Eurecat coordinates GRAIL, a major European initiative to develop a foundation model for industrial robotics. Funded by the European Commission with more than €40 million under the Horizon Europe programme, the project aims to advance robust and reliable generative AI for robotics and industrial automation.
The project is coordinated by Eurecat’s Robotics and Automation Unit, led by Daniel Serrano. The coordinating team also includes Néstor García, head of the Robotic Manipulation group; Magí Dalmau, head of the Cognitive Robotics group; and Simona Neri, Innovation Manager of the Robotics and Automation Unit.
In this interview, they discuss the scope of GRAIL and its expected impact on European industry.
Néstor, what does leading this consortium mean for Eurecat?
he fact that the European Commission has entrusted Eurecat with leading the development of the first major European artificial intelligence model for robotics in industry recognises the strength and expertise of our robotics and automation team.
The scale of the project is highly significant because of its focus on strengthening Europe’s industrial sovereignty, its budget of more than €40 million, and the level of the partners involved, including leading companies, universities, technology centres and research organisations from 10 countries.
How will it be developed, and what will its practical application be?
The foundation model to be developed within the European GRAIL consortium will be trained with large volumes of data from different environments, tasks and types of physical interaction. This will provide a common basis for robots to understand how to interact with the physical world in a reliable and adaptable way.
The system will serve as a technological base applicable to different types of robots, such as industrial arms, collaborative robots and humanoids. This will make it possible to use knowledge and skills already learned and adapt them to new tasks or situations, reducing preparation time and facilitating their use in different industrial sectors, in order to maximise impact on the economy and society.
Magí, what advances will GRAIL make possible?
The creation of this major European model will make it possible to move towards robots that are able to better understand their environment, plan their actions and perform tasks more autonomously, always with mechanisms that allow people to supervise their behaviour and intervene when necessary.
As a result, robots will no longer need to be reprogrammed for every new task, but will be able to be directed by voice.
In which areas will it have an impact?
The technology will initially be validated in five key European strategic sectors: automotive, aerospace, intralogistics, steel and electronics. This will help ensure that the foundation model responds to the needs of European industries.
The ambition is to achieve a general-purpose model that can be applied and validated in many more manufacturing sectors across Europe.
Simona, what will be the impact from the perspective of European sovereignty?
The initiative will contribute to strengthening European industrial sovereignty by promoting the development of Europe’s own solutions in artificial intelligence and advanced robotics.
The aim is for European industry to have access to reliable and competitive technologies, while reducing dependence on external models and platforms.
This is especially relevant in the current geopolitical context. Europe needs transparent AI architectures that make knowledge and decision-making processes easier to understand. They must also help reduce bias and external influence, while supporting responsible industrial deployment in line with European values and regulations.
Building this trust will be essential to encourage adoption by companies. It can also turn Europe’s approach to trustworthy AI into a competitive advantage.
How will the project ensure that the results reach companies?
GRAIL will allocate €10 million of its budget to financial support for third parties. This includes SMEs, large companies, research centres and other actors in the European innovation ecosystem.
The support will be channelled through three Open Calls. Together, they will fund more than 40 complementary projects focused on data generation and the validation of the foundation model in additional industrial sectors.
Funded projects will receive support from GRAIL partners. They will also be able to access four European infrastructures specialised in industrial robotics and artificial intelligence, one of them located at Eurecat.
This will help ensure that GRAIL’s results do not remain limited to research. Instead, they will be tested, validated and adopted by companies in real industrial environments, accelerating their path to market.
