEs selected are 2 to 5 years old. Chosen from 886 proposals, they are innovative businesses and new high tech spin-offs from R&D bodies with a strong commercial dimension.
On September 24, on October 9 and on December 17 more winning SMEs will be announced; on these three occasions, funding of up to €43m will be offered to support SMEs from concept creation till commercialisation.
More about Open and Disruptive Innovation (ODI)
ODI is an ICT-dedicated funding scheme under Horizon 2020 that aims to transform disruptive ideas into concrete, innovative solutions ( products, services, models) and create new markets with a European and global impact . Find out more on the ODI scheme here .
The SME instrument is a novel approach to supporting SMEs' innovation activities, covering the whole innovation cycle. It is conceived to offer access to EU funds to more SMEs, to provide support to a wider range of innovation activities and to help increase the economic impact of project results by its company-focused and market-driven approach.
Applications to the SMEs instrument are open all year long. These applications are evaluated at regular intervals called "cut-off days". Find upcoming cut-off dates here .
Find out more on SME Instrument structure and support offered here .
Useful links
Open Disruptive Innovation (ODI) scheme
A map of SME Instrument winning SMEs
Follow Neelie on Twitter
Contacts
Email: comm-kroes@ec.europa.eu Tel: +32.229.57361 Twitter: @NeelieKroesEU
ANNEX
The awarded SMEs behind the winning disruptive ideas are:
SME name
Project name
Country
Business idea
GEOAPPS
Spain
GEOAPPS will reduce the time (from 1-2 days to 1 hour) and the cost (from 720€ to 75€) needed for geotechnical engineers to take measures in field work, to process them and report to the client.
0patch -Toor-IG-ICT37-2014
France
0patch is an innovative global platform for transforming security knowledge into concrete and immediate solution. It changes the game by channeling the knowledge of security researchers (who so far could only write or speak about vulnerabilities) into directly solving the problem: creating fixes for bugs, and getting paid for that by end users.
Smartick Games
Spain
This project is about perfecting Smartick, an online math training method, so millions of kids can see their math and learning skills improved
TORUS PROJECT
Spain
The project will support commercialisation of disruptive high-speed communication protocols. TORUS has 3 products in the market (Java Fast Sockets, Universal Fast Sockets and FastMPJ) which are up to 40 times faster than TCP/IP. These products reduce significantly the time-to-results of critical software, providing significant competitive advantages in multiple sectors, particularly for financial services, real time Big Data analytics (with multiple applications, such as real time online advertising), biotech (supporting DNA processing in hours, instead of weeks), and defense/space (FastMPJ has reduced up to 94% the time to distribute satellite images of ESA’s Gaia Mission).
OILMOD
Ireland
The concept is based on optical injection locking (OIL) and allows directly modulated lasers to be used to encode data. Coherent 100G transmission will migrate to shorter reach and wider usage in metropolitan networks (60-800km range) and in enterprise and access at shorter distances.
Pastguide
Poland
Pastguide is an app that will read tourists' user location and will run a 3D scene with events and people who lived in the location in the past. Scenes will match what user sees behind the tablet at this location. Gamified tasks will provide additional learning value.
usenns
Spain
BitBrain has developed a neurotechnology solution able to measure emotions fully adapted to the market research sector This solution has 3 main innovations: (i) two new measurement devices adapted to the market research sector; (ii) encapsulation and integration within the technology of all neuroscience knowledge on design-execution of experiments and on elaborated data analysis, in a completely transparent manner for the user; and (iii) presentation of results in a comprehensible language for the market researcher and the client..
NIR-PERFECT
UK
A new form of Non-destructive Techniques (NDT), based on Near Infrared (NIR) inline inspection and detection of defects within products in production lines. This has been validated for non-metallic engineering materials and is capable of providing a rapid, more informative and cost-effective NDT solution for composite manufacturers and end users.
SignSigma
Spain
The SignSigma technology allows verifying a person's identity from the dynamic parameters of their biometric signature with an extremely very low error ratio, using a common tablet or smartphone.
iBoard
UK
Alterix offers a new generation of interactive whiteboards that will support multi-touch finger input (current touch sensing solutions, while adding thousands of dollars to the cost of a large display, are striving to meet the technical specification for multi-touch interfaces).
FACE Recording & Measurement Systems
iMoHEALTH
UK
IMoHEALTH project will develop a cloud-based analytics platform for population health data; this will allow users to explore and analyse population health data through an interactive and easy to use interface. The project will build, for the first time, an affordable, user-friendly platform that brings together population health data from multiple sources and enables it to be easily presented and ‘mined’ for a wide range of purposes.
MIGOSA
Finland
Pixpolar has invented, developed and patented a third fundamentally new image sensor pixel readout configuration called the Modified Internal Gate (MIG) that provides superior low light performance when compared to the two other older technologies. This will allow, for example, image sensors in cameras to read a pixel specific signal even in non-optimal low light conditions.
MD-PACS
Spain
The project will try to provide a new product and business concept within the growing market for Medical Imaging Information Systems (which includes PACS and HISE). The product, MD-PACS is a cost-effective and fully reliable PACS with embedded HISE for radiology, laboratory and cardiovascular specialties. The market is dominated by large players which impose costly contracts; the project will open and lead this market by reducing PACS and HISE costs for healthcare organisations by 65%.
