HUBCAP builds on established DIHs in 7 European countries, each deeply embedded in its regional digital innovation ecosystem, and offering specialist expertise, experimental capabilities, and focused application domain knowledge in CPS Engineering. From this base, we create a growing and sustainable pan-European network that will offer SMEs opportunities to undertake experiments, seek investment and access expertise and training. This is enabled by a cloud-based open collaboration platform with a ‘sandbox’ capability to help potential users trial new CPS technology before investment.
There is growing demand for autonomous, secure CPSs that can interact with humans while respecting their privacy. This creates opportunities for SMEs in an ever-wider range of domains, but, in order to take them, businesses must leverage advances in engineering technology across sectors and regions.
European innovation in MBD has been world-leading for decades, but the entry barrier is high in terms of time and expertise, and the market for modelling and analytic tools is dominated by large actors. In order to realise the benefits of MBD for CPS as widely as possible, there is a need for:
• A network giving SMEs an easy entry route to MBD for CPS by accessing expertise in the technology and its industrial application
• Funding support for SMEs wanting to experiment with MBD technology
• An open collaboration platform that can be used to co-create, analyse and validate new CPS products in a virtual setting, where it is possible to test before investing. Such a platform must contain access to CPS solutions and enable users to experiment with solutions without having to make major in-house investments in skills or computing resources.
The network, support and platform must also offer a low barrier to innovators of new MBD tools as well as their users. HUBCAP will make MBD technology for CPS available to all, so that industry in Europe, in whichever sector.
The objectives are:
O1: To establish a network of DIHs that offer a comprehensive set of digital innovation services, including supporting businesses to experiment with MBD for CPSs; find investments and business opportunities; access to the innovation ecosystem across borders and DIHs; access skills and training.
O2: To bring together the innovation ecosystem for MBD of CPSs and embedded systems with over 1000 stakeholders from SMEs, technology providers, CPS experts and investors. All of them interacting with HUBCAP as a one-stop-shop for accessing MBD competencies, technologies, best practices, methods, business and funding opportunities, governed by a well-defined methodology for digital transformation in all industries.
O3: To upgrade capacity of SMEs to leverage MBD technology in CPS design.
O4: To enable collaboration by creating an open, cloud-based innovation platform that allows businesses to contribute and access assets needed to undertake using MBD for building CPS solutions on the scale required for SMEs. Assets will include both models and services. The assets will be available on a pay-per-use basis to allow businesses to manage their investment in MBD technology and to promote experimentation.
O5: To ensure sustainability by developing a credible business and exploitation plan for the (association community alliance no-profit commercial start-up) considering its role of mediator and broker among the community and the network of DIHs.
