New projects

The overall objective of the EU-funded READ project is to implement a Virtual Research Environment where archivists, humanities scholars, computer scientists and volunteers are collaborating with the ultimate goal of boosting research, innovation, development and usage of cutting edge technology for the automated recognition, transcription, indexing and enrichment of handwritten archival documents.

Could future mobile networks be programmed to automatically predict and adapt to huge peaks in traffic demand? The EU-funded ACT5G project is developing the concept as a key component of next generation mobile networks.

A clay pot, an arrowhead, a delicately carved bone bead - taken in isolation, the artefacts of bygone ages don't convey much information to the untrained observer. Immersive 3D technologies are opening up new ways to provide context for individual objects, or across entire cultural heritage sites. An EU-funded project is advancing key techniques.

Breakthrough technologies developed by the EU-funded project DESCRAMBLE could allow Europe to exploit geothermal energy more efficiently and in more locations than is currently possible. The aim is to increase use of this renewable, clean energy source and reduce Europe's dependence on imported fossil fuels.

A portable device to detect potential signs of cancer in a patient's urine is under development within the EU-funded research project GLAM. The project aims to speed up cancer diagnosis and monitoring, while making the process both less intrusive and less unpleasant.

EU and euro-area policymakers are planning reforms to the common rules that underpin economic and monetary integration in Europe. To help, researchers in the EU-funded project ADEMU are developing proposals to guide the reforms.

As the number of babies born prematurely continues to rise, the list of milk banks has also grown in length, particularly in Europe. But as Europe also tops another league table - that of alcohol consumption per capital - do doctors need to worry about the safety of donated breast milk? An EU-funded researcher plans to find out.

Poorly managed resource extraction can have a considerably negative impact on the environment, in particular on drinking water, and on individuals and societies. An EU-funded STRADE project will examine how can the sustainable supply of raw materials for the European Union be secured and sustainably exploited as well as how can the European Union successfully work together with developing countries on an international level.

Despite enormous progress in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, the global response cannot keep pace: 35 million people are living with HIV worldwide with around 6,000 new infections each day. Numerous HIV prevention strategies, though proven successful, are difficult to sustain long-term. A vaccine still represents the most effective tool in the combat against HIV from a public health perspective.

Supramolecular chemistry could provide new, innovative materials for applications for medicine, data storage and other areas. Some European countries even have national programmes devoted to this field. The ASSEMZYME project is using EU funding to train a research candidate in this cutting-edge science.

Five years after Europe launched a plan to foster innovation, EU-funded researchers are taking stock of its impact on growth and jobs. Their analysis aims to help policy-makers calibrate on-going policy actions and plan future ones.

Unfortunately, dealing with one chronic disease doesn't mean that you can't develop another. More than 50 million people in Europe are living with more than one such condition, and this number is expected to grow. EU-funded researchers are looking into ways to provide them with more integrated support and redesign healthcare systems accordingly.

EU-funded project ESMERALDA is developing ways to assess Europe’s biodiverse ecosystems and their many contributions to society and the economy.

The SEA CHANGE project aims to encourage citizens to take direct and sustainable action to protect healthy and biodiverse seas by increasing their ocean literacy – defined as an understanding of the ocean’s influence on a person and that person’s impact on the ocean.

An EU-funded project to design a simple and secure means of collecting online payments will enable more SMEs to efficiently and cost-effectively access the full potential of Europe’s burgeoning e-commerce market.

The team behind CogNet predicts that there will be 11.5 billion mobile-ready devices in the world by 2020, as well as more connected devices. But the current mobile and wireless bandwidth will not be able to cope with Europe’s ever-increasing data demands. The CogNet solution? Automatic network management through machine learning algorithms.

The EU is investing in research to help European manufacturers remain competitive in a growing market for personalised medical products. Two projects are developing ways to use 3D printing to make tailor-made components for the benefit of patients.

The polar regions are often seen as a barometer for the health of the global environment, and understanding how changes in this area affect Europe and the world had become essential. An alliance of 22 research institutes has therefore set out to enhance the integration of European capabilities for polar research and maximise the benefits to society.

An EU-funded project is testing intelligent, energy-efficient and passenger-friendly bus service innovations designed to bring benefits to both commuters and public authorities across 12 cities in Europe. The most effective solutions are expected to create new market opportunities for cutting-edge technology in public transport.

On a sinking ship, crews need to evacuate passengers quickly — but they may have to find them first. An innovative system based on EU-funded research may soon make this task a great deal easier. On vessels fitted with this system, teams will be able to locate passengers instantly, on board and in the water.