The last of four multi-year work plans will take the HBP to the end of its original incarnation as an EU Future and Emerging Technology Flagship. The plan is that the end of the Flagship will see the start of a new, enduring European scientific research infrastructure, EBRAINS, hopefully on the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) roadmap. The SGA3 work plan builds on the strong scientific foundations laid in the preceding phases, makes structural adaptations to profit from lessons learned along the way (e.g. transforming the previous Subprojects and Co-Design Projects into fewer, stronger, well-integrated Work Packages) and introduces new participants, with additional capabilities.
The SGA3 work plan is built around improved integration and a sharpening of focus, to ensure a strong HBP legacy at the end of this last SGA. In previous phases, the HBP laid the foundation for empowering empirical and theoretical neuroscience to approaching the different spatial and temporal scales using state-of-the-art neuroinformatics, simulation, neuromorphic computing, neurorobotics, as well as high-performance analytics and computing. While these disciplines have been evolving for some years, we now see a convergence in this field and a dramatic speeding-up of progress. Data is driving a scientific revolution that relies heavily on computing to analyse data and to provide the results to the research community. Only with strong computer support, is it possible to translate information into knowledge, into a deeper understanding of brain organisation and diseases, and into technological innovation. In this respect, the underlying Fenix HPC and data e-infrastructure, co-designed with the HBP, will be key.
The services offered by EBRAINS will be grouped in six Service Categories:
SC1: Curated and shared data: EBRAINS FAIR data services - neuroscience data publishing
SC2: Brain atlas services: navigate the brain in 3D - find, contribute and analyse brain data, based on location
SC3: Brain modelling and simulation workflows: integrated tools to create and investigate models of the brain
SC4: Closed loop AI and robotics workflows: design, test and implement robotic and AI solutions
SC5: Medical Data Analytics
SC6: Interactive workflows on HPC or NMC: Europe-wide access to scalable and interactive compute services
Their users are to be supported with High-Level Support Teams and Vouchers, as well as Engagement and Facility Hubs located around Europe, at which additional services, unique equipment and compute infrastructure will be offered by local HBP Partners.
Significant outcomes in relevant scientific communities are expected to materialise rapidly. Association with new Partnering Projects is still sought, along with wider international cooperation.
The SGA3 objectives can be summarised as:
1) Establish a sustainable European scientific research infrastructure, EBRAINS, leading to an increased use and adoption of FAIR data, web-based analyses, model building, simulation, atlasing, and virtual experiments for brain research and brain-inspired sciences.
2) Provide a multi-level atlas of the human brain - the first of its kind that links microstructural detail and inter-subject variability.
3) Increase the capacity of neuroscientists for multiscale neural activity modelling of the human brain network.
4) Increase the availability of integrated multiscale data and computational models supporting brain states transitions, network complexity and cognitive functions.
5) Enhance real-world task performance through biologically plausible adaptive cognitive architectures running on neuromorphic hardware and a closed-loop Neurorobotics Platform.
6) Ensure that neuroscientific insights at the interface of neuro-inspired computing and technology are being translated into a benefit for patients with brain diseases.
7) Ensure an ethically and legally compliant infrastructure and promote embedding of Responsible Research and Innovation, a
