Research*eu results magazine. No 19, February 2013.
Date: 2013-04-22
Institutions: Publications Office of the European Union
Subjects: research, research and development, research project, serial publication

ISSN 1977-4028

research eu

R E S U L T S   M A G A Z I N E

No 19  February 2013

In this issue:

Special feature: 

‘Biodiversity: supporting vital ecosystems’.
Interviews: 
Dr Elke Schüttler on keeping the peace between Chilean wild cats 
and landowners, page 21

Other highlights:

Giving stroke patients new reason for hope, page 6
Reduce energy consumption by 30 % through ICT, page 13
Beam me to my meeting!, page 30
Employing virtual reality technology 
to revolutionise manual work, page 39

2

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

research eu

R E S U LT S   M AG A Z I N E

You can still order previous issues of research*eu results magazine 
at the EU Bookshop: 
http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/home/

Published by
CORDIS Unit
Publications Offi  ce of the European Union
2, rue Mercier
2985 Luxembourg
LUXEMBOURG
E-mail: cordis-helpdesk@publications.europa.eu

Editorial coordination
Gyn Nilsson

Th  e research*eu results magazine is published by 
the Publications Offi  ce of the European Union, 
as part of the EU-funded research programmes. 
Content is prepared using several sources, 
including the Technology Marketplace on 
CORDIS, the Research Information Centre, 
as well as original material collected specifi cally 
for this publication.

All issues of the research*eu results magazine 
are available online at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/research-eu

Th  e research*eu magazines are free of charge.

To subscribe to either research*eu results 
magazine or research*eu focus, please go to: 
http://surveys.publications.europa.eu/
formserver/po_cordis_publications_
subscription

To order a single issue of research*eu results 
magazine or research*eu focus, please go to: 
EU-bookshop
http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/home/

Th  e technologies presented in this magazine 
may be covered by intellectual property rights.

ISSN 1831-9947

ISSN 1831-9947

ISSN 1831-9947

research eu

R E S U L T S   M A G A Z I N E

No 18  December/January 2012

research eu

R E S U L T S   M A G A Z I N E

No 17  November 2012

research eu

R E S U L T S   M A G A Z I N E

No 16  October 2012

In this issue:

Special feature: 

‘Natural disasters and climate change: 
how science expects the unexpected’
Interview: David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey on 
‘Reducing uncertainty in forecasting sea-level rises’, page xx
Other highlights: 
 Improved treatment of neurodegenerative disorders, page x
Drinking water from the sea using solar energy, page xx
Early warning of potential ‘desertification’, page xx
Search technology that can gauge opinion 
and predict the future, page xx
Removing hazardous substances from the air, page xx

In this issue:

Special feature:

‘Power up! The Future of Energy’
Interview: Dimitrios Mendrinos of the Greek Centre for Renewable Energy
Sources and Saving on ‘Rethinking energy from the ground up’, page 12

Other highlights:

New study on genetics of autism, page 6
Modelling land surface and atmosphere interactions, page 24
Ahead in the cloud, page 33
Metal-mediated polymerisation for smart materials, page 40

In this issue:

Special feature: 

‘Natural disasters and climate change:  
how science expects the unexpected’
Interview: David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey on  
‘Reducing uncertainty in forecasting sea-level rises’, page 21 
Other highlights: 
 Improved treatment of neurodegenerative disorders, page 6
Drinking water from the sea using solar energy, page 13
Early warning of potential ‘desertification’, page 23
Search technology that can gauge opinion  
and predict the future, page 32
Removing hazardous substances from the air, page 40

ISSN 1831-9947

ISSN 1830-8864

ISSN 1830-8864

ISSN 1830-8864

ISSN 1831-9947

research eu

R E S U L T S   M A G A Z I N E

No 15  September 2012

research eu

R E S U L T S   M A G A Z I N E

No 14  July 2012

research eu

R E S U L T S   M A G A Z I N E

No 13  June 2012

0
1
0
2
,
k
c
o
t
S
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
©

0
1
0
2
,
k
c
o
t
S
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
©

In this issue:

Special feature: 

Africa: international cooperation,  
research for development and the digital divide’.
Interview: Graciela M. Rusch of the Norwegian Institute for Nature 
Research (NINA) — on trees and sustainable agriculture in Africa 
Other highlights: 
 New nomenclature for Biomphalaria species in Lake Victoria, page 6
 Sounding out bubbles in pipes, page 13
 Europe, South Africa look to water conservation, page 24
 Inspired by challenge — our robotic future, page 30
 Europeans push the bio-nano-technology envelope, page 38

In this issue:
Special feature: 

Creative and talented: nurturing Europe’s next generation of 
scientists and building an inclusive, innovative society for the future
Interview: Dr Davide Iannuzzi on 
‘Diving into the world of the very small’
Other highlights: 
Study investigates aquatic parasites on fish, page 6
New motor can cut space exploration costs, page 13
Innovative pellets to benefit organic farmers, page 18
Open access: EU project results go public, page 26
Invisibility field cloak a reality, page 33

In this issue:
Special feature: 

Growth through innovation: ‘Green cars’, ‘Energy-efficient 
buildings’ and ‘Factories of the future’
Interviews: Juliusz Żach, Juan Ramón de las Cuevas Jiménez 
and Richard Scaife on projects funded by the EU’s public-private 
partnerships for research (PPPs)

Other highlights: 

There is something healthy in the state of Denmark, page 6
New hope for hydrogen-powered cars, page 13
Going underground for optimal crops and yields, page 19
Future Internet … a thing of beauty and promise, page 25
New method to clean and treat polluted water for extraction of 
chemicals, page 34

Do you know research*eu focus magazine?
You can order it at the EUBookshop: 
http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/home/

ISSN 1831-1903

ISSN 1831-1903

European Commission

No 11  October 2011

ISSN 1831-1903

research eu

F O C U S   M A G A Z I N E

No 13  May 2012

research eu

F O C U S   M A G A Z I N E

No 12  February 2012

F O C U S

● A strategy for the Danube 4
● The Innovation Union ﬂ agship initiative 6
● Innovation on the Danube 7
● River transport 10
● Environment matters 12 
● Energy links 17 
● Socio-economic research 20 
● RTDI on the Danube 22

Green innovation
solutions

for sustainable

build 
connect
grow

The Danube 
A river of innovation

ISSN 1831-9947 (printed version)
ISSN 1977-4028 (e-book)

© European Union, 2013

Reproduction permitted, provided the source is 
acknowledged. Neither the Publications Office 
nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible 
for the use that may be made of the information 
contained in this publication or for any errors that 
may remain in the texts, despite the care taken in 
preparing them. For reproduction or use of photos 
and any other artistic material, permission must be 
sought directly from the copyright holder. Excluded 
from this constraint are the photos and artistic 
material owned by the European Union.

European Commission

European Commission

European Commission

No 9  December 2010

ISSN 1831-1903

No 9  May 2011

ISSN 1831-1903

No 8  September 2010

ISSN 1831-1903

F O C U S

● Introduction to RSFF 4
● How does RSFF work? 8
● RSFF progress & fi nance needs 18
● RSFF stories 24
● Other RDI instruments 32
● Key challenges & conclusions 38

F O CU S

● FET overview 5
● Projects in focus 11
● FET community 37
● Publications and info 39

Pilot Flagship 
Initiatives 
pull-out 

F O C U S

● Mobile communications 7
● Micro- and nanoelectronics 10
● Safety critical systems 13
● Digital media 16
● Photonics 19
● Broadband communications 22
● ICT and healthcare 25
● ICT on the roads 28
● Robotics 31
● Information management 34

Risk-Sharing 
Finance Facility 
Innovative loans for 
innovative ideas

Future and Emerging 
Technologies

‘Specials’ icon: ©iStockphoto.com/Tom Nulens
Cover photo: 
© Shutterstock

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S

,

i

n
d
a

l

l

a
P
u
a
P
©

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S

,

i

n
d
a

l

a
P

l

u
a
P
©

INT-09-001_Focus8-ICT.indd   1

30/08/10   16:56

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

Can biodiversity be safeguarded in 
a globalised world?

If a single word had to be considered reminiscent of the beginning of the 21st century, ‘crisis’ 
would certainly be the winner. One crisis could be summed up by this dilemma: should society 
pursue economic development at the expense of the planet, or should it switch its model for 
growth towards a new, more sustainable one, even if it means giving up deep-rooted habits?

This question has been at the heart of scientific and political debates for years — but as the 
debate continues, Earth is facing irreversible changes. Instead of the ‘normal’ loss rate of one to 
five species per year, dozens are becoming extinct every day because of human activities, making 
the current extinction of plants and animals the worst since the loss of dinosaurs some 65 million 
years ago. According to a study published by Birdlife International Cambridge in October 2012, 
changing this trend would cost about EUR 57 billion a year, a bill that few seem ready to pay. 
This is quite ironic, considering that the study also found the cost of doing nothing would be no 
less than... EUR 1.5 to 4.5 trillion per year.

3

EDITORIAL

ISSN 1831-9947
ISSN 1831-9947

research eu

R E S U L T S   M A G A Z I N E

No 19  February 2013

In this issue:
Special feature: 

‘Biodiversity: supporting vital ecosystems’.
Interviews: 
Dr Elke Schüttler on keeping the peace between Chilean wild cats 
and landowners, page xx

Other highlights:

Giving stroke patients new reason for hope, page x
Reduce energy consumption by 30 % through ICT, page x
‘Beam me to my meeting!’, page x
Employing virtual reality technology 
to revolutionise manual work, page x

In the meantime, European research is helping to show that many species could be saved with proper funding and a strong political 
commitment. The focus of this issue of research*eu results magazine is therefore ‘Biodiversity: supporting vital ecosystems’. In this edition we 
interview Dr Elke Schüttler of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany, whose research on finding common ground 
between an endangered species, the kodkod cat of Chile, and its human neighbours could — if successful — be a very practical response to 
some of the dilemmas concerning sustainability and biodiversity. 

The ‘environment and society’ section continues with other examples of biodiversity-related research. These ‘specials’ start on page 22 with 
‘Scientists put spotlight on marine biodiversity in Europe’.

The ‘biology and medicine’ section opens on page 6 with an article entitled ‘Giving stroke patients new reason for hope’, while the feature 
article in the ‘energy and transport’ section hints at how to ‘Reduce energy consumption by 30 % through ICT’, on page 13. 

The ‘IT and telecommunications’ section begins with the Star-Trek-inspired ‘Beam me to my meeting!’ on page 30. Finally, the ‘industrial 
technologies’ section starts with ‘Employing virtual reality technology to revolutionise manual work’, on page 39.

The issue ends, as usual, with a list of events and upcoming conferences.

We look forward to receiving your feedback on this issue and on the research*eu publications in general. Send questions or suggestions to: 

cordis-helpdesk@publications.europa.eu 

The editorial team

Want more information on the contents of this issue? 
For online versions or information about the contributors in this issue 

of research*eu results magazine:

- Technology Marketplace: http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace

- Research Information Centre: http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre

- European Research Council: http://erc.europa.eu

Watch this space!

Coming up in issue 20 of research*eu results magazine — a special dossier on women in science.

