https://www.tno.nl
TNO was founded by law in 1932 to enable business and government to apply knowledge. As an organisation regulated by public law, we are independent: not part of any government, university or company.
TNO connects people and knowledge to create innovations that boost the sustainable competitive strength of industry and well-being of society. This is our mission and it is what drives us, the 3,400 professionals at TNO, in our work every day.
As TNO, we can only strengthen the knowledge base for the Netherlands by working together with internationally leading knowledge partners, companies and governments. Given the globalisation of research, TNO is becoming an increasingly international character.
TNO has a breath of knowledge on a broad range of topics. Within robotics, TNO has extensive knowledge on telepresence, human factors, human system integration, multisensory information presentation, Brain-Machine Interfaces, sensor fusion, interpretation of environments, SLAM, network technologies, wearable robotics, social robotics, (semi-)autonomous systems, and human-autonomy teaming.
The form of DIH i-Botics
The University of Twente is one of the four technical universities of the Netherlands. Originally founded in 1961 as the Technische Hogeschool Twente, it was renamed University of Twente in 1986. It offers a wide range of technical Bachelor and Master degree studies, mainly in technical fields like physics, chemistry, mathematics, robotics, mechanical engineering, etc. From a research perspective, we believe technology and people have a leading role to play in providing solutions for complex societal challenges worldwide. Central to our vision is our High Tech Human Touch philosophy, in which we fuse natural science, data-science, biology and engineering with social and behavioural science while maintaining a relentless focus on societal impact. Furthermore, with over a 1.000 start-ups and spin-offs created in its lifetime, the UT is by far the most entrepreneurial university of the Netherlands. Novel-T, the valorisation institute of the university, provides students and researchers with all the support and tools to bring ground-breaking research results and promising business case.
The Netherlands Organisation for applied scientific research TNO is a private, fully independent, not-for-profit research & technology organization established by Dutch Law in 1932. Over 3,400 TNO employees are dedicated to innovation through applied research to enhance the wellbeing of society and the competitiveness of companies. TNO has an extremely broad expertise base, but specifically in the field of Robotics, TNO has extensive knowledge on telepresence, human factors, human system integration, multisensory information presentation, Brain-Machine Interfaces, sensor fusion, interpretation of environments, SLAM, network technologies, wearable robotics, social robotics, (semi-)autonomous systems, and human-autonomy teaming.
TNO and the University of Twente proudly initiated, and jointly collaborate in innovation hub and DIH i-Botics. It develops knowledge and technology for value adding Robotic solutions. I-Botics cooperates with Industry partners in the full value chain and Governmental organizations. This involvement is crucial for realization of value adding developments and successful implementation of these solutions. i-Botics is mainly active in the domains of telerobotics (haptic feedback, remote operator, remote sensing etc.), human-robot teaming and interaction, the inspection & maintenance robotics domain, subsea robotics, and wearable robotics.
Knowledge is aggregated from various domains and researchers from our partners work together with us. It is our joined goal to develop robotic systems with enhanced situational awareness, intuitive control and thereby maximize effectiveness and efficiency.
Extensive experience in various domains and durable cooperation with partners assures competence of applications and creates value adding solutions with a win-win for involved stakeholders.
Business development[1]
Category: Incubator/accelerator support
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Dedicated mostly to spin off and start up promoting TNO/UT technologies.
Support on business creation, Accompanying the creation of start-ups, Protecting research results, advising on IPR management, Carry out strategic analyses, Find scientific and technical information, business intelligence, Set up industrial and collaborative contracts
Format (how?): Meetings, conference calls, project management.
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Experts in business creation, in IPR management
Involvement, effort from DIH: Meetings with experts in business development
Financial charge for customer: Reviewed per case
Funding, business plan: Reviewed per case
Connect to funding sources
Category: Access to financing, Incubator/accelerator support
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Connect businesses and public organizations to relevant funding opportunities. Lead or contribute to proposal writing the funding opportunities. Business development as part of proposal writing. This can also involve consortium forming from the existing community..
