eunbil · GT0N1604 · 2006-07-14 00:00:00 — Research into the safety of food and feed chains, diet-related diseases, food choices and the impact of food and nutrition on health will help to fight food-related disorders (e.g. obesity, allergies) and infectious diseases (e.g. transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, avian-flu), while making important contributions to the implementation of existing and the formulation of future policies and regulations in the area of public, animal and plant health and consumer protection. The diversity and mainly small size of industries in these areas, while being one of its strengths and an opportunity, leads to fragmented approaches to similar problems. These are better addressed by increased collaboration and sharing of expertise, for example on new methodologies, technologies, processes and standards that result from changing Community legislation. Several European Technology Platforms contribute in setting common research priorities, in fields such as plant genomics and biotechnology, forestry and based industries, global animal health, farm animal breeding, food and industrial biotechnology. The research will also provide the knowledge base needed to support : the Common Agricultural Policy and European ; agriculture and trade issues; safety aspects of GMOs; food safety regulations; Community animal health, disease control and welfare standards; and the Common Fisheries Policy reform aiming to provide sustainable development of fishing and aquaculture and the safety of seafood products. AM 121 In view of social relevance, a flexible response to new policy needs is also foreseen, in particular with respect to new risks and social or economic trends and needs. Sustainable production and management of biological resources from land, , and aquatic environments: Enabling research, including "omics" technologies, such as genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, systems biology, bioinformatics AM 122 and converging technologies for micro-organisms, plants and animals, including exploitation and sustainable use AM 122 of their biodiversity. For land based biological resources, research will focus on: soil fertility, AM 122 improved crops and production systems in all their diversity AM 122, including organic farming, quality production schemes and monitoring and assessment of GMO impacts on environment and humans; plant health, sustainable, competitive and multifunctional agriculture, and forestry; rural development; animal health and AM 122 welfare, breeding and production; infectious diseases in animals, including epidemiological studies, AM 122 zoonoses and their pathogenic mechanisms, and diseases linked to animal feedstuffs; AM 122 other threats to the sustainability and security of food production, including climate change; AM 123 safe disposal of animal waste. For biological resources from aquatic environments, research will support sustainability and competitiveness of fisheries, provide the scientific and technical basis of fisheries management and support the sustainable development of aquaculture, including breeding and welfare. AM 351, 359, 362 Development of tools (including ICT tools) needed by policy makers and other actors in areas such as agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture and rural development (landscape, land management practices etc.); socio-economic and ethical contexts of production. "Fork to farm": Food, health and well being: Consumer, societal, cultural, AM 123 industrial and health as well as traditional aspects of food and feed, including behavioural and cognitive sciences; nutrition, diet related diseases and disorders, including childhood and adult obesity and allergies; nutrition in relation to the prevention of diseases (including increased knowledge about the health bringing compounds and properties of food); AM 123 innovative food and feed processing technologies (including packaging and technologies from non-food fields); improved quality and safety, both chemical and biological AM 123, of food, beverage and feed; enhanced food safety methodologies; AM 123 integrity (and control) of the food chain; physical and biological environmental impacts on and of food/feed chains; impact on and resistance of food chain to global changes; AM 123 total food chain concept (including seafood and other food raw materials and components); traceability and its further development; authenticity of food; development of new ingredients and products. Life sciences and biotechnology for sustainable non-food products and processes: Improved crops and resources, feed-stocks, products and biomass (including resources) for energy, environment, and high added value products such as materials and chemicals (including biological resources utilisable in pharmaceutical industry and medicine), including novel farming systems, bio-processes and bio-refinery concepts; bio-catalysis; new and improved micro-organisms and enzymes AM 124 ; forestry and based products and processes; environmental bio-remediation and cleaner bio-processing, the utilisation of agro industrial wastes and by-products. Improve the competitiveness of European industry and AM 125 enable Europe to and shape the future developments of Information and () so that the demands of its society and economy are met. ICT is at the very core of the knowledge-based society. AM 125 Activities will strengthen Europe"s scientific and technology base and ensure its global leadership AM 125 in ICT, help drive and stimulate product, service and process AM 125 innovation and creativity AM 125 through ICT use and ensure that ICT progress is rapidly transformed into benefits for Europe"s citizens, businesses, industry and governments. These activities will also help reducing the digital divide and social exclusion. Information and are critical to Europe"s future and underpin the realisation of the agenda. They have a catalytic impact