ARTES 4.0 Core Competitiveness (CC) - Advanced Technology
ESA’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES 4.0) Core Competitiveness programme maintains and improves European and Canadian satellite communication market capabilities and competitiveness.
The ARTES Advanced Technology programme supports technological development from concept to fully-fledged product, system or service, managing ESA-initiated projects with industry.
ARTES 4.0 Core Competitiveness |
Core Competitiveness
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What is Advanced Technology?
A key role of ESA in telecommunications is to promote R&D activities, addressing innovative technologies and techniques to ensure the long-term competitiveness of European and Canadian industry.
Under the ARTES Core Competitiveness element, the Advanced Technology programme is ESA's main programme for preparatory development of satellite communications, covering long-term R&D activities.
ESA-initiated calls for ideas
Projects under Advanced Technology are ESA-initiated and are based on calls issued by ESA, for ideas for long term research and development into new satcom technologies that push the boundaries of innovation. This leads to a yearly work plan between ESA and its industry partners. Advanced Technology activities contain significant amounts of industrial research and technical risk and are therefore fully funded.
The Advanced Technology programme generally supports the early stages of development of systems and exploitation of new and promising technologies for satellite communications.
Links to other ARTES elements
In several cases the ARTES Advanced Technology activities are a continuation of an ARTES Future Preparation or a Partnership Project activity.
Within Partnership Projects components are developed and basic feasibility is demonstrated, while within Advanced Technology the technology is developed to breadboard, engineering model or prototype level. The further development to a space-qualified or industrialised product is supported within the co-funded Competitiveness and Growth element.
Through its Advanced Technology programme ESA supports the exploitation of new technologies or techniques into products so that in the long-term industry will be able to offer competitive equipment and systems. The Advanced Technology programme also encompasses activities in support of standardisation.
The Advanced Technology programme workplans are coordinated with other ESA technology programmes. The activities are organised per application area and grouped as Ground Segment, System, or Space Segment (Payload, Platform) related.
Support for projects in four development phases
The Core Competitiveness programme supports projects in four development phases, allowing partners working at different Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) to work with ESA, from early-stage design to in-space testing and validation:
- Definition phase (TRL 3)
- Technology phase (TRL 4-6)
- Product phase (TRL 7-8)
- In-flight demonstration phase (TRL 9)
ARTES Agile+ for small projects
ESA likes to work with small innovative startups and SMEs as much as with the leading technology companies in Europe and Canada. To specifically tailor collaboration with smaller organisations or projects, the Core Competitiveness programme office initiated Agile+, for any projects with an investment of up to €500,000.
Please check out the ARTES Agile+ page for more information
How to work with the Advanced Technology programme
Please see the 'How to work with us’ section on the ARTES pages for an overview of all ways how your organisation can benefit from collaborating with ESA.
How to work with ESA ARTES 4.0
The programme is one of ESA’s most popular tools in supporting European and Canadian industry, from SMEs to industrial consortia, to push the boundaries of innovation.
Download the ARTES AT Workplans for Current and Previous Years
Download the ARTES 4.0 Planned Activities Summary Table
Related links
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