4
4

TABLE OF CO NTEN TS

BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

6

Giving stroke patients new reason for hope ...................................................................................................6

Innovative treatments heralded for epilepsy patients ..............................................................................7

New tools for Friedreich’s Ataxia ...........................................................................................................................8

Novel reconstruction techniques for studying the brain ..........................................................................9

Minimising food poisoning from poultry ...........................................................................................................9

Myelin repair mechanisms for the leukodystrophies .............................................................................. 10

A novel way for inferring DNA-protein binding .......................................................................................... 10

Glucose stimulation for insulin movement ................................................................................................... 11

Targeting colon cancer cells .................................................................................................................................. 12

Unravelling the molecular basis of immune suppression .................................................................... 12

ENERGY AND TRANSPORT 

13

Reduce energy consumption by 30 % through ICT...................................................................................13

New data communications to improve European airspace safety..................................................14

Faster and ‘greener’ spacecra(cid:2) ...........................................................................................................................15

A gentle, safe landing for spacecra(cid:2)  ............................................................................................................... 15

Better connections for EU transport ................................................................................................................. 16

Waterborne transport revolution ........................................................................................................................ 16

New and improved nuclear reactor prototype ............................................................................................ 17

Simulating black hole phenomena .................................................................................................................... 18

Novel laser technology for nuclear medicine .............................................................................................. 18

Shielding spacecra(cid:2)  from detrimental radiation ...................................................................................... 19

Integrating electric vehicles into power grids ............................................................................................. 19

Preparing for nuclear and terrorist incidents .............................................................................................. 20

ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY 

21

 Interview: keeping the peace between Chilean wild cats and landowners ................................. 21

Scientists put spotlight on marine biodiversity in Europe .................................................................... 22

Forest biodiversity in the context of climate change ............................................................................. 23

In Darwin’s footsteps: pig DNA sheds light on evolution and selection ....................................... 24

Protecting biodiversity through better science–policy connection .................................................. 25

Biodiversity standards uniﬁ ed ............................................................................................................................. 26

An aquaculture innovation to boost quality ﬁ sh production ............................................................... 26

 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

55

TA BLE OF CO NTENTS

Tree	genetics	improve	breeding	strategies	..................................................................................................27

Europeans	aim	to	provide	better	access	to	biodiversity	data	...........................................................28

Protecting	our	honey	bees	.....................................................................................................................................28

Africa,	as	seen	from	above	................................................................................................................................... 29

IT and TElECoMMunICa TIons 

30

Beam	me	to	my	meeting!.......................................................................................................................................30

A	micro-sized	robot	wins	the	race	.....................................................................................................................31

Towards	the	‘Future	Internet’,	experiment	by	experiment	...................................................................32

The	space-time	connection	................................................................................................................................... 33

Putting	accessibility	at	the	heart	of	e-government	.................................................................................34

A	low-cost,	fingernail-sized	radar	......................................................................................................................35

Integrated	high-resolution	urban-mapping	system	................................................................................ 36

Business	success:	knowing	the	rules	and	making	them	work	...........................................................37

EU	study	tackles	vision-mapping	language	.................................................................................................38

IndusTRIal TEChnologIEs  

39

Employing	virtual	reality	technology	to	revolutionise	manual	work		............................................ 39

Bioplastic	bottles	from	agricultural	waste	...................................................................................................40

Linking	factories	via	a	manufacturing	software	tool	.............................................................................. 40

Automated	polishing	of	complex	shapes	......................................................................................................41

High-tech	materials	from	Mexico’s	mines	....................................................................................................42

Custom-ordering	apparel	with	integrated	electronics............................................................................ 43

Fast	and	precise	microsystem	manufacturing	...........................................................................................44

High-strength	plastics	using	novel	reinforcement	...................................................................................44

Making	lightweight	metal	parts	faster	and	easier	...................................................................................45

EvEnTs 

46

6

BIO LO GY AND  MEDI C INE

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
.
S
a
s
i
L
©

Giving stroke patients new reason 
for hope

Disturbances in the blood supply to the brain can lead to rapid loss of brain function, causing a stroke. While potentially fatal, this 
can have life-changing consequences for survivors. Two EU projects aim to ensure that for thousands of patients, there is life — and 
hope — after such a trauma.

Thousands of European stroke patients live 
with disabilities, which o(cid:2) en severely impact 
their quality of life and cost taxpayers bil-
lions in health care. Substantial sums have 
been dedicated to developing eﬀ ective ther-
apies but, to date, these remain limited.

In  this  context,  leading  European  stroke 
researchers and clinicians have teamed up 
with  small  businesses  involved  in  cutting-
edge R&D to push for promising new thera-
pies. In fact, two such EU-funded projects are 
currently under way: the EUSTROKE1 and the 
ARISE² consortia.

The European Stroke Network
The EUSTROKE team aims to improve our 
understanding of the neurovascular system 
to enable better prevention and treatment 
of  stroke.  ARISE,  meanwhile,  is  develop-
ing  and  trialling  new  therapies  to  induce 
repair of lost function, which will potentially 

bring relief and new hope to thousands of 
suﬀ erers.

‘ F r o m   t h e   b e g i n n i n g ,   t h e   E u r o p e a n 
Commission encouraged us to work closely 
together,’  explains  EUSTROKE  coordinator 
Stephen Meairs. ‘We first formed common 
platforms for conducting clinical trials and 
training young scientists. We decided to use 
the same stroke models and methods, and 
also to share imaging advances. The ultimate 
co-operation, however, was the total merg-
ing of the two consortia to form the European 
Stroke Network (ESN). This allows us to opti-
mally use European resources and bring the 
best  minds  in  stroke  research  together  to 
combat this devastating disease.’

Major breakthroughs
This unique ESN co-operation has led to a 
number of breakthroughs, such as the devel-
opment of novel concepts for the treatment 

of  life-threatening  brain  swelling  after  a 
stroke. Interestingly, ESN researchers have 
learned that stroke outcome can be improved 
by enriching the treatment environment. This 
can be accomplished, for example, if patients 
play games or pursue interesting activities 
in the recovery phase. By employing sophis-
ticated imaging techniques, scientists in the 
ESN have been able to show how such activ-
ities lead to a remarkable formation of new 
brain connections.

In another attempt to enhance the therapy of 
acute stroke, ultrasound physicists and stroke 
researchers  have  joined  forces  to  develop 
new ways to break up blood clots in brain 
vessels with acoustic energy. An exciting add-
ition to acute stroke therapy is an innovative 
immunotherapy to prevent the delayed neu-
rotoxic  effects  of  the  thrombolytic  'tissue 
Plasminogen Activator' (tPA). The ﬁ rst human 
trials using this approach are planned.

 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

BIOLO GY AND MEDICINE

7

The complex role of inflammation in stroke 
has also been examined. It was discovered 
that  chronic  systemic  infection  increases 
ischemic  and  blood-brain  barrier  damage, 
leading to sustained cerebrovascular inﬂ am-
mation. Novel therapeutic targets have since 
been identiﬁ ed, and a clinical trial based on 
this research is being planned. 

Further innovative research by the ESN has 
involved the integration of pioneers in nano-
particle drug delivery for treating stroke with 
substances that were not previously suitable 
for this purpose. Such advances have led to 
recently established co-operation with the 
Canadian  Stroke  Network  to  study  novel 
ways for supporting functional recovery and 
the regeneration of brain tissue a(cid:2) er stroke. 
Importantly, multi-disciplinary research has 
also  led  to  unexpected  observations  that 
challenge old dogmas.

Meeting of minds 
A particular strength of the EUSTROKE net-
work,  says  Prof.  Meairs,  is  the  fact  that  it 
brings together people from diﬀ erent ﬁ elds. 
A  multiple  sclerosis  expert,  for  example, 

can view tissue inflammation in a different 
way, which can help lead to new ideas and 
discoveries. 

we have very good reasons for attacking this 
problem.’

‘The various impacts of a stroke and the sub-
sequent reorganisation and repair of the brain 
are highly complex,’ explains ARISE coord-
inator Professor Ulrich Dirnagl. ‘Developing 
successful strategies for brain protection and 
repair therefore requires a joint eﬀ ort involv-
ing experts in basic neuroscience, vascular 
biology, neuro-immunology, neuro-protection, 
neuro-regeneration, drug delivery and clinical 
stroke neurology.’ Furthermore, the project 
has involved stroke patients from the begin-
ning,  and  they  are  included  in  discussions 
through the Stroke Alliance for Europe, an 
important member of the network.

Through co-operation and innovative think-
ing, ESN research has the potential to sub-
stantially contribute to improving the quality 
of lives of stroke suﬀ erers. ‘A stroke can be 
devastating,’ says Prof. Meairs. ‘And there is 
simply nothing else that absorbs so many bil-
lions of euros in care. Stroke is the biggest 
cause of disability and it's getting worse. So 

The European Stroke Network is bringing a 
wide  range  of  resources  and  expertise  to 
develop solutions to this growing issue, and 
is  becoming  a  hub  for  the  recruitment  of 
additional European centres within and out-
side the consortium. It is also enhancing the 
trans-European ﬂ ow of information on stroke 
research from stroke patients to governmen-
tal agencies. Recently, the ESN has expanded 
its  co-operation  with  projects  across  the 
Atlantic, underlying the global impact of this 
ﬁ eld of research.

1  

2 

 ‘European Stroke Research Network’, coordinated by 
Ruprecht-Karls-Universitaet Heidelberg in Germany.
 ‘Affording Recovery in Stroke’, coordinated by Charité 
Universitätmedizin Berlin in Germany.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme ‘Cooperation’ 
under the theme ‘Health’. 
http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre > search > news 
> 27793

Innovative treatments heralded for epilepsy patients

Novel approaches are being used in the treatment of epilepsy, a devastating neurological disease 
that  affects  50  million  worldwide,  6  million  of  whom  are  in  Europe.  This  research  targeting 
epilepsy involves using viruses to infect brain cells, and transplanting cells into the brain. 

The project pioneering this alter-
native  treatment  is  entitled 
Epixchange1. Work will be carried 
out at Lund University, Sweden, 

in  collaboration  with  Italian, 
Danish  and  French  research-
ers  from  academic  institutions 
and  small  and  medium-sized 

enterprises  (SMEs).  The  total 
budget for the project is almost 
EUR 1 million and it is funded by 
the European Union. 

O(cid:2) en referred to as a seizure dis-
order, epilepsy is usually diagnosed 
after a person has two seizures 
that were not caused by a known 
medical condition or by extremely 
low blood sugar. The seizures are 
caused by sudden, usually brief, 
excessive electrical discharges in a 
group of brain cells (neurons). One 
seizure does not signal epilepsy 
— up to 10 % of people world-
wide will have one seizure during 
their lifetime. Epilepsy is one of 
the world's oldest recognised con-
ditions, but it can be treated with 
anti-epileptic treatments in around 
70 % of cases. 

A  significant  part  of  the  costs 
of  neurological  diseases  can 
be  associated  with  epilepsy.  In 
Sweden, where Epixchange was 
devised,  60 000  people  suffer 

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
y
k
s
f
o
r
B
h
t
i
e
K
©

from  the  condition.  However, 
around  30 %  to  40 %  of  these 
patients are resistant to pharma-
cological treatments, which are 
mostly  symptomatic  and  often 
have side eﬀ ects. Therefore, the 
main objective of Epixchange is 
to explore innovative gene thera-
pies for epilepsy treatment. 

The project will explore the devel-
opment of encapsulated human 
cell  lines  producing  the  neuro-
transmitter galanin and the neu-
ropeptide Y (NPY) and their eﬀ ect 
on epileptic seizures. It will use 
viral vectors to deliver neuropep-
tides and other proteins – neuro-
trophic factors — into the brain 
to suppress seizures. These novel 
approaches will lay the foundation 
for developing alternative treat-
ment strategies for epilepsy. 

Epilepsy  accounts  for  0.5 %  of 
the global burden of disease, a 
time-based measure that com-
bines  years  of  life  lost  due  to 
premature  mortality  and  time 
lived in states of less than full 
health. Epilepsy has significant 
economic  implications  in 
terms of healthcare needs, 

>

 
 
 
8

BIO LO GY AND  MEDI C INE

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

premature death and lost work 
productivity. 

Although the social effects vary 
from country to country, the dis-
crimination  and  social  stigma 
that surround epilepsy worldwide 
are often more difficult to over-
come  than  the  seizures  them-
selves. People with epilepsy are 
frequently targets of prejudice.For 
example, in the United Kingdom, 

a law forbidding people with epi-
lepsy to marry was repealed as 
recently as 1970. In the 1970s, in 
the United States, it was legal to 
deny people with seizures access 
to restaurants, theatres and rec-
reational  centres.  The  stigma 
associated with the disorder has 
often  discouraged  people  from 
seeking treatment for symptoms 
and becoming identified with the 
disorder. 

However, this is changing, and a 
viral vector approach to delivering 
genes of interest into the brain 
is already a reality. Several stud-
ies for Parkinson's disease have 
been performed in clinical settings 
in the United States. According to 
Professor Merab Kokaia of Lund 
University, the plan is to perform 
such  clinical  trials  in  Lund  on 
patients with severe epilepsy who 
do not respond to drug treatment.

The  project  was  coordinated 
by  the  Universita  degli  Studi  di 
Ferrara in Italy.