in three key areas: productivity and innovation, modernisation of public services and advances in science and technology. Half of the productivity gains in our economies are explained by the impact of ICT on products, services and business processes. ICT is the leading factor in boosting innovation and creativity and in mastering change in value chains across industry and service sectors. ICT is essential to meet the rise in demand for health and social care, in particular for people with special needs including the ageing population, AM 126 and to modernise services in domains of public interest such as education, cultural heritage, security, energy, transport and the environment and to promote accessibility and transparency of governance and policy development processes. ICT plays an important role in RTD management and communication and AM 126 is catalytic in the advance of other fields of science and technology as it transforms the way researchers conduct their research, co-operate and innovate. The escalating economic and societal demands, together with the continued mainstreaming of ICT and the need to push further the technology limits as well as to develop innovative high-value products and services AM 126 set a growing agenda for research. To bring technology closer to people and organisational needs means: hiding technology complexity and revealing functionality on demand; making technology functional AM 126, very simple to use, available and affordable; providing new applications, solutions and services that are trusted, reliable, and adaptable to the users" context and preferences. Driven by the demand of more-for-less, ICT researchers are involved in a global race focussing on to achieve further miniaturisation, to mastering the convergence of computing, communications and media technologies, including further interoperability between systems and the convergence with other relevant sciences and disciplines, and to on systems that are able to learn and evolve AM 126. From these diverse efforts a new wave of technologies is emerging. ICT research activities will also draw on a broader range of scientific and technological disciplines including bio- and life sciences, psychology, pedagogy, cognitive and social sciences and the humanities. ICT is one the most research intensive sectors. The ICT research effort, public and private, represents a third of the total research effort in all major economies. Although Europe already enjoys industrial and technological leadership in key ICT fields it lags in investing in ICT research behind its major competitors. Only through a renewed and more intensive pooling of the effort at European level will we be able to make the most of the opportunities that progress in ICT can offer. ICT research activity based on the "open source" development model is proving its utility as a source of innovation and increasing collaboration. AM 128 The results of ICT research can take various exploitation paths and lead to various business models . The ICT research activities will be closely articulated with policy actions for ICT deployment and with regulatory measures within a comprehensive and holistic strategy. Priorities have been set following extensive consultations including input from a series of Platforms and industrial initiatives in areas such as nano-electronics, microsystems, embedded systems, mobile and communications, electronic media, photonics AM 130, robotics and software, services and Grids, including Free, Libre and () AM 130. Sustainability issues will also be taken into account, particularly in the field of electronics. The role of research into Future and is particularly relevant under this theme to support research at the frontier of knowledge in core ICTs and in their combination with other relevant areas and disciplines; to nurture novel ideas and radically new uses and to explore new options in ICT research roadmaps, including the exploitation of effects AM 153, system integration and smart systems. Nano-electronics, photonics and integrated micro/nano-systems: pushing the limits of miniaturisation, integration, variety, storage and density; increasing performance and manufacturability at lower cost; facilitating incorporation of ICT in range of applications; interfaces; upstream research requiring exploration of new concepts. Ubiquitous and unlimited capacity communication networks: ubiquitous access over heterogeneous networks - fixed, mobile, and broadcasting networks spanning from the personal area to the regional and global area - allowing the seamless delivery of ever higher volumes of data and services anywhere, anytime. Embedded systems, computing and control: powerful, secure and distributed, reliable and efficient computing, storage AM 132 and communication systems and products that are embedded in objects and physical infrastructures and that can sense, control and adapt to their environment; interoperability of discrete and continuous systems. Software, Grids, security and dependability: dynamic, adaptive, dependable and trusted software and services, platforms for software and services, complex systems and new processing architectures, including their provision as a utility. Knowledge, cognitive and learning systems: semantic systems; capturing and exploiting knowledge embedded in web and multimedia content; bio-inspired artificial systems that perceive, understand, learn and evolve, and act autonomously; learning by convivial and humans based on a better understanding of human cognition. Simulation, visualisation, interaction and mixed realities: tools for innovative design, and creativity in products, services and digital media, and for natural, language-enabled and context-rich interaction and communication. New perspectives in ICT drawing on other science and technology disciplines, including insights from mathematics and AM 131 physics, biotechnologies, materials- and life-sciences, for