Technology Strategy BoardDriving Innovation

Enhancing Manufacturing through AutomationCOMPETITION FOR COLLABORATIVE R&D FUNDING JANUARY 2013

02 | Technology Strategy Board

Enhancing Manufacturing through AutomationCOMPETITION FOR COLLABORATIVE R&D FUNDING

Summary

The Technology Strategy Board is to invest up to £7m in collaborative R&D to develop, enhance or improve automation systems and equipment, including the use of robotics – driving significant improvements in complex manufacturing processes, including those of food. Additional funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of up to £1m may be available for projects that contain a significant, high-quality academic research component and demonstrate added value by building on or being complementary to existing research programmes and portfolios.

Of the total £8m available, £2m will be specifically allocated to automation in the food sector.

Proposals must be collaborative and business-led and include a potential end- user. We expect to fund mainly industrial research projects in which a business partner will generally attract up to 50% public funding for their project costs (60% for SMEs). Projects should last from one to three years, with total project costs in the range of £500k to £2m, although we will consider projects outside this range.

This competition is a two-stage process, which opens on 21 January 2013. Expressions of interest (EOI) must be submitted by noon on 6 March 2013. A briefing day for potential applicants will be held in London on 24 January 2013.

Background and challenge

Automation and mechanisation of manufacturing processes has the potential to improve the quality and productivity of UK Manufacturing, whilst consuming less energy and generating less waste. Automation also helps to connect engineering design, manufacturing and enterprise systems, enabling a customer-driven, responsive production environment.

There are a number of barriers to UK industry in realising this vision. These include challenges with system integration and data capture; the problem of accommodating automation within product development lifecycles; a lack of automation skills, and a lack of awareness of what automation can do within UK Manufacturing.

The aim of this competition is to support the development of advanced systems and improved technologies for the automation of manufacturing in all industry sectors, including automotive, aerospace, oil & gas, chemicals, food and pharmaceuticals production.

Scope

We expect to fund mainly industrial research projects that develop new technology for automating manual operations, or enhance and improve existing automation technologies, in order to expand the use of these systems and increase the benefits derived from them.

The following examples are illustrative but not exhaustive of innovative automation systems and equipment that could be developed in a successful project. We will also consider projects that improve other aspects of automation and mechanisation, enhancing the manufacturing process.

System integration

The development of tools and systems to enable interoperability between design, operations and business systems. This could include systems that learn and adapt to changing situations, or connect up business and manufacturing systems. Proposals should support the development of the UK’s system integrator capability and aim to reduce the risk involved in integration projects.

Design for automation

Systems and software for enabling the use of automation across the full lifecycle of production. This could include the development of generic toolkits of automation techniques to aid self-configuration and/or fast set-up of automation systems for new products, and automation of maintenance, servicing and disassembly at end-of-life.

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Enhancing Manufacturing through AutomationCOMPETITION FOR COLLABORATIVE R&D FUNDING

Toolkits should be suitable for use with a variety of applications, production techniques and product volumes, and in a variety of different industries.

Usability

The development of system tools and human/machine interfaces to enable greater usability of automation systems. This could include the development of tools and methods to allow non-automation specialists to design and operate automation controls, or systems that provide operational awareness and information to operators at the point of need.

Material handling methods and equipment

Equipment and processes for enabling automated handling of ‘difficult’ materials such as sticky surfaces, irregular or non-uniform shapes, flexible materials or nano-sized items, or the production of products with contamination or hygiene challenges. Projects may include mechatronics research or situational analysis to determine the required behaviour of grippers and other end effector tools.

Data handling

The development of tools and systems for dealing with large amounts of data in a timely fashion. This could include novel visualisation methods, real-time abnormal situation prediction, or the collation of data from different sources to provide new insights.

Sensing

Development of automation systems integrated into new or enhanced sensing systems. This could include systems that sense and adapt to complex or changing situations.

Out of scope

Projects that only involve applying current state-of-the-art equipment and systems are out of scope. However, projects will be considered where state-of-the-art technology from one industry sector is applied to significant challenges in a different industry sector, where such automation has not previously been exploited.

Funding allocation and project details

We are allocating up to £7m to fund projects in line with the competition scope. Additional funding of up to £1m is available from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). This will be for funding project work packages focusing on automation research carried out by universities that contain a significant high-quality academic component and demonstrate added value by building on, or being complementary to, the universities’ existing research programmes and portfolios.

The competition is open to applications from all market sectors; however, £2m has been allocated to applications from the food industry and a portfolio approach may be used to allocate these funds. Applicants are requested to identify the sector or sectors in which their developments apply, especially if they can be used in food applications.

Collaborative R&D

Projects must be business-led, collaborative, and include a potential end user. Project participants can attract grant funding to cover their eligible project costs depending on the type of organisation involved and the category of R&D being undertaken. In this competition we expect that most projects will involve industrial research, with a business partner attracting 50% public funding for their project costs (60% for SMEs).

We are likely to award grants for projects with total costs in the range of £500k to £2m. We will consider projects outside this range, but applicants for this scale of project must contact competitions@innovateuk.org before submitting their expression of interest.

Looking for partners to work on your project? Go to the dedicated _connect site for this competition:

https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/enhancing-manufacturing-through-automation

N.B the funding rules for projects changed in September 2012. For general guidance on how projects are now funded see: http://www.innovateuk.org/competitions/guidance-for-applicants/funding-rules.ashx

© Technology Strategy Board December 2012 T12/136 Printed on 100% recycled paper.

Enhancing Manufacturing through AutomationCOMPETITION FOR COLLABORATIVE R&D FUNDING

The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led executive non-departmental public body, established by the Government. Its role is to promote and support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve quality of life.

Collaborative research and development is part of the Government’s Solutions for Business portfolio.

The Technology Strategy Board North Star House North Star Avenue Swindon SN2 1UE

Telephone: 01793 442700

www.innovateuk.org

Application process

This is a two-stage competition that opens on 21 January 2013.

Stage 1 – Applicants submit an expression of interest which is assessed

Stage 2 – We invite selected applicants to submit an application.

All applicants must first register via our website by noon on 27 February 2013. Expressions of interest (EOI) must be submitted by noon on 6 March 2013. These are assessed by an independent panel of experts. Selected applicants are then invited to submit a full application. The second stage for invited applications will open on 25 March 2013, with a deadline of noon on 15 May 2013.

Note: All deadlines are at noon.

More informationTo apply for this competition you must first register with us. You can do this by going to our web page for this competition, which is at www.innovateuk.org, under Competitions. When you register you will get access to all the supporting information you need to read before you apply, including the Guidance for Applicants and the application form.

Competition helpline: 0300 321 4357

Email: competitions@innovateuk.org

Publicity

As part of the application process all applicants are asked to submit a public description of their project. This should adequately describe the project but not disclose any information that may impact

on intellectual property, or that may be confidential or commercially sensitive. The titles of successful projects, names of organisations, amounts awarded and the public description will be published once the award is confirmed as final. Information about unsuccessful project applications will remain confidential and will not be made public.

Email pressoffice@tsb.gov.uk with any queries.

Competition opens 21 Jan 2013

Briefing and consortium building event in London 24 Jan 2013

Registration deadline 27 Feb 2013

Expressions of interest (EOI) deadline 6 Mar 2013

Stage 2 opens (for invited applicants) 25 Mar 2013

Deadline for invited applications 15 May 2013

Key dates