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Innovate UK, through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, invites proposals for its call on electronics, sensors and photonics for robotics in extreme environments. This supports the development of reliable extreme environment grade electronics, sensors and photonics for robotics and AI systems. Solutions must be capable of surviving and operating in extreme and challenging environments. Proposals must include mission-specific performance and regulatory targets, and show an understanding of the challenge in RAI systems in extreme environments, including the market specifically addressed in the proposal. Extreme environments may include offshore and nuclear energy, space and deep mining. ESP technologies and innovations include sensing and actuation, on-board electronics, radio frequency electronics, power supplies, control systems and task-oriented payloads. Projects may focus on one or more of the following themes, or another appropriate area:

•optics and photonics based sensing;

•compound semiconductor based electronics;

•p²¹³¦°ì²¹²µ¾±²Ô²µ;

•modelling and simulation.

Projects must be carried out the UK and candidates should exploit the results in or from the UK. For feasibility studies, SMEs must lead and may work alone or collaborate with other businesses, research organisations, public sector organisations or charities. For collaborative R&D, including industrial research or experimental development, businesses of any size must lead and must collaborate with other businesses, research organisations, public sector organisations or charities. Consortia must include at least one SME. ÌÇÐÄTVes must be eligible to receive state aid. Non-eligible organisations may be included but cannot receive funding. ÌÇÐÄTVes can lead on one application and collaborate on a further two. Non-leading businesses can collaborate on three applications.

The total budget is £2 million. The total project costs must be between £25,000 and £100,000 for feasibility studies lasting up to one year, and between £50,000 and £250,000 for collaborative R&D lasting up to 18 months. For feasibility studies and industrial research, funding is provided at up to 70 per cent of eligible project costs for micro or small businesses, up to 60 per cent for medium-sized businesses and up to 50 per cent for large businesses. For experimental development activities that are nearer to market, funding is provided at up to 45 per cent of eligible project costs for micro or small businesses, up to 35 per cent for medium-sized businesses and up to 25 per cent for large businesses.