Format (how?): Meetings, conference calls, proposal writing.
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Business developer, technical expert.
Involvement, effort from DIH: Meetings with experts in funding of research, development and innovation in robotics. Proposal writing.
Financial charge for customer: Free (if DIH is included in the consortium) or paid (DIH involvement only in proposal/funding investigating phase)
Funding, business plan: Subsidised by the DIH when as part of sales activity or as limited support offer (e.g., a 1-hour information meeting). Reviewed for eligibility when DIH involvement is only in sales phase and not in a potential consecutive project.
Hands-on training
Category: Skills and education
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Training of technical and science personnel
Format (how?): Courses given by DIH personnel. On demand and regular.
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Technical experts
Involvement, effort from DIH: 1-2 day events and shorter events, , supply of training reference material.
Financial charge for customer: Paid service.
Funding, business plan: Flat-fee per seminar/training course.
Research, development and innovation opportunities
Category: Project development, access to finance
Description of activity, value proposition (what?):
Advising on technological research, development and innovation activity. Elaboration of an action plan for R&D&I with milestones, deliverables, agreement on the respective role of stakeholders and on the final delivery. Basis for initiating, e.g., bilateral projects between industry and RTOs in the DIH, or as basis for proposal writing to secure funding.
Format (how?): Meetings, conference calls.
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Business developer, technical expert
Involvement, effort from DIH: Meetings with experts in research, development and innovation in robotics
Financial charge for customer: Free if the activity can lead to project for the DIH or paid else.
Funding, business plan: Subsidised by the DIH. Private finding.
Hosting to Spin off and Start up
Category: Offering housing
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Accompaniment and hosting follow-up of early-phase spin offs from University of Twente.
Format (how?): On demand
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Business facilitator
Involvement, effort from DIH: Office space, workspace, located in DIH premises Internet infrastructure, lab facilities.
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[1] regarding CEA technologies
Brokerage, Matchmaking
Category: Ecosystem service, Community building, Ecosystem learning
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Organisation of meetings and workshops between players in the value chain to make demand and offer sides meet, share ideas and analyse opportunities for collaboration.
Format (how?): On demand, on average 1 or 2 times a year, either at TNO, at the university of Twente or online with presentations from stakeholders, networking lunch or dinner (if not digital), dialogue b2b, tour of the DIH if visit on site.
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Business facilitators, technical experts, students.
Involvement, effort from DIH: Half day event with participation of 3 to 4 experts from the DIH, supply of communication material
Financial charge for customer: Free
Funding, business plan: Subsidised by the DIH
Awareness creation
Category: Ecosystem service, Community building
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Robotics awareness presentation for decision-makers and suppliers
Format (how?): Webinar/workshops/conferences that the DIH is invited to, regularly on national or European level
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Senior technical experts
Involvement, effort from DIH: Presentation by one technical expert.
Dissemination
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Communication about the offer of services of the DIH. Dissemination of results and key facts in local language and in English
Format (how?): Information distributed through e.g. web sites, social media, newsletters, mailing
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Experts in communication, technical experts
Involvement, effort from DIH: Involvement of the communication teams belonging to the organizations involved in the DIH
Ecosystem building
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Putting people in touch with professional, sectorial associations certification bodies, public and private investors in region and in Europe
Format (how?): Reference information provided through the DIH web portal and via DIH contact points.
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Business facilitators, technical experts
Involvement, effort from DIH: Access to networks, clusters, associations and federations to which the organizations of the DIH belong and/or has contacts with.
Funding, business plan: Subsidised by the DIH. Potential economic upside for DIH in generating projects which involve the DIH.
