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Light-emitting silicon: no longer a “holy grail” for computing
Light-emitting silicon: no longer a “holy grail” for computing
Over the last 50 years photons, the particles that make up light, have replaced electrons to transfer data in communication networks.
Overtourism: crowd control through ICT solutions
Overtourism: crowd control through ICT solutions
Overtourism affects many world's beautiful cities, which often find themselves unprepared to deal with massive flows of visitors encouraged by low prices and easy mobility.
Lizard skins and bark bugs inspire energy saving materials
Lizard skins and bark bugs inspire energy saving materials
Biomimicry , also called bionics, uses structures found in nature to solve everyday problems. A well-known example is the Velcro strip , which a Swiss engineer, Georges de Mestral copied from the burdocks that stuck to his dog and clothes on a walk through the fields.
Meet the skyrmions: exotic quasiparticles could revolutionise computing
Meet the skyrmions: exotic quasiparticles could revolutionise computing
For most of us, any concerns about computing speed or data storage are usually to make it go faster while storing more. We hardly ever think about the enormous amounts of energy already required to power Internet servers or charge the increasing number of devices we own.
Science-based civic projects
Science-based civic projects
“Are we all on the same page? Singing from the same hymn sheet?” For anyone working with groups of people in policy areas, the answer is nearly always “yes”.
Beyond the Godfather
Beyond the Godfather
In the early 1990s, a series of initiatives were set about fighting organised crime on a European level. However, the killing of “ndrangheta” members in the German city of Duisburg in 2007 acted as a wake-up call.
The race toward exascale supercomputing targets 2020
The race toward exascale supercomputing targets 2020
Exascale is an artificial milestone figure represented by the number one followed by eighteen zeros. Exascale computers will be able to perform a quintillion calculations per second, and they are expected to consume only 20 MW of power.
“That’s another fight. Big data as a commons”
“That’s another fight. Big data as a commons”
For David Bollier, cities are at a crossroads. As smart city initiatives and data collection increases, it’s essential that citizens use the ideas of the commons to retain control of the services that matter to them, and to ensure these work for the people of the city, not just for business or bureaucracy, he argues.
Airbags for ships save lives, environment and cargo
Airbags for ships save lives, environment and cargo
When a ship runs aground, or two vessels crash into each other, the damaged one may lose its stability, or worse, sink. But imagine if after a ship accident, balloons popped up like car airbags to keep the disabled vessel upright and afloat .
Janusz Hołyst - How technology can influence people’s emotions
Janusz Hołyst - How technology can influence people’s emotions
Sharing emotions is a central part of human communication. Moreover, the internet is becoming an important medium to share them. And this has given rise to collective emotions in online groups.
Jørgen Christian Larsen - Learning from animals to build walking robots
Jørgen Christian Larsen - Learning from animals to build walking robots
Robots are usually thought off as devices to alleviate the burden of certain repetitive or difficult tasks. Robots welding car bodies and painting them are a classic example.
Ensuring cultural heritage protection
Ensuring cultural heritage protection
A technology relying on holography, that involves measuring mechanical deformations, as signature of artworks has previously been developed to address the protection of cultural heritage.
Ornate organs
Ornate organs
The German village of Cappel is home to one of the greatest historical music instruments. The ornate baroque organ here is the work of Arp Schnitger, the grand master of German organ construction who built it in around 1680 for Hamburg.
Floor Brouwer: gathering environmental scientists and land use policy makers
Floor Brouwer: gathering environmental scientists and land use policy makers
Floor Brouwer is a researcher at the LEI research institute of Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands. The institute develops economic expertise and gives political advice in the agrofood sector and the living environment.
Strong resistance to making people think green
Strong resistance to making people think green
How can policymakers change the way people think? This is what the InContext project, funded by the EU, hopes to answer. Leading European research institutions in the fields of transition, behaviour and sustainable development are trying to create a manual for change.
Local input key in multi-risk planning decisions
Local input key in multi-risk planning decisions
Landslides and floods are increasingly occurring natural events . They continue to damage infrastructures and farmland across the EU. Meanwhile, they are also putting people’s life at risk.
Bill Wei: Theft insurance through art fingerprints
Bill Wei: Theft insurance through art fingerprints
Bill Wei is a senior conservation scientist at the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage, in Amsterdam.
Your Online Tailor
Your Online Tailor
MyFashion.eu has found a solution to the delocalization of the clothing industry. The tool, developed in Europe, is called CustoMax and is a system for simplifying the mass production of made-to-measure suits.