Request for Project Proposals in the Intel Visual Computing Institute, Saarbrücken, Germany
The Intel Visual Computing Institute (Intel VCI) was launched at Saarland University (UdS), in Saarbrücken, Germany as a lightning rod for collaborative and exploratory Visual Computing research within Europe.
The founding parties of the Intel VCI are Intel, Saarland University, the Max-Planck Institute for Informatics, the Max-Planck Institute for Software Systems, and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence ("DFKI").
The Institute is focused on research in the area of Visual Computing meaning the acquisition, processing, transmission and rendering/display of visual and associated data. Although visualization addresses the dominant human sensory system, it is still in its infancy despite the enormous evolution of algorithms and processing power over the past few decades.
This text is only an excerpt. The complete information can be found on: https://oas.cs.uni-saarland.de/intel-vci/rfp/
Research Interest Areas
Research proposals should address an ambitious agenda with the potential to lead to breakthroughs in one or more of the following research themes:
- Advanced Rendering and Visualization Technologies
- Future 3D Internet and Novel Networking Approaches
- Sample-based Data Representations, Algorithms, and Processing
- Acquisition and Processing of Geometry and Appearance
- Multiview Stereo and Markerless Motion Capture
- Computational photography and videography
- Visual Simulations
- Virtual Humans, Intelligent Behavior, and Functional Verification
This list of research themes should only be taken as a general guideline for research proposals. The Intel Visual Computing Institute encourages the consideration of additional, complementary research themes and innovative new research directions.
Eligibility
Any Institute of Higher Education with a fully accredited graduate school or any corporate or institutional research organization located within the European Union, is eligible.
Proposal Invitation Process and Requirements
All proposals must be submitted via the following website: https://oas.cs.uni-saarland.de/intel-vci/rfp/.
A confirmation email acknowledging the receipt of the proposal will be sent within 48 hours of submission of the complete set of required documents. Please be aware that incomplete applications will not be forwarded to the review committee.
Proposal format
Each proposal must be submitted in electronic form. Clear fonts with reasonable size (11-point size or larger) shall be used. Only completed proposals will be forwarded to the administration committee. Be aware that the tool will check as well the document format (PDF) as the length of the documents (the length for the specific parts is given in the tool). Your proposals will be treated confidentially and will be stored in encrypted form, only accessible by the review committee members.
All proposals with a duration of more than 18 months must contain a milestone at t0+18 months. This milestone must present significant results (proof-of-concept, new theoretical/algorithmic base for systems, 1st-tier publications etc.) and feed the work in the later parts of the project. Final grants for these later parts of the project will be given after the evaluation at the milestone.
Funding "Amplification" Factor
All projects must achieve an "amplification" factor of three, meaning that the projects must demonstrate the ability to acquire at least €2 of additional funding for every €1 provided by the Intel VCI. This amplification factor can come from the applicant his/herself, the institute or other entity the applicant belongs to and/or third party collaborators such as various levels of government/NGO matching agencies at the local, state, national/federal level and/or additional industrial collaborators.
Selection Criteria & Process:
The proposals will be reviewed by a selection committee comprised of strategic technologists from the Intel VCI.
Projects should be between €50K and €150K (Intel VCI contribution) annually and can be between one and three years in duration.
Collaboration
The impact of the Intel VCI will be greater if the Institute's researchers work closely together to achieve more comprehensive results than is possible if they work independently. With this goal in mind, research teams whose proposals are accepted will be expected to work with the Intel VCI's Directors of Research to determine how their research can dovetail with the rest of the Institute's portfolio to drive more comprehensive outcomes. Under the guidance of the Intel VCI Directors of Research, the Principal Investigators of each accepted proposal will be required to develop a collaboration plan, within the first three (3) months of the research project's period of performance, and execute to this plan.
Contact Information
For any questions or concerns please refer to rfp-3(at)intel-vci.uni-saarland.de.