The PRIME-VR2 project has received notification from the European Commission informing the consortium that its work on “Bespoke controllers for upper limb rehabilitation in virtual reality “has been highlighted on the EC’s Innovation Radar. The project aims to develop a state-of-art digital environment for VR rehabilitation at home through a virtual gaming space that will provide proper stimulation and friendly competition.
This work led by the University of Malta, Loud1Design and the University of Strathclyde, has been chosen as an example of a leading innovation arising for EU funded research projects. In addition, Loud1Design, University of Strathclyde and the University of Malta have all been identified as 'Key Innovators' in the development of this innovation and will be highlighted on the Innovation Radar platform.
The Bespoke controllers for upper limb rehabilitation in virtual reality were highlighted as being Tech ready under the Mark Maturity section along with having a noteworthy Market Creation potential into the future. Tech Ready solutions as noted as innovations progressing on technology development process (e.g., pilots, prototypes, demonstration) and are considered ‘Advanced on technology preparation’. In addition, a number of additional opportunities will be provided to Key Innovators, including a hosted business profile on the Radar platform to highlight their businesses innovation actions and the opportunity to apply for “go to market” training and support from Dealflow.eu, the support action of the Innovation Radar financed by Horizon Europe.
In the near future, this innovation will be published on the European Commission's Innovation Radar platform, along with the names of the beneficiary organisations in the project identified by Innovation Radar as a 'key innovator’. Details of the EU-funded project the innovation was developed within will also appear on the platform, celebrating this success of PRIME-VR2 to date. The information will be accessible to the public and will join the 7600+ EU-funded innovations already showcased on the platform. The Innovation Radar platform builds on the information and data gathered by independent experts involved in reviewing ongoing research and innovation projects funded by the EC, with these experts providing an independent view regarding the innovations in the projects and their market potential
The Innovation Radar is a European Commission program to identify high potential innovations and innovators in EU-funded research and innovation projects. Its goal is to allow every citizen, public official, professional and businesspeople to discover the outputs of EU innovation funded projects and establish future collaborations with innovators who could follow in the footsteps of companies such as Skype, TomTom, ARM Holdings, all of whom received EU funding in their early days. The platform is a first step in achieving such ambitions by making information about EU-funded innovations from high-quality projects visible and accessible to the public via the platform.
PRIME-VR2 are proud of this acknowledgement, the excellent work completed by Loud1Design, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Malta, and foresee that their inclusion in this initiative will open up new opportunities partnerships with business or academic organisations and support additional interest from potential customers or investors in the projects innovations. The Loud1Design team was led by Brian Loudon, supported by Robbie Bellshaw, designing and optimising the developed assistive controller hardware. The University of Strathclyde team was led by Dr Andrew Wodehouse and includes Lewis Urquhart and Craig Finland. The team at the University of Malta is led by Prof Philip Farrugia, from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (DIME), and includes Dr Pierre Vella, Emanuel Balzan, Edward Abela and Sean Agius, Prof. Glenn Cassar from the Department of Metallurgy and Material Engineering and Dr Maria Victoria Gauci from the Department of Disability Studies.
Collaborating Partners in this project:
University of Pisa, University of Strathclyde, University of Malta, University of Oulu, University College London, Loud1design, Kerubiel, Flying Squirrel Games, Capitola Digital, Crowdhelix, Inlecom Innovation, Saint James Hospital, Nicomed Rehabilitation Centre and Global Disability Innovation Hub.
