FORTIS Open Call #1: Boosting Development of the FORTIS Solution

The FORTIS Open Call #1 is a grant opportunity under the Horizon Europe program aimed at advancing Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) technologies to mitigate labor shortages across critical sectors in the EU. The program targets multidisciplinary consortia consisting of 2 to 3 entities, including universities, research and technology organizations (RTOs), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), mid-caps, and start-ups. The overall goal is to support the development, integration, and validation of technology solutions within the FORTIS project.

Eligible applicants can receive grant funding of up to €250,000 per project, with a maximum of €200,000 allocated per partner. The total funding available for the call is €2 million, expected to finance eight distinct projects. Funding covers 100% of costs for non-profit organizations and 70% for profit-oriented entities. Importantly, non-industry partners are limited to a maximum of 30% of the total project budget.

The application process is structured as a single-stage open call, following a deadline of June 4, 2025, at 12:00 Brussels time. The anticipated duration for project participation will be approximately 10 months, divided into three funding sprints.

There are no specific country restrictions mentioned, but the geographical eligibility is likely to encompass all EU member states and associated countries, given the nature of the funding source. The projects should contribute to advancements in various sectors, including healthcare, construction, and manufacturing, with a focus on practical applications of HRI technologies.

The successful proposals must address specific topics such as activity recognition (via wearable and non-wearable sensors), long-term memory in robots, enhancing robotic communication intelligibility, and multimodal perception. Interested applicants must apply through the F6S platform, and further information and a discussion forum are available online for potential participants.

In summary, the FORTIS Open Call #1 represents a significant funding opportunity for innovators in the field of HRI, encouraging the creation of collaborative solutions aimed at improving technology uptake across industries facing labor challenges.

The FORTIS Open Call #1 aims to boost the development of the FORTIS solution by attracting and engaging systems actors and innovators, including universities, researchers, mid-caps, SMEs, and start-ups. The goal is to develop services that can benefit and speed up the uptake of technology, contributing to the development, integration, and validation of solutions within the FORTIS project.

The opening date for submissions is April 1, 2025, and the deadline for submission is June 4, 2025, at 12:00 Brussels time. The call follows a single-stage submission model. The expected duration of participation is 10 months, with funding from September 2025 to June 2026. The participation will be structured in 3 sprints of 3, 4, and 3 months respectively, with payments planned as 30%, 40%, and 30% across the sprints.

The total funding available is 2,000,000.00 EUR. Eight projects will be funded, with up to 250,000 EUR per project and a maximum of 200,000 EUR per partner. Non-industry partners cannot exceed 30% of the total project budget.

The project acronym is FORTIS, and the full name of the EU-funded project is Multi-Modal and Multi-Aspect Holistic Human-Robot Interaction. The grant agreement number is 101135707. The topic is HORIZON-CL4-2023-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-02 - Industrial leadership in AI, Data and Robotics – advanced human robot interaction (AI Data and Robotics Partnership) (IA).

FORTIS invites multidisciplinary consortia of 2-3 entities, which can be groups of 2-3 companies and Research and Technology Organizations (RTOs), to submit proposals for technology solutions that fulfill the requirements of one of the FORTIS topics.

The Funding Support Through Projects (FSTP) will follow the same funding rate as the beneficiaries, as stated in 13-General Annexes of the HE Work Program 2023-2025, covering up to 100% of the total costs for non-profit organizations and 70% for SMEs and profit organizations.

Applicants are required to apply online and answer all mandatory questions at https://www.f6s.com/fortis-project-opencall-1/apply.

The FORTIS consortium will provide information to the applicants primarily via https://www.f6s.com/fortis-project-opencall-1/about, ensuring that all information is accessible to all potential applicants. No binding information will be provided via any other means, such as telephone or email.

