The European project FourByThree kicks off today, December 1st 2014. It is an alliance made up of 15 European partners who will design, build and test pioneering robotic solutions able to collaborate safely and efficiently with human operators in industrial manufacturing companies. The project, which will last for 36 months, has a total budget of 6.9 million euros and is partly funded by the EU within the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020.
FourByThree responds to the demand that robots used in industry do not only provide accuracy and efficiency, but are also able to ensure safety when collaboration between operator and robot is required, even when the workspace is shared. Thanks to the development of innovative hardware and software, the robotic solutions proposed by FourByThree will be modular, safe, usable and efficient.
The 15 partners that make up the project are research centres, industrial and technological companies and a university (King’s College London), located in Spain, Germany, Italy, Finland, Holland and the United Kingdom. The project coordinator is Spain-based research alliance IK4-TEKNIKER. In mid-January 2015 the official project launch meeting will be held in Brussels.