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A Domain-Adapted Multimodal AI Platform for Substellar Astronomy: Foundation Models, Vision- Language Spectral Analysis, Retrieval-Augmented Generation, and Automated Research Workflows

Objective

SubstellarLLM is the first domain-adapted multimodal AI platform designed to dramatically reduce the “Time-to-Science” for substellar astronomy—from months to minutes. It integrates a fine-tuned text foundation model, a Vision-Language Model (VLM) for automated classification of Euclid’s 2D spectral images and multi-band imaging, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), real-time public catalogue APIs (Gaia DR3, 2MASS, AllWISE, SIMBAD), and a suite of specialised tools including visual spectral classification, multi-catalogue crossmatching, interactive plotting, and automated manuscript generation from publisher-specific LaTeX templates.

Built on the ERC Substellar project’s breakthrough results—including the first Euclid substellar science paper (Martín et al. 2025, A&A)—SubstellarLLM addresses the critical operational bottleneck facing petabyte-scale survey astronomy: researchers cannot process Euclid’s projected tens of thousands of brown dwarf detections using existing manual workflows. The platform’s key technical moat is its Visual Spectral Reasoning engine, which analyses 16-bit radiometric grism data with instrument-specific artifact awareness—a capability where general-purpose VLMs fail. The underlying scientific principles are proven through the ERC SUBSTELLAR project; this PoC validates the commercial feasibility of deploying them as a scalable product. The 18-month, €150,000 proof-of-concept will harden the inference pipeline, deploy a prototype with eight specialised AI agents, validate time savings of 60–80% with 10–15 consortium researchers, and execute a structured commercialisation plan targeting data archives, space agencies, and research institutions.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2026-POC

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Host institution

INSTITUTO DE ASTROFISICA DE CANARIAS
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 150 000,00
Address
CALLE VIA LACTEA
38205 SAN CRISTOBAL DE LA LAGUNA
Spain

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Region
Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid
Activity type
Research Organisations
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Total cost

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Beneficiaries (1)