SILVER (Supporting Independent LiVing for the Elderly through Robotics) is a development project funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development (FP7).
The SILVER project searches for new technologies to assist elderly people in their everyday lives. By the use of robotics or other related technologies, the elderly can continue independent living at home even if they have physical or cognitive disabilities.
The new technologies and solutions are sought by using a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) process. In Europe, the PCP has so far been an under-utilized tool for promoting innovation. One of the aims of this project is to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach to address societal and governmental needs.
SILVER consortium hosted an online Information Day on the 24th of April 2013. During this event the SILVER brief and the content of the challenge were presented together with the overview of the application process. Furthermore, conditions and assessment process were covered in detail. Participants were also allowed to submit questions in the end. The presentations and the recording over the SILVER Information Day is now available for downloads.
On the 1st of March, an international PCP has been opened to acquire robotics based technologies that support independent living for the elderly. When the call is closed on the 12th of June 2013, the PCP process will be executed in three phases, ending in March 2016. The result will be two to three prototypes to be tested in all partnering countries. To view the SILVER Invitation to Tender and Challenge Brief documents, visit registration page.
The output of the market consultation gave a full insight into the current state of the art of robotics. It allowed contributors to give feedback on how our current robotics definition could perhaps be modified making the SILVER desired outcome clearer. Additional feedback also allowed the consortia to take into account comments regarding the number of prototypes that would be created for testing through the final phase. It was indicated by those who participated that the budget for a SILVER solution was adequate. View the Market Consultation Outcomes document from here.
