Summary
- Profile Type
- Research & Development Request
- POD Reference
- RDRGB20250515012
- Term of Validity
- 15 May 2025 - 15 May 2026
- Company's Country
- United Kingdom
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Targeted Countries
- All countries
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General information
- Short Summary
- A UK based SME is developing advanced optical components for XR to reduce side effects like nausea and visual discomfort. Targeting Horizon Europe HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-14 (€5–6M), they seek EU partners in MedTech, clinical research, hospitals, or life sciences, specifically related to Ophthalmology research and testing.
- Full Description
-
The aim of this competition is to develop cutting-edge XR (Extended Reality) technologies that unlock the full potential of immersive virtual environments—transforming how people live, interact, create, and share content. It also seeks to redefine how public administrations engage with citizens, and how businesses operate, innovate, and connect with their customers.
Despite recent advancements, current XR technologies and commercially available products remain hindered by significant limitations. Many users experience adverse side effects such as nausea, headaches, dizziness, and visual discomfort during prolonged use—largely due to the vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC), which restricts broader adoption and limits the benefits XR has to offer.
This project will be led by a UK-based SME with deep expertise in nanophononics, focused on developing advanced optical chips designed to eliminate VAC-induced side effects. These chips are compatible with AR, VR, and MR platforms and enable extended, comfortable use of XR applications. Furthermore, the chips are prescription-agnostic, supporting users with visual impairments without requiring additional corrective lenses. The technology relies on retinal image projection to ensure visual clarity and comfort.
The academic partner will lead research into the development of novel virtual world applications that incorporate multimodal sensory inputs. They will also explore innovative scientific approaches to enhance synchronization across these modalities, with the goal of significantly improving the visual comfort and overall user experience.
The consortium also includes a leading automotive manufacturer, who will focus on integrating the optical technology into future vehicle systems to deliver immersive XR-enabled experiences for drivers and passengers.
We are actively seeking to expand our consortium by onboarding a European partner from the medical sector. Ideal candidates include Clinical Research organisations, Eye hospitals, MedTech companies, academic institutions specializing in health and life sciences, or SMEs focused on ophthalmic research. The selected partner will be responsible for evaluating visual acuity improvements and investigating the potential of our optical chips to mitigate or slow the progression of myopia through XR usage.
Through this initiative, we aim to empower users across Europe to harness the full capabilities of virtual environments and drive a fundamental shift in how society functions and interacts. - Advantages and Innovations
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Key Advantages of our project:
Enabling Mass Adoption of XR: By eliminating the side effects associated with the vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC), the technology removes a critical barrier to widespread XR adoption. This positions the solution to capitalize on the projected $1.6 trillion XR market opportunity by 2034.
Improved Accessibility: The prescription-agnostic design allows users with various visual impairments to engage with XR applications without the need for corrective lens inserts or external add-ons. This not only reduces cost but also enhances user convenience and comfort.
Superior User Comfort Across Industries: The enhanced visual comfort offered by our optical technology significantly broadens its application scope, making it suitable for diverse sectors including automotive, entertainment, healthcare, life sciences, construction, and defence.
Seamless Multi-Modal Integration: The project aims to elevate the immersive experience by combining XR with advanced multi-modal technologies, offering users a more natural and synchronized interaction within virtual environments.
Key Innovations:
Retinal Projection Technology: At the core of this innovation is a proprietary approach that projects digital images directly onto the retina, effectively bypassing all the refractive errors of human ocular lens.
VAC-Free Visual Experience: This method bypasses the vergence-accommodation conflict entirely, ensuring consistently focused imagery and a comfortable viewing experience over extended period.
Manufacturing-Ready Design: The optical chips are fully compatible with existing manufacturing infrastructure, enabling rapid scalability and efficient integration into mass production pipelines. - Technical Specification or Expertise Sought
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We are actively seeking to expand our consortium with partners from the health and life sciences sector who possess the capability to research and evaluate the impact of XR technology on visual impairments, including its potential therapeutic applications. We welcome expressions of interest from a wide range of organisations, including SMEs, research groups, universities, eye hospitals, clinical research organisations, mid-sized enterprises, and large corporations.
Additionally, we are looking for partners across industries where XR technology can deliver transformative value, who are interested in integrating our proprietary optical chip technology into their end-use applications. Potential collaborators may come from any relevant sector—such as healthcare, automotive, education, entertainment, construction, defence, or manufacturing—and we welcome proposals from SMEs, academic institutions, research bodies, medium-sized companies, and large enterprises. - Stage of Development
- Available for demonstration
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- IPR status
- IPR applied but not yet granted
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
-
We are seeking partners to support the evaluation of our optical chip technology in enabling individuals with visual impairments to engage with virtual environments without the need for prescription lens inserts through research study / clinical research trials.
We also welcome collaboration with OEMs and companies interested in integrating our optical chip technology into their XR-based end applications. - Type and Size of Partner
- SME 11-49
- SME 50 - 249
- Big company
- University
- R&D Institution
- Other
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
Call details
- Framework program
- Horizon Europe
- Call title and identifier
-
Horizon Europe HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-14
- Anticipated project budget
-
€5-6M
- Coordinator required
-
No
- Deadline for EoI
- Deadline of the call
- Web link to the call
- https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/document/download/6a5f3b9a-9a7c-4e…
- Horizon Europe
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 01005006 - Visualisation, Virtual Reality
- 06001013 - Medical Technology / Biomedical Engineering
- Market keywords
- 05004004 - Medical instruments
- Targeted countries
- All countries