ECHORD++

ECHORD++ (European Clearing House for Open Robotics Development), funded under EU’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7), advances the field of robotics by facilitating cooperation between academia and industry.

ECHORD++ uses three instruments for accomplishing its goals: experiments, Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) and the Robotics Innovation Facilities (RIF).

All European universities, research institutions, and companies can apply for ECHORD++ funding for their experiments. A focus is placed on experiments that produce tangible results, going beyond "proof of concept".

ECHORD++ believes that by acting as technologically demanding first buyers, public procurers can drive innovation from the demand side. Until 2019, ECHORD++ will focus on the theme of “Smart Cities and Healthcare” for their PCP pilots.

ECHORD maintains a Robotics Innovation Facility (RIF) in Great Britain, Italy and France. These 3 RIFs offer easy and non-bureaucratic access to robotic equipment and put researchers and industry in close contact with common users of robotic technologies.

Goals

• Encourage European research institutions and robot manufacturers to closely work together
• Enable different user groups (researchers, industry, students, etc.) to get easy access to state-of the art hardware and software
• Enable research institutions, robot manufacturers and public bodies to explore new application fields procurement and display the results in concrete scenarios;
• Motivate robot manufacturers and research institutions to identify emerging technology fields
• Broadcast the progress achieved in the community of robot manufacturers and research institutions by continuous monitoring, reporting and public relations activities

Core Partners

• Technische Universität München (TUM)
• Blue Ocean Robotics (BOR)
• Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL)
• Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA)
• Scuola Superiore SantAnna (SSSA)
• Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
• R.U.Robotics