1  

 ‘Innovative gene therapies for epilepsy 
treatment’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘People’ (Marie-Curie actions). 
http://cordis.europa.eu/news > search > 
35241

New tools for Friedreich’s Ataxia

European researchers have joined forces to build on knowledge related to the neurological disorder ‘Friedreich’s Ataxia’ (FRDA). 
Information  on  the  disease’s  pathogenesis  and  causative  mechanisms,  coupled  with  new  tools  for  studying  the  illness,  will 
contribute to the development of novel therapies. 

FRDA is a rare debilitating neuro-
logical  disorder  that  progres-
sively leads to loss of the ability 
to walk and to growing depend-
ency for all activities. Despite the 
discovery that the ‘frataxin’ gene 
is responsible for FRDA, little is 
available in the way of therapy.

T h e   k e y   o b j e c t i v e   o f   t h e 
EU-funded  Efacts 1  project  is 
to  form  the  body  of  expertise 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
a
n
e
l
E
a
v
o
k
p
h
c
h
S
©

i

needed  to  perform  a  transla-
tional  study  on  FRDA  patients. 
The Efacts partners are imple-
menting a European patient reg-
istry  database  of  demographic 
and family information — includ-
ing medical history, data on daily 
activities, functional tests and a 
cardiologic evaluation.

been established, where samples 
are stored for future genotype-
phenotype analysis and for stud-
ies on biomarkers, modiﬁ er genes 
and  epigenetics.  Cardiologic 
evaluation  of  FRDA  patients 
through  ultrasound  indicates 
morphological and functional ab-
normalities of the le(cid:2)  ventricle.

Along with the database, a bio-
logical  samples  repository  has 

New insight into the role of the 
frataxin  protein  reveals  its  as-
sociation  with  an  iron-sulphur 
assembly  complex  (formed  by 
the  proteins  ISCU,  NFS1  and 
SD11) that acts as a chaperone 
protein for iron. Iron accumula-
tion  has  been  associated  with 
various neurodegenerative dis-
orders, including Parkinson’s and 
Alzheimer’s diseases.

Altered function of the frataxin 
protein leads to changes in iron 
homeostasis and inappropriate 
activation  of  ‘Iron-responsive 
element binding proteins’ (IRPs). 
This culminates in suppression of 
mitochondrial biogenesis.

Investigation of the mechanisms 
responsible for silencing of the 
frataxin gene has led to the dis-
covery of epigenetic histone and 
DNA modifications. These could 
potentially serve as future tar-
gets for therapeutic intervention. 
To this end, partners are currently 
exploring  the  effect  of  histone 
deacetylase  inhibitors  —  com-
pounds that open up the chroma-
tin and enable gene expression 
— to revert frataxin silencing.

The need for better animal and 
cellular  models  of  FRDA  has 
been  recognised  by  the  Efacts 
consortium, which is generating 
transgenic  mice  that  carry  the 
GAA repeats seen in the human 
frataxin  homologue.  Cellular 
models generated from ‘Induced 
pluripotent stem cells’ (iPS) from 
mice or patients are being used 
to  study  neuron  morphological 
alterations — including degen-
erating mitochondria and mito-
chondrial  iron  deposits.  Except 
for reduced frataxin levels, these 
cells demonstrate an abnormal 
electrophysiological phenotype.

Collectively, the Efacts consor-
tium has made significant pro-
gress into the biology of FRDA, 
combining experimental data and 
patient information analysis. The 
outcome of the study has strong 
potential to become translated 
into therapeutic interventions.

The project was coordinated by 
the Université Libre de Bruxelles 
in Belgium.

1  

 ‘European Friedreich’s Ataxia 
consortium for translational studies’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘Cooperation’ under the theme ‘Health’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 10246

 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

BIOLO GY AND MEDICINE

9

Novel reconstruction techniques for studying the brain

European scientists have developed a real-time, non-invasive 
method for monitoring brain activity. The new methodology 
is expected to have broad applications for obtaining clinically 
relevant information, especially from epileptic patients.  

The monitoring of brain activity is 
instrumental in cognitive neurosci-
ence as well as in clinical diagnosis 
of various brain disorders. In epi-
lepsy, detection of the brain area 
undergoing seizure is performed by 
measuring neural activity through 
implanted  electrodes  using  the 
intracranial electroencephalography 
(iEEG) method. However, the inva-
siveness of this technique causes 
severe  discomfort  to  epileptic 
patients.

To overcome this, the EU-funded 
Oscillatory  Dynamics1  project 
examined the possibility of devel-
oping  non-invasive  methods  to 
monitor brain activity in epilepsy. 
The primary project goal was to 
resolve the neural activity of deep 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
v
o
k
n
e
S
g
e
l
O
©

brain structures, such as the amyg-
dala, hippocampus, brainstem and 
cerebellum.

Scientists compared the non-inva-
sive technique magnetoencepha-
lography (MEG) with iEEG to map 
brain activity by recording the elec-
tric currents in the brain. The data 
produced was combined with time-
frequency analysis to produce ﬁ ve-
dimensional maps of brain activity.

MEG and iEEG data was acquired 
simultaneously  from  epileptic 
patients  in  order  to  assess  the 
ability of these two modalities to 
resolve the activity of deep brain 
structures. An MEG/iEEG analysis 
toolbox  (Nutmeg)  was  subse-
quently developed for reconstruct-
ing the spatiotemporal dynamics 
of neural activations and linking 
them  with  magnetic  resonance 
(MRI)  images.  The  software 
was  made  publicly  available  at 
http://nutmeg.berkeley.edu.

The  software  was  applied  and 
tested  on  auditory  brainstem 
responses and auditory discrimin-
ation following appropriate stimu-
lation. The success of MEG (and 
possibly iEEG) as a tool for exam-
ining both normal and pathological 
hippocampus makes scientists con-
fident that deep brain activity will 
be monitored more eﬃ  ciently and 
less invasively in the future.

The project was coordinated by the 
Institut National de la Santé et de 
la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) in 
France.

1 

 ‘Examining oscillatory dynamics 
with magnetoencephalography and 
intracranial electroencephalography’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘People’ (Marie-Curie actions). 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9602

Minimising food poisoning from poultry

Food  poisoning  incidents  due  to  bacteria  in  poultry  are  on 
the increase. Scientists are developing methods to control the 
bacteria at the farm level.  

Campylobacter  is  a  genus  of 
bacteria that is now the leading 
cause of bacterial food poisoning. 
The bacteria are present in the 
intestinal tract of a wide variety 
of wild and domesticated animals 
that show no outward symptoms 
of  infection.  Following  slaugh-
ter, bacteria can be inadvertently 
transferred from intestinal tract 
to  meat.  Campylobacteriosis  is 
most o(cid:2) en caused by contact with 
raw or undercooked poultry.

International concern is rising in 
the face of increasing incidences 
of Campylobacter infection world-
wide. On-farm control in poultry 
could have a significant impact 
on  human  health  and  safety. 
Responding to this urgent need, 
European scientists initiated the 
EU-funded Camcon1 project. The 
focus is on young, tender chickens 

(‘broilers’)  produced  in  specific 
parts of Europe.

The project began with a detailed 
questionnaire  sent  to  poultry 
farms  throughout  Europe,  the 
first of its kind, regarding man-
agement  and  biosecurity  prac-
tices in broiler production. Flocks 
in each country were then tested 
for campylobacter. The majority 
of flocks in each country tested 
positive for the bacteria before 
slaughter. No farm remained con-
sistently negative throughout the 
testing.

Scientists have also tested and 
compared a variety of sampling 
and detection methods, conclud-
ing that the air in broiler houses 
is the most suitable target to look 
for indicators. Methods to sam-
ple and quantify campylobacter 

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
y
h
p
a
r
g
o
t
o
h
P

i
r
i

M

.

K
©

in the air were then developed. 
Preventive measures have also 
been  initiated,  including  the 
implementation of ﬂ y screens and 
the ﬁ rst in ovo vaccination using a 
potential vaccine.

associated with the majority of 
food poisoning cases in people.

The project was coordinated by 
the Veterinaerinstituttet (National 
Veterinary Institute), Norway.

The consortium is currently pre-
paring  a  best  practice  manual 
that will be evaluated at a test 
farm  in  Spain.  A  preliminary 
test of a video and pilot learn-
ing  programme  has  also  been 
carried out. Camcon is expected 
to make an important contribu-
tion  to  controlling  the  bacteria 
found in farmed poultry that are 

1 

 ‘Campylobacter control — novel 
approaches in primary poultry 
production’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Food, agriculture and fisheries, and 
biotechnology (KBBE)’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 10253

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10

BIO LO GY AND  MEDI C INE

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

Myelin repair mechanisms for the leukodystrophies

A major European project, Leukotreat1, is tackling the diagnosis 
and treatment of a rare set of neurodegenerative diseases, 
the  leukodystrophies  (LDs).  Using  a  powerful  integrated 
interdisciplinary  approach,  the  project  is  developing  new 
diagnostic biomarkers and targeted therapies.

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
a
t
e
j
i
r
u
S
©

Rare neurodegenerative diseases 
affecting the myelin in the white 
matter  of  the  nervous  system 
cause the so-called LDs, primarily 
in children. The outcome is often 
a gradual decline in a child who 
initially appeared well, with symp-
toms  including  the  progressive 
loss  of  body  tone,  movements, 
gait, speech, ability to eat, vision, 
hearing, and possibly a slowing of 
mental and physical development.

As there is no cure at the moment, 
the Leukotreat project is trying to 
develop therapies by focusing on 
the development of myelin repair 
mechanisms and neuro-protection.

Central to the project is the cre-
ation of a database accessible at 
http://leukotreat.eu. Forms in French 
and  English  are  made  available 
to patients. Information is being 
collected from clinical data, bio-
logical samples and mutations in 
seven well-defined forms of LD. 
The LeukoDataBase user chart and 
patient consent forms have been 
drawn  up  with  the  Laboratoire 
d'Ethique  Médicale  (LEM)  and 
Leukotreat ethics committees.

To  date,  the  research  has  suc-
cessfully  yielded  many  deliv-
erables.  Validation  of  identified 
biomarkers  has  resulted  in 

details of the biochemical roles 
of N acetyl aspartate (NAA) and 
N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) 
in some LDs. NAAG (but not NAA) 
stimulates the membrane of the 
myelinating  cells  (oligodendro-
cytes) through excitatory gluta-
mate  receptors,  NMDA,  without 
damaging  the  cells.  Therefore, 
NAAG  may  contribute  to  the 
abnormal myelination observed.

The Leukotreat team has screened 
for new biomarkers by investigating 
the role of oxidative stress in the 
axonal degeneration common to 
diﬀ erent forms of slow progressive 
LDs via a novel lipidomics analysis. 
As an example, project scientists 
found that nearly all cells in the spi-
nal cord of a special mouse model 
— X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy 
(X-ALD)  —  exhibit  reactive  oxy-
gen species (ROS). The project has 
implemented the necessary tools 
to conduct an analysis of lipidom-
ics and LC-MS data, and has also 
developed new chromatographic 
separation protocols.

Improved  understanding  of  the 
pathophysiological  pathways 
has allowed Leukotreat to screen 
new  molecules  capable  of  act-
ing  against  the  disease.  Modes 
of action include anti-oxidant or 
anti-inﬂ ammatory activities, abil-
ity to clear misfolded proteins or 
enhance translation in appropriate 

in vivo or in vitro models. In pre-
clinical therapy trials, genes were 
targeted for modulation of expres-
sion or enzyme replacement.

Following this success, Leukotreat 
aims to gain further insight into 
the natural course of LD epide-
miology and genotype-phenotype 
correlation. Data will be collected 
through a common platform open 
to  any  hospital  in  Europe.  This 
strategy will widen the net which 
is  important  for  rare  diseases 
and encourage the development 
of new reference centres, mainly 
thanks  to  the  new  Leukotreat 
diagnostic  tool.  The  processing 
of patients' samples will acceler-
ate the identification of new bio-
markers for this set of debilitating 
diseases.

The project is coordinated by the 
Université d’Auvergne Clermont-
Ferrand 1 in France.

1 

 ‘Therapeutic challenge in 
Leukodystrophies: Translational and 
ethical research towards clinical trials’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Health’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9614

A novel way for inferring DNA-protein binding

Understanding the molecular interactions between proteins and DNA is central to studying various biological processes. In line 
with this aim, an EU-funded project has developed an 'in silico' approach for predicting the DNA binding specificity of proteins.

