ICT

Robots help ants with daily chores so they can be accepted into the colony. Image credit - Dr Bertrand Collignon

04 October 2017

Robotic bugs train insects to be helpers

Tiny mobile robots are learning to work with insects in the hope the creatures’ sensitive antennae and ability to squeeze into small spaces can be put to use serving humans.

A new app could help heart failure patients manage their disease on a day-to-day basis, according to Sofia Marchã. Image credit – HeartMan

health | ict | interview

26 September 2017

Smartphones can help ease the burden of heart failure - Sofia Marchã

Around 15 million people across Europe suffer from congestive heart failure, a chronic condition where the heart is not able to pump enough blood around the body, but according to Sofia Marchã, a senior policy officer for patients and research at the European Heart Network in Brussels, Belgium, a new health app could make living with the condition easier.

Farmers could protect the environment and cut down on fertiliser use with swarms of drones. Image credit - 'Aerial View - Landschaft Markgräflerland' by Taxiarchos228 is licenced under CC 3.0 unported

ict | agriculture | environment

24 August 2017

EU’s future cyber-farms to utilise drones, robots and sensors

Bee-based maths is helping teach swarms of drones to find weeds, while robotic mowers keep hedgerows in shape.

Robot co-workers could help out with repetitive jobs and heavy lifting by reacting to human actions. Image credit - Italian Institute of Technology

ict | industry

18 August 2017

Digital symbiosis lets robot co-workers predict human behaviour

Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk fear that the robotic revolution may already be underway, but automation isn’t going to take over just yet – first machines will work alongside us.

Users will be able to communicate easily with technology that translates any language instantly. Image credit - Pixabay/ terimakasih0

ict

17 August 2017

Star Trek-style communicator hopes to break down cultural barriers

In Star Trek, the technology to instantly translate any language was first developed in the late 22nd century, but today researchers are already working on ways to take universal communication even further.

Blockchain technology is helping keep appliances in smart homes safe from hackers. Image credit - 'Blockchain' by deavmi is licenced under CC SA-4.0

ict

16 August 2017

Blockchain making houses safer

Blockchain technology developed to guarantee the value of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is now being adopted by engineers as a way to fight off the risk of a hacker breaking into the connected appliances of today’s smart homes.

Plasmon particles can be used to reflect light and its colours can be altered on demand. Image credit - Professor Laura Na Liu

ict | frontier research

10 August 2017

Fireworks on a pinhead as electrons enable colours in 100 000 pixels per inch

The image is on a canvas as wide as a human hair, its colours never fade, and they can be edited and erased on demand.

Hackathons are events where people collaborate to develop new software. Image credit – Flickr/ Sebastiaaan ter Burg

ict | security | open innovation

25 July 2017

Police turn to hackathons as crime fighting goes digital

Police and law enforcement staff are turning to hackathons – collaborative events for developing technology – to come up with new ways of searching for clues within the terabytes of data that many people produce every year.