AUTOASSESS Open Call #2 for Tech Innovators

Description

AUTOASSESS aims to find solutions to ensure the structural safety of ships, oil and gas and other marine infrastructures. Currently, this task is done by human surveyors who must climb into confined areas such as ballast tanks or cargo holds, which represent extremely dangerous GNSS-denied environments. The inspection is a physically demanding task, done in tight enclosed spaces, difficult to access, with low/no light, slippery surfaces and with low/no oxygen and toxic gases. The overall goal of AUTOASSESS is to remove human surveyors and workers from dangerous and dirty confined areas of offshore structures by employing an autonomous robotic system that exceeds human capabilities and is able to perform maritime vessel classifications. To address this goal, AUTOASSESS aims to employ a robot and remove human surveyors out of harm’s way, while at the same time obtaining an accurate, repeatable, and quick vessel inspection. The overall objective of the AUTOASSESS FSTP mechanism is to further promote the development & deployment of the AUTOASSESS solution through the engagement of innovative technological third parties, providing solutions to specific project’s challenges or proposing new ideas/ concepts that generate value to AUTOASSESS. The AUTOASSESS Open Call #2 for Tech Innovators will fund nine (9) projects addressing key challenges aligned with the overall AUTOASSESS project. The awarded projects will start their activities in July 2026 and have an implementation period of nine months, divided into three stages: Stage 1 – Plan [1 month, 40% of the grant] Stage 2 – Develop and Integrate [6 months, 40% of the grant] Stage 3 – Assess [2 months, 20% of the grant] At the end of each stage, sub-grantees must provide a report that will lead to the indicated payment associated to the stage. All sub-grantees will be provided with monitoring and other technical support.

Beneficiary & submission

The AUTOASSESS Open Call #2 for Tech Innovators invites entities to propose innovative technology solutions that are aligned with the project’s use cases and answer to project defined challenges. The open call accepts applications from single legal entities, applying alone or in a consortium of two partners, and must be a start-up or an SME. The open call accepts applications from EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated countries (please consult the Guidelines for conditions). Applicants are required to register at FS6 to be able to submit their proposals. Apply here: https://www.f6s.com/autoassess-oc2-tech-innovations/apply. When applying, applicants must provide administrative information, indicate the use challenge they are applying to, and upload their technical proposal (following the provided template). All applications will be subject to an initial administrative eligibility check. The remote evaluation will be done by internal evaluators. The evaluation criteria are the following: (1) Technology Concept, (2) Ambition & Scalability Potential, (3) Implementation, and (4) Team Skills & Expertise. Each criterion will be scored 0-5 with a minimum threshold of 3 points. Specific selection rules apply to ensure a each challenge receives at least one project. The AUTOASSESS Open Call #2 for Tech Innovators will fund nine (9) projects with a maximum budget of €150,000 per project.

Further information

Full details about the AUTOASSESS Open Call #2 for Tech Innovators can be found at: https://autoassess.eu/open-call-2/ . Apply directly to the call here: https://www.f6s.com/autoassess-oc2-tech-innovations/apply.