miniaturisation of ICT devices to sizes compatible and interacting with living organisms, to increase performance and user-friendliness of systems and information processing, and for modelling and simulation of the living world. Integration of Technologies: Personal environments: personal communication and computing devices, accessories, wearables, implants; their interfaces and interconnections to services and resources. Home environments: communication, monitoring, control, assistance; seamless interoperability and use of all devices; interactive digital content and services. Robotic systems: advanced autonomous systems; cognition, control, action skills, natural interaction and cooperation AM 137; miniaturisation, humanoid technologies. Intelligent infrastructures: tools making infrastructures that are critical to everyday life more efficient and user-friendly, easier to adapt and maintain, more robust to usage and resistant to failures. ICT meeting societal challenges: New systems, novel materials, structures, technologies and services in areas of public interest improving quality, efficiency, access and inclusiveness, including accessibility for the disabled AM 138; user friendly applications, integration of new technologies and initiatives such as ambient assisted living. - for health, improving disease prevention and health care provisions, AM 112 early diagnosis, treatment AM 112 and personalisation; autonomy, safety, monitoring and mobility of patients; health information space for knowledge discovery and management AM 140. - to improve inclusion and equal participation and prevent digital divides; assistive technology for elderly and for disabled people; design-for-all. - for mobility; intelligent transportation systems, vehicles and intelligent service solutions for tourism enabling people and goods to move safely, ecologically AM 141, comfortably and efficiently. - in support of the environment, risk management and sustainable development, to prevent or reduce vulnerability and to mitigate the consequences of natural disasters, industrial accidents and human activities related to economic development. - for governments at all levels AM 142: efficiency, openness and accountability, for a world-class public administration and links to citizens and businesses, supporting democracy, allowing access to information to all. ICT for content, creativity and personal development: - new media paradigms and new forms of content, including entertainment; creation of and access to AM 146 interactive digital content; enriched user experiences; cost-effective content delivery; digital rights management; hybrid media. - technology-enhanced learning; adaptive and contextualised learning solutions; learning. - systems to support accessibility and use over time of digital cultural and scientific AM 148 resources and assets, in a multilingual/multicultural AM 148 environment. ICT supporting businesses and industry: - new forms of dynamic networked co-operative business processes, digital eco-systems including for empowering small and medium-sized organisations and communities AM 324/rev; optimised work organisation and collaborative work environments such as knowledge sharing and interactive services (e.g. for tourism) AM 324. - Manufacturing, including traditional industries AM 149: rapid and adaptive design, production and delivery of highly customised goods; digital and virtual production; modelling, simulation, optimisation AM 149 and presentation tools; miniature and integrated ICT products; ICT for trust and confidence: identity management; authentication and authorization; privacy enhancing technologies; rights and asset management; protection against cyber threats. Nano-sciences, Nano-technologies, Materials and new Improve the competitiveness of European industry and generate knowledge to ensure its transformation from a resource-intensive to a knowledge-intensive industry, by generating step changes in knowledge and implementing decisive knowledge for new applications at the crossroads between different technologies and disciplines. This will benefit both new, high-tech industries and higher-value, knowledge-based traditional industries, with a special focus to the appropriate dissemination of RTD results to SMEs AM 154 . These activities are primarily concerned with enabling technologies which impact all industrial sectors and many other FP7 Themes. The increasing difficulties affecting many industrial activities appears no longer to be limited to traditional sectors with a high labour intensity, but is beginning to be observed in intermediate sectors - which constitute the established strengths of European industry - and even in some high-technology sectors. A strong industrial base must be maintained by strengthening the knowledge content in the existing industry as well as , in Europe, a strong knowledge-based, knowledge intensive industry, stressing the exploitation of basic research for industrial applications. This will include the modernisation of the existing SME base and the creation and subsequent growth of new knowledge-driven SMEs, from the dissemination of knowledge and expertise through collaborative programmes. The competitiveness of the industry of the future will largely depend on nano-technologies and their applications. RTD in nano-sciences and nano-technologies taken up by several areas can accelerate European industry"s transformation. The EU has recognised leadership in fields such as in nano-sciences, nano-technologies, materials and production technologies which must be strengthened in order to secure and increase the EU position in a highly competitive global context. Materials with new properties are key to the future competitiveness of European industry and the basis for technical progress in many areas. Industry-relevant priorities and their integration for sectoral applications can be established through activities like Technology Platforms in