Find the most recent information on EU Funding activities in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by visiting our ICT in FP7 website, which covers ICT in the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) 2007 - 2013.
Find the most recent information on Future and Emerging Technologies activities in
the 7th Framework Programme 2007-2013 on our FET Proactive - FET Open Web sites.
FP7: FET Proactive Intiative: Bio-ICT CONVERGENCE
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- FET Call 1 Information day: 24 January 2007 in Brussels - PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE
- Pre-proposal checks: CLOSED (deadline 10th April 2007)
- Electronic Proposal Submission Service (EPSS) available.
- Background documents
- Objective
- Contacts
Background documents
Objective ICT-2007.8.3: Fet proactive 3: Bio-ICT convergence
(Extract from Work programme text)
Target outcome:
New perspectives in ICT that exploit the understanding of information processing in biological systems have demonstrable advantages in terms of functionality, operating conditions, resilience or adaptability or lead to systems that can be naturally combined with biological systems. Projects will integrate some of the following topics:
- Novel computing paradigms, derived from the information representation and processing capabilities of biological systems (networks of neurons or other cells), or from the computational interpretation of biological processes (molecular signalling, metabolism) and with measurable advantages over current approaches to difficult problems in information processing.
- Biomimetic artefacts: ad hoc hardware implementations of bio-inspired systems in areas where standard devices do not provide the required performance. This may use analogue and digital circuits, evolvable hardware, artificial cells, neuro-morphic chips or sensors for achieving life-like functionality or properties such as self organisation, robustness or growth.
- Bidirectional interfaces between electronic or electro-mechanical systems and living entities, at or close to the cellular level, with adequate control and/or signal processing algorithms, enabling direct interfacing to the nervous system or to other types of cells.
- Biohybrid artefacts, involving tightly coupled ICT and biological entities (e.g. neural or other types of biological tissue) for new forms of computation, sensing, communication or physical actuation or adaptation.
Coordination actions (CAs) should support the consolidation of research communities, their visibility, the coordination of research agendas and, where appropriate, the coordination of national or regional research programmes or activities. The initiative also encourages international cooperation in foundational research on its topics described above.
Expected impact:
This multi-disciplinary research should foster joint progress and synergy in ICT and the bio-and neuro-sciences. Novel computing paradigms should lead to a fundamental rethinking of notions of information and computation that may be better suited for certain classes of problems and that can be implemented in biological, biomimetic or biohybrid devices. Such devices will need to satisfy requirements of, e.g. performance, resilience or energy consumption that are currently difficult to meet. Research on bio-interfaces and bio-hybrid devices should enable new bio-compatible ICT uses that rely on direct interactions between the technological and the living, such as for robust brain-machine interfacing or for powerful sensory-motor capabilities.
Funding schemes
CP, CSA (CA only)
Indicative budget distribution
17 M€: *
- CP 16 M€ of which a minimum of 9 M€ to IP and a minimum of 3 M€ to STREP,
- CSA 1 M€ (CA only)
Call : FP7-ICT-2007-1
Contacts
- Contact point for Bio-ICT convergence in Call 1: Julian Ellis
- Contact point for the information day: Patrick Van Hove
- General contact for Future and Emerging Technologies: Infodesk