Engineering, manufacturing and construction

Uneven road surfaces cause breaking and variable speeds both of which increase emissions, while low car occupancy rates mean duplicated journeys. An EU project is combining data from trip-sharing communities and phone sensors for feedback on road quality to make road travel greener.

Rapidly modifying magnetic properties is key for low power magnetic devices. The EU-funded MULTIREV project has contributed to a study which exploits magnetoelastic coupling, for the design of strain-controlled nano-devices.

Spider silk has many fascinating mechanical properties which have attracted researchers’ attention. Now a team has matched one of nature’s wonders with graphene, currently the world''s strongest material, thereby opening the door to a new class of bionic composites.

With uncertainty around the risks of nanomaterials hampering the EU’s innovative potential, researchers are working on a safety concept to better monitor this emerging technology.

Advances in the manner in which we can visualise the atomic structures of cells have been recognised in 2017 Nobel prize for chemistry. These increasingly powerful methods shine a light on how we are constructed and now the use of advanced super-resolution microscopy reveals aspects of the interrelation of the genes to the mechanisms which control them.

Scientists supported by EU funding, have created a graphene-based device where electron spins can be injected and detected, with unprecedented efficiency and at room temperature. This opens up possibilities for the realisation of applications which use spin based logic and transistors.

Swarm intelligence refers to natural and artificial systems comprising many individuals that coordinate using decentralised control and self-organisation. The EU-funded project, has designed the first self-assembling multirobot system able to display sensorimotor coordination equivalent to that observed in monolithic robots.

Textiles dating from between 1 000 and 400 BC survive in mineralised forms often found in burial sites. The material was frequently placed in contact with metals conducive to their reservation, buried alongside the bodies in the form of ornaments or tools. New research is unravelling what these fragments can tell us about the cultures that produced them.

Not long ago it was orthodoxy that microscopes could not see images smaller than 200 nanometres. The relatively nascent field of nanoscopy has challenged this, with the EU-funded NANOSCOPY project leading the way.

Fingerprint scanners, iris and facial recognition systems – the world of biometric identification is burgeoning to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for quick, easy-to-use security measures.

Haptic sensors, connectivity and efficient telecommunications are some of the factors that enable the uptake of medical telerobotic systems. Technical capacity is timely as demographics put pressure on health services, while in remote areas, patients of all ages can find it hard to get appointments with specialists.

With food security issues becoming ever more pressing, much research is being done to strike the right balance between high yields and low environmental impact. A major EU-funded project has run a successful pilot bringing together data from sensors and satellites to boost yields while accurately identifying levels of fertilisers needed.

Current methods of measuring electron transfer in photovoltaic panels are ambiguous, but new research supported with EU funding is helping to distinguish between the response of the substrate and that of the sensitiser.

If you cut yourself or tear a muscle over time you will, hopefully, get better. Now researchers at a Belgium university have extended this self-healing property specifically to soft robots.

Tech leaders have written an open letter to the UN asking for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons which, they state, could permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend.

Iggy Pop’s song, ‘I am a passenger’ has already been used for car adverts and yet can seem out of tune when cars are sold as enablers of freedom, won through agency and control. Until now that is. With the coming era of autonomous vehicles, it will surely be the go-to song, aptly representing a new kind of freedom on the roads.

A new study led by the University of Plymouth and funded through the EU-funded TRACY project has advised governments to do more to develop transport policies that allow those over the age of 65 to remain mobile and active.

With around 90% of the worlds data generated in the last two years alone, there is a pressing need for more efficient data storage and transfer. The EU-funded SPIN-PORICS nanocomposite prototype may have a solution.

Just like great wine needs time, great grapes require continuous attention and reliable assessment tools. Noting the absence of a convincing alternative to manual sampling and analysis, an EU-funded consortium has developed VineRobot, an ‘Unmanned ground vehicle’ (UGV) equipped with non-invasive sensor technology.

On an initiative of Mrs. Cresson, Commissioner for research and development, Mr. Bangemann, Commissioner for industry, telecommunications and information technologies, and Mr. Kinnock, Commissioner for transport, the European Commission has set up six task forces to develop in...

The Commission''s research/industry Task Force on "Transport Intermodality", established in early 1995, has presented a first progress report on its work to date. The report outlines the reasons for the Task Force''s creation and stresses the need for intermodal transport solu...

The European Commission has published the terms of reference for the "Trains and Railway Systems of the Future" Task Force whose brief is to develop industrial common research projects in order to reinforce European competitiveness.In recent years, the railways have seen a d...

The European Commission''s research/industry "Trains and railway systems of the future" Task Force, established in early 1995, has presented a first progress report on its work to date.The aim of the Task Force is to bring together the separate strands of the railway industry...

The European Commission has published the Action Plan Guidelines for the "Train and Railway Systems of the Future" Task Force.Railways face a multitude of crucial business and industrial challenges if they are to respond effectively to the market opportunities arising from t...

On an initiative of Mrs. Cresson, Commissioner for research and development, Mr. Bangemann, Commissioner for industry, telecommunications and information technologies, and Mr. Kinnock, Commissioner for transport, the European Commission has set up six task forces to develop in...