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
F
R
y
e
l
s
r
e
d
n
K
y
e
l
r
o
D
©

i

The  thorough  characterisation 
of individual nucleic acid binding 
proteins is of primary importance 
for delineating the complex inter-
play of gene regulatory networks. 
In transcription and translational 
regulation,  as  well  as  the  cell 
cycle,  accumulating  evidence  is 
pointing towards the role of pro-
teins which do not assume a ﬁ xed 
conformation in the native state, 
but become ordered upon binding. 
Available predictors, however, can 

only provide information regard-
ing the structure of such protein 
regions but not their ligand types 
and mode of interaction.

T h e   p r i m a r y   fo c u s   o f   t h e 
EU-funded  PROTDNABINDSPEC1 
project was to predict the bind-
ing  pattern  of  such  natively 
unfolded protein regions. By using 
structural bioinformatics, scien-
tists designed, implemented and 
tested  a  method  to  predict  the 

 
 
 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

BIOLO GY AND MEDICINE

11

DNA-bound conformation of dis-
ordered protein regions at atomic 
resolution.

As  a  first  step,  the  interaction 
energy between different amino 
acids and nucleotides was com-
puted and put into the Fragfold 
method of protein folding predic-
tion. The predicted DNA-binding 

specificity  of  various  natively 
unfolded protein regions was sub-
sequently  used  to  identify  DNA 
binding sites in the genome and 
was validated on an experimental 
basis.

molecular details of DNA-protein 
macromolecular interactions. Over 
the  long  term,  this  method  will 
pave the way for the identiﬁ cation 
of novel targets and the design of 
regulatory molecules.

The  PROTDNABINDSPEC  pro-
ject deliverables are expected to 
improve our understanding of the 

The  project  was  coordinated  by 
University College London in the 
United Kingdom.

1 

 ‘Inferring DNA binding specificities 
through in silico folding of natively 
unstructured protein regions’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘People’ (Marie-Curie actions). 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9598

Glucose stimulation for insulin movement

Type  2  diabetes  affects  some  22.5  million  people  in  the  EU.  A  European  project  has  been 
investigating the biochemical culprits that cause insulin output to falter.

protein that links protein kinase A 
(PKA) to the SGs.

During a meal, beta cells in the 
pancreas  respond  to  the  rise 
in  glucose  level  in  the  blood-
stream. The insulin is carried in 
so-called large dense core vesi-
cles (LDCVs), and problems with 
transport  and  fusion  of  these 
vesicles is one of the causes of 
type 2 diabetes.

Recent  studies  in  the  Insulin 
Secretion1  project  have  shown 
that  motor  proteins  like  kine-
sin  drive  the  movement  of 
LDCVs.  The  consortium  aimed 

to  investigate  the  mobilisation 
of the vesicles from the storage 
pool in the cell to release sites at 
the beta cell plasma membrane.

One  such  motor  protein  under 
investigation was myosin Va. The 
brain-spliced isoform of myosin 
Va  (BR-MyoVa)  is  essential  for 
transport of hormones in secre-
tory granules (SGs) in most secre-
tory cells. Although the nature of 
the protein complex that brings 
BR-MyoVa to SGs for their trans-
port  is  unknown,  the  Insulin 

Secretion project identified sev-
eral binding protein partners that 
are involved in this process. These 
include granuphilin-a/b, Rab27a 
and rabphilin-3A. The study indi-
cates there are many binding part-
ners of BR-MyoVa to regulate SG 
movement.

Along  with  evidence  for  mul-
tiple  novel  binding  partners  of 
BR-MyoVa  came  the  discovery 
of  MyRIP,  which  seems  to  be 
important for stabilising MyoVa. 
MyRIP  acts  as  a  scaffolding 

Another piece of the puzzle was 
solved  with  evidence  that  the 
metabolic  enzyme  ATP-citrate 
lyase (ACL) also plays a part in 
insulin secretion. ACL is an im-
portant enzyme for glucose me-
tabolism. The team also showed 
that ACL is able to translocate to 
vesicles in a glucose-dependent 
manner and is a probable first 
as  an  example  of  a  clear  link 
between metabolism and LDCV 
movement in beta cells.

For  future  research,  Insulin 
Secretion  scientists  have  pro-
duced a phosphorylation mutant 
of Rph-3A, an interacting partner 
of MyoVa. The impact of Rph-3A 
on  hormone  secretion  will  be 
investigated.

Project  results  give  details  of 
molecules crucial to the secre-
tion  in  response  to  glucose. 
Knowledge  of  the  specific  mo-
lecular  actors  responsible  in 
the  cascades  promises  to  lead 
research closer to more targeted 
drug therapies for metabolic dis-
eases like type 2 diabetes.

The  project  was  coordinated 
by  University  of  the  West  of 
E n g l a n d ,   B r i s t o l   R e s e a r c h , 
Business and Innovation in the 
United Kingdom.

1 

 Regulation of glucose-stimulated 
secretory vesicle mobilisation in 
pancreatic beta-cells’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘People’ (Marie-Curie actions). 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9606

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
i

l

d
r
a
n
u
o
n
a
f
e
t
S
©

 
 
12

BIO LO GY AND  MEDI C INE

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

Targeting colon cancer cells

The physical symptoms of colorectal cancer often arise too late 
for effective treatment via surgical intervention or chemotherapy. 
European research is developing small molecules or antibodies 
that will specifically target colon cancer cells.

To  develop  targeted  therapy,  it 
is  crucial  to  acquire  knowledge 
on the biochemistry and genetic 
basis  for  biochemical  pathways 
involved in colorectal cancer. The 
GUT  GENE  Regulation1  project 
looked into chemical candidates 
involved in gut cell development 
and diﬀ erentiation.

The key pathway involved in nor-
mal intestinal development and 
progression to colon cancer is the 
Wnt signalling pathway. Over 80 % 
of colorectal cancers result from a 
mutation in this cascade.

As differential regulation of Wnt 
target genes leads to the devel-
opment  of  colon  cancer,  the 
researchers  sought  to  identify 
unique molecular players in the 

Wnt  pathways.  By  implication, 
these  new  molecules  may  be 
involved in carcinogenesis. Another 
potential  source  of  molecules 
for specific cancer therapy came 
from the vast pool of gene regu-
lators that lie perhaps hundreds of 
kilobases away from their targets.

GUT GENE Regulation scientists 
used mouse intestinal epithelium, 
a rapidly renewing tissue under 
the control of the Wnt pathway. 
The  researchers  applied  affin-
ity  purification  that  makes  use 
of  specific  binding  interactions 
between  molecules,  as  well  as 
mass spectrometry. Several can-
didate molecules were identiﬁ ed 
in  the  beta-catenin/TCF4  com-
plex, which is thought to drive the 
expression of Wnt target genes.

Among potential target molecules 
identiﬁ ed was the kinase TNIK. As 
a result, Wintherix LLC, a company 
that specialises in small molecule 
therapy, has initiated a study into 
possible kinase inhibitors. Along 
with TNIK, project scientists also 
identified an enzyme DOT1L for 
therapeutic selection. Both mol-
ecules have been the subject of 
scientiﬁ c journal articles.

Details  of  the  importance  of 
another candidate molecule have 
also been published. MAP3K1 E3 
ubiquitin  ligase,  for  instance,  is 
active in the positive regulation of 
the  Wnt/b-catenin  pathway  and 
Wnt target gene expression.

Project studies have resulted in the 
identiﬁ cation of both novel genes 
and  enzymes  that  are  involved 
in  Wnt  signalling.  As  such,  they 
provide research material for the 
development  of  target-specific 
drugs for the treatment of colorec-
tal cancer.

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
o
t
o
h
p
k
c
o
t
S
i

©

The project was coordinated by 
the Erasmus Universitair Medisch 
C e n t r u m   R o t t e r d a m   i n   t h e 
Netherlands.

1 

  ‘TCF4 transcriptional program in crypt 
stem cells and resulting differentiated 
cells’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘People’ (Marie-Curie actions). 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9607

Unravelling the molecular basis of immune suppression

European  scientists  are  investigating  the  molecular  programmes  underlying  immune 
suppression. The focus is on a particular subset of T lymphocytes implicated in autoimmune 
disorders, allergies and cancer.

Our  body  responds  to  infection 
through  the  immune  system,  a 
specialised network of cells and 
molecules  that  coordinate  to 
fight the invading threat. At the 
same time, the immune system 
learns from this experience and 
becomes  precisely  regulated  to 
tolerate self-antigens.

Central  to  this  tolerance  is  a 
population  of  T  lymphocytes 
known as regulatory T cells (Treg). 
Although many aspects of Treg 
cell  biology  have  been  studied 
extensively, the precise molecular 
changes  in  cells  that  are  being 
suppressed remain almost com-
pletely uncharacterised.

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
o
t
o
h
p
k
c
o
t
S
i

©

In  this  context,  the  EU-funded 
project  TREG  Suppression1  has 
been designed to provide a bet-
ter  understanding  of  the  mo-
lecular changes that take place 
as  a  result  of  Treg-mediated 
suppression.  In  addition,  the 
extent to which these biochemi-
cal pathways could be exploited 
for therapeutic purposes will be 
investigated.

Scientists have analysed the gene 
expression profile of suppressed 
T cells and dendritic cells to iden-
tify  TGF-beta  and  other  signal-
ling pathways that are implicated 
in  Treg  cell  suppression.  These 
findings  will  be  extrapolated  in 
human cells to discover similari-
ties and diﬀ erences and to iden-
tify candidate genes involved in 
the process.

The function of some of the mol-
ecules identiﬁ ed will also be stud-
ied  in  vivo  in  generated  animal 
models. Collectively, the ﬁ ndings 
of the TREG Suppression initiative 
are envisaged as being useful for 
a wide variety of diseases, with 
the  possibility  that  targeting  a 
single molecule regulated by Treg 
cell-mediated suppression could 
be beneﬁ cial for the treatment of 
these diseases.

The  project  was  coordinated 
by  the  Karolinska  Institutet  in 
Sweden.

1  

 ‘Deciphering the molecular basis of 
regulatory T cell suppression’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘People’ (Marie-Curie actions). 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9601

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

ENER GY A ND TR ANSPORT

13

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
r
a
z
a
L
n
a
d
g
o
B
-
i
a
h
M
©

i

Reduce energy consumption by 
30 % through ICT

According  to  a  European  research  project,  cities  may  be  able  to  reduce  their  energy  consumption  by  30 %  by  leveraging 
‘Information and communication technologies’ (ICTs).

This ﬁ nding was made by the Enersip1 pro-
ject, which is formed by 10 partners from 
ﬁ ve European countries, and has received 
EUR 3.99 million in funding from the EU’s 
Seventh  Framework  Programme  (FP7) 
under the theme for ‘ICT support to energy-
positive  buildings  and  neighbourhoods’. 
Their results were presented a(cid:2) er analysis 
showed how to optimise the use of resi-
dential energy consumption and generation 
infrastructures. 

The scientists and researchers participat-
ing in the Enersip project, led by the Spanish 
company  Tecnalia,  have  designed,  devel-
oped,  and  validated  an  ICT  platform  that 
allows  residential  electrical  consumption 
to be reduced by 30 %, while also integrat-
ing  micro-generation  installations  using 

renewable energy, such as photovoltaic solar 
panels installed on the roofs of homes. 

The key to this achievement is the result 
of a two-pronged strategy: first, reducing 
the electricity consumption in homes (by 
around  15-20 %);  and  secondly,  adjust-
ing  the  consumption  and  generation  of 
electricity in districts (by the same amount). 
According  to  Professor  José  Ignacio 
Moreno, of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 
(UC3M), the system ‘gives the users infor-
mation regarding their consumption, allow-
ing them to identify the appliances that use 
the most energy. It then suggests possible 
solutions,  attempting  to  modify  certain 
behaviours and fomenting good practices 
that  enable  consumers  to  reduce  their 
electricity bill.’ 

Through  these  means,  the  Enersip  plat-
form allows appliances to be monitored by 
networks of sensors and actuators so that 
they can be controlled wirelessly using web 
applications. 

