Europe Unveils Strategy to Become a Global Leader in High-Risk IT Research

Unlimited computing power, computers mimicking the brain, mind-controlled wheelchairs and friendly robotic companions are part of a new European plan to boost visionary research, unveiled by the European Commission. With more investment and cooperation in high-risk research on future information technologies, Europe can lead the way in turning bright research ideas into future technologies. The Commission today proposed to boost Europe's high-risk research into future technologies by doubling research investment at national and EU level in this area by 2015. The Commission will lead by example, increasing the current funding of € 100 million per year by 70% by 2013.

"Europe must be inventive and bold – especially in times of crisis. Research seeds innovation which is key for Europe's long-term global competitiveness. Scientific and revolutionary breakthroughs constitute enormous opportunities and we must bring the best brains together to make the most of them," said Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and Media, when launching the first-ever 'European Future Technologies Conference' in Prague. "Combining efforts of the 27 EU countries and stepping up cooperation with global partners is essential for Europe to take the lead in future information technologies that can yield radically new solutions for European citizens in domains such as health, climate change, the ageing population, sustainable development or security."

Europe's investment in information and communication technologies (ICT) research is lagging behind other regions. Although the EU produces almost one third of the world's scientific knowledge, research in this sector accounts for only a quarter of its overall research effort (IP/09/397).

The Commission today called on Member States to catch up with the US, China and Japan by doubling by 2015 their investment in high-risk research in ICT, by joining research efforts between national and European programmes and by new flagship research initiatives that can drive large and sustained effort of several hundred millions of Euro.

For its part, in 2010 the Commission will start increasing per year its spending on research for future information technologies from €100 million to €170 million by 2013. It also aims to launch at least two flagship research initiatives by 2013 that combine efforts across borders and scientific disciplines to achieve research breakthroughs - the development of biocomputers, for example. The Commission's proposed actions will also help talented young researchers engage in high-risk research and support research intensive high-tech Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) that can turn early research results into new business opportunities.

Examples of European future research include:

  • A thought-navigated wheelchair that interprets brain signals to move, helping the 300,000 people in Europe disabled from a spinal cord injury and other novel neural implants for handicapped people.
  • Computer technology that copies the way the brain processes information so that it can continue to work even when parts of its hardware fail.
  • More secure computers that can function faster than light speed and process unlimited amounts of information thanks to the first breakthrough of quantum technology research - a domain where Europe is already a leading player.

The Commission has funded multi-disciplinary research on future information technologies through its overall research programme in the past 15 years (by a total of € 1 285 million since 1994). It has contributed to European leadership in areas like quantum computing and communications, nanoelectronics, neuro- and bio- information science, and complex systems research, recognised by awards such as the Nobel Prize in physics to Albert Fert (France) and Peter Grünberg (Germany) in 2007 and to Theodor Hänsch (Germany) in 2005 - all of whom have been partners in European high-risk research projects.

Most Popular Now

MEDICA 2024 + COMPAMED 2024: Adapted Hal…

11 - 14 November 2024, Düsseldorf, Germany. The final preparations for MEDICA 2024 and COMPAMED 2024 in Düsseldorf have begun. A total of more than 5,500 exhibitors from approximately 70 countries...

AI does Not Necessarily Lead to more Eff…

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hospitals and patient care is steadily increasing. Especially in specialist areas with a high proportion of imaging, such as radiology, AI has long...

Commission Joins Forces with Venture Cap…

The Commission has launched a Trusted Investors Network bringing together a group of investors ready to co-invest in innovative deep-tech companies in Europe together with the EU. The Union's investment...

Why the NHS is Seeking to Make Media Ser…

Opinion Article by Dean Moody, Healthcare Services Director, Airwave Healthcare. Tim Kelsey and Martha Lane Fox called for WiFi to be made available free of charge throughout the NHS back in...

An AI-Powered Pipeline for Personalized …

Ludwig Cancer Research scientists have developed a full, start-to-finish computational pipeline that integrates multiple molecular and genetic analyses of tumors and the specific molecular targets of T cells and harnesses...

Philips and Medtronic Advocacy Partnersh…

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and Medtronic Neurovascular, a leading innovator in neurovascular therapies, today announced a strategic advocacy partnership. Delivering timely stroke...

Wearable Cameras Allow AI to Detect Medi…

A team of researchers says it has developed the first wearable camera system that, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), detects potential errors in medication delivery. In a test whose...

AI could Transform How Hospitals Produce…

A pilot study led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that advanced artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially lead to easier, faster and more efficient...

New AI Tool Predicts Protein-Protein Int…

Scientists from Cleveland Clinic and Cornell University have designed a publicly-available software and web database to break down barriers to identifying key protein-protein interactions to treat with medication. The computational tool...

AI for Real-Rime, Patient-Focused Insigh…

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but still... they both have a lot of work to do to catch up to BiomedGPT. Covered recently in the prestigious journal Nature...

Start-Ups will Once Again Have a Starrin…

11 - 14 November 2024, Düsseldorf, Germany. The finalists in the 16th Healthcare Innovation World Cup and the 13th MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION have advanced from around 550 candidates based in 62...

G-Cloud 14 Makes it Easier for NHS to Bu…

NHS organisations will be able to save valuable time and resource in the procurement of technologies that can make a significant difference to patient experience, in the latest iteration of...