FORTIS Open Call #2
FORTIS Open Call #2
The European Union (EU) has experienced a decline in employment rates in various sectors such as industry, construction, and healthcare, with an aging workforce exacerbating the issue. To improve overall life standards and welfare, the EU's Horizon Europe programme is investing in emerging technology such as robotics and AI. FORTIS specifically focuses on providing a complete Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) solution that includes multi-modal communication and multi-aspect interaction. The goal is to develop a human-centric solution that addresses the needs of both the human workforce and the robots, allowing them to work together efficiently and safely. With cutting-edge research and advanced technology, this solution can help to mitigate the negative effects of an aging workforce on employment, working conditions, and welfare in the EU. The project will conduct three main pilots in the sectors of construction, infrastructure services, and manufacturing. These pilots will provide a total of 5 use cases to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of the Human-Robot Interaction. Moreover, FORTIS will allocate a portion of the budget to finance pilots that allow civilians to interact with the robots in different settings, such as healthcare, public events, shopping centres, and grocery stores. This will provide an opportunity to evaluate the performance of the HRI solution in various real-world scenarios.
Entité de financement
Commission Européenne - Horizon EuropeClôture de l'appel
4 novembre 2026Zone géographique
eur
Objectif
The Open Call #2 provides access to the FORTIS Programme #2. It targets academia and industry actors looking to integrate and deploy their technologies within the FORTIS ecosystem (Topic OC#2.1) or demonstrate scalability and cross-sector migration (Topic OC#2.2).
Applicants must submit their proposals to one of the FORTIS topics or subtopics :
Topic OC#2.1: Pushing Towards Deployment (8 Technical Subtopics)
Subtopic 1: Optimisation of HRC / Task Allocation
Subtopic 2: Flexible Interface Digital Twin
Subtopic 3: HRI Watchdog (AI Act & Security Monitoring)
Subtopic 4: HRI Activities Digital Twin
Subtopic 5: Omnideployment of the FORTIS Solution
Subtopic 6: Ergonomics-Aware Human State & Interaction Context
Subtopic 7: Interfaces with XR (AR/MR Smart Glasses)
Subtopic 8: Trust-Aware Multi-Sensor Localisation & Mapping
Topic OC#2.2: Exploiting FORTIS in Other Key Sectors (Open Topic)
Technology transfer of FORTIS tools to new civilian application domains (e.g., agriculture, healthcare, airports, forestry, logistics).
Critères d'éligibilité
Eligible applicants for the FORTIS Open Call #2 are:
• Research organisations (RTOs) and universities with a documented track record or active research division on the sectors of activities identified. This should be demonstrated by relevant publications, and participation in related research projects.
• Mid-caps, SMEs, and Startups whose core business or primary R&D activities include the development of technologies for Human-Robot Interaction (HRI).
Each proposal must be submitted by a multidisciplinary consortium led by a designated coordinator.
• Consortium size: 3 eligible entities for Topic OC#2.1 or 2 eligible entities for Topic OC#2.2, as detailed in Section 3.1.1. The partners must collectively show capacity for technology development and innovations.
• SME participation: minimum of 1 SME.
• Budget limits: Non-industry partners cannot exceed 30% of the total project budget.
• Geographical coverage:
o OC#2.1: Multi-country consortium required (at least 2 different eligible countries).
o OC#2.2: Single-country consortia allowed.
• Geographical Scope: EU Member States, OCTs, and Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
Technologies clés
● Computational and artificial intelligence
● Autonomous robots
● Intelligent robots
● Robot learning
● Robot programming
● Robotics and automation
● Robot sensing systems
● Human-robot interaction
● Internet of Things (IoT)
● Systems, human and cybernetics
● Activity recognition
● Human factors
● Behavioural systems
● Biosignal processing
Typologie de consortium
The FORTIS Open Call #2 aims to attract and engage key system actors and innovators—universities, researchers, mid-caps, SMEs, and startups—capable of:
• Incorporating their own systems into the FORTIS framework;
• Validating these applications within the project’s established pilot environments; and
• Demonstrating the effectiveness of FORTIS solutions in new environments centred on human-robot interaction.
Ultimately, the outcomes of this open call will drive the development and deployment of the FORTIS ecosystem while expanding its reach into other key sectors.
Proposals must enter at TRL 4–5 and aim to achieve TRL 7 by project completion.
Each proposal may request a total contribution of up to EUR 250 000.00 in Topic OC#2.1 and up to EUR 170 000.00 in Topic OC#2.2. OC#2 matches standard FORTIS beneficiary rates: 100% for non-profit organizations and 70% for SMEs/for-profit organizations.