STAND aims to transform the management and prevention of Diabetic Foot Syndrome (DFS) through a next-generation, textile-based wearable system that integrates Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs) with flexible electronics and AI-enabled autonomous sensing. DFS affects millions worldwide, with neuropathy reducing foot sensation and increasing the risk of pressure points, skin breakdown, and ulceration. STRIDE addresses this critical health challenge by developing a soft, knitted dorsal sensing sock fully integrated with a detachable plantar sensing layer, enabling continuous monitoring of foot health in everyday life. The system will provide patients and healthcare professionals with actionable insights on pressure, temperature, and other critical parameters, supporting footwear management and enabling early detection of DFS. Human-centred co-design and clinical validation ensure that the wearable is comfortable, user-friendly, and meets real patient and clinical needs, maximising adoption potential. STAND leverages solution-processed electronics and IAMs to create conformable, resilient, and low-impact wearable components, advancing the maturity of flexible electronics from TRL 3 to TRL 6. Sustainability is embedded from the outset: a dedicated work package ensures the use of low-impact materials, monitors circular economy metrics, and plans for reparability and recyclability, supporting energy- and resource-efficient manufacturing pathways aligned with Net Zero objectives. By combining cutting-edge materials, AI-enabled sensing, and patient-focused design, STAND will enable early intervention, improve patient self-management, and reduce DFS incidence by up to 7% by 2034. The project represents a pathway from fundamental materials innovation to real-world clinical deployment, demonstrating the societal, healthcare, and economic impact of IAM-enabled e-textile technologies

The main goal of the proposal is to develop a new generation of bidirectional implantable electrodes connecting the human nervous system with external mechatronic aid devices such as exoskeletons and exoprostheses, thus helping people with arm amputations or leg paralysis regain their motor and sensorial functions. Electrodes will be the primary bidirectional interface to the nerves, followed by the implantable module, comprising an ASIC for signal processing, a microcontroller, an antenna for radio communication, a coil for wireless power charging and a supercapacitor for energy storage. To enable data communication to the mechatronic structures, as well as their power management and control (via AI modules) an embedded system will be designed, fabricated, and tested. This system will then be integrated into the mechatronic structures of exoprosthesis or exoskeletons. Due to the presence of bidirectional implantable electrodes a close loop between the user’s brain and the device’s control system will be created, with the AI module being used to learn and interpret the user’s synaptic signals. All the components and modules will be designed, fabricated, and tested with demonstration being assured by integrating the neural implantable systems with exoprostheses and exoskeletons into three demonstrators aimed at different categories of patients: with forearm amputation, with lower limbs paralysis and with single leg paralysis. A new generation of exoprostheses and exoskeletons controlled by the patient’s brain via the nervous system will change the paradigm of support for people with disabilities and will have an important social, economic, medical, and technological impact. The technology advances including miniaturization, wireless communication and power supply, progresses in medical microsurgery tools and methods, new biocompatible materials and technologies will considerably contribute to the project implementation.

Only in Europe 3,6 million tonnes of feathers are generated per year as waste of the poultry sector. Around 25% is used for animal feed or fertilisers while the rest is disposed in landfills or incinerated. Feathers contain nearly 90% of keratin, a valuable protein which can source for biodegradable materials, such as bioplastics for agriculture. However, to unlock the full potential of feathers as raw material for functional molecules, there are many technical, logistic and market hurdles to solve in the supply chain for the takeoff of profitable value chains and for the easy market uptake of keratin-based products. UNLOCK will design and demonstrate economically & environmentally sustainable value chains led by the primary sector, which will generate innovative bio-based functional products for agricultural applications: forest/seed trays, nonwoven geotextiles, mulch films and hydroponic foams. Keratin-based materials will outperform their fossil-based counter parts by providing additional functionalities during the product life span and environmental benefits at the end-of-life (controlled biodegradability, enrichment of organic nitrogen to soil and zero waste generation). UNLOCK will create 4 new bio-based value chains, 4 new agricultural consumer goods and at least 3 cross sector interconnections among the primary sector (poultry sector), the bioplastics industry and the agricultural sector, opening up new innovation-led market and job opportunities in the EU bioeconomy. UNLOCK conversion technologies will evolve from TRL5 to 7, demonstrating the full potential of keratin for circular bio-based plastics, through a multidisciplinary consortium of 15 partners (8 SMEs), supported by a strong stakeholder board. UNLOCK will enable the setup of 2 first-of-its-kind commercial biorefineries after the end of the project. The co-creation and replication will be reinforced through a specific regional cluster approach to multiply the impacts during and after the project.