Deadline: 31-Dec-21
The Pilots for Healthy Active Ageing (Pharaon) Fall 2021 is now open to strengthen the open platforms by filling ecosystem needs and adding new technologies to support older adults as well as their formal and informal caregivers.
Pharaon is a Horizon 2020 project to improve the dignity, independence, and wellbeing of older adults by providing enhanced smart and active living solutions. The project has created a set of customizable and interoperable platforms that provide advanced services, devices, robotics, IoT tools, artificial intelligence, data management, cloud computing, smart wearables, and analytics.
The Pharaon platforms are built on mature state-of-the-art open platforms and already integrate existing technologies. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.
The project is focused on existing and mature technologies that can be modified, integrated, and demonstrated during the piloting phase of the project. There are 6 pilots spread across 5 countries and each pilot has different use cases and needs, providing an opportunity to show the strength of the Pharaon platforms under real and varying conditions.
The Pharaon consortium has created the initial platforms and provides a set of solutions that meet the basic needs of each pilot site. This open call is an opportunity for other solution providers to contribute their technologies to the project, demonstrating that their solutions are compatible with the Pharaon open platform and supporting the ongoing development and refinement of the overall Pharaon ecosystem.
Objectives
- The objectives of the pilot in Murcia are to improve telecare systems in the region, especially by empowering older adults to participate more directly in their care.
- The objectives of the Andalusia pilot are focused on addressing unwanted loneliness and social isolation as well supporting wellbeing. Accordingly, the Andalusian pilot developed three use cases related to improving digital skills, community participation and cognitive stimulation.
- The objectives of the Slovenian pilot are to reduce social isolation and loneliness, monitor and encourage physical activity, and to monitor and improve indoor environmental quality in retirement homes. Accordingly, the use cases addressed at the Slovenian pilot site focus on improving wellbeing, increasing social involvement and event participation, and supporting communication between peers and family.
- The objectives of the Dutch pilot are to promote social cohesion and to reduce social isolation and loneliness by matching people and promoting healthy ageing through lifestyle coaching provided by technological solutions. Accordingly, the two main use cases being demonstrated are related to community building and providing tailored health advice to older adults.
- The Italian pilot is split between two locations, Tuscany and Apulia. The primary objective of the Italian pilot is to improve quality of life for older adults living at home. In Tuscany, the priorities are to address socialisation and inclusion, as well as monitoring living conditions. In Apulia, the priorities are to provide physical and cognitive stimulation activities, while also providing solutions for socialisation and environmental monitoring.
- The pilot in Portugal is divided between two locations, Amadora and Coimbra. The objectives of the Portuguese pilots are to develop and implement citizen focused solutions, integrated care and planning, integrated infrastructures and processes, and knowledge sharing. These pilots include a central focus on the relationship between the community, the environment, and the people living in them. Accordingly, the use cases addressed by the Pilot sites in Portugal are participation in community life, lifelong learning, and ensuring a safe and comfortable environment.
Priority Gaps
Please refer to the official Open Call Text for complete descriptions of the needs for each pilot:
- The priority gaps of the Murcia pilot are:
- to find innovative solutions that provide non-intrusive cardiac monitoring,
- devices capable of accurately measuring body weight and automatically sending this information to the Pharaon platforms, and
- a voice-based interaction system
- The priority gaps and needs (by order) of the Andalusian pilot are as follows:
- A software solution that provides personalised cognitive stimulation, activity and progress monitoring, and coaching
- An e-learning platform with digital content for older people
- Development of an algorithm to match people with similar tastes and hobbies
- A virtual assistant that responds to voice commands instead of, or in addition to, a touch interface
- The priority gaps of the Slovenian pilot are:
- Event listing platform with features that allow event organisers to list events, older adults to find events in their area and arrange attendance (RSVP, purchase tickets, etc.), and supporting transportation organisation to simplify transit between venues and retirement homes
- Personalisation of physical activity recommendations based on data tracked from wearables.
- The priority gaps of the Dutch pilot are as follows:
- Virtual travel…
- Motivating and personalized coaching system
- Sharing memories
- The priority gaps of the Italian pilot are as follows:
- Provide cognitive stimulation games (software application) for older adults, preferably with personalisable stimulation and tracking plans for users.
- Extend the physical exercises programme available on the Pharaon ecosystem, including with personalisation and tracking
- The priority gaps of the Portuguese pilot are as follows:
- A digital application that promotes the engagement in nature preservation within cities, and the mental and physical activity of older citizens, but not exclusively.
- A domotic system to monitor and, ideally, prevent falls as well as detect early signs of illness.
Funding Information
- Project duration: 6 months
- This First Pharaon Open Call aims to fund approximately 20 grants of up to EUR 50,000 each (total call budget: EUR 1,000,000). Grants are targeted towards solution providers, (i.e., SMEs) that address the explicit needs of the Pilot sites or that add new desired functionality.
Eligible Activities
- Development and Innovation activities that accelerate or expand the implementation of new or existing technologies on the Pharaon platform are eligible for funding.
- These activities include, but are not limited to: software development, firmware development, hardware development necessary to integrate software or hardware solutions in the Pharaon platform.
- The TRL levels for these activities/solutions should be TRL 8 or 9, i.e., modification of existing solutions, or final stages of market readiness for new solutions.
Eligibility Criteria
- The following participants are eligible for funding from the Union:
- any legal entity established in a Member State or associated country, or created under Union law;
- any international European interest organisation;
- any legal entity established in a third country identified in the work programme.
- In this Open Call, the same eligibility criteria with the H2020 rules of participation (Article 10) apply. Thus, every participant must be registered in a EU member state or in a Horizon 2020 associated country.
- This Open Call focuses on attracting:
- SMEs, and Micro SMEs as defined in EU law: EU recommendation 2003/361;
- Web entrepreneurs and individual sole-traders;
- Industrial organisations.
- Other eligible organisations with high TRL level activities.
- In compliance with H2020 Annotated Model Grant Agreement regulations:
- Applicants must be previously registered in the Participant Register of the Participant Portal and have a VALIDATED 9-digit Participant Identification Code (PIC). In case your PIC is not validated yet you are still eligible to apply but please have in mind that PIC must be validated before signing of the Cascade Grant Agreement.
- Applicants cannot request any funding for activities that are already funded by other grants (principle of no double funding). Furthermore, proposals from Linked SMEs must demonstrate that there is no risk of double funding.
- To avoid conflicts of interest, applications will not be accepted from persons or organisations who are partners in the Pharaon consortium or who are formally linked in any way to partners of the consortium. All applicants will be required to declare that they know of no such potential conflicts of interest that should prevent them from applying.
- Each applicant is limited to one submission per Open Call. Thus multiple submissions from the same applicant will be disqualified.
- Proposals will only be accepted from single parties (no consortia allowed).
For more information, visit https://www.pharaon.eu/open-calls/