French research company, CEA-Leti, is coordinating a pan-European consortium to develop Internet of Things (IoT) products. Called the EuroCPS, the consortium will include 15 partners that will be part of a network of design centers to help small- and medium-size enterprises, as well as large companies, develop innovative products for emerging IoT markets.

The group will use proven cyber-physical system (CPS) platforms and they will work with research technology organizations as well as university institutes to support the innovation of smart products. "Leti and 14 other European research centers, system suppliers, and tech companies have launched EuroCPS to establish a network of design centers to help SMEs and large companies develop innovative products for emerging Internet of Things (IoT) markets," Olivier Thomas an executive at CEA-Leti, told Design News.

Funded by the European Commission, the three-year, $9.7 million project is designed to help innovators overcome barriers they face when entering new markets when they lack the sufficient knowledge and skills to master the entire design process from idea to products. The EuroCPS partners will provide technical expertise, coaching, and access to advanced industrial CPS platforms to get innovators up to speed on smart products. "This is part of the European Smart Anything Everywhere initiative that was launched during the 'France Forum on Electronics to enable SME competitiveness,' which was held in March," said Thomas.

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The centers will provide access to the latest technologies. In the process, they will offer the necessary expertise and competencies to get innovators on a path to building innovative CPS-enabled systems. The centers will tap existing regional ecosystems in several countries to bring together the necessary technology, from hardware and software platforms to cyber-physical systems.

"Members will provide technical expertise, coaching, and access to advanced industrial cyber-physical platforms to get companies up to speed on the innovation ecosystem of smart products, by providing access to the latest technologies," Thomas told us. "A key goal is to overcome barriers companies face when entering new markets because they lack knowledge of the value chain and the skills to master the entire design process from ideas to products."

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One of the goals of the project is to link software, system, and nano-electronic industries to encourage a cooperative model. This will be demonstrated by 30 novel industrial experiments funded through three open calls for developing innovative CPS products in an effort to increase the competitiveness of the European innovative companies. The targeted products will be designed, constructed, and built on the EuroCPS platforms, including:

Rob Spiegel has covered automation and control for 15 years, 12 of them for Design News. Other topics he has covered include supply chain technology, alternative energy, and cyber security. For 10 years he was owner and publisher of the food magazine, Chile Pepper.

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