fields such as nano-electronics, manufacturing, power generation, steel, chemistry, energy, the transport industry, construction, industrial safety, textiles, ceramics, forest-based industry and nano-medicine AM 155. This will help establish common research priorities and targets. In addition by responding flexibly to new policy needs that arise during the lifetime of FP7, the relevant policy, regulatory and standardisation, and impact issues will be addressed. Generating new knowledge on interface and size dependent phenomena; nano-scale control of material properties for new applications; integration of technologies at the nano-scale including monitoring and sensing; self-assembling properties; nano-motors; nano-machines and nano-systems; methods and tools for characterisation and manipulation at nano-dimensions; nano- and high-precision technologies in chemistry for the manufacture of basic materials and components AM 156; study and production of nano-metre precise components; impact on human safety, health and the environment AM 156; metrology, monitoring and sensing AM 156, nomenclature and standards; exploration of new concepts and approaches for sectoral applications, including the integration and convergence of emerging technologies. Activities will also investigate the impact of nano-technology on society and the relevance of nano-science and technology for the solution of societal problems. Generating new knowledge on high-performance surfaces and materials for new products and processes as well as for their repair; knowledge-based materials with tailored properties and predictable performance; more reliable design and simulation; computational modelling; higher complexity; environmental compatibility; integration of nano-micro-macro functionality in the chemical technology and materials processing industries; new nano-materials including nano-composites AM 156, bio-materials, and hybrid materials, including design and control of their processing, properties and performance. Creating conditions and assets for sustainable knowledge-intensive production, including construction, development and validation of new paradigms responding to emerging industrial needs and fostering the modernisation of industry base; development of generic production assets for adaptive, networked and knowledge-based production; development of new concepts exploiting the convergence of technologies (e.g., nano, micro, bio, geo, AM 156 info, optical, AM 156 cognitive and their requirements) for the next generation of high value-added new or renewed products and services, and adaptation to the changing needs; engage high-throughput production technologies. Integration of technologies for industrial applications Integrating new knowledge, nano- and micro-technologies, materials and production in sectoral and cross sectoral applications such as: health, food, construction and , transport, energy, information and communication, chemistry, environment, textiles and clothing, footwear AM 156 , forest-based industry, steel, mechanical . Adapting the current energy system into a more sustainable one, less dependent of imported fuels based on a diverse mix of energy sources, in particular renewables, energy and non-polluting sources; enhancing energy efficiency, including by rationalising use and storage of energy; addressing the pressing challenges of security of supply and climate change, whilst increasing the competitiveness of Europe"s industries. Energy systems are confronted with major challenges. The urgency to identify and AM 158 develop adequate and timely solutions is justified by the alarming trends in global energy demand, the finite nature of conventional oil and natural gas reserves and AM 158 the need to curb dramatically emissions of greenhouse gases to mitigate the devastating consequences of climate change, the damaging volatility of oil prices (in particular for the transport sector which is heavily oil dependent) and geopolitical instability in supplier regions. Energy research is an important contribution towards ensuring affordable energy costs for our citizens and industries. AM 158 Research and demonstration are needed to provide the most environmentally and cost-effective technologies and measures enabling the EU to meet its targets under the Kyoto Protocol and beyond and to implement its energy policy commitments, as described in the 2000 on the security of energy supply , the 2005 on Energy Efficiency and the 2006 on a European strategy for sustainable competitive and secure energy . Europe has developed world leadership in a number of energy generation and energy efficiency AM 159 technologies. It is the pioneer in modern renewable energy technologies, such as solar energy AM 159, bio- and wind energy. The EU is also a global competitor in power generation and distribution technologies and has a strong research capability in the area of carbon capture and sequestration. These positions, however, are now facing AM 159 severe competition (in particular from the US and ). Therefore Europe must maintain and develop its leading position which requires large efforts and international collaboration. Radically transforming the energy system into a less- or non-CO2-emitting, reliable, competitive and sustainable energy system AM 160 requires new technologies with risks that are too high and the profits AM 160 too uncertain for private firms to provide all the investment needed for research, development, demonstration and deployment. Public support should therefore play a key role in mobilising private investment and European efforts and resources should be combined in a coherent and more effective , to compete with economies that are investing heavily and consistently in similar technologies. European technology platforms play an important role in this regard, by mobilising the necessary research effort in a coordinated . The activities to meet the objective are set out below.