GALNIMBUS
Israel
GALNIMBUS will improve irrigation water use efficiency up to 30% by developing a cloud-based irrigation controller able to perfectly match irrigation and fertigation doses to crop needs.
TRACKANT
Austria
The project aims at providing the missing technological base for Beyond-line-of-sight navigation needed to cross through areas with obstacles like buildings in cities or diverse topographical factors. This will pave the way to deploy Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for public safety applications (disaster, rescue, etc.) or precision agriculture (maturity measurement, crop control, disease detection, fertilizer deployment), thus unfolding both huge commercial and societal impact.
REVIVOS
Spain
REVIVOS will commercialize a technology solution for synthesizing new songs with the voice of famous artists. The innovation of this project is the potential commercialization of Virtual Singers modeled from original artist recordings. The synthetic voice shall preserve not only their timbre but also the expression and singing style that make them unique. This project has a clear global dimension, focusing on the Western markets because they share a common popular music culture. Potential applications include among others the production of posthumous live shows, the release of new compositions, or the rejuvenation of the voice of a living or retired artist.
Ownerchip
UK
OWNER-CHIP will authenticate manufactured products with a unique, embedded verification technology. This will protect the brand owners/IP licensors from counterfeiting and will enable added functionality and enriched content via mobile phone and gaming platforms (digital-physical extension).
QFast2
Spain
QFast2 will perform a feasibility study for the market introduction of the first Rapid Multi-Target Pathogen Detection Kit. This is a revolutionary product that will enable the fast (<24h), cost-effective and simultaneous detection of three different pathogens (Salmonella, Listeria Monocytogenes and Staphylococcus) directly on-site for food&feed safety industry by non-specialised personnel, with a platform that allows the user to implement the instrument within its own information technology protocol, with full traceability of the sample through the overall process.
SEDEUF
Ireland
Sedicii aims at commercialising, promoting and supporting innovative methods of authenticating users online. The ability to authenticate a user without the need to store or expose the personal information of the user will provide significant benefits to holders of such data.
Photonic Sensors and Algorithms
3D-LEAP
Spain
This project will develop miniaturized 3D cameras for mobile phones, tablets and laptop computers; more specifically, embedded camera modules providing 2D and 3D-Images, integrating image-sensing electronics and light-field optics in a single lens Wafer Level Camera (WLC).
DIGISTONE P1
Denmark
DIGISTONE aims at addressing a major market opportunity in the supply of large, concrete multimedia displays primarily for outdoor digital signage and commercial applications. In particular, it will develop an innovative, intelligent building material in the format of a concrete media façade/display or information sculpture - a Digital Concrete Screen System (DIGISTONE) and will have a functional prototype ready by the end of 2014 (TRL7).
COMAWARE
Austria
The project's overall objective is to provide both new brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies and an innovative business model focused on user-centered assessment and communication for persons with disorders of consciousness (DOCs). Across different studies, up to 43% of patients who had been designated as nonresponsive (including in a vegetative state (VS) or minimally conscious state (MCS) were in fact able to communicate through new BCI systems developed for such patients.
Global PERES
Lithuania
The project will deliver an “electronic nose”: a market-ready, unique and innovative at a world level electronic device and mobile application to determine the quality and freshness of meat, poultry, fish and other groceries.
ThinkEHR Platform
Slovenia
Currently, structured health data stored in proprietary systems (owned by the vendor and not by the health organization) are not shared, making care coordination, real-time analytics and knowledge discovery very difficult. The platform is vendor-neutral, big-data, high-performance platform designed to store,manage,query, retrieve and exchange structured electronic health record data based on open standards.
EB2BSN
France
The ALG platform is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) web application through which businesses can share their administrative documents and can benefit from alerts and always up-to-date documents. Deploying this solution at a European scale will, among others, help eliminate redundant processes and costs related to the diffusion and the collect of administrative documents.
EeHPC
France
The project will develop a flexible High Performance Computing grid able to reuse the heat emitted by calculation units in huge data centres for heating houses and other premises.
PICOMB
Ireland
The project will use Optical Frequency Combs that can displace single mode lasers used in long haul optical transport equipment for two decades. This will allow the use of new modulation techniques, to increase the data carrying capacity and spectral efficiency of optical telecommunications networks, currently under huge strain by the rise of mobile video, video-on-demand and other bandwidth-intensive services.
Woodrow Scientific Limited
LIRON-2020
UK
The project will test the market potential of a disruptive technology that has achieved the world's first laser-laundered shirts. This could help reduce energy and water consumption bills, improve time efficiency of laundering processes and make life easier.
PILOTS
France
Virtual platforms have been mainly used to support anticipation of embedded software (eSW) development of very complex System on Chip (SoC) or for Software-based functional validation of complex IP. The explosion of the number of connected things change the complexity paradigm: the challenge is now to manage hundreds of distributed platforms (SoCs or boards) that include processors, sensors, MEMs and communication devices. Using physical board to prototype each of these platforms to verify the overall system behaviour is too expensive and not scalable for system providers. PILoTS would save time and cost, during design, verification and certification, and vastly improve competitiveness.
Done Iletisim Bilgi Sistemleri
PRIME
Turkey
This is a cloud service aiming to create the next leap in push messaging by gathering sensory information from mobile devices, analysing big data and providing real-time insight using machine learning, data mining and home-grown pattern-matching algorithms.