Contact information:
F6S support team (for platform issues during the application): support@f6s.com
Other support: opencall@fortis-project.eu

Applicants must submit their proposals to one of the following FORTIS topics or subtopics:

Topic 1: Activity Recognition
1.1 Human Activity Recognition Using Non-wearable sensors
1.2 Human Activity Recognition Using Wearable Sensors

Topic 2: Long-term memory
2.1 Memory Consolidation and Forgetting Mechanisms
2.2 Lifelong and Continual Learning for Personalized Adaptation

Topic 3: Enhancing Robotic Intelligibility Through Directional Audio and Visual Effects
3.1 Spatialized and Adaptive Audio for Robot Communication
3.2 Visual Cues for Enhanced Intelligibility

Topic 4: Multimodality semantic segmentation/perception

More information about FORTIS can be found at https://fortis-project.eu/.
More information about FORTIS – Open Call #1 can be found at https://fortis-project.eu/open-calls/.
Apply via: https://www.f6s.com/fortis-project-opencall-1/apply
Online Q&A and discussion forum: https://www.f6s.com/fortis-project-opencall-1/discuss

In summary, the FORTIS Open Call #1 is a funding opportunity for consortia of companies and RTOs to develop technology solutions related to human-robot interaction. The call focuses on specific topics such as activity recognition, long-term memory, enhancing robotic intelligibility, and multimodality semantic segmentation/perception. The selected projects will receive funding to develop, integrate, and validate their solutions within the FORTIS project, contributing to advancements in AI, data, and robotics for improved human-robot collaboration. The call aims to engage a wide range of innovators, from universities and researchers to SMEs and mid-caps, to accelerate the uptake of technology in this field.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are multidisciplinary consortia of 2-3 entities, specifically groups of 2-3 companies and Research and Technology Organizations (RTOs), universities/researchers, mid-caps, SMEs and start-ups.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically cascade funding, provided through the Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) mechanism.

Consortium Requirement: A consortium is required, with the stipulation that it must consist of 2-3 entities.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is not explicitly stated, but given the context of an EU-funded project under the Horizon Europe program, it is highly likely that eligibility extends to entities within the EU and associated countries.

Target Sector: The target sector is AI, Data and Robotics, specifically focusing on advanced human-robot interaction. The call also targets systems actors and innovators developing services that can benefit and speed up the uptake of technology.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned. The opportunity is part of the Horizon Europe program, so it is likely targeted at EU member states and associated countries.

Project Stage: The project stage is development, integration, and validation of solutions. The call aims to attract entities that are developing services that can benefit and speed up the uptake of technology, suggesting a stage beyond basic research but before full commercialization.

Funding Amount: Up to €250,000 per project is available, with a maximum of €200,000 per partner. A total of €2,000,000 is available for the entire open call.

Application Type: The application type is an open call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money, as the funding is provided through grants.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rate cannot be determined from the provided information. However, given that 8 projects will be funded out of the total applications received, the success rate is likely to be below 10%, but this is only an estimate.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is not explicitly stated as a requirement. The FSTP will cover up to 100% of the total costs for non-profit organizations and 70% for SMEs and profit organizations, as stated in 13-General Annexes of the HE Work Program 2023-2025.

Summary:

The FORTIS Open Call #1 is a funding opportunity within the Horizon Europe program, specifically targeting the area of AI, Data, and Robotics with a focus on advanced human-robot interaction. It seeks to attract multidisciplinary consortia of 2-3 entities, including companies and RTOs, as well as universities, researchers, mid-caps, SMEs, and start-ups. The call aims to fund projects that develop, integrate, and validate technology solutions related to specific topics in human-robot interaction. These topics include activity recognition (using wearable and non-wearable sensors), long-term memory (memory consolidation and lifelong learning), enhancing robotic intelligibility (through directional audio and visual effects), and multimodality semantic segmentation/perception.

The funding is provided as a grant, with up to €250,000 available per project and a maximum of €200,000 per partner. The funding rate follows the Horizon Europe guidelines, covering up to 100% of total costs for non-profit organizations and 70% for SMEs and profit organizations. The total funding available for this call is €2,000,000, and it is expected to fund 8 projects.

The application process is a single-stage open call with a deadline of June 4, 2025. Applicants are required to apply online through the F6S platform. The expected duration of participation is 10 months, with funding distributed across three sprints. The FORTIS consortium will provide information to applicants primarily through the F6S platform, and no binding information will be provided via other means like telephone or email. This open call represents an opportunity for innovators and system actors to contribute to the advancement of human-robot interaction technologies and to integrate their solutions within the FORTIS project.