Third IMAGINE-B5G Open Call for Vertical Experiments
ClosedBeneficiary & submission
IMAGINE-B5G brings together four advanced 5G experimental facilities, located in Norway, Spain, Portugal, and France. These facilities will capitalise on the previous 5G-PPP infrastructure (ICT-17) and vertical trial projects (ICT-19) by drawing analogies and reusing the platform components as much as possible. Given that IMAGINE-B5G partners have collectively participated in all the previous ICT-17 and ICT-19 projects, this will ensure a successful implementation of SNS-D-01-01 goals and expected outcomes.
Collectively, the facilities will support a set of B5G applications (including immersive holographic, haptic and telepresence communications for enhanced human interaction) enabled by the integration of advanced 5G technologies, including 5G positioning, zero-touch solutions, network capability exposure, edge computing, advanced IoT solutions, network data analytics, millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, advanced combinations of private and public networks, and open architectures. The infrastructure of the facilities in Norway, Spain and Portugal will be based on industry equipment and components. The French facility will bring a completely open-source E2E 5G implementation. The different facilities of IMAGINE-B5G will have diverse set of advanced 5G technologies. As such the project will implement facility federation with easy-to-use portal and APIs to enable vertical trials to seamlessly leverage resources regardless of the actual facility providing them. The architectures will ensure the accessibility and openness as well as forward compatibility of the facility infrastructure using an open framework through portal and open APIs to provide access across the multiple interworking facility sites.
The functionalities built into the IMAGINE-B5G platform will enable the project to identify, monitor and validate not only use case specific KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), but also KVIs (Key societal Value Indicators), at different levels (application, management/network and societal), demonstrating the value of the advanced 5G solutions and ultimately fostering the widespread adoption of these technologies. A special focus will be on providing security testing across all facilities to allow for discovery of vulnerabilities. This will be carried out by employing a common framework which will support the demonstration and evaluation of a range of advanced KPIs and KVIs.
IMAGINE-B5G has the ambition of enhancing collaboration on integration and validation of the B5G platform, addressing the technical, business, economic, and societal challenges that will arise along the way. In addition to the technological advances, the project will investigate the business interactions of the stakeholders that are involved in the different vertical ecosystems and will deliver novel business models that unlock new revenue streams and establish viable vertical markets. Beyond the vertical sector business models, IMAGINE-B5G will develop the platform business models and the necessary economic mechanisms that will guarantee the sustainable operation of the facilities during SNS programme, considering also the potential of the platform commercialization.
IMAGINE-B5G has set out a comprehensive plan to on-board the third parties (e.g., SMEs, industry, and researchers) via open-calls (40% of the project budget will be devoted for open-calls, i.e., 4.44 M€). This includes a 3-phase approach where each phase is associated with a release of the IMAGINE-B5G platform and a Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) open-call for vertical experiments through pilots and trials. Note: IMAGINE-B5G targets to allocate at least 50% of the open-call budget to the SMEs, scaleups and start-ups. To this end, the open calls will specifically prioritize projects that will involve SMEs, scaleups and start-ups.
The third open-call (OC-3) will be published in October 2024 and will remain open for two months, with an expected start date of projects in March 2025. In the third open-call, third parties are invited to present proposals in one of the following tracks:
(i)To test and validate their novel vertical applications through pilots and trials on the IMAGINE-B5G facilities.
Deadline of Open Call 3: 2nd December 2024
Expected duration of participation: The selected projects will be given up to 6 months to carry out their experiments.
Maximum amount of financial support for each third party: The projects selected can be awarded a maximum budget up to €60,000 (for one partner).
