Health Care
Inpatient and outpatient care, plus clinical assistance tasks.
Call closed. No further submissions can be accepted.
Funding year 2026/2027
NEURA Research Programme
From the Lab. Into the Real World.
The call for proposals closed on 30 October 2026 with more than 170 submissions. Thank you to every team that applied. The NEURA Research Board has now started the review.
170+proposals received
Up to €10Mtotal funding expected for this call
Up to €500kper project, based on actual need
12–18 monthsproject duration
Status
Call Closed.
Review Underway.
We received more than 170 proposals for the 2026/27 call. Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit. The response shows how much strong Physical AI research is ready to move from the lab into real application environments.
The NEURA Research Board is now reviewing every proposal against the selection criteria below. The call is closed and no further submissions can be accepted.
Where we are
Completed30 Oct 2026Call closed at 24:00 CET
In progressBy 20 Nov 2026Review and selection by the NEURA Research Board
NextFrom 1 Dec 2026Start of the first funded projects
Project start is subject to a separate cooperation agreement with NEURA.
Why this programme
Many promising Physical AI approaches never reach productive use. What they lack is access to real application environments, data infrastructure and piloting partners.
The NEURA Research Programme gives selected teams exactly that: an industrial robotics platform, foundation models, data infrastructure and application partners. The goal is to take existing research results to pilot readiness, and to pool research forces across Germany and Europe on one platform.
Objective 1 · Use cases and skills
Three Segments.
Real Application Partners.
The programme transfers research into the segments where NEURA already has access to application partners. Basic skills like grasping specific objects, complex skills like opening doors, or the integration of existing skills into MiPA all qualify.
Retail
Product availability, shelf replenishment and customer interaction in brick-and-mortar stores.
Hospitality
Service and guest interaction in hotels and restaurants.
Objective 2 · Use-case-independent capabilities
Six Capabilities That Decide
Real-World Readiness
These dimensions form the technical evaluation framework for every proposal. A clear, substantial contribution to a single dimension is enough.
Time-to-Skill
Learn new skills from a few demonstrations instead of extensive training datasets.
Transfer Learning
Carry learned skills over to new configurations, objects and deployment environments.
Dexterous Manipulation
Handle previously unknown objects and tasks with fine-motor precision.
Human Interaction
Clarify ambiguous or incomplete instructions, and still carry them out reliably.
Long-Term Autonomy
Operate independently and resist disruption over extended periods without constant supervision.
Execution Speed
Run learned capabilities fast enough for productive, economic use.
What selected projects get
Platform. Test Environment.
Toolchain.
Three NEURA contributions for the development, training and piloting of the funded capabilities.
Required · Annex 1
MiPA Platform
Mobile dual-arm service robot with an open software API. The hardware and software basis for developing, integrating and testing each funded capability. Provided under a monthly leasing model.
Annex 2
NEURA Gym Services
Real-world test environment to integrate, train and evaluate capabilities on the target system. Data can also be collected remotely with MiPA and fed into the NEURA Gym data pipelines.
Annex 3
Neuraverse
Simulation and exchange platform: digital twin, integrated data recorder, training and qualification, plus a marketplace to publish skills and models.
MiPA Research at a glance
2 × 7-DoFlightweight arms
3.0 kgpayload per arm
1 kHzlow-level control
NVIDIA Jetson Thoronboard compute
ROS 2 + Python SDKtwo control levels
Isaac Sim + Gazebosimulation models included
Good to know: the costs of NEURA's contributions, in particular the MiPA leasing rate and NEURA Gym Services, are covered from the granted funding. Full details are in the 2026/27 call (PDF).
Eligibility for the 2026/27 call
Who Could Apply.
What Projects Needed.
Eligible applicants
- Universities and higher education institutions
- Publicly funded research institutes
- Startups
- Established in Germany, another EU Member State, the United Kingdom or Switzerland
- Joint projects and associated application partners were welcome, and viewed favourably in the evaluation
Project requirements
- Implemented on the NEURA platform MiPA
- Clear focus on at least one segment: Health Care, Retail or Hospitality
- A realistic path to TRL 6–7 within the funding period, enabling a pilot with an application partner
- No minimum TRL at application. Early-stage research was eligible
- Not eligible: basic research without a concrete application and piloting focus
Selection criteria
How Proposals Are Evaluated
The NEURA Research Board is now assessing every proposal against four main criteria.
Degree of Innovation
Novelty and differentiation of the technology or training method compared to the state of the art.
Physical AI Capabilities
A substantial contribution to at least one segment and one or more capability dimensions.
Technology Readiness
Maturity at project start, plus a specific and plausible development path to TRL 6–7.
Piloting Track Record
Demonstrated experience piloting robotic systems in real-world application environments.
Questions About the Call
Can I still submit a proposal?
No. The call closed on 30 October 2026 at 24:00 CET. No further submissions can be accepted.
What happens to the submitted proposals now?
The NEURA Research Board reviews every proposal against the four selection criteria. Selection decisions are planned by 20 November 2026, and the first projects start from 1 December 2026, subject to a cooperation agreement.
Will applicants hear back?
Yes. The NEURA Research Programme Office will contact applicants directly once the selection decision has been made.
Will there be future research programmes?
No future call has been announced yet. If you would like to work with NEURA on Physical AI research, or hear about future programmes, please get in touch.
Do selected projects need to buy a MiPA?
No. MiPA is provided under a monthly leasing model. The leasing rate is paid from the granted funding and is set out in Annex 1 of the call.
How are submitted proposals handled?
Proposals are handled with due care and only shared with people involved in the evaluation. Electronically submitted documents are deleted after the selection decision, unless a cooperation agreement is concluded or statutory obligations apply.
Interested in Future Programmes?
The 2026/27 call is closed. Get in touch to discuss your Physical AI research with NEURA, or to ask about future research programmes.