ICT

A new way of teaching known as STEAM is breaking down the barriers between science, technology, engineering, art and maths. Image credit - Laura Taverna/ Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

09 May 2019

How music and movement can help kids understand maths

Staring at rows of numbers or formulas on a page can be off-putting for many children studying mathematics or science in school. But music, drawing and even body movement are providing promising new ways of teaching complex subjects to youngsters.

Voting in a polling booth and online voting are like apples and pears - it's not a matter of just replacing one with another, says Dr Kremer. Image credit - Santeri Viinamäki, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

frontier research | ict | security

01 April 2019

‘Online voting isn’t ready for high-stakes elections’

Online voting is often considered a way to improve voter turnout and security. But according to Dr Steve Kremer of the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation, computer scientists have got a long way to go before they make it a viable alternative to pencils and paper.

An automated wheelchair with an exoskeleton arm is designed to help people with varying forms of disability carry out daily tasks independently. Image credit - AIDE, Universidad Miguel Hernandez

health | ict | industry

26 March 2019

Robotic arms and temporary motorisation – the next generation of wheelchairs

Next-generation wheelchairs could incorporate brain-controlled robotic arms and rentable add-on motors in order to help people with disabilities more easily carry out daily tasks or get around a city.

Free blockchain-based platforms can make bank accounts accessible to those unable to afford regular banking technology. Image credit - Pxhere, licensed under CC0

ict | industry | science in society

13 March 2019

Blockchain could democratise banking, music – but at what cost?

Few technologies have the potential to disrupt old institutions as much as blockchain – a system that maintains records on huge networks of individual computers. As with any new technology, it could be used for social good – such as supporting people who are priced-out of the current bank accounts – but the big challenge is how to limit its unintended consequences.

The ability to coil and uncoil will help soft robots interact with their environment. Image credit - Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)

ict

05 March 2019

In a picture: How this robotic tendril mimics climbing plants – Dr Barbara Mazzolai

Dr Barbara Mazzolai, an expert in biorobotics, tells us about creating the first artificial plant tendril that can climb and reverse its movements through hydraulics.

Robots play a role in post-disaster relief work in situations that are too dangerous for humans. Image Credit - © Volker Lannert/Uni Bonn

ict | security

22 January 2019

The robots being readied to enter nuclear no-go zones

Robust, intelligent robots that react to their surroundings are being developed to work in situations that are too dangerous for humans, such as cleaning up Europe’s decades-old radioactive waste or helping during a nuclear emergency.

Through Grassroots Wavelengths, FM frequencies work off a transmitter connected to a mobile phone, broadcasting over a radius of up to 12 km. Image Credit - Andreea Bonea / RootIO, licensed under CC BY-NC

ict | open to the world | science in society

10 January 2019

Hyperlocal radio and do-it-yourself networks bring information closer to home

Modern communications technology means one can find anything, anywhere around the world, on the internet and via mobile phones. But people still live in communities and need information that is relevant to them.

Findings about the effect of a volcano's age on its likelihood to erupt will be applied to the Merapi volcano in Indonesia, among others. Image credit - Jimmy McIntyre, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

security | ict

07 January 2019

Age and foaming: how to predict when a volcano will erupt

The eruption of a volcano can have devastating consequences – killing people and destroying livelihoods, as well as releasing vast amounts of ash into the sky that disrupts air travel and alters the climate. Knowing what goes on underground, however, would facilitate better warnings for when an eruption will occur – and help save lives while keeping damage to a minimum.

Cozmo robots and their corresponding tablets are being distributed to participants to take home so that they can interact with them for a week for an experiment being carried out by social robotics professor Emily Cross. Image credit - Ruud Hortensius and Emily Cross

frontier research | ict

18 December 2018

From robotic companions to third thumbs, machines can change the human brain

People’s interactions with machines, from robots that throw tantrums when they lose a colour-matching game against a human opponent to the bionic limbs that could give us extra abilities, are not just revealing more about how our brains are wired – they are also altering them.

Commissioner Moedas likened the European Open Science Cloud to a 16th century coffeehouse where new ideas could circulate and flourish. Image credit - picture is in the public domain

ict | policy | open science

26 November 2018

Digital ‘coffeehouse’ to spark new scientific ideas now ready for use

The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), a virtual one-stop shop for researchers to share, access and reuse data, was officially unveiled at the University of Vienna, Austria, on 23 November, giving scientists, open data advocates, research institutions and policymakers a first glimpse of the portal.