Over the next ten years, they will work on AI tools for healthcare, computer chips that consume only a fraction of the energy used by current technologies, and a sustainable future for the people who keep society running. Together, the programmes account for tens of millions of euros in research funding.
The funding has been allocated by NWO (Dutch Research Council). Four consortia will receive a total of 65 million euros, supplemented by contributions from companies and societal organisations. TU/e has a major role in three of the four programmes.
The Eindhoven researchers will coordinate work packages, lead demonstrators (working prototypes that prove a technology works in practice), and connect disciplines.
AI for healthcare
The AI4Health programme aims to establish reliable and fair AI as a permanent part of Dutch healthcare. Although many AI tools for healthcare are currently under development, few actually make it into hospitals or consulting rooms. AI4Health, led by UMC Utrecht , addresses this problem structurally by removing key obstacles. These include safe data usage, reimbursement pathways, and long-term usage. The programme will run for ten years.
TU/e is involved through no fewer than three departments. Pieter van Gorp and Baris Ozkan are participating from Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences. The Department of Biomedical Engineering is represented by Richard Lopata , Wouter Huberts and Pim Tonino , while Janet Huang and Mathias Funk from Industrial Design contribute their expertise in human-centred design. Dennis van Veghel, a fellow affiliated with TU/e, is co-applicant for the programme. He also works at Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven and the Netherlands Heart Registry (NHR).
These researchers contribute expertise in health data, wearable measurement technology and digital twins for cancer and cardiovascular diseases. At the same time, they are strengthening collaboration with UMC Utrecht and Catharina Hospital. TU/e will receive nearly two million euros, funding five PhD positions spread across the three faculties.
Chips that work like a brain
The second programme, 10X-Factor(y), is developing a new generation of computer chips based on neuromorphic technology. Inspired by the human brain, these chips consume far less energy than conventional chips. This is urgently needed, as AI systems are demanding ever-increasing amounts of power. The programme is led by CogniGron at the University of Groningen and has a total budget of 30 million euros, including 9 million euros from NWO.
TU/e is one of the core partners and is responsible for three of the programme's seven demonstrators. Federico Corradi of the Neuromorphic Edge Computing Systems Lab leads the demonstrator on smart sensors for augmented reality and vision systems, together with Sander Stuijk of the Electronic Systems Group. Tech company Snap Inc., the American firm behind Snapchat that is increasingly focused on augmented reality, is contributing approximately 2.97 million euros.
Aida Todri-Sanial of the NanoComputing Research Lab leads the demonstrator on chips that continue learning during operation, together with Synopsys , a leading American company in chip design software. Synopsys is contributing more than 660,000 euros. TU/e is also making substantial contributions to the demonstrator on medical monitoring and to four work packages within the consortium. Over the next ten years, the consortium aims to train at least forty PhD candidates and twenty postdoctoral researchers.
The future of physical work
The third programme focuses on the challenges surrounding physically demanding work in vital sectors. Healthcare, construction, logistics and maintenance all depend on skilled professionals, but these workers are becoming increasingly difficult to find. In addition, the work is often too physically demanding to sustain over a long period.
The National Centre for Shaping the Future of Physical Work, to be established by the consortium, will bring together scientists, companies and societal organisations over the next decade to tackle this issue structurally. The programme is led by TU Delft and has a budget of 38 million euros, including 11.8 million euros from NWO.
Four TU/e researchers are involved. Filippo Santoni de Sio (Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences) investigates, as an ethicist and philosopher, how technology can be implemented in the workplace in a fair and responsible manner. He is also one of the programme coordinators.
Pascale le Blanc and Josette Gevers (also from IE&IS) contribute expertise in occupational psychology, examining what robotisation and automation mean for employees' motivation, safety and autonomy. Elena Torta (Mechanical Engineering) specialises in collaboration between humans and robots in everyday practice.
The grants are part of NWO's KIC Strategy programme , which stimulates long-term collaboration between knowledge institutions, companies and societal organisations. In total, four consortia received 65 million euros from NWO, supplemented by contributions from companies and other organisations. Also read the earlier announcements about 10X-Factor(y) and the National Centre for Shaping the Future of Physical Work .