Call identifier: 101096452-OC-3
Language in which proposal should be submitted: English
Web link for further information the official project web site: https://imagineb5g.eu/3rd-open-call/
address for further information: imagine-b5g-opencall@iteam.upv.es
Submission and Evaluation Process:
The evaluation of proposals will be carried out by the IMAGINE-B5G FSTP Evaluation Board, which is composed by a group of internal and external experts to ensure scientific excellence, transparency, and non-conflict of interest. All submitted proposals will be evaluated using criteria similar to Horizon Europe by at least three evaluators one of which will be external. All evaluators will be asked to sign a non-conflict of interest agreement, to ensure selection process independence. The recruitment of the evaluators will also follow an OC process to ensure full transparency. While forming the Evaluation Board, we will pay extra attention to have the board with a broad range of experience on the specific topics addressed by the call. The evaluation criteria have been defined:
- Excellence (0 to 5 points): Proposals must demonstrate a clear set of objectives aligned with the definition of the IMAGINE-B5G Call and with the general objectives of the project. The experiment should be scientifically and/or technically sound. For vertical experiments, there should be a clear problem statement a solid experiment design, and a good methodology. For platform extensions, the applicant should clearly indicate the usefulness and feasibility of the extensions. The applicant should exhibit prior research/development experience and the necessary qualifications to perform the vertical experiment. The Excellence is evaluated according to the following criteria: (i) Clarity and pertinence of the objectives; (ii) Excellence, innovation, and quality of the objectives and the methodology. Minimum score to pass the evaluation: 3.
- Impact (0 to 5 points): Proposals must define a clear set of deliverables aligned with the objectives of the call. Proposals must demonstrate adequate impact on the IMAGINE-B5G ecosystem and its contribution to meeting the overall objectives of IMAGINE-B5G project. For scientific impact of vertical experiments, the score reflects the extent to which the broader scientific community can benefit from the proposed solution. For the industrial impact of vertical experiments, the score reflects the potential for exploiting the results of the experiment in commercial solutions. The impact is evaluated according to the following criteria: (i) Strengthening the competitiveness and growth of 6G by deploying a use-case and stimulating innovation/disruption that meet the needs of European and global markets; (ii) Effectiveness of the proposed measures to exploit and disseminate the funded project results, to overall communicate the project, and to manage research data where relevant. Minimum score to pass the evaluation: 3.
- Implementation (0 to 5 points): Proposals must provide credible evidence that the project delivery team has the necessary skills, resources, infrastructure, and management experience to be able to deliver the project in the timescales and budget specified. The quality and the efficiency of the implementation will be evaluated according to the following criteria: (i) Coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, including appropriateness of the allocation of tasks and resources, justification of resources; (ii) Appropriateness of the skills and experience of the project delivery team. Minimum score to pass the evaluation: 3.
Minimum total score to pass the evaluation: 10.
Socio-economic and other relevant non-technical aspects will also be considered.
A number of top-ranked proposals will be selected to achieve the target budget of the call. IMAGINE-B5G targets to allocate at least 50% of the open-call budget to the SMEs, scaleups and start-ups. To reach this target, during the final selection and ranking of the proposals, two different ranking lists will be created: one for SMEs, scaleups and start-ups, and one for all the other projects. The budget then will be distributed to the top ranked projects (starting from the SMEs, scaleups and start-ups list) to the facilities based on the specified number of open call users each facility can support.
To ensure a balanced portfolio covering as many strategic sectors as possible, grants will be awarded to proposals not only in order of ranking but also considering broad coverage of different sectors. The sectors that are not covered by higher ranked proposals can be prioritized given that the proposals for these sectors attain all required thresholds.
IMAGINE-B5G has shortlisted the following seven verticals: Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR), media, education, smart agriculture & forestry, eHealth, transportation & logistics, and Industry 4.0. In this document, we are providing a short description of the desired vertical experiments (alongside the facility that they can be performed) and linked used cases for each of these verticals. It is important to highlight that the use case Improved localization mechanisms for transportation and logistics offered in the Portuguese Facility is identified as the missing use case in the gap analysis performed in IMAGINE-B5G, therefore it will be given the highest priority during the selection of the OC3 projects. However, IMAGINE-B5G projects welcomes any other vertical or different use cases under the specified verticals.