Seeking research & innovation centres of excellence in virtual product development

  • ERTRAC Global Competitiveness Working Group
  • From Belgium
  • Responsive
  • Project Size Range : Strategic project backed by large scale funding €
  • Deadline completed
    The submission process for new proposals is closed. Proposals submitted before the deadline will follow the standard evaluation process.

Desired outcome

Virtual product development as key enabling technology for maintaining global competitiveness of EU industry:

• Fast and efficient product development in a digitalized and connected industry
• Creation of digital twins for development, production, maintenance and recycling
• Minimization of consumption of energy and resources during entire product life cycles

Research needed focusing on long term sustainability and affordability:

• Efficient tools and methods for handling and development of large, complex systems of systems Material characterization and modelling of next generation composite materials (additive manufacturing)
• Creation of new classes of models for digital twins considering the statistical nature of components and systems due to stochastic processes
• Creation of tools and methods for development, validation, diagnosis and maintenance of flexible/adaptive/self-learning controllers and systems
• Coupling of virtual and real development tools and methods along the development and supply chain (secure and fast data exchange, data plausibility, in the loop data analysis)
• Total product life cycle GHG and LCA assessment as part of digital twins
• User & environment-product compatibility (EMC, radiation, NVH, LEAR, toxicity...)

ERTRAC Global Competitiveness Working Group

Details of the Innovation Need

ERTRAC highlights the important opportunities for innovation in road transport, recognising that major transformations of the European Mobility system are ahead with respect to alternative energies, electrification, automation, digitalisation, and the sharing economy. Europe must act together in order to exploit the potential of these innovations: to develop Europe-wide solutions, get technology leadership, and keep research excellence, production and jobs in the European Union. Research efforts in the short and medium-term timeframe will focus on mass market introduction from 2030 onwards.

The research topic described has been prepared by experts from the ERTRAC Global Competitiveness group led by: Dr. David Storer, CRF-FCA and Prof. Thilo Bein, Fraunhofer-LBF

Related Keywords

  • Electronics, IT and Telecomms
  • Automation, Robotics Control Systems
  • Digital Systems, Digital Representation
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Computer Software Technology
  • Data Processing / Data Interchange, Middleware
  • Data Protection, Storage Technology, Cryptography, Data Security
  • E-Publishing, Digital Content
  • Visualisation, Virtual Reality
  • Peripherals Technologies (Mass Data Storage, Displays)
  • Artificial intelligence applications for cars and transport
  • Data Communications
  • Graphics software
  • Data processing, analysis and input services
  • Systems software
  • Other system software
  • Applications software
  • Artificial intelligence related software
  • Controllers

About ERTRAC Global Competitiveness Working Group

ERTRAC is the European Technology Platform bringing together all stakeholders of Road Transport Research. Its public-private multi-stakeholders nature involves industry, academia and research providers together with public authorities from the national and local levels. ERTRAC works in close cooperation with the European associations that represent the different components of road transport, while collaborating with other European Technology Platforms.

European pre-competitive collaborative research has a very high added-value by bringing together the many private and public stakeholders involved in transport: working together, developing partnerships, and implementing cross-sectoral collaboration are important assets to speed-up the innovation process in Europe.
In this context, the specific tasks of ERTRAC are to:
- Provide a strategic vision for road transport research and innovation in Europe.
- Define strategies and roadmaps to achieve this vision through the definition and update of a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) and implementation research roadmaps.
- Stimulate effective public and private investment in road transport research and innovation.
- Contribute to improving coordination between the European, national, regional public and private R&D activities on road transport.
- Enhance the networking and clustering of Europe's research and innovation capacities.
- Promote European commitment to Research and technological development, ensuring that Europe remains an attractive region for researchers, and enhancing the global competitiveness of the transport industries.
- Support the implementation of Horizon 2020, the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation

The new Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), published in April 2018, is a key document of ERTRAC with respect to preparing for 'Horizon Europe' (2021-2017), the forthcoming ninth European Research Framework Programme. The new ERTRAC SRA has the ambition to anchor the research work into the societal needs while looking more at the benefits of innovations for the end users. ERTRAC also wants to emphasize the importance of Road Transport and Mobility for the Society and the Economy, and hence consistently refers to the potential impact of the research topics.

ERTRAC Global Competitiveness Working Group

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