The  Enersip  project  team  designed  the 
system  to  automatically  allow  the  con-
sumption  in  homes  within  a  district  to 
be adjusted as much as possible, so that 
they use renewable energy generated by 
sources  from  within  the  same  district, 
reducing  energy  flows  and,  as  a  conse-
quence,  energy  losses  and  costs.  ‘This 
type of action falls within what is known 
as electricity demand management,’ said 
Gregorio  López,  another  of  the  UC3M 
researchers. 

>

 
 
 
14

ENERGY A ND  TR AN SPORT

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

For  example,  he  added,  the  temperature 
could  be  raised  by  a  few  degrees  in  the 
summer (or lowered in winter) in hundreds 
of thousands of homes during the periods 
of lowest production of renewable energy 
in a district, or the programmed running of 
certain appliances (dishwashers, washing 
machines) can be moved to a time period 
when renewable energy production is at its 
peak. ‘Of course,’ López pointed out, ‘those 
households would have agreed in advance 
to participate in this type of programme in 
exchange for certain incentives, and pre-
established levels of comfort would never 
be compromised.’ 

One of the benefits of the Enersip plat-
form is that it only needs a few basic ICT 
installations to make it work. Speciﬁ cally, 
it  would  require  a  network  with  sensors 
and actuators to create the consumption 

and  micro-generation  infrastructure,  as 
well as an internet connection and a web 
application  to  enable  access  from  any 
web-enabled device. The Enersip project 
also  uses  a  dedicated  core  communica-
tions  infrastructure  that  offers  certain 
advantages. 

‘It could be implemented from any home 
equipped with the typical consumer infra-
structure or consumer and micro-genera-
tion  infrastructure,’  José  Ignacio  Moreno 
explained. 

The team he heads at UC3M was in charge 
of  the  formal  design  and  modelling  of 
the  communications  architecture  of  the 
Enersip platform, as well as the software 
simulations to evaluate the architecture’s 
performance. He participated in the design 
and deﬁ nition of the platform’s integration 

and validation phases and presented the 
research’s progress in the form of technical 
articles at key communication conferences, 
such as INFOCOM 2011 and ICC 2012. 

The  Enersip  consortium  included  lead-
ing  companies  and  research  centres 
from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Israel, 
Portugal  and  Spain  —  and  was  coordin-
ated by the Fundacion Tecnalia Research & 
Innovation in Spain.

1 

 ‘Energy saving information platform for generation and 
consumption networks’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme ‘Cooperation’ 
under the theme ‘Transport’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/news > search news > 35246

New data communications to improve European airspace safety

Revolutionising  aerospace  communications  could  bring  about  significant  improvements  for  aircraft  in  Europe’s  airspace. 
By using the latest innovative technology in air transportation, radical changes can be made to reduce the extra costs of 
fragmented airspace, estimated at EUR 5 billion each year.

Current  systems  are  unable  to 
process and provide ﬂ ight infor-
mation in real time in European 
airspace.  The  processes  and 
procedures  do  not  provide  the 
ﬂ exibility needed to meet grow-
ing  demand,  and  new  security 
requirements are affecting the 
ability to eﬃ  ciently move people 
and cargo. The tools to facilitate 
air transportation have already 
approached  their  limits.  The 
United States, as an example for 
comparison,  controls  the  same 
amount  of  airspace  as  Europe, 
but  with  more  traffic,  and  at 
almost half the cost. 

Eradicating  these  problems 
is  the  aim  of  Sandra 1  a  new 

data-link architecture which will 
develop  concepts  for  air  traf-
fic  management  (ATM)  using 
Next-Generation  IP  Networks 
for  passenger  communications 
and in-flight entertainment and 
infotainment. Co-funded by the 
European Commission under the 
Seventh Framework Programme 
for Research (FP7), this cutting-
edge technology will help cope 
with future rises in aircra(cid:2)  oper-
ations, which are expected to at 
least double by 2025. 

With  the  new  system  in  place, 
aircraft will have multiple data 
or  voice  links  active  simultan-
eously. These links will be avail-
able based on the geographical 

location  and  on  the  particular 
subset  of  communication  sys-
tems deployed on board, which 
may  vary  from  aircraft  to  air-
craft. On a typical flight around 
the globe, the aircra(cid:2)  may utilise 
several link types provided by dif-
ferent providers to implement a 
variety of services. 

Travellers  will  also  reap  the 
beneﬁ ts, with reduced costs and 
delays, and improved efficiency, 
capacity,  security  and  safety 
of  their  air  transport  system. 
Increasingly,  there  has  been 
growing  demand  for  mobile 
access  to  broadband  networks 
while on board. So in response 
to this, several airlines are evalu-
ating technology to deliver this. 

Aviation is a sector that makes 
a vital contribution to the EU’s 
economy and employment, sup-
porting 5.1 million jobs and con-
tributing EUR 365 billion, or 2.4 % 
to  European  gross  domestic 
product (GDP). In the long term, 
global air transport is expected 
to grow by around 5 % annually 
until 2030. As traffic increases, 
so  do  concerns  about  safety, 

which is why EU aviation policy 
aims to ensure Europe has the 
safest air space in the world. 

The  integrated  Sandra  system 
will  provide  a  sustainable  ser-
vice  ready  to  be  commercially 
exploited  by  European  airlines. 
This,  in  turn,  will  guarantee  a 
service which is aﬀ ordable for all 
passengers and service providers, 
using  technology  developed  by 
European manufacturers. 

Te s t - b e d   a n d   i n - f l i g h t   t r i -
als  are  planned  for  Sandra  in 
May  2013  at  the  airports  in 
Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany and 
Toulouse, France.

The project was coordinated by 
Selex Elsag spa in Italy.

1 

 ‘Seamless aeronautical networking 
through integrations of data links, 
radios and antennas’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Transport’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/news > search 
news > 35220

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
.
r
J
y
o
g
n
a
D

.

G
o

l
i

n
o
r
t
e
P
©

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

ENER GY A ND TR ANSPORT

15

Faster and ‘greener’ spacecraft

An EU-funded scientific team is developing prototypes for an 
‘Electric solar-wind sail’ (E-sail) that will significantly reduce 
the time spacecraft need to reach their destination. This could 
open the door to a new wave of solar system discoveries.

Powering spacecra(cid:2)  has tradition-
ally  relied  on  chemical  propel-
lants and ion engines. But for long 
missions the quantity of propel-
lant needed increases the launch 
mass  to  an  extent  that  makes 
such missions very expensive.

Harnessing  the  power  of  the 
solar wind, a constant stream of 
charged particles ejected by the 
Sun,  could  provide  renewable 
thrust for spacecra(cid:2)  propulsion. 
A solar-wind sail would reduce 
the time, cost and mass required 
for spacecra(cid:2)  to reach their tar-
gets in the solar system.

In 2006, Pekka Janhunen intro-
duced  the  concept  of  an  elec-
tric solar wind sail that provided 
tremendous improvements over 
the  existing  space  propulsion 
methods.

An  E-sail  uses  wire  tethers 
unreeled  in  space  like  fishing 
lines. They are kept taut by cen-
trifugal force and charged by an 

on-board electron gun powered 
by  solar  panels.  They  use  the 
solar  wind’s  charged  ions  as  a 
natural source to produce thrust.

EU funding of the E-sail1 project 
is  enabling  Janhunen  and  his 
team to develop the key technol-
ogies to prototype level. To date, 
scientists have already produced 
300 metres of a four-wire tether. 
The goal of the E-sail project is 
to produce a one-kilometre sam-
ple  tether  using  an  automatic, 
scalable method.

They are also well on their way 
to  building  a  prototype  of  the 
‘remote unit’ at the tips of each 
main tether, as well as the ne-
cessary thrusters. The research-
ers have also demonstrated the 
successful reeling in and reeling 
out  of  a  30-metre  long  tether 
without problems.

The  ESAIL  project  is  expected 
to  deliver  prototypes  of  the 
key  components  of  the  E-sail, 

opening the door to a new era of 
efficient solar-system flight and 
huge opportunities for explora-
tion of our solar system.

The  project  was  coordinated 
by  the  Finnish  Meteorological 
Institute in Finland.

1 

 ‘Electric sail propulsion technology’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Space’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9640

A gentle, safe landing for spacecraft

EU-funded scientists are developing imaging technology for spacecraft sensors. The new technology will be critical to safe and 
soft landings for manned and robotic vehicles on extraterrestrial bodies. 

Several  international  robotic 
exploration  missions  are  fore-
seen for the near future, focused 
on  the  Moon,  Mars  and  aster-
oids.  In  order  to  land  sensitive 
and expensive scientiﬁ c payloads 
precisely on extraterrestrial bod-
ies,  spacecraft  require  highly 
accurate position and altitude-
control equipment. Such equip-
ment  must  be  able  to  ‘sense’, 
or produce images of the three-
dimensional (3D) surface in real 
time.

The  Fosternav1  project  aimed 
to improve the current state of 

the art in spacecraft ‘guidance, 
navigation  and  control’  (GNC) 
sensors.

An  emerging  type  of  laser  im-
aging technology — ‘Flash light 
detection  and  ranging’  (Flash 
LiDAR)  —  is  rapidly  gaining 
interest in the GNC community. 
A so-called Flash LiDAR system 
records a 3D image with a single 
laser pulse (a ﬂ ash).

It is considered a critical tech-
nology  for  enabling  autono-
mous  landing  of  manned  and 
unmanned  spacecraft  on  the 

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
s
e
g
a
m

I
k
e
r
t
k
c
o
t
S
©

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,

i

d
n
w
o
t
o
h
p
©

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16

ENERGY A ND  TR AN SPORT

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

images,  or  the  target  may  be 
shadowed by other objects.

with its sister technology, ﬂ ying-
spot LiDAR.

Moon  and  Mars  as  well  as 
for  in-orbit  docking  proced-
ures  between  spacecraft  and 
samples  transported  from  an 
object’s  surface.  Fosternav 
researchers are developing sen-
sors  with  active  illumination 
integrated in a 3D Flash LiDAR 
architecture.

The  novelty  of  the  Fosternav 
LiDAR architecture is a control-
lable laser head that can gener-
ate several minimally divergent 
beams at once or a single beam 
with relatively large divergence.

Active  illumination  will  be  im-
p o r t a n t   i n   i n c r e a s i n g   t h e 
accuracy and safety of GNC sys-
tems as ambient light may not 
be sufficient for obtaining clear 

This technology will enable the 
ﬂ ash system to overcome its rel-
atively low optical power density 
while  enabling  miniaturisation 
and  simplification  not  possible 

T h e   F o s t e r n a v   s y s t e m   i s 
expected to have an important 
impact on the safety and reliabil-
ity  of  future  space  exploration 
missions. In addition, the flash 
technology developed within the 
scope of the project could be the 
trigger  for  larger  developmen-
tal activities enabling European 
ﬂ ash technology to compete with 
the most advanced ﬂ ash technol-
ogies from the United States.

The project was coordinated by 
the Centre Suisse d'Electronique 
et de Microtechnique SA (CSEM) 
in Switzerland.

1 

 ‘Flash optical sensor for terrain relative 
robotic navigation’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Space’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9633

Better connections for EU transport

Being  able  to  change  quickly  and  efficiently  from  one 
transport  mode  to  another  across  Europe  will  upgrade  the 
sector significantly and improve the standard of living.

Europe has long dreamed of hav-
ing a seamless, interconnected 
transport  system  (intermodal 
transport),  a  vision  currently 
hampered  by  the  lack  of  stud-
ies and surveys on intermodality. 
The EU-funded project Hermes1 
investigated  ways  to  improve 
the door-to-door travel experi-
ence by streamlining connections 
between  short-haul  and  long-
haul journeys.

The  project  produced  a  hand-
book  of  recommendations  for 
cross-modal transport arrange-
ments, helping transport opera-
tors,  terminal  managers  and 
public  authorities  develop  in-
novative  business  models  that 
support  intermodality.  In  add-
ition, Hermes worked on 11 case 
studies  in  seven  EU  countries 

to  analyse  intermodal  transfer 
points such as ports, railway sta-
tions and bus stations in order to 
map interconnectivity.

Another important outcome has 
been  the  development  of  two 
intermodal  transport  business 
prototypes to overcome a spe-
cific  set  of  barriers  related  to 
intermodal  links  and  transfers. 
Hermes also developed a know-
ledge  database  regarding  the 
barriers  to  passenger  intermo-
dality, accompanied by measures 
and solutions to overcome them.

