This is part of a broader total budget of €122 million mobilized from the European Commission’s research and innovation program, Horizon 2020, for urgently needed actions to address the coronavirus. This call will also address the repurposing of manufacturing to ensure vital medical supplies and equipment, study the behavioral, social, and economic impacts of the outbreak, and establish pan-European cohorts on COVID-19.
Supporting innovative solutions during the coronavirus crisis:
There is a wide range of advanced technologies supported by the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology that are already being used or repurposed to combat COVID-19. These include AI, robotics, micro/nano/cyber-physical systems; biophotonics; graphene or related materials; data, AI, and robotics; eHealth, telemedicine, and digital solutions.

Some existing projects are being adapted for this purpose, for example, to implement innovative robotics solutions in healthcare within the framework of the ongoing project "DIH-HERO: Digital Innovation Hubs in Healthcare Robotics." Other technologies can be used to detect pathogens in just a few minutes, sterilize surfaces, automate processes, create better protective equipment such as masks, and analyze data through AI to track cases and the evolution of the disease.
Many governments, companies, and citizen movements have developed mHealth initiatives to keep the population informed and help manage the crisis. The EU-funded mHealth Hub project has created a non-exhaustive compilation of some initiatives developed at the European level.
Rapid results available to all:
The deadline for submissions is June 11, 2020. New solutions must be available and affordable for everyone, in accordance with the principles of the Global Coronavirus Response. To this end, the Commission will include rapid data exchange clauses in grant agreements to ensure that results can be used immediately.
On this website you will find more information about how the Commission is currently working to support Member States in their fight against Covid-19 using digital technologies such as data, supercomputers and artificial intelligence.