Autonomous triage and evacuation

The European Defence Fund (EDF) has issued a grant opportunity titled "Autonomous triage and evacuation EDF-2025-RA-MCBRN-ATE." This call focuses on developing and validating innovative Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) to enhance medical support during large-scale combat operations, particularly in situations involving mass casualties and CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) threats.

Eligible applicants must form consortia comprised of at least three independent entities from different EU Member States or Norway. This includes a range of organizations such as research institutions, SMEs, and large companies in the defense sector.

The funding model is based on actual cost grants, supporting up to 100% of eligible expenses, with a total budget allocated to this specific topic of €10 million. The application process is a single-stage open call, with submissions due by October 15, 2025. Projects must align with the goal of improving casualty care and evacuation efficiency amid overwhelming medical resource demands on the battlefield.

Proposals should target two primary areas: enhancing the capabilities of RAS for casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) in challenging conditions, and enabling autonomous triage using advanced algorithms. Key functionalities desired include robust patient monitoring, swift and safe casualty transportation, and ensuring physical safety amidst threats. The proposal should also include studying feasibility aspects, designs for autonomous functions, and proof-of-concept demonstrations.

Mandatory tasks include examining AI-based systems for autonomous triage, assessing systems in contested environments, and designing monitoring capabilities that integrate with CASEVAC platforms. The call emphasizes ethical considerations in the deployment of AI technologies and the need for platforms to adapt dynamically to various challenges on the battlefield.

Overall, this grant supports collaborative research aimed at next-generation solutions for battlefield medical logistics, improving the speed and effectiveness of medical response operations during high-intensity conflicts.

This is a call for proposals under the European Defence Fund (EDF) for research actions related to autonomous triage and evacuation in military scenarios. The call, titled "Autonomous triage and evacuation EDF-2025-RA-MCBRN-ATE," aims to develop and validate innovative Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) to address the challenges of battlefield triage and evacuation, particularly in mass casualty situations, including those involving Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) contamination and high-intensity fighting areas. The call is a single-stage submission process, with the deadline for submissions on October 16, 2025. The total budget allocated to this topic is 10,000,000 EUR.

The general objective is to improve casualty care and evacuation in Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) where medical resources are overwhelmed. The specific objective is to enhance RAS CASEVAC evacuation capacity using unmanned systems to expedite triage, diagnosis, and initial treatment, even in CBRN-contaminated and high-intensity combat zones. The call targets two key technologies: RAS within the CASEVAC system, including autonomous battlefield triage, and autonomous CASEVAC systems that improve the overall logistics chain to and from the battlefield. The desired functionalities include safe casualty transportation within the golden hour, physical protection, and patient monitoring.

Proposals must address the development of a multi-role RAS CASEVAC system, emphasizing easy reconfiguration and compatibility between medical and non-medical payloads through an Interoperable Modular and Scalable Architecture (IMOSA). This includes plug-and-play capabilities for wearable monitoring and patient care sensors, combined with remote patient assistance. Proposals must also address RAS within the CASEVAC system, focusing on trusted autonomy for networked and autonomous CASEVAC missions, including swarm-based manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) in contested environments. The call encourages exploration of standardized interfaces for integrating various patient monitoring and CBRN sensors, facilitating dual-use configurations for defense and civil applications.

Eligible activities include studies (mandatory), such as feasibility studies, and design activities (mandatory), including partial tests for risk reduction. System prototyping, testing, qualification, certification, and development of technologies increasing efficiency across the life cycle of defence products and technologies are not eligible.

Mandatory tasks for proposals include:
* Studying the feasibility of AI-based autonomous triage following the START algorithm.
* Studying RAS CASEVAC in harsh conditions and contested environments with denied GNSS and communication links.
* Studying means for swift and safe casualty extraction and hand-over between different platforms and operators.
* Defining automatic or autonomous functions to optimize platform behavior based on risk assessment and sensor data, considering patient condition, time to destination, resource management, and threat level.
* Defining the system and system of systems (swarming) architecture, gathering requirements, evaluating technologies, specifying swarming behaviors, ensuring interoperability, and assessing risks.
* Designing proof-of-concept technology demonstrations and evaluations of developed functions for health status indicators in representative military scenarios.
* Designing autonomous triage reflecting the START algorithm.
* Designing monitoring during RAS CASEVAC transport, multi-modal casualty transport with physical safety measures, and adaptive behavior.
* Designing RAS CASEVAC capabilities.
* Showcasing applicability in military structures and decision-making via EU-hosted wargaming simulations.
* Developing a proof-of-concept mission planning tool integrating inputs from all systems and enabling real-time updates.