By  identifying  the  barriers  to 
flexible, seamless door-to-door 
quality transport, the project has 
laid the groundwork for realis-
ing the EU’s vision outlined in the 
2011 White Paper on transport. 

Waterborne transport revolution

software  and  hardware  advances  are 
Important 
revolutionising  propulsion  systems  and  designs 
for 
waterborne vessels, making them much more cost effective, 
comfortable and environmentally friendly.

As global warming threatens the 
environment and fuel prices rise, 
the maritime industry is looking 
for ways to become more energy 

efficient by developing new pro-
pulsion  concepts.  Waterborne 
trade, such as via inland water-
ways, is also increasing rapidly, 

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
o
t
o
h
p
k
c
o
t
S
i

©

The  project  results  have  been 
distributed  through  several 
reports, conferences, seminars, 
workshops, posters and booklets 
as well as online, rendering the 
outcomes widely available to key 
players in the sector. 

The project was coordinated by 
the  Instituto  Superior  Tecnico, 
Lisbon, Portugal.

1 

 ‘High efficient and reliable 
arrangements for crossmodal 
transport’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Transport’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9618

prompting  a  need  for  more  en-
vironmentally friendly models for 
this type of transport.

An EU-funded project, Streamline1, 
is  developing  improved  propul-
sion conﬁ gurations and integrating 
propeller systems with vessel-hull 
hydrodynamics to achieve major 
fuel savings.

One of the proposed technologies 
increases the eﬃ  ciency of inland 
vessels by 15 % based on distrib-
uted thrust through multiple pro-
pulsors and novel ‘Computational 
ﬂ uid dynamics’ (CFD), also reduc-
ing noise and vibration compared 
to  older  systems.  Another  con-
cept will deliver similar fuel sav-
ings for ocean-going vessels by 

 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

ENER GY A ND TR ANSPORT

17

emissions. It would render water-
borne transport much more at-
tractive and cost eﬀ ective while 
reducing  noise  and  discomfort 
for crew and passengers. Overall 
eﬃ  ciency gains from these new 
designs could even reach 30 %, 
helping  to  reform  waterborne 
transport  and  usher  in  a  new 
phase in the sector.

The project was coordinated by 
Rolls-Royce  Power  Engineering 
PLC in the United Kingdom.

dramatically increasing propel-
ler  diameter.  The  third  radical 
concept is based on the motion 
of a whale’s tail, oﬀ ering a new 
way of propelling inland water-
way  ships  that  is  dramatically 
more eﬃ  cient than conventional 
screw-propeller systems.

Streamline  is  also  automating 
optimisation  of  hull  forms  and 

designing free-form deformation 
techniques  to  further  improve 
hulls and propellers, as well as 
developing  a  ship  form  that  is 
free  from  intellectual  property 
rights.  Other  advances  envi-
sioned include a new water-jet 
concept to give high-speed ves-
sels a more efficient low-speed 
operating mode. All these hard-
ware designs and upgrades are 

being coupled with so(cid:2) ware and 
computational  advances  that 
would  streamline  operation  of 
the components even more.

Once  the  improvements  and 
enhancements  move  from  the 
laboratory  to  the  commercial 
phase,  the  project  could  have 
a significant effect on reducing 
fuel consumption and polluting 

1 

 ‘Strategic research for innovative 
marine propulsion concepts’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Transport’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9652

New and improved nuclear reactor prototype

EU-funded scientists are developing a prototype nuclear generator based on next-generation 
technologies. The reactor promises to be sustainable, safe and cost effective. 

Producing electrical power from 
nuclear  energy  generates  vir-
tually  no  greenhouse  gases. 
However,  the  fate  of  nuclear 
energy remains unclear largely 
due to safety concerns and the 
high costs associated with build-
ing new plants.

While modern water-cooled re-
actors are competitive and safe, 
their  energy  production  is  far 

from  sustainable  due  to  their 
ineﬃ  cient use of fuel and gener-
ation of long-lived highly radio-
active waste. Most new nuclear 
plants in the future will be evo-
lutionary  designs  building  on 
proven  systems  while  incorp-
orating the latest technological 
advances.

Among these are fast reactors, 
also called ‘fast neutron reactors’. 

Fast reactors make more eﬃ  cient 
use  of  their  fuel,  create  waste 
that becomes harmless in cen-
turies  rather  than  hundreds  of 
millennia,  and  use  liquid  metal 
coolants that are generally much 
safer than water-cooled reactors. 
‘Lead-cooled fast reactors’ (LFRs) 
are  a  so-called  Generation  IV 
technology,  one  identified  by 
the ‘Generation IV International 
Forum’ (GIF) as a next-generation 
nuclear-energy system.

European  scientists  sought  to 
build on previous achievements 
in the ELSY1 project, thanks to EU 
funding for the Leader2 project.

Their  goals  were  to  design  a 
‘European LFR’ (ELFR) reference 
industrial-sized  plant  and  pro-
duce a concept for a scaled dem-
onstrator — the ‘Advanced lead 
fast  reactor  European  demon-
strator’ (ALFRED).

To  date,  the  consortium  has 
s e t   u p   t h e   E L F R   r e fe r e n c e 

configuration  with  extended 
energy  efficiency  and  reduced 
release  of  fission  products  to 
the  environment.  A  conceptual 
design has also been developed 
for ALFRED, with safety and cost 
analyses currently in progress.

Leader  is  expected  to  confirm 
that LFR technology is sustain-
able,  using  uranium  fuel  effi-
ciently while reducing long-lived 
nuclear waste. If the project can 
also show that LFR technology is 
safe and cost eﬀ ective, the pub-
lic image of nuclear energy could 
get a faceli(cid:2) .

The project was coordinated by 
the Ansaldo Nucleare spa in Italy.

1 
2  

 ‘European Lead System’. 
 ‘Lead-cooled European advanced 
demonstration reactor’.

Funded under the FP7 ‘Euratom research 
and training programme in the field of 
nuclear energy’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9635

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
o
t
o
h
p
k
c
o
t
S
i

©

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,

i

n
o
i
s
i
V

l
a
t
i
g
D
©

i

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18

ENERGY A ND  TR AN SPORT

Simulating black hole phenomena

A  joint  European-US  space  mission,  scheduled  to  launch  in 
2014, has been designed to study the phenomena of massive 
black  holes.  An  EU-funded  project  is  already  developing 
methods to model, extract and analyse the information that 
will be obtained.

The centres of most galaxies are 
believed to contain supermassive 
black  holes  that  consume  mil-
lions of stars which get trapped 
in their gravitational ﬁ eld. These 
events  give  off  gravitational 
waves  in  the  form  of  a  com-
pact  binary  system,  called  the 
‘Extreme  mass-ratio  inspiral’ 
(EMRI).

The  goal  of  the  EU-funded 
L i s a s i m i c o 1  p r o j e c t   w a s   t o 
develop techniques to model the 
dynamics of EMRIs and interpret 
their  signals,  determining  the 
physical parameters of the sys-
tem. The plan was to utilise these 
measurements in order to extract 
information  on  the  science  of 
EMRIs.

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,

i

n
o
i
s
i
V

l
a
t
i
g
D
©

i

T h e   L a s e r   I n t e r fe r o m e t e r 
Space  Antenna  (LISA),  a  joint 
p r o p o s e d   m i s s i o n   b e t w e e n 
the  European  Space  Agency 
(ESA)  and  the  United  States’ 
National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration (NASA), aims to 
detect  and  measure  low-fre-
quency gravitational waves from 
EMRIs.  Observations  of  EMRIs 
will  have  an  important  impact 
in astrophysics, cosmology and 
even fundamental physics. 

Scientists  successfully  devel-
oped a new technique to model 
the evolution of EMRIs and gain 
theoretical  knowledge  of  the 
gravitational  waveforms  with 
a  certain  degree  of  precision. 
In  addition,  they  made  pro-
gress  towards  understanding 
the  dynamics  of  EMRIs,  while 
exploring possible astrophysical 
scenarios that can lead to inspi-
rals  inside  the  range  of  LISA’s 
instruments.

The Lisasimico method of simu-
lating  gravitational  waves  is 
expected  to  provide  invaluable 
information regarding different 
inspiral  mechanisms.  It  should 
help  to  prepare  scientists  for 
LISA discoveries that will open a 
new window to exploration of the 
Universe.

The  project  was  coordinated 
by  the  Consejo  Superior  de 
Investigaciones  Cientificas, 

Instituto de Ciencias del Espacio 
in Spain.

1 

 ‘LISA gravitational wave astrophysics 
from simulations of inspirals of 
compact objects into massive black 
holes’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘People’ (Marie-Curie actions). 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9609

Novel laser technology for nuclear medicine

EU-funded  European  scientists  investigated  novel  ion-acceleration  mechanisms  with 
important implications for imaging, nuclear medicine and nuclear physics.

with the laser pulse, thus enhanc-
ing ion energy.

Laser technology and its applica-
tion to numerous problems of rel-
evance to nuclear physics, nuclear 
medicine, radiography and imaging 
have developed signiﬁ cantly within 
the last several decades.

Intense,  high-power  lasers  cap-
able  of  delivering  ultra-short 
pulses of radiation (on the order 

of  femtoseconds,  or  one  billion 
billionths of a millisecond) enable 
examination of the fundamental 
properties of high-intensity laser-
matter interactions.

More recently, interest has devel-
oped  in  using  such  lasers  for 
ion  acceleration.  However,  the 
numerous  mechanisms  of  ion 

i

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
o
e
d
V
d
n
a
o
t
o
h
P
L
l
e
v
a
P
©

acceleration  depend  greatly  on 
laser and target parameters that 
have not been extensively studied.

European scientists initiated the 
Laser-Ion Accelerato1 project to 
investigate such mechanisms and 
provide practical recommendations 
for optimising ion yield.

Significant improvements to the 
ratio between laser-pulse intensity 
to noise intensity (temporal pulse 
contrast)  enabled  experiments 
to study new acceleration mech-
anisms such as ‘Radiation pressure 
acceleration’ (RPA).

Scientists also studied so-called 
‘Mass-limited  targets’  (MLTs), 
whose limited sizes lead to add-
itional  interactions  of  electrons 

Laser-Ion  Accelerato  yielded 
advanced understanding of ion-
acceleration  mechanisms  with 
ultra-short  pulse  lasers.  Project 
insights could have an important 
impact on nuclear physics, imaging 
and tabletop radio-nucleotide pro-
duction for medical applications.

The  project  was  coordinated  by 
the Forshungsverbund Berlin E.V. in 
Germany.

1 

 ‘Optimal ion acceleration at the 
interaction of super-intense profiled 
laser pulse with mass limited targets’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘People’ (Marie-Curie actions). 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9610

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

ENER GY A ND TR ANSPORT

19

Shielding spacecraft from detrimental radiation

EU-funded scientists are developing novel materials to shield 
spacecraft  electronics  from  damaging  radiation.  Reducing 
weight  while  maintaining  safety  should  have  an  important 
impact on Europe’s space-exploration programme. 

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
o
t
o
h
p
k
c
o
t
S
i

©

Space  radiation  from  galactic 
cosmic  rays  and  high-energy 
solar particles can cause short-
circuits  in  electronic  and  com-
munications equipment on Earth. 
Imagine  what  their  unfiltered 
eﬀ ects can be on spacecra(cid:2)  elec-
tronic systems and astronauts.

Conventional methods to protect 
spacecra(cid:2)  from cosmic and solar 

radiation  involve  thick  shield-
ing materials that attenuate the 
energy  of  charged  particles  as 
they pass through.

Aluminium  is  the  material  of 
choice  as  it  provides  not  only 
shielding but structural strength. 
However, the thickness required 
fo r   s h i e l d i n g   e x c e e d s   t h a t 
required for strength, resulting in 

excessive weight for the space-
cra(cid:2)  and increased fuel require-
ments.  Metal  composites  are 
lighter but their shielding effect 
is less.

European researchers are devel-
oping radiation-shielding strat-
egies based on lightweight, safe 
and  reliable  composite  mater-
ials, thanks to EU funding of the 
SIDER1 project.

Investigators have chosen geo-
stationary (GEO) and low-Earth 
orbits (LEOs) used for telecom-
munications and remote-sensing 
satellites  as  a  starting  point, 
given their tremendous commer-
cial interest.

