Fundamental Science and Outreach for Capacity-on-demand and Dynamic Airspace
HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA1-2
- Programme
- Digital European Sky Exploratory Research 01
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- April 7, 2022
- Deadline
- October 13, 2022
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €3,750,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €3,750,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €3,750,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 1
Description
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes.
- Capacity. Project results are expected to contribute to capacity by identifying different sector volumes for complexity detection and resolution, while balancing workloads and optimising the use of resources. In addition, increased use of middle airspace (approximately between 15 000 ft and 25 000 ft) is expected to have a positive impact on capacity.
- Operational efficiency. Project results are expected to improve operational efficiency in terms of human performance and the resilience of the staff involved (e.g. ATCOs) to new working methods generated as a result of new/different task allocation strategies.
- Safety. Project results are expected to maintain at least the same level of safety as the current ATM system.
The SESAR 3 JU has identified the following innovative research elements that could be used to achieve the expected outcomes. The list is not intended to be prescriptive; proposals for work on areas other than those listed below are welcome, provided they include adequate background and justification to ensure clear traceability with the R&I needs set out in the SRIA for the capacity on demand and dynamic airspace flagship.
- Human performance challenges in an ATM environment with higher levels of automation. The ATM system can be seen as a joint human–machine cognitive system deriving from an integrated design that optimises the collaboration of actors with a view to improving system performance (R&I need: on-demand ATS). The research will address:
- human performance aspects related to higher levels of automation (e.g. stress, lack of attention, deskilling, complacency), and resilience by, for example, developing new approaches to determining suitable task allocation strategies enabling cooperation between ATCOs and/or other ATM actors and automation;
- the development of methods to enable automation to adapt to changes in the environment, such as changes in the behaviour of actors (e.g. modification of operational procedures), the entrance of new actors, and unforeseen traffic or weather situations/disruptions;
- the development and assessment of suitable ML methods for ATM automation that are able to predict which information needs to be provided to enable the human operator to cooperatively work together with the automation;
- new training requirements and programmes for ATCOs and other ATM personnel that take into account the implications of the expected future role of the human and the introduction of new support tools;
- the use of psychophysiological measurements (e.g. neurometrics or the detection of facial expressions) for applications such as stress management systems, fatigue declaration, new training techniques and adaptive automation;
- the privacy and acceptability aspects of the proposed solutions.
- Legal and regulatory challenges in an ATM environment with higher levels of automation. This element covers the challenges related to the means of approval/certification of novel ATM-related airborne and ground systems that enable higher levels of automation (in particular those systems based on ML techniques) by considering both legal and regulatory aspects (including privacy), along with technical aspects (e.g. architecture, system performance, reliability). In addition, potential changes to ATCOs’ licences and training will be assessed, including with regard to the use of conflict detection and resolution support tools by ATCOs in order to ensure capacity growth, in contrast with the trend towards creating smaller sectors where capacity benefits reach a finite limit (R&I need: on-demand ATS).
- Increasing the use of middle airspace. This element addresses the potential business case for increasing the use of middle airspace (approximately between 15 000 ft and 25 000 ft) by jet engine aircraft and the trade-offs between increased capacity (and reduced delays) through the provision of ATFM slots for flights in middle airspace and increased fuel consumption and environmental impact (R&I need: on-demand ATSs).
- Integration of air vehicles and personal air vehicles. In the future, new UAVs and personal air vehicles will fly long range and at higher altitudes to feed airports. This research will investigate the necessary seamless integration of those personal air vehicles into a more automated ATM (R&I need: on-demand ATS).
- Models and theories of behaviour change. An active role for the human factor in system design will be vital to support the transition from the tactical involvement of controllers to management of traffic “by exception”. Research is needed to understand and manage the impact of system changes on human performance and workload in the long term. Readiness to change, barriers to change and likelihood of relapse should be addressed in system design, monitoring and improvement over the long term. Both models of behaviours and behavioural change theories should be investigated as diagnostic tools to explain and predict specific behaviours. Furthermore, resilience in handling abnormal situations should be addressed, in order to understand how this resilience can be maintained with reduced human involvement (R&I need: on-demand ATS).
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
5. Evaluation and award:
- Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in subsection 2.1.3 of the BAWP 2022-2023.
- Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
The following exception applies:
To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
- Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
The following exceptions apply:
Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional exploitation obligations:
For the purpose of complying with the objectives set in the Regulation 2021/2085, the SRIA and the European ATM Master plan, beneficiaries must:
- make available for re-use under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions all relevant results generated in the action, through a well-defined mechanism, in trusted repositories;
- in case the purpose of the specific identified measures to exploit the results of the action is related to standardisation, grant the non-exclusive licence to the results royalty-free;
- in case on linked actions, ensure mutual access to the background and to the results of on-going and closed linked actions, should this be needed for implementing tasks under the linked action(s) or for exploiting results generated by the linked action(s) as defined in the conditions laid down by this (bi)annual work programme and by the call for proposals.
Beneficiaries must acknowledge and incorporate these obligations in the proposal, outlining the efforts they will make towards meeting them and in Annex I to the Grant Agreement.
Grants awarded under this work area will have to submit the following deliverables:
- Concept outline
- Exploratory research plan (ERP)
- Exploratory research report (ERR)
- Data Management Plan (DMP) (to be submitted at the beginning, at mid-term and towards the end of the project)
- plan for dissemination and exploitation including communication activities - CDE (to be submitted within 6 months after signature date and periodically updated)
Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination obligations:
- Beneficiaries must make proactive efforts to share on a royalty free basis, in a timely manner and as appropriate, all relevant results with the other grants awarded under the same call.
- Beneficiaries must acknowledge and incorporate these obligations in the proposal, outlining the efforts they will make towards meeting them and in Annex I to the Grant Agreement.
Specific conditions
7. Specific conditions: described in the specific conditions and topics description per Work Area:
- The maximum project duration is 30 months including a 6-month period at the end of the project life cycle to undertake Communications, Dissemination and exploitation activities on the research results.
- The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in R&I content is not a mandatory requirement.
Documents
Call documents:
Standard HE RIA/IA templates - Available directly in the Submission system. Please note that only Part A of this template is applicable for this call. For Part B, see below.
SESAR 3 application form (RIA/IA) - Part B — this call-specific application form is also available in the Submission System
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) – it will be used with the necessary adaptations based on the specific award criteria (see BAWP, Annex II, section 2.1.3 - Award criteria).
MGA
Additional documents:
SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking Bi-Annual Work Programme (BAWP) 2022-2023
SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking Multi-Annual Work Programme (MAWP) 2022-2031
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 12. Missions
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support & Resources
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Latest Updates
Call HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01 has closed on the 13-10-2022.
72 proposals have been submitted.
The breakdown per topic is:
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA1-1 8
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA1-2 5
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA1-3 3
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA1-4 4
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA1-5 9
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA1-6 7
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA1-7 3
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA2-1 4
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA2-3 6
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA2-4 8
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA2-5 1
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA2-6 2
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA2-7 3
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA2-8 7
- HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA3-1 2
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in February 2022.