Proposals should also cover:
* Studying the feasibility of autonomous or robotic-assisted systems for initial casualty stabilization.
* Studying the integration of commercial wearables into CASEVAC platforms for patient health monitoring.
* Designing RAS medication during transport based on casualty monitoring data.
* Examining the potential for more autonomous battlefield triage using innovative AI-based algorithms.

The proposed product and technologies should meet functional requirements such as:
* Plug-and-play capabilities.
* Miniaturized sensors.
* Stand-off or wearable biosensors for triage.
* Robust estimation of health status indicators in battlefield conditions.
* RAS battlefield triage using AI.
* RAS allocation of evacuation priority.
* Autonomous casualty detection and localization.
* Continuous casualty monitoring during transport.
* DIM of CBRN injuries and antidot-therapy application.
* Protection from weather and enemy fire.
* Onboard data processing.
* Real-time and low-latency communication links.
* Integration of data from multiple sources.
* Object detection, classification, and tracking.
* Coordinated triage actions between platforms.
* Adherence to relevant standards for interoperability.

The call emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations, explainability of AI-driven assessments, and alternative approaches for casualty status assessment due to limited training data for AI systems. It also highlights the need for platforms to adapt to various environmental conditions, threat levels, and patient conditions, while ensuring physical protection and survivability.

The call aims to increase knowledge, accelerate the development of life-saving technologies, demonstrate the potential of autonomous vehicles for casualty transportation and triage, create an R&D roadmap for RAS CASEVAC platforms, improve accuracy and speed in casualty evaluation, reduce risk exposure for medical personnel, and advance human-machine teaming and dismounted soldier system development.

In essence, this EDF call seeks to fund research and design activities that will lead to the development of advanced robotic and autonomous systems for military casualty evacuation, focusing on autonomous triage, patient monitoring, and CBRN threat detection, with the ultimate goal of saving lives in complex and dangerous combat scenarios.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated but can be inferred to include legal entities (public or private bodies) based in eligible countries. This likely encompasses a range of organizations such as research institutions, universities, SMEs, and large enterprises involved in defense-related activities.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically an EDF Research Action (EDF-RA) implemented via actual cost grants, with an EDF Action Grant Budget-Based [EDF-AG] model grant agreement.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to require a consortium, as it mentions "consortium agreement" and "swarming" architectures, suggesting multiple entities collaborating.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is tied to the EDF eligible countries, which are not explicitly listed in the provided text but are referenced in section 6 of the call document. It is likely to include EU Member States and associated countries.

Target Sector: The target sector is defense, specifically focusing on medical support, robotic and autonomous systems (RAS), Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) defense, artificial intelligence, sensor technology, unmanned systems, and medical logistics.

Mentioned Countries: The text mentions EU Member States and Norway as countries that have nominated National Focal Points. It also mentions Ukraine as a country whose entities cannot be beneficiaries, affiliated entities, or subcontractors in any EDF project, but could be considered as an associated partner.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on research and development, design, and proof-of-concept demonstrations. System prototyping, testing, qualification, and certification are explicitly excluded, indicating a focus on earlier-stage activities.

Funding Amount: The funding amount varies by topic, ranging from EUR 10,000,000 to EUR 39,000,000. For the specific topic EDF-2025-RA-MCBRN-ATE, the budget is EUR 10,000,000.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to fund their research and development activities.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly stated, but the presence of a co-financing template suggests that co-funding may be encouraged or required.

Summary: This European Defence Fund (EDF) call focuses on research actions related to autonomous triage and evacuation systems for military applications, particularly in Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) and CBRN environments. The goal is to develop and validate innovative Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) that can improve casualty care and evacuation, reduce risks for medical personnel, and enhance the overall efficiency of the medical logistics chain. The call encourages proposals that address the integration of sensors, AI-based algorithms, and unmanned platforms to enable autonomous battlefield triage and evacuation. It also emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations, interoperability, and the potential for dual-use applications. The funding is provided through grants, and projects should involve studies, design activities, and proof-of-concept demonstrations. The call is open to consortia of legal entities based in eligible countries, and the submission deadline is October 16, 2025.