New projects

RADIO is a Horizon 2020 action to develop an Ambient Assisted Living solution that integrates robotic and home automation technologies. The RADIO Home is designed to support independent living of elderly population. Three academic partners, three SMEs and three clinical partners, led by the National Centre of Scientific Research “Demokritos” (Greece), cooperate to develop the RADIO ecosystem and to pilot the system in two clinical sites (Italy, Spain) and several home environments (Greece).

Scientists don’t know all of the reasons why some people are more susceptible to lung disease than others – something that the EU-funded ALEC project is seeking to find out. The results could be an important step towards better prevention and treatments for patients.

When the nature of a disease is unknown, it is difficult to be prepared. Think Ebola, avian influenza or SARS – news reports of their spread were regularly accompanied by updates on the frantic hunt for vaccines and treatments. EU-funded researchers hope to stay one step ahead from now on with a new platform for detecting and analysing outbreaks.

Our interaction with machines has progressed from tapping keys to control a computer, to waving a hand. An EU-funded project is developing technology that helps manufacturers apply the next step – mid-air virtual controls that you can touch.

An artificial society of robots inspired by marine biology will bring a number of benefits for underwater technology, and help to protect the waterways of Venice from further damage.

Financed by the European Commission, the European AIDS Vaccine Initiative (EAVI2020) brings together leading HIV researchers from public organisations and biotech companies from across the world in a focused effort to develop protective and therapeutic HIV vaccines.The EAVI2020 consortium unites scientists from 22 institutions, pooling their knowledge and expertise to develop novel candidate vaccines that can be taken through to human trials within five years.

Lightweight electric vehicles capable of being stacked together are to be trialled in three cities by a ground-breaking EU-funded project. The objective is to distribute car-sharing vehicles more effectively at low operating costs and to promote intermodal public transport. This would cut congestion and reduce environmental impact.

Institutional investors have a new benchmarking tool to assess to which extent their portfolio is in line with the investments required to limit global warming to 2°C, based on its exposure to different energy technologies. The tool is developed by the Sustainable Energy Investment Metrics (SEI Metrics) project. The draft version of the benchmarking framework is currently limited to power and road transport, with non-road transport coming next.

The ABIOMATER project will explore how magnetically controlled metamaterials – engineered materials with properties not found in nature – could be used to improve medical devices and implants, upgrading treatment options for patients. From lenses to tissue engineering, the team plans prototypes within three years.

If we ever want to put down roots beyond our home planet, we will need a way to grow food out there. Pre-packaged meals will only get us so far. The EDEN ISS project has set out on a four-year mission dedicated to plant cultivation on the International Space Station. Its work could help to remove one of the barriers standing between us and thriving colonies on Mars.

EU-funded researchers are developing an underwater robot with exceptional dexterity that can be controlled remotely from the shore. For the oil and gas industry this could mean reducing the amount of hazardous underwater repair work that is usually carried out by divers, while also cutting operational costs.

The aerospace, medical technologies and automotive sectors have very high manufacturing costs because of the complexity of the parts involved, the low volumes produced and the price of raw materials. EU-funded researchers are building a solution that almost sounds too good to be true: a fast, energy-efficient combined subtractive and additive manufacturing machine that produces metal parts for lower cost than its traditional counterparts.

The main goal of WIISEL is to develop a flexible research tool to collect and analyze gait data from real users and correlate parameters related with the risk of falls from the elderly population. The WIISEL system can be useful as a research tool for studying fall risk and as a clinical tool for long-term monitoring of fall risk in the home and community setting.

The project ENRICHME “Enabling Robot and assisted living environment for Independent Care and Health Monitoring of the Elderly“, funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, is a pioneering project in that it will be testing technologies for supporting elderly people with Mild Cognitive Impairments in the long-term and in their living environment.

Controlled odour emission could transform video games and television viewing experiences and benefit industries such as pest control and medicine. The NANOSMELL project aims to switch smells on and off by tagging artificial odorants with nanoparticles exposed to electromagnetic field.

Could creatures of the deep help treat disease and keep us looking young? A team of EU-funded researchers thinks so. To overcome current bottlenecks in taking marine-derived biomolecules from discovery to exploitation, researchers will assess the potential of animals such as sponges, soft corals and tunicates.

The TOPTEN ACT project will help consumers make environmentally conscious purchases by selecting and presenting Europe’s most energy efficient products across a number of categories. Goods will be analysed from the 16 national Topten websites, which showcase the best performing models in each country.

The carbon dioxide emitted by fossil fuel power stations and many other types of plant could be used to generate methanol, say EU-funded researchers. They are developing a cost-effective method to turn this overabundant pollutant into a welcome resource. This process will draw on surplus energy produced by renewables at peak times.

Industrial production accounts for 16 % of Europe’s economy. But while Europe was once recognised worldwide as an industrial power house, its leadership is being eroded. EU-funded researchers are seeking to reverse the trend with innovative technologies that increase productivity and create a more appealing and inspiring working environment.

The NOMORFILM project is looking into whether biomolecules in marine microalgae can combat bacterial and fungal infections associated with prosthetic devices and catheters. Preventing infections will improve patient care and help cut the cost of treating complications, estimated at €7 billion a year in Europe