• Sector groups such as: industrial robotics, professional service robotics, domestic service robotics, security robotics, space robotics, medical and healthcare robotics, agricultural robotics;
• Groups covering the supply chain such as: component suppliers, system integrators, service providers;
• End-user groups covering existing and new markets for robotic systems;
• Technology-related groups as identified in strategic documents and roadmaps.

They identify gaps and challenges, describe the desired paths towards solutions, milestones to be reached at specified instants in time and with a specified quality. They identify Innovation Milestones, and mobilise members and non-members to realise them, and to support their subsequent exploitation. Activities span the full spectrum from basic research, to technological development, and concrete innovation, showing smooth paths of knowledge transfer along the covered spectrum, and identifying concrete actual and potential academia-industry cooperation. Topic Groups are the instrument to provide content to the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) and the multiannual Roadmap (MAR) of euRobotics AISBL.

These can be accessed from the following links

List of Topic Groups of euRobotics

Strategic Research Agenda (SRA)

If you are a policy maker, investor, or entrepreneur trying to understand the robotics market in Europe, you should read the SRA. It will give you an overview of the status and potential of robotics.

The SRA provides a high level strategic overview for the robotics community. It is also intended to act as an introduction to the European robotics community for non-robotic specialists, policy makers, entrepreneurs and industries intending to use or work within the robotics market.

Click here to download the last version of SRA

 

Multi-Annual Roadmap (MAR)

 Compared with the SRA, the MAR is a more detailed technical guide identifying expected progress within the community and providing a detailed analysis of medium term research and innovation goals. It will be updated annually as priorities, technologies and strategic developments shape European research development and innovation (R&D&I). The annual update will follow a process that utilises the expertise within Topic Groups formed by euRobotics AISBL and seeks open consultation.

Click here to download the last version of MAR 2017 for the H2020 calls ICT-25, ICT-27 & ICT-28

The priorities for RD&I funding, including near market activities, are derived from the MAR as a part of the annual review cycle. Robotics is a diverse field and the MAR relies on expert opinion in each domain and technical field to provide and verify the information within it. The annual review process examines each key technical and market area to ensure material is brought up to date at least once per annum. This document and its associated Wiki provide a framework through which this additional information can be accessed.

You are encouraged to engage with this process and to contribute your knowledge to the content of this document. It will then reflect and sustain a live discourse on the current state of robotics technology. You can do this by joining euRobotics and then contributing to the associated Topic Groups. The previous Wiki is no longer available, a new Wiki will be set up soon.

Read more about the SRA and the MAR on the SPARC website

Recommendations to the Commission within the PPP consultation process

Robotics encompasses a broad spectrum of different technical disciplines and impacts on a wide range of market domains in diverse ways. The scope of RD&I is driven by technology, the diversity of market sectors and the need to maintain the innovation pipelines that connect the two together. Any prioritisation of strategy must start by seeking to establish the linkage between improvements in technical capability and market need. This linkage and the corresponding technical requirements will be captured in the PPP roadmap.

The scope of RD&I is also framed by the European societal challenges that can be addressed with robotics technology. Effective solutions will require the cohesive integration of a wide range of expertise combined with changes to societal and legal frameworks. The PPP has a role in ensuring that its strategy aligns with these challenges and maximises the impact of robotics technology as a potential solution. It is vital to Europe’s economic and societal interests that these impacts are maximised through an appropriate choice of RD&I priorities. In setting priorities the PPP must take into account this long view of market maturation as well as the shorter time scale defined within Horizon 2020.

The MAR is the basis for developing in partnership with the Commission content, the selection of instruments (types of projects), and priorities for calls and actions in the field of robotics under H2020.