Mechatronic ankle foot orthoses have recently attracted significant attention as a means for assisting or augmenting gait functions of impaired and healthy individuals. However, this technology has seldom translated into products that are available to clinicians and the general public. To solve this issue, we aim at training six high-skilled professionals who can design and develop solutions that satisfy the needs of all stakeholders and can translate into products. SmartANKLE will establish a comprehensive training program that will provide the six Doctoral Candidates (DCs) with all the skills required to bring the mechatronic ankle foot orthosis concept into the market. The SmartANKLE group brings together four internationally recognized universities, one hospital and three companies. The SmartANKLE DCs will be trained in all the aspects of the development of a radically new Smart Mechatronic Ankle Foot Orthoses (SMAFO) platform. The components of this platform will be used to assemble different SMAFO configurations able to provide positive torque during gait and that can be utilized in different applications, spanning from gait assistance of stroke survivor, training of sport practitioners and human augmentation. The training will cover all phases of product development: from conceptualization, to design, to translation and testing. The DCs will learn to identify the needs of the different users and to investigate the requirements of all stakeholders. The DCs will formulate a tailored career development plan which includes the acquisition of engineering, research, and management skills, in a training that will foster teamwork, open science practices and gender aspects. The DCs will undergo outreach activities aiming at disseminating SmartAnkle’s impact to a wide array of audiences. SmartANKLE will greatly enhance the career perspectives of the DCs in academia and industry and will set an example for a novel research-intensive industrial doctoral network.

In the LIV:IN project, major industry leaders from the ICT sector join forces to co-create more responsible approaches to innovation for the first time. LIV:IN builds on the premise that recognition of the value of RRI among industry is necessary for achieving the aim of the call “to progress further in integrating RRI in industrial contexts”. The project follows an opportunity oriented approach in order to (1) activate industry leaders, experts and citizens to experiment with responsible ways of co-creating innovations; (2) build capacity for RRI implementation and develop tools that are applicable across industry sectors; and (3) transform attitudes towards RRI from risk to opportunity. LIV:IN will demonstrate the added value of RRI in the area of smart future living. We carefully selected this application area because it directly impacts the lives of citizens (societal relevance) but also constitutes a major emerging market (business opportunity). The project includes four key features that will significantly enhance the quality of the proposed coordination and support activities. First, six LIV:IN Labs and a virtual community of practice will constitute the central spaces for experimentation with integrating RRI in industry, and, consequently, the development of new approaches to innovation. Second, the application and continuous improvement of RRI tools in these spaces will contribute to capacity-building among industry and citizens alike. Third, embedded audio-visual story-telling will be the main vehicle for disseminating results and for shifting attitudes towards RRI from risk to opportunity. Finally, continuous dialogue with earlier and present initiatives in the areas of RRI, CSR and open innovation will ensure the transferability of project results across industry sectors. Ultimately, LIV:IN is guided by its vision to become a flagship initiative for effective integration of RRI in industry.

Medtech products belongs to a huge expanding market, in which Europe hosts some of the biggest global player, accounting for 30% of the world market and for more than 575,000 people employed by nearly 25,000 medical technology companies – 95% of which are SMEs. Symbionica project focuses on the manufacturing of personalized bionics, smart endoprosthetics and exo-prosthetics that require geometric and functional customization. The Symbionica concept integrates an innovative machine performing deposition of advanced materials and subtractive processes along with a supply chain distributed co-engineering platform for advanced design and full personalization involving all relevant stakeholders, design and engineering of the products and through-life services. Symbionica manufacturing solution is conceived as a multi-material AM machine for material deposition and ablation, flexible and reconfigurable in the working cube, the material processing, the technology and the manufacturing strategy, with an advanced closed loop control methodology for product and process quality monitoring. This way Symbionica products are manufactured in one processing step, complex in shape, 3D structured and joint free. The Cooperative Design Platform will guarantee seamless data integration, reverse engineering from patient and parametric design to couple patient specific parts to standard ones. At the end, a Bionic Through-life Sensing System will support the patient to approach and gradually become comfortable with the prosthesis by assisting him with an exercise plan, a physiology monitoring platform and an on-line prosthesis data collection. The Symbionica consortium involves 3 LE, 6 SME and 2 RTD partners from 5 EU countries embracing the Medtech value chain from the patient and prosthetist to the technology providers of the mechatronics modules, IT solutions and control platforms.