Improved transport infrastructure performance – Innovative digital tools and solutions to monitor and improve the management and operation of transport infrastructure
Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
Innovative digital tools and solutions will allow to upgrade transport infrastructure ensuring an improved performance and safety, together with a reduction of emissions and better inclusiveness. Increasing the performance of multi-modal transport infrastructure can be achieved through improving the efficiency of the assets and by the cross-modal data management. Digital solutions are key to reduce drastically disruptions in traffic flows, increase transport efficiency and lower its dependency on fossil fuels.
Transport infrastructure needs to be capable of harvesting the benefits from digitalisation at management and operations levels, as well as in relation with the user. Digitalisation can support the achievement of sustainability targets and provide a better service to infrastructure end users, including enhanced public transport services. Digital technologies, such as big data, the Internet of Things, Digital Twins, together with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques provide a great potential for developing mobility solutions.
The integration between transport infrastructure and digital technologies will help achieve personalised seamless passenger and freight journeys transport across different transport modes. This integration will consider safety and security starting from the design phase, while simultaneously automating and accelerating the decision process at every level from maintenance to traffic management.
Special attention should be given to the accessibility of new digital tools from persons with disabilities and older persons, in order to ensure that this segment of the population is also able to participate fully and benefit from digital progress. As set by the Green Deal, priorities should be given for projects allowing modal shift from road to more sustainable mode such rail and inland waterways.
Detailed Call Description
Proposals will have to address all of the following points:
- Improve performance of transport infrastructure and increase multimodality with the use of, for example: IoT, edge computing and decentralised artificial intelligence, or other digital tools in view of its potential to facilitate real-time decision-making, improve safety and to save bandwidth and energy. Develop solutions for self-monitoring, self-reporting, non-intrusive/non-destructive inspection and testing methods, including advanced predictive modelling and structural safety assessment.
- Demonstrate ability to process internal and external raw data, such as sensor data, into smart data and related cloud architecture that can be deployed to optimize infrastructure management processes
- Building on the common European mobility data space and the Digital Transport and Logistics Forum (DTLF), facilitate the seamless use and provision of data and information to the end user across the transport infrastructure network and logistic chain, with a view to progress advancing towards smart mobility concepts for passengers and freight.
- Enhance prediction of demand from individual behaviours, enabling appropriate modal capacity and demand management.
- Propose digital solutions contributing to a more inclusive, comfortable, accessible and flexible infrastructures and multi-modal services.
- Include at least three pilot demonstrations of the proposed solutions in operational environment (minimum at TRL7) on land and inland waterways transport infrastructure.
- Evaluate the qualitative and quantitative impact of the proposed measures with a clear baseline for each pilot demonstration.
For rail infrastructure the solutions will need to be harmonised with the EU-RailRAIL Programme projects implementing the Flagship Area 1, 3 and 5[1]. Proposals should consider results from previous calls on infrastructure maintenance, digitalisation, and on edge-IoT, and focus on validation of innovative solutions (i.e. robotics, IoT, edge computing and AI).
If the activities proposed involve the use and/or development of AI-based systems and/or techniques, the technical and social robustness of the proposed systems is to be described in the proposal.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
70%
Expected EU contribution per project: €5.00 million
Thematic Categories
- Environment and Climate Change
- Information Technology
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Transport
Eligibility for Participation
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
Eligibility For Participation Notes
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
The following exceptions apply: subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia,
P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Email: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/
Contact Persons:
Mr Christakis Theocharous
Scientific Officer A’
Telephone: +357 22 205 029
Email: ctheocharous@research.org.cy
Mr George Christou
Scientific Officer
Telephone: +357 22 205 030
Email: gchristou@research.org.cy