EU Commission and EuRobotics Announce Largest Robotics Program and Funding
The European Commission and euRobotics, a cooperation between 180 companies and research organisations, recently announced the world’s largest civil reseach and innovation program on robotics.
The Commission will invest 700 million euros and euRobotics 4 billion euros in this initiative, called Sparc. The program focuses on a broad range of sectors, including the manufacturing industry, agriculture, health, and security. The goal is to strengthen Europe's position in the robotics market. An extra 20,000 European jobs in this sector and an increase of the European market share to 42% in 2020 is expected.
Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission, argues: "The robotics revolution is happening now. We should not follow it, but lead it. Robots can improve our economy, our lives, our jobs. Robots are not cutting humans out of the equation: they are partners for a better future. Let SPARC be a metaphor for igniting the robotics revolution here in Europe".
Sparc can be very interesting for several HSD partners, e.g. partners working on drones.
Click here for more information about the program in Dutch.
Click here for more information about the program in English.