Advanced and Innovative hardware components for Virtual Worlds (RIA) (Virtual Worlds Partnership)

Expected Outcome:

Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Innovative and advanced XR hardware, advanced headsets, screens, wearables and haptic components, sensors and actuators, advanced chips for a deeper and closer-to-reality immersion, stimulating all human senses.

Scope:

In the recent years, hardware for Virtual Worlds made major breakthroughs, democratising headsets, sensors, actuators or haptic equipment. To keep this momentum and advancing further, new generation of XR equipment, wearable solutions and haptic components, as well as non-invasive brain computer interfaces for handsfree interaction, hardware or technologies will put the users at the very centre of virtual experiences, for even greater and realistic immersion, aiming at blurring the lines between the real and digital environments. To ensure this next generation of engaging and lifelike immersion, all senses must be stimulated (sight, hearing, feel, touch, smell), for a fully immersive close-to-reality experience. Users will be submerged with realistic sensations making the experience as immersive as possible. Proposals should investigate novel scientific approaches or push the limit of existing ones to improve the synchronization and integration of the different modalities. Proposals are expected to integrate various components in fully tested devices, demonstrating the usefulness and efficiency of their system in illustrative scenarios in the industrial and societal contexts. Proposals should focus on performant, reliable, miniaturised, interoperable advanced and innovative technologies, with inclusivity, energy consumption and energy efficiency at the centre of concerns. This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities. The Consortium should pay attention to developing solutions that are reliable, robust and interoperable. Proposals should leverage existing open standards and technologies in the domain of Virtual Worlds, while contributing to ongoing standardisation work. We consider that proposals with an overall duration of typically 36 months would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other durations. This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Virtual Worlds. Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

Submissions open on 17 November 2026.

Part of call HORIZON-CL4-2027-04

Type of action: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

Programme period: 2021 - 2027

Priorities: DigitalAgenda, SSH, PART-COPROGR, AI

"> General conditions

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout

described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide .

3. Other Eligible Conditions

Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.

Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion

described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds

are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes

are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual .

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement

described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants

The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership