Agile, human-centric, and Real-tIme enabled open SourcE technologies advancing industrial HRI in Europe

Project Information

ARISE

Grant agreement ID: 101135784

DOI

10.3030/101135784

EC signature date 23 October 2023

Start date 1 January 2024

End date 30 June 2027

Funded under

• Digital, Industry and Space

Total cost

€ 10 647 870,00

EU contribution

€ 9 984 510,00

Coordinated by

FUNDACION CARTIF
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ARISE (Agile, human-centric, and Real-tIme enabled open SourcE technologies advancing industrial HRI in Europe)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The ARISE project is designed to simplify, reduce costs, and accelerate the deployment of industrial human-robot interaction (HRI) across Europe. At its core, ARISE introduces AgileHRI, a flexible, scalable, and real-time enabled open-source middleware that facilitates the seamless integration of robotics into industrial environments. To validate its impact, ARISE is conducting large-scale demonstrations in four internal Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs) and more than 25 (FSTP) funded projects across Europe, covering diverse industries such as automotive, manufacturing, and healthcare. A key aspect of these pilots is the creation of the so-called ARISE All-in-one Middleware, which combines open technologies such as ROS2, FIWARE, and ROS4HRI to create a unified and standardized framework for industrial HRI applications. This middleware enables seamless communication, real-time data exchange, and enhanced interoperability between robots, sensors, and human operators, ensuring adaptability to various industrial scenarios. These pilots will showcase the scalability, flexibility, and economic benefits of AgileHRI while gathering essential user feedback to refine and optimize the solution.
Beyond technological innovation, ARISE integrates social sciences and humanities (SSH) through a structured ethical framework, ensuring HRI solutions are trustworthy, inclusive, and aligned with European ethical, legal, and societal (ELS) principles. This framework provides guidelines, tools, and impact assessments to support responsible innovation. The ARISE external ethics committee oversees compliance, conducting periodic ethics reviews and refining methodologies based on real-world insights from TEFs.
By fostering open-source collaboration, industry-standardization efforts, and ecosystem-building initiatives, ARISE contributes to the European AI, data, and robotics strategy. The project’s expected impact includes lowering the entry barriers to industrial HRI, increasing adoption rates, and ensuring long-term sustainability through a growing network of stakeholders. Ultimately, ARISE paves the way for safer, more efficient, and ethically responsible human-robot collaboration at scale.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The ARISE project has made notable progress in developing a scalable and replicable framework for AI-driven Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) solutions. Throughout the first year 2024, ARISE focused on establishing a foundation for the large-scale adoption of HRI technologies, especially for SMEs and MidCaps. The project has achieved key milestones in the following areas:
Identification and Analysis of Industrial Challenges: Through the Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs), real-world industrial challenges were identified, helping shape the project’s focus on specific use cases like complex picking, flexible manufacturing, and healthcare assistance. These insights ensure the development of solutions that meet actual operational needs.
ARISE All-in-one Middleware and HRI development tools: The development and integration efforts around the essential ARISE components such as Vulcanexus, DDS-enabled Context Broker binded with FIWARE Orion context broker as well, and ROS4HRI resulted in a successful release of the ARISE middleware tools according to the plan with no deviations.
TEFs Setup and Experimentation: The integration of the ARISE technical framework within the TEFs has enabled seamless middleware functionality for AI-powered HRI applications. This middleware supports real-time processing, scalability, and flexibility. The initial set of tools and modules for the HRI Library has been developed, providing a modular and agile framework
Preliminary Impact on Industrial Performance: The four TEFs have begun testing AI-driven robotics for tasks like dismantling, healthcare assistance, and production. Early performance benchmarks indicate improvements in efficiency, safety, ergonomic and job satisfaction, highlighting the project’s impact on industrial performance.
Human-Centric and Ethical AI Integration: The project has embedded Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) principles into the development process, ensuring that solutions are ethical, user-friendly, and prioritize worker safety and trust.
Launch of Calls for FSTP Projects: ARISE has successfully completed its first Open Call, attracting a strong pool of applicants aiming to implement and scale HRI solutions. The evaluation process is set to begin, selecting the most innovative projects for funding and mentorship.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The development and initial implementation of the AgileHRI framework, along with the integration of advanced middleware (including ROS2, FIWARE and ROS4HRI), provides a flexible and scalable solution for industrial automation. This open-source, real-time-enabled middleware facilitates the seamless integration of AI and robotics systems, improving efficiency and adaptability in industrial applications.
Moreover, the project’s human-centric approach ensures that AI-driven robotics solutions prioritize worker safety, trust, and usability, aligning with European values. This unique ethical and social focus adds a new dimension to industrial automation, aiming to enhance human tasks rather than replace them.
While the results thus far are promising, the solutions developed in the first year are still in their early stages and require further work for full-scale adoption. In the coming years, continued research will be vital to enhance the cognitive capabilities of robots and their ability to collaborate with humans across various industrial applications. Real-world validation and the expansion of use cases in Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs) will be crucial in demonstrating the scalability and effectiveness of the solutions in different sectors such as manufacturing, logistics and healthcare.
Over the next phases of the project, the focus will shift towards market access and funding for SMEs, as well as creating a regulatory and standardization framework to ensure the safety, interoperability, and ethical adoption of these technologies across Europe. It is anticipated that the project’s outcomes will also contribute significantly to the internationalization of these solutions, extending their global impact.
In summary, while the first year has laid the groundwork for innovation in industrial HRI, the future phases of the ARISE project will focus on advancing research, driving adoption of the developed solutions, and ensuring the necessary support for large-scale, sustainable deployment.

ARISE’s real-time middleware enables seamless communication between field data sources and digital s