6G-BRICKS 1st Open Call

Description

Proposals for covering, but not limited: 1. Digital Twins solutions for RAN emulation 2. NWDAF functions and O-RAN ML frameworks 3. Experimentation xApps 4. RIS and other devices in the form of O-RAN RUs 5. XAI driven Causal Reasoning and Anomaly Detection modules for the 6G-BRICKS Orchestrator 6. IoT Edge computing platforms for expanding the 6G-BRICKS compute continuum 7. Joint Communication & Sensing technologies 8. Digital beamforming algorithms and/or synchronization algorithms validated on offline datasets of 5G waveforms and motion capture data collected at KUL 9. Expanding the 6G-BRICKS facility experimentation capabilities as well as further topics of community interest Topics 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 will be open for proposals from any eligible beneficiary, whereas topics 2 and 9 will be exclusively designated for SMEs.

Beneficiary & submission

Admissibility& Eligibility Criteria: * The rules for participation and funding in the Open Calls are subject to the General Annexes to Horizon Europe for the Work Programme 2023-2024. * Type of Activity: The use of 6G-BRICKS Experimental facility is a compulsory requirement for all experimenters. * Type of 3rd party: SME and/or RTO and/or Big Company (maximum consortium 2 beneficiaries) Feasibility check: The Feasibility Check is a preliminary step in the 6G-BRICKS Open Calls process. Before applicants submit their full proposals, they are required to send a Feasibility Check Form. This form includes a project summary and details about the requested 6G-BRICKS resources. The 6G-BRICKS Open Calls Selection Committee reviews this information to assess the feasibility of the proposed project. The Feasibility Check is a crucial step to ensure that proposed projects align with the goals and resources available in the 6G-BRICKS Open Calls. If the project passes the Feasibility Check, applicants are given the green light to proceed with the submission of a full proposal. To perform the feasibility check, a description of the planned experiment (up to one page in length) must be sent to opencalls@6g-bricks.eu, using the template provided at https://6g-bricks.eu/open-calls/, before the 29th of February. Submission: Submissions to the first Open Call will be enabled on Tuesday, January 2nd 2024 and will end on Thursday, March 22nd 2024, at 17:00 CET time. Selected projects are expected to start on 1stof July 2024. The 6G-BRICKS open call management platform (www.6g-bricks.eu/open-calls/ ) must be used for all proposals’ submissions. The proposals must be submitted by using the mandatory proposal template, available on the project website at www.6g-bricks.eu/open-calls/ Language in which the proposal should be submitted is English. Evaluation: To perform evaluations, the project will involve independent experts, which are not part of the 6G-Bricks consortium and cannot evaluate proposals where a conflict of interest can be identified. The independent experts will perform the proposal evaluations, including their rating and ranking, in accordance with requirements and objectives specified in the Open Call. All submitted proposals will be evaluated using criteria similar to Horizon Europe. Evaluation of the received proposals, final ranking, and decision on proposals to be funded, including notifications to the proposers, will be completed latest until end of April 2024.

Further information

Further information: * Beneficiaries: Beneficiaries must be consortia composed of up to 2 legal entities (SME and/or Big Company and/or RTO) acting as technology providers and/or application providers for use case implementation. All organizations have to be established in any of EU Member States and their Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) or Horizon Europe Associated Country. 6G-BRICKS partners can NOT be involved in the grantees’ projects neither their affiliates nor employees – including persons working under employment contract or contract or similar to employment contract and board members. * Exclusion: Grants will not be awarded in the event of: 1. Bankruptcy, winding up, court-administered affairs, creditor arrangements, suspended business activities, or other comparable procedures (including procedures that involve persons who have unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts). 2. Non-compliance with social security or tax obligations (including if such noncompliance is committed by persons with unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts). 3. Commission of grave professional misconduct. * Countries: EU member States and their Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) or Horizon Europe Associated Countries see here. Following the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506, as of 16th December 2022, no legal commitments can be signed with Hungarian public interest trusts established under Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity they maintain. * Funding Support: Fixed Lump Sum per sub-project. The maximum funding per beneficiary is €60,000 and the maximum funding per sub-project is €120,000. A dedicated allocation of at least 30% of the total budget has been earmarked specifically to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).