Microphones play an increasingly important role in how we communicate and perceive the world in our ever more digital and virtual lives. They have developed tremendously in the past decades in terms of size and cost and are now ubiquitous in consumer electronics as well as in professional and industrial applications. Yet, despite all this progress, microphone technology falls short of perceiving audio as well as the human ear: No microphone has self-noise ≤ 0 dB SPL (defined as the threshold of human hearing), the capability to sense sounds up to 130 dB SPL, and with a bandwidth of 20 kHz. The main objective of PIONEAR is to create the proof-of-concept of a novel miniature microphone with better-than-human-ear sound quality. It will be enabled by a radically new chromometric sensing solution, that PIONEAR will develop by integrating electronic, micro-mechanic and photonic technologies. To realise this new sensing technology PIONEAR brings together a unique consortium of 4 research partners and 3 SMEs from across Europe, all of which are leading experts in their field, e.g., in manufacturing the special vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL), fabricating the miniature acoustic chamber and membrane and assembling and packaging of the whole device with the highest precision. We expect PIONEAR to have a profound impact across multiple sectors: Armed with arrays of microphones that have very low noise, devices will be able to listen with programmable directivity and unprecedented selectivity, enabling products with intelligently selective, human-like, hearing. Applications range from consumer electronics and hearing aids to autonomous robots and vehicles, and environmental monitoring. Moreover, the underlying sensor concept is not limited to microphones. We expect that it will offer similar performance improvements in a broad range of sensor categories, e.g., pressure and ultrasonic sensors, biochemical sensors, gas and aerosol sensors, and accelerometers.

The project scope is to develop an innovative technology of germanium (Ge)-based VCSEL. The main objective is to develop a Ge-VCSEL epi-growth by MOCVD and MBE techniques and processing of high performance and reliable lasers to be integrated in 3D camera and LiDAR demonstrators. The key challenge is to achieve high crystal quality of grown layers while taking the advantage of a better crystallographic lattice sameness between Ge and Al gallium arsenide (GaAs), which enables to decrease misfit defects density and in consequence to increase the quantum efficiency of the device. Several characterisation methods will be used as X-ray diffraction and topography, depth high resolution SIMS, electron microscopy (SEM/TEM), atomic force microscopy, reflectance, PL mapping, and others. Each growing campaign will be concluded by processing of conventional VCSELs (GaAs-based) and VCSELs on Ge which will allow the verification of VCSELs parameters and comparison of both type devices. The VCSEL technology drives a dynamic market with constant need for innovative solutions. Demonstration of high performing devices of Ge-on-Si can unlock potentially large markets from optical data communications to imaging, lighting and displays, to the manufacturing sector, to life sciences, health care, security and safety. In commercial applications, the performance, costs and the strong reduction of toxic elements will be very important factors to drive a replacement of the current technology. The Ge, offering a higher yield and less production losses due to higher uniformity at larger size wafer, is promised to lower the environmental burden compared to expensive GaAs substrate. As the VCSEL sector is developing dynamically with laser production expected to triple in the next five years, the project, with its innovative Ge-VCSEL solution, has the potential to significantly contribute to the reduction of lasers’ global usage of toxic materials, and improve the device performances.

In this proposal we describe a timely and disruptive solution to the long-standing and vexing problem of the rapid stand-off detection of explosive, toxic or otherwise hazardous materials which are present within potential- or post-terrorist attack or industrial accident sites. We will achieve this by realising highly sensitive, state-of-the-art handheld and tripod-mounted instruments based upon active hyperspectral imaging and detection. These will exploit the deep infrared molecular fingerprint waveband region, where these hazardous compounds exhibit their strongest and most distinctive optical absorption features. Crucially, by keeping our goal fixed on the needs of the end-user, we will realise high-TRL devices which are cost-effective, lightweight and highly utile. Within the lifetime of this project, these will ready for evaluation in end-use scenarios (as opposed to mere laboratory-based demonstration). Our consortium is uniquely placed to prosecute this programme as is it comprises world leading workers in every technology upon which this solution depends, from quantum-cascade laser source, MEMS and detector growth expertise to advanced imaging, signals processing and device integration. One refined, the technology we will pioneer will be evaluated by civil security partners who will implement them in a number of likely end-use scenarios, thus proving the potency and utility of our technology.

AI-PRISM is an industrial-end-user driven project that will provide a human-centred AI-based solutions ecosystem targeted to manufacturing scenarios with tasks difficult to automate and where speed and versatility are essential. The result will be an integrated and scalable ecosystem with installation-specific solutions for semi-automated and collaborative manufacturing in flexible production processes and for which specific robotic programming skills will not be required, thanks to its programming-by-demonstration modules. The ecosystem will be composed by four main pillars including 1) Human Centred Collaborative Robotic Platform, 2) Human Robot Cooperation Ambient, 3) Social Human-Agent-Robots Teams Collaboration and 4) Open Access Network Portal. In order to facilitate the assessment of the performance, transferability, scalability and large-scale deployment of these solutions, the demonstrations will be conducted under real operational environments in four pilot involving key manufacturing sectors - Furniture (ES), Food/Beverage (GR), Built-in Appliances (TR) and Electronics (PL) -, plus one generic demonstration facility (AT). The project is not just aiming at quantitative improvements in a specific sector, but to use technology innovation to support a change of paradigm where AI, robotics and Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) integrated in the manufacturing domain for the improvement of flexible production processes, become a feasible and widespread alternative for European factories, especially SMEs. To achieve this, the project relies on a strong consortium of 25 partners from 12 countries including international cooperation with Korea. The consortium brings together all the actors of the Human Robot Collaboration (HRC) value chain including relevant competence centres, technology providers, equipment providers, integrators, and manufacturers/end users; and involves key expert partners in SSH, standardisation, exploitation, and dissemination.