Call for proposals for the DDK research program: Reducing data, reliably reconstructing media content
On March 16, 2026, the Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit GmbH (Cyberagentur) published the call for proposals for the research program “Data reconstruction after targeted data reduction in difficult communication environments with a focus on image and sound” (DDK). Research and development approaches are being sought that reduce video, images and sound in a targeted manner, even with minimal bandwidth, transmit them securely and then reconstruct them reliably – without distorting mission-critical content.
With the publication of the call for proposals, the Cyberagentur is launching a new research program. DDK will focus on technologies and approaches that handle image, video and audio data in such a way that they remain securely usable despite communication with minimal and possibly unreliable transmission rates. To this end, this data is to be specifically reduced before transmission and restored or upscaled at the receiving end using modern processes. It is crucial that particularly mission-critical content is automatically recognized and remains unaltered during transmission. It can also be assumed that the processes required for this increase the demand for resources such as energy and computing power, which are also only available to a very limited extent in deployment and disaster scenarios. Accordingly, the issue of optimal resource allocation must be addressed at the same time in order to ensure the best possible quality of transmission even with scarce resources.
At the end of the program, practical approaches should be available that can already be presented, tested and evaluated in demonstrators and thus achieve a technology readiness level of TRL 4. In this way, the Cyberagentur aims to concretely improve the communication capabilities of internal and external security actors in the field – especially where bandwidth is scarce and yet a reliable situational picture and robust decisions are required. In terms of content, DDK focuses primarily on methods from the field of machine learning and deep learning as well as methods of media processing and AI upscaling. In addition, a sustainable professional exchange is promoted in which scientists from these areas network.
“If communication becomes unreliable or even fails completely in critical situations, this poses an acute threat to the health and lives of the people involved,” says Dr. Marcus Hillmann, Program Manager and Research Officer in the Cybersecurity of Complex Systems department. “DDK addresses precisely this gap: We want to advance communication technologies in such a way that content can be transmitted even under adverse conditions while remaining reliable.”
In the DDK research program, the Cyberagentur is using Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (PPI) for the first time to bring successful research results into marketable implementation as early as possible, together with users. The aim is to accelerate the transfer to application and make effective approaches available more quickly.
Subsequent, possible later series production also secures jobs, in which the public consumer secures income as the first customer and at the same time benefits from innovations.
The requirements are formulated in functional terms; the verifiable performance of the solution is decisive. Selection takes place in a competitive process in which providers must prove implementation, security and performance.
This is preceded by a competition, followed by three phases: A paid concept development phase (up to four participants), a three-year solution exploration phase and a one-year solution testing phase (up to two contractors in each case). The selection decisions are made by a jury made up of Cyberagentur employees and external experts.
With this publication, the Cyberagentur is addressing high-performing applicants and applicant consortia from science and industry – in particular research institutions, companies and consortia with proven expertise in AI-supported media processing and secure communication. In particular, companies or start-ups that want to create and offer a marketable product based on the research and development results should also apply, either alone or with others. The aim is to identify excellent approaches, develop them further in competition and demonstrate them in a technologically resilient manner for the security context.
The invitation to tender was published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union with the contract notice number TED 188421-2026(https://ted.europa.eu/de/notice/-/detail/188421-2026). The deadline for participation is 21.05.2026, 14:00. Interested research institutions and companies can now register their participation. Participation is possible both alone and in a consortium.
Further information and registration: