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We believe that direct dialogue with the European Commission is the best way to strengthen the bond between funders and beneficiaries for mutual benefit. Therefore, EMRA greatly values the active participation and involvement of European Commission representatives in the workshop. Their presentations and presence shed valuable light into current opportunities and future strategies for both academia and industry, particularly for small and medium enterprises.
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There is an urgent need to increase research efforts and funding for underwater multimodal communications, communication networks, and navigation. This necessity was highlighted by both industry experts and scientific participants at the latest EMRA workshop. The impact of advancements in GNSS and terrestrial communication and network technologies is well known, having sparked technological revolutions across many fields. Navigation, sensing/perception, and use of machine learning and artificial intelligence have propelled the advancement of autonomous cars, enabling them to navigate complex environments and make real-time decisions. Achieving significant progress in the proposed fields is essential for advancing our capabilities in the underwater domain.
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We support and encourage EC effort to clarify and regulate dual use in the view of drafting FP10
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We believe that the dual use of project results is not clearly defined or regulated in Horizon or other relevant EC programmes. This lack of clarity allows for varying interpretations, which can result in research that does not comply with the rules, or conversely, researchers avoiding projects that are actually permissible.
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In the current geopolitical climate, there is an emerging need to monitor and protect the EU’s vital subsea infrastructure. Marine robotics can make a significant contribution in this area. However, the dual-use nature of this technology must be more clearly regulated if the EU expects meaningful contributions from the scientific community in addressing this need.
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We feel there is a shortage of calls specifically related to marine robotic technology, including marine sensing. Recent calls often view marine robotic technology merely as a tool for achieving goals in other disciplines or for acquiring ocean data. Consequently, the role of marine robotics in these calls is almost limited to providing services due to the lack of ambitious, robot-specific requirements. This results in an absence of available funds for significant and relevant research.
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Note: While applied robotics indeed serves other disciplines and enhances interdisciplinarity, marine robotics should be provided with the means to expand its own research frontiers in order to effectively contribute to and support other fields.
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We believe that for calls related to marine robotics and sensing, more than one proposal should be funded per call. Having multiple scientific approaches to the same problem offers a significant advantage. A “one-wins-all” approach is more akin to a tender scheme than a research call for proposals.
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Note: While we understand that a single project with more funding can achieve more than several smaller projects, we still believe that diversification brings greater benefits.
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- We believe that the synergy between programs such as Horizon Europe, measures for SMEs and Interreg can be further enhanced in some of the following areas:
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As Interreg projects aim to foster economic development, they should also seek ways to collaborate and coexist with other projects in a way that benefits all parties involved. However, the challenge lies in Interreg’s restrictions to specific areas, making it difficult to share resources like equipment. A potential solution is to establish an organization at the Programme Level, possibly involving the National Contact Points (NCPs).
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We strongly support the effort towards better capitalization of project results and believe that it benefits everyone: EC programmes, project beneficiaries, and society. EMRA Round Table “from Path-Finding towards Capitalization” discussed the following relevant topics: assessment of the interest in investing in the developed technologies, identifying “technical background” of innovation, sharing results and avoiding project duplication to leverage existing developments.
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To increase the impact of R&I activities on regional S3, relevant links between European strategies and initiatives related to specific sea basins should be emphasized and clearly stated in the calls.
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