DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-VIRTUAL-TESTBEDS-STEP

Virtual worlds test beds -

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  • HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-14
    Core technologies for virtual worlds (RIA) (Virtual Worlds and Photonics Partnerships)

    MOTIVATION The DEP Topic on VW provides world-class testbed facilities to validate, test and experiment with virtual worlds technologies in real conditions and environments.
    Overlap regarding the targeted stakeholders, research organisations must also be part of the DEP consortium.

  • HORIZON-CL4-2023-HUMAN-01-23
    Supporting the emergence of an open human-centric Metaverse (CSA)

    MOTIVATION The OPENVERSE project funded under HEU-CL4 in 2023 lays the foundational framework for Virtual Worlds. The project also runs a database on national initiatives and acts a a community hub to connect Europe’s Virtual Worlds Ecosystem. OPENVERSE deliverables might be of great relevance to Virtual Worlds test beds proposals.

Call text (as on F&T portal)

View on F&T portal
Expected Outcome:
  • Contributing to European digital sovereignty and open strategic autonomy in the domain of virtual worlds;
  • Contributing to development of innovative and interoperable virtual worlds solutions;
  • Contributing to the creation and promotion of EU regulatory sandboxes for virtual worlds.
Objective:

The main objective is to increase productivity and innovation capacity through state-of-the-art virtual worlds technologies. The Virtual worlds test beds will support testing, experimentation and integration of Virtual Worlds, immersive and extended reality technologies in specific sectors, targeting both industrial and societal applications.

The virtual worlds test beds will focus on testing and integrating mature technologies and solutions that have already been tested in the labs with the objective to be validated in real-world environments. They will also cover the aspects of interoperability and transferability between Virtual Worlds.

The Virtual worlds testbeds will seek to maximise the uptake of virtual worlds solutions in industrial and societal applications and boost competitiveness of the sectors they are applied.

Scope:

For this action, support to two world-class sectorial testbeds through two projects is envisaged: one for industrial applications (such as manufacturing, construction or industrial design) and one for societal applications (such as education and training, cultural heritage and other cultural experiences, public administration or healthcare). Each testbed should create a network of facilities with critical mass across at least three different Member States or associated countries.

Proposals are expected to focus on either industrial or societal applications. The area should be clearly identified within the proposal.

The test beds will provide all necessary expertise and infrastructure for the design and implementation of the testing methodologies, combining physical world and virtual worlds facilities.

News flashes

2025-12-06
The submission session is now available for: DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-DS-HEALTH-TOOL, DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-DS-HEALTH-STORAGE, DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-GENAI-PA, DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-VIRTUAL-TESTBEDS-STEP, DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-SOLUTIONS-CANCER-STEP, DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-ECAVA, DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-AUTOMOTIVE
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call topic details
Call status: Open
Publication date: 2025-11-04 (1 month ago)
Opening date: 2025-11-04 (1 month ago)
Closing date: 2026-03-03 (2 months from now)
Procedure: single-stage

Budget: 17,000,000
Expected grants: 2
News flashes

This call topic has been appended 1 time by the EC with news.

  • 2025-12-06
    the submission session is now available...
Call

DIGITAL-2026-AI-09

Call topics are often grouped together in a call. Sometimes this is for a thematic reason, but often it is also for practical reasons.

There are 6 other topics in this call:

Source information

Showing the latest information. Found 3 versions of this call topic in the F&T portal.

Information from

  • 2025-11-04_06-20-07
  • 2025-10-31_06-20-07
  • 2025-10-28_15-26-55

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Related policy
Added 2 weeks ago by Patricia
PolicyBriefing_DDPP_updated.pdf (125.31 KB)
The Digital Decade Policy Programme forms the policy basis for Digital Europe. The calls for proposals issued under the Digital Europe Programme aim to provide funding to projects that contribute directly to the efforts to achieve the 2030 targets for digital transformation.
RELATED POLICY
Added 1 month ago by Daniela Hackl
PolicyBriefing_AI_Innovation_Package.pdf (158.11 KB)
The AI Innovation Package provides a basis for DEP funded activities. Project are required to respect the AI Innovation Package objectives. to ensure that AI development and deployment are in line with European standards. The Virtual Worlds testbeds contribute to meeting the objectives of the AI Innovation Package.
NCP knowledge
Added 1 month ago by Daniela Hackl
Collaboration with a corresponding Testing and Experimentation Facility (TEF) is suggested. See list of existing TEFs: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/testing-and-experimentation-facilities
Virtual World Association
Added 1 month ago by Daniela Hackl
The Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA) on Virtual Worlds identifies the required foundational concepts and technological advancements driving VW, highlighting their potential to revolutionise various sectors, including industry, entertainment, education, and commerce. You can order the SRIA from the Virtual World Association online -> https://www.virtualworldsassociation.eu/actions/strategic-research-innovation-agenda-virtual-worlds-eu

Events

This is just a very first implementation, better visualisation coming

Brokerage event: Virtual Worlds Test Beds

2025-12-02 -> 2025-12-02

online

The brokerage event will feature a presentation by the European Commission, a dedicated session for questions and answers, and the opportunity for potential applicants to pitch their proposal ideas during dedicated breakout sessions.

 The event is open to participants from organisations based in EU Member States and in countries associated with the Digital Europe Programme.

Registrations are open until 28 November 2025.

Events are added by the ideal-ist NCP community and are hand-picked. If you would like to suggest an event, please contact idealist@ffg.at.

Call topic timeline

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  1. Work programme available

    - 3 months ago

    The call topics are published first in the Work Programme, which is available a while before the call opens. By following up the Work Programme publications, you can get a headstart.

  2. Publication date

    - 1 month ago

    The call was published on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

  3. Opening date

    - 1 month ago

    The call opened for submissions.

  4. Today

  5. Closing date

    - 2 months from now

    Deadline for submitting a project.

  6. Time to inform applicants Estimate

    - 7 months from now

    The maximum time to inform applicants (TTI) of the outcome of the evaluation is five months from the call closure date.

  7. Sign grant agreement Estimate

    - 10 months from now

    The maximum time to sign grant agreements (TTG) is three months from the date of informing applicants.

Funded Projects

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Project information comes from CORDIS (for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe) and will be sourced from F&T Portal (for Digital Europe projects)