To  date,  the  SIDER  team  has 
developed  simulation  tools  for 
optimal conﬁ guration of radiation 
shielding  taking  into  account 
primary  particles  incident  on 
the  shield  and  secondary  par-
ticles  responsible  for  damage 
behind the shield. Two different 
strategies  for  improving  radi-
ation-shielding  behaviour  are 
being  studied:  incorporation  of 
nanomaterials  and  integration 
of metallic foils in the composite 
materials.

Manufacturing trials have been 
conducted yielding good-quality 
test samples. Irradiation facilities 
have been constructed and data 
from the first test are currently 
being analysed.

SIDER  is  expected  to  deliver 
novel  shielding  materials  that 
significantly  and  safely  reduce 
the  weight  of  spacecraft.  Such 
effects  will  reduce  the  cost  of 
satellites or enable them to carry 
heavier  payloads  for  the  same 
price.

In  the  long  term,  technology 
provided by SIDER should have 
a signiﬁ cant impact on Europe’s 
position in space exploration.

The project was coordinated by 
the Fundacion Tecnalia Research 
& Innovation in Spain.

1 

 ‘Radiation shielding of composite 
space enclosures’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘Cooperation’ under the theme ‘Space’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9638

Integrating electric vehicles into power grids

Europe  is  paving  the  way  for  a  transition  from  fossil  fuels 
toward sustainable forms of energy. EU-funded scientists are 
developing  technology  and  tools  to  facilitate  integration  of 
electric vehicles (EVs) into electricity grids.

With the increasing prevalence of 
electric or hybrid vehicles, electric 
power suppliers are facing a new 
challenge, namely integration of 
plug-in EVs into electricity grids.

‘Distributed  energy  resources’ 
(DERs)  are  a  relatively  new 
concept  in  the  electric  power 
industry  that  may  play  an  im-
portant  role  in  planning  for 
future deployment of EVs. They 
are ﬂ exible and modular power-
generation or storage units con-
nected directly to the distribution 

network or to the network on the 
customer side.

Given that future DERs for EVs 
will  be  mobile,  a  concept  not 
developed in previous projects, 
an operational plan must include 
consumers in charging mode and 
injectors of power when batteries 
are giving power back to the grid.

European  researchers  initiated 
the  MERGE1  project  to  develop 

>

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
o
t
o
h
p
k
c
o
t
S
i

©

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20

ENERGY A ND  TR AN SPORT

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

EV control interfaces and a simu-
lation suite to test them.

MERGE investigators are including 
two scenarios: charging stations 
for fleets of EVs (fast charging), 
and domestic or public individual 
charging points (slow charging).

Building  on  smart  technology, 
or  materials  and  systems  cap-
able  of  actively  adapting  to 
changes in relevant parameters, 
the  MERGE  team  developed 

speciﬁ cations for a user-friendly 
interface  and  smart-metering 
technology supporting EVs and 
utility and power providers.

In order to evaluate DERs for EV 
integration,  investigators  com-
piled extensive battery data and 
adapted several existing so(cid:2) ware 
tools for power systems analysis 
to include EV and grid-interface 
models. Cost issues and market-
ing concerns were also addressed 
through computational models, as 

were regulatory factors and busi-
ness models for eﬃ  cient integra-
tion of EVs.

The project was coordinated by 
the Public Power Corporation S.A., 
Greece.

Provision  of  the  electric  grid 
required  for  exploiting  EVs  and 
subsequent widespread adoption 
would decrease greenhouse gas 
emissions as well as traffic noise, 
given that electric cars are virtu-
ally silent. MERGE results have the 
potential to place the EU in a lead-
ing position regarding global export 
potential for such technology.

1 

 ‘Mobile energy resources in grids of 
electricity’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘Cooperation’ under the theme ‘Energy’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9650

Preparing for nuclear and terrorist incidents

In today’s volatile world and globalised instability, the EU must prepare for the unlikely event 
of nuclear contamination, be it from a terrorist attack or a nuclear meltdown. Newly developed 
toolkits can help mitigate such a crisis much more effectively.

An  increase  in  terrorist  attacks 
and nuclear accidents in recent 
years  has  made  it  crucial  for 
the  European  Union  to  develop 
contingency  plans  and  propose 
tools to estimate radiation lev-
els quickly. The EU-funded pro-
ject  Booster 1  is  developing  a 
novel prognostic toolkit to rapidly 
evaluate radiation exposure levels 
of casualties and classify urgent 
care needs.

defined the overall architecture 
of the system. It is now design-
ing  the  equipment,  integrating 
sophisticated sensors, adapting 
the  gamma  camera  necessary 
for the task and installing appro-
priate software. The technology 
features cutting-edge liquid scin-
tillation methods, inductively cou-
pled plasma mass spectrometry 
techniques,  and  laser-induced 
breakdown spectroscopy analysis.

generation, centrosome ampliﬁ ca-
tion and protein extraction among 
other  biological  processes  and 
reactions to ﬁ ne-tune the equip-
ment's  efficacy.  Intense  expert 
consultations and end-user feed-
back are helping refine the sys-
tem  even  further,  resulting  in 
portable  measurement  devices 
with  novel  sensors  that  define 
safety  perimeters,  gather  data 
and assess exposure.

A multinational team of experts 
related to the project has already 
identiﬁ ed user requirements and 

The  project  is  also  conduct-
ing laboratory tests that involve 
immunogen  activity,  antibody 

In  short,  the  technology  will 
be  able  to  identify  radioactive 
gamma isotopes a(cid:2) er a terrorist 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
y
k
s
n
á
r
u
M
n
i
t
r
a
M
©

attack  very  quickly  by  testing 
body  fluids  or  taking  swabs.  It 
would take under 20 minutes to 
identify irradiated people exposed 
to low or medium doses, assisting 
in prioritising urgent cases (triage) 
requiring the most care.

In this vein, one of the project's 
expected outcomes is the publica-
tion of the ‘Triage, monitoring and 
treatment’  (TMT)  handbook  for 
use by first responders. Another 
expected outcome is the devel-
opment of a valuable knowledge 
database to assist in all related 
aspects.

In effect, Booster is successfully 
articulating  a  strategy  to  help 
restore  confidence,  safety  and 
security in crises such as a dirty 
bomb attack or nuclear meltdown. 
The  bio-dosimetric  tools  being 
developed will help ﬁ rst respond-
ers react extremely quickly and 
manage such a crisis valiantly.

The project was coordinated by 
the  Commissariat  à  l’Energie 
A t o m i q u e   e t   a u x   E n e r g i e s 
Alternatives in France.

1 

 ‘Bio-dosimetric tools for triage to 
responders’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘Cooperation’ under the theme ‘Security’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9621

 
 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

21

ENVIRONM ENT AND SOCIETY

r
e
k
a
L
y
r
r
e
J

i

,
a
n
g
u
g
s
u
d
r
a
p
o
e
L
©

 Interview: keeping the peace 
between Chilean wild cats and 
landowners

Probably one of the world’s lesser-known felids, the kodkod cat is classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union 
for Conservation of Nature. It is currently under threat from deforestation, the spread of agriculture, superstition and its taste 
for domestic poultry.

Initiated in 2010 under the FP7 People pro-
gramme, the Kodkod1 project aims to iden-
tify the conservation needs of the kodkod cat 
(Leopardus guigna) in the Chilean temperate 
rainforest. Not only are the project results 
expected to increase knowledge of this rare 
and mysterious species, but they should also 
provide for more eﬀ ective conservation strat-
egies  based  on  a  better  understanding  of 
the perspective of indigenous populations. 
Interviewed  by  research*eu  results  maga-
zine, Dr Elke Schüttler, Research Fellow at 
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, 
explains the aims of the project, its unique 
approach and its expected impact on future 
conservation strategies for the Chilean wild 
cat and other endangered species.

What are the objectives of the 
Kodkod project? 
It is a scientific conservation project focus-
ing on a rare South American wild cat ― the 
kodkod or guiña ― which has received little 

attention  compared  to  more  common  and 
charismatic felids. Wild cats are carnivores 
requiring large areas over which to forage. 
This makes them vulnerable to fragmentation 
and creates conflict with humans over live-
stock. Weighing one to two kilogrammes, the 
kodkod cat is the smallest South American 
felid. It inhabits the highly threatened south-
ern temperate rainforests of Southern Chile 
and Argentina and occasionally attacks poul-
try in agricultural areas. Landowners often 
retaliate by killing the cats, making research 
into their conservation a multidimensional 
challenge requiring an integrative socio-eco-
logical approach. 

On the one hand, we used classical methods 
such as radio-telemetry and camera-trapping 
to assess the cats’ use of of forest remnants 
and other habitats. On the other hand, we 
interviewed  landowners  and  their  children 
about their tolerance towards the chicken-
killing cat. In the ﬁ nal project phase, this will 

allow us to superimpose two diﬀ erent maps: 
the ecological landscape from the cats’ per-
spective and the tolerance landscape from 
the landowners’ viewpoint. In this way we can 
create different scenarios for the kodkod’s 
future, to be discussed in conservation round 
tables with stakeholders. 

What is new or innovative about this 
project and your methodology? 
We tried to integrate the vision of indigenous 
Mapuche people into our bio-social research. 
Researchers call this ethnozoology, which is 
still a relatively novel approach in conserva-
tion science. Indigenous perspectives on bio-
logical diversity often differ from the more 
globally  motivated  modern  conservation 
approaches. Therefore it is important to better 
understand the spiritual and cultural relation-
ships between local people and wild animals 
so as to move towards more integrative and 

responsible conservation strategies.  >

 
 
 
 
22

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

ENVIRO NMENT AN D  SOCIE TY

accompanied with tasty odours. In total, ﬁ ve 
graduate students and eight volunteers par-
ticipated in different aspects of the Kodkod 
project, and I am happy that we managed 
to  get  additional  funding  to  support  their 
involvement. 

idea is to discuss the results in conservation 
round tables with local stakeholders, such as 
local authorities, Mapuche indigenous com-
munities, rural agricultural associations and 
NGOs. This should lead to land-use recom-
mendations for private landowners.  

What are the concrete results from 
the research so far? 
Based on telemetry data, we can see that 
kodkod cats still inhabit signiﬁ cantly modiﬁ ed 
landscapes, but also that they need forest 
corridors as stepping stones to connect the 
remnants of forest. Such corridors are o(cid:2) en 
associated with rivers and could be promoted 
as ecologically important habitats among the 
landowners. Interviews revealed that know-
ledge of this species is poor and that kodkod 
cats occupy quite a mystic place in people’s 
minds, such as being a sign of bad luck. This 
is probably linked to this felid’s mysterious 
way of life. 

We also found that greater tolerance can be 
achieved by enhancing the knowledge about 
how rare this species is and its role in con-
trolling rodent pests. For the younger gen-
eration,  innovative  outreach  material  has 
already been developed by a team of teach-
ers, designers and biologists. A video using 
kodkod puppets has been distributed among 
local schools, while the DVD ‘Searching for 
an opportunity’ tells the story of kodkod cat 
Leopolda’s  life  in  the  forest  and  the  chal-
lenges she must overcome to find food for 
her daughter. This DVD also insists on the 
benefits brought to the humans by kodkod 
cats, for example by showing Leopolda as she 
succeeds in catching some of the mice that 
are an important reservoir host of the deadly 
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome for humans.

What are the next steps in the 
project? 
I have just finished the field phase in Chile 
and am back in Germany now. In the last year 
of the project we must publish the data, so 
most of the work will be done in the office. 
However, as soon as we have the ﬁ nal results, 
they will be presented in the study area. The 

What do you hope the project results 
can achieve? 
I hope that our work will contribute to improv-
ing  the  coexistence  of  this  beautiful  felid 
species  with  the  people  in  its  neighbour-
hood. Our results will shed light on both the 
habitat  requirements  of  this  elusive  and 
little-known  species  and  on  how  it  is  per-
ceived among landowners, who have the ﬁ nal 
word on the availability of adequate habitat. 
Understanding  both  perspectives  is  a  first 
step towards long-term conservation strat-
egies , not only for this felid species, but in 
general for most of our planet’s biodiversity. 

Can and will your methodology be 
extended to other species? 
Yes, the interdisciplinary approach of this pro-
ject can be used for other species, particularly 
for carnivores which often involve human-
wildlife conﬂ icts. The project can probably be 
applied to other endangered small felid spe-
cies as an example of how biologists, vet-
erinarians, teachers and social scientists can 
work together on the same problem, each of 
them contributing a piece of the jigsaw to the 
whole puzzle.