Market research, market awareness, market/technology trends
Category: Ecosystem service, Strategy development, Consulting
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Provision of contact to experts in market analysis, market data held in the network and at the DIH in European and International level
Format (how?): Conference call, meeting with business developers at the DIH
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Contact to experts in market analysis
Involvement, effort from DIH: One hour with experts
Financial charge for customer: Payed service or free
Mentoring by technical and application experts
Category: Ecosystem service, Strategy development
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Advising on possible usage of robotics and automation
Format (how?): Conference calls, bilateral meetings, meetings on customer's premises
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Technical and application experts
Financial charge for customer: Free (typically 1-2 hours, online) or by payment for larger efforts
Funding, business plan: Subsidised by the DIH (as part of investigating project opportunities) or cost per hour for larger efforts. In some cases mix of public and private funding.
Resources and knowledge sharing
Category: Ecosystem service, Ecosystem learning
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Organizing access and informing about resources, databases, seminars, workshops, conferences, field trips, newsletters and other information of interest
Format (how?): Reference information provided through the DIH, newsletters and RIMA network web portal. Conferences, field trips, workshops organized by the DIH or in cooperation with partners.
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Communication team. Experts.
Involvement, effort from DIH: Involvement of the communication teams of the organizations involved in the DIH at i-Botics
Financial charge for customer: Free (information sharing, some conferences) or paid (e.g., conference fee)
Funding, business plan: Subsidized by the DIH. Mixed Public and private funding.
DIH network promotion, Promotion of the offer
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Promote both the DIH and its members
Format (how?): Web-pages, newsletters. Participation on roadshows, exhibitions, dissemination, and otherwise represent interests (e.g., suppliers, end-users).
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Communication, business and technical experts
Involvement, effort from DIH: Involvement of the communication teams and technical experts.
Financial charge for customer: Free or paid.
Funding, business plan: Subsidised by the DIH. Mix of public and private funding.
Research and development collaboration
Category: Strategic RDI
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Research aiming at reaching TRL 5, removal of doubts, specifications, research and development, validation in laboratory
Format (how?): Collaborative research with several partners in the Netherlands, EU and/or outside the EU for 2 years or more
Profile of DIH contact (who?): Project manager, technical experts
Involvement, effort from DIH: Support from experts in the submission of European or national proposals. Long term participation (over 2 years) of several experts from the DIH for technical research and development in robotics
Financial charge for customer: Free or paid and/or via in-kind from the industry
Funding, business plan: Funded by European or national research programmes, mix of public and private funding, or solely private funding (rare cases).
Innovation projects: technology demonstrators, proof of concepts
Category: Contract research
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Research and development aiming at reaching TRL 6, application of existing technologies, validation in laboratory
Format (how?): Bilateral or collaborative projects from one to a few years.
Involvement, effort from DIH: Support from experts in the submission of European or national proposals. Participation of several experts from the DIH for technical research and development in robotics
Financial charge for customer: Paid
Funding, business plan: Funded by bilateral contracts, European or national innovation programmes, private investors.
Proof of concept, prototyping, commercialisation/industrialisation, small series production
Category: Technical support on scale-up
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Demonstration in real environment or in realistic conditions. Adaptation of existing technologies to specific use case
Format (how?): Bilateral projects from one to several months
Involvement, effort from DIH: Support from experts in the submission of European or national proposals Participation of several experts from the DIH for development and innovation
Financial charge for customer: Paying
Funding, business plan: Funded by bilateral contracts, European or national innovation programmes, investors
Lab facilities, equipment for lease/use (sensors, robots, robot tooling, etc.), rapid prototyping
Category: Provision of technology infrastructure
Description of activity, value proposition (what?): Demonstration with equipment held in the laboratories at the DIH or deployment of sensors etc. at customer site. Realization of interfaces with DIH equipment. Provision of test benches (for actuation, perception, etc.). Visit websites of the DIH partners or contact the DIH to check the possibilities
Format (how?): Conducting experiments with the assistance of DIH personnel
Involvement, effort from DIH: Support from experts in the submission of European or national proposals Participation of several experts from the DIH for maturation
Financial charge for customer: Paying, financial charge based on daily rate and depending on the personnel involved, equipment used at the DIH and adaptation needed.
Funding, business plan: Funded by bilateral contracts, European or national innovation programmes, investors.