1 

 ‘Forecasting conservation needs for endangered fauna: 
integrating landscape ecology and ethnoecology to 
predict habitat quality for the kodkod cat (Leopardus 
guigna) in the Chilean temperate rainforest’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme ‘People’ 
(Marie-Curie actions).
For further information see: 
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=11382

t
c
e
j
o
r
p
d
o
k
d
o
k
©

Dr Elke Schüttler using telemetry equipment

In this project we asked Mapuche elders if the 
kodkod appeared in legends, places or sur-
names, or if it was used in ceremonies. Such 
information might also be used in bio-cultural 
education material such as bilingual books 
for children with stories about endangered 
wildlife. For example, kodkod in Mapudungun 
might come from ‘ko’, which means ‘enter 
something’, probably referring to the guiña’s 
presence in hen houses.

What difficulties did you encounter 
and how did you solve them? 
It was quite diﬃ  cult to study such an elusive 
and rare animal as the kodkod cat directly via 
radio-telemetry. There are only a few animals, 
and being really intelligent they would not 
enter a trap right away. This meant we had to 
set up traps during the whole two-year ﬁ eld-
work period instead of over several months 
as was initially planned. We only managed 
to trap an adequate number of cats with the 
help  of  many  hands  and  creative  ideas  to 
attract them, such as CDs hung in trees to 
catch their attention or varied menus of meat 

Scientists put spotlight on marine biodiversity in Europe

Scientists  from  16  countries  have  kicked  off  a  new  EU-
funded  project  that  explores  marine  biodiversity  and  the 
environmental status of seas in Europe. Devotes1 has secured 
almost  EUR  9  million  in  funding  under  the  Environment 
theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

Led  by  the  Spanish  Marine 
and Food Technological Centre 
A Z T I - Te c n a l i a ,   m o r e   t h a n 

250 scientists from 23 research 
centres in the EU, Asia and North 
America  are  working  together 

to  improve  our  understanding 
of  how  marine  biodiversity  is 
aﬀ ected by human activities and 
global changes. Under the plan, 
the team will examine existing 
indicators and develop new ones 
in order to evaluate biodiversity 
in  a  harmonised  way.  The  tar-
gets are European regional seas, 
namely the Mediterranean, Black 

and Baltic seas, and the Atlantic 
Ocean. 

F r o m   2 0 1 2   t o   2 0 1 6 ,   t h e 
D e v o t e s   c o n s o r t i u m   w i l l 
develop  and  validate  sophis-
ticated  tools  that  relate  to 
ecological  theory  and  assess-
ment  in  an  integrated  way. 
Examples of these tools include 

 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

23

ENVIRONM ENT AND SOCIETY

remote-sensing, modelling and 
genomics. 

The  objective  of  the  project  is 
to  improve  knowledge  of  the 
changes in ecosystems and bio-
diversity. Information and prod-
ucts  obtained  by  the  team  will 
provide  them  with  the  means 
to  recommend  to  European 
decision-makers various meas-
ures that contribute to the sus-
tainable use of seas and marine 
resources. The Devotes partners 
say the measures will take into 
account all stakeholders related 
to  the  marine  environment, 
including governments, regional 
sea  conventions,  sectors  and 
industries  like  maritime  trans-
port, ﬁ shing and aquaculture. 

‘It  is  of  strategic  importance 
to know the main human pres-
sures affecting the marine en-
vironment  and  biodiversity, 

because  this  knowledge  is  ne-
cessary  for  their  protection,’ 
said project coordinator Dr Ángel 
Borja,  principal  investigator  at 
the Marine Research Division at 
AZTI-Tecnalia.  ‘The  project  will 
enable  European  policies  that 
promote the sustainable devel-
opment and environmental sta-
tus assessment of our seas, and 
will  reinforce  the  cooperation 
among  Member  States  and 
regional seas, both at EU level 
and internationally.’ 

The  Devotes  project  is  associ-
ated  with  the  Marine  Strategy 
Framework  Directive  (Directive 
2008/56/EC),  which  targets 
marine  environment  protec-
tion and conservation. In order 
to reach their target within the 
next eight years, the EU Member 
States  will  use  what  scien-
tific  knowledge  is  available  to 
evaluate  marine  environment 

a
n
i
r
a
M
d
a
d
i
s
r
e
v
i
d
o
B
©

i

protection  and  conservation 
along with the effect of human 
activities,  such  as  changes  in 
food  webs,  marine  eutrophi-
c a t i o n ,   h y d r o g r a p h y   a n d 
introduction  of  alien  species. 
Socio-economic  factors  should 
be considered as well. 

Ultimately, the project will pro-
duce  the  information  that  EU 
Member  States  need  to  follow 
through  for  conserving  marine 
biodiversity.

The  project  is  coordinated  by 
Fundacion Azti in Spain.

1 

 ‘Development of innovative tools for 
understanding marine biodiversity and 
assessing good environmental status’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Environment’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/news > 
search > 35236

Forest biodiversity in the context of climate change

The  task  of  forest  managers  is  to  outwit  the  elements  by 
introducing  and  growing  tree  species  that  will  benefit  from 
dynamic environmental stresses and changes. An EU-funded 
study is amassing data to aid foresters deal with the possible 
effects of climate change on forest productivity.

harder to come by in the com-
plexity  of  a  forest  ecosystem. 
To equip forest managers with 
tools to evaluate forest diversity, 
the Baccara1 project developed 
a  three-dimensional  (3D)  risk-
assessment model.

Project results from an exhaus-
tive analysis of forest inventories 
show rapid distribution shifts in 
the altitude optimum of tree spe-
cies. This indicates a significant 
impact on tree distribution due to 
climate change.

Research  has  suggested  that 
the positive eﬀ ects of increasing 
temperature and carbon dioxide 
(CO2) on forest productivity may 
be outweighed by climatic events 
such as severe drought and con-
sequent die-back. However, the 
overall  response  of  the  whole 
tree community has to be taken 

into account. This includes fac-
tors such as biotic interactions 
like shifts in dominance, symbi-
osis and competition.

Species  diversity  has  been 
cited  as  one  of  the  main  driv-
ers  behind  increased  product-
ivity, but significant results are 

Linking  climate  change,  func-
tional diversity and productivity, 
the  researchers  predicted  the 
risk of forestry loss. Reduction 
in production is considered to be 
a function of the hazard of cli-
mate change and vulnerability 
according to its diversity.

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
a
x
u
F
p

i
l
i
F
©

Data  also  suggests  that  com-
petition  between  trees  and 
interaction  between  trees  and 
insects and fungi are critical fac-
tors in climate change response. 
Knowledge concerning complex 
interactions of this nature is cru-
cial as pest and pathogen dam-
age in the forest increases with 
drought, for example, but not for 
all species.

Forest species inventories indi-
cate that on average mixed for-
ests are twice as productive as 
single species stands, although 
this could be due to diverse for-
ests having a larger basal area 
than  pure  stands.  Simulations 
using tree growth models sug-
gest that tree species' richness 
and functional diversity promote 
productivity  in  temperate  for-
ests. Baccara researchers stress 
that a lot more analysis is 
required to fully explain the 

>

 
 
 
 
 
24

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

ENVIRO NMENT AN D  SOCIE TY

relationship  between  species 
diversity and production.

In future, Baccara outcomes will 
be  collated  for  a  multi-criteria 
decision  analysis  (MCDA)  tool. 
At stand level, managers will be 
able  to  choose  either  the  pure 
option or mixed options to reach 

the best compromise for improv-
ing  productivity  while  reducing 
risks and costs to a minimum.

also make it possible for man-
agers to plan in advance which 
pests they will need to control.

1 

 ‘Biodiversity and climate change, a risk 
analysis’.

Baccara guidelines will help for-
est managers decide which spe-
cies to keep and what 'to chop' 
in various climate change situ-
ations.  Project  information  will 

The  project  was  coordinated 
by  the  Institut  National  de  la 
R e c h e r c h e   A g r o n o m i q u e   i n 
France.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Food, agriculture and fisheries, 
and biotechnology’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 10072

In Darwin’s footsteps: 
pig DNA sheds light on evolution and selection

The pig and its cousin the wild boar share a lot with humans. 
They  are  world  travellers  and  are  easy  to  seduce  (with 
food). But there is more: a new analysis of their DNA reveals 
some unexpected and potentially beneficial similarities with 
humans, further supporting the pig as a valuable biomedical 
model. 

P r o f.   M a r t i e n   G r o e n e n   — 
who  received  a  EUR  2.5  mil-
lion  Advanced  Grant  from  the 
European Research Council (ERC) 
in 2009 — conducted this unprec-
edented  genomic  study  with 
scientists from 12 countries. Prof. 
Groenen also analysed pigs’ DNA 
evolution since humans started 
to  domesticate  these  animals 
some 10 000 years ago. The lat-
est  analysis  was  conducted  in 
collaboration  with  another  ERC 
Advanced  Grantee,  Prof.  Leif 
Andersson. Both studies, funded 
under the Selsweep1 and Bateson² 
projects respectively, have been 
featured  in  two  renowned  sci-
entific journals: Nature and the 
Proceedings  of  the  National 
Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

‘These two research studies dem-
onstrate  the  benefits  of  basic 
genomic research on agricultural 
animals and their closest living 
relatives. The new analysis has 
important implications for agricul-
ture, and also contributes to our 
understanding of evolution and to 
the advancement of human medi-
cine,’ explains ERC grantee Prof. 
Groenen from the University of 
Wageningen, in the Netherlands.

Published  in  Nature,  the  first 
study  focuses  on  the  changes 
that  have  accumulated  in  the 
genome  of  the  pig  during  its 
speciation  in  Eurasia  and  its 
subsequent  domestication  and 

selection by humans. An interna-
tional team of researchers com-
pared the genome of a common 
farm pig, Sus scrofa domesticus, 
with those of ten wild boars — 
all from diﬀ erent parts of Europe 
and Asia. They also analysed the 
pig genome in parallel with those 
of the human, mouse, dog, horse 
and cow. Comparisons of Asian 
and European wild boars revealed 
significant  genetic  differences, 
which are the result of their sepa-
rating from one another roughly 
1 million years ago.

Some gene families in the pig are 
undergoing  relatively  fast  evo-
lution,  with  immune  genes  and 
olfactory genes quickly expanding. 
The pig has more unique olfactory 
genes than humans, mice or dogs, 
the  researchers  report.  While 
pigs can smell a world of things 
humans and many other animals 
cannot (e.g. truffles), their sense 
of taste is somewhat impaired.

The new analysis also supports 
the use of the pig as a model in 
studies of human diseases such 
as  obesity,  diabetes,  dyslexia, 
Parkinson’s  and  Alzheimer’s.  In 
total, the team found 112 pos-
itions where the porcine protein 
has the same amino acid as that 
implicated in a disease in humans. 
‘By also sequencing the genomes 
of another 48 pigs, we identiﬁ ed 
many more gene variants impli-
cated in human disease, further 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,

p
a
s
U
a
j
a
b

I

supporting the pig as a valuable 
biomedical  model,’  adds  Prof. 
Groenen.

How the European 
domestic pig became 
longer and got its white 
colour
The study published in PNAS an-
alyses  more  specifically  what 
genes and regions of the porcine 
genome have been changed dur-
ing the 10 000 years of this ani-
mal’s domestication and selection. 
The European team of research-
ers identiﬁ ed three loci that aﬀ ect 
one of the most striking morpho-
logical changes in the domestic 
pig — the elongation of the back 
and the increased number of ver-
tebrae.  This  important  change 
had already been observed and 
described  by  Charles  Darwin  in 
his book “The variation of animals 
and plants under domestication”.

The researchers have identified 
three genes that are strong can-
didates for the observed changes 
in  the  European  domestic  pig. 
Interestingly, two of these genes 
have been associated with vari-
ation  in  size  in  other  species, 
including humans. The research-
ers also showed that structural 

©

variation of certain genes is more 
common than is usually thought. 
They  identified  a  complex  pat-
tern resulting in a variety of coat 
colours, including the dominant 
white, patched and belted pheno-
types (physical characteristics).

‘The gene variant causing domi-
nant white colour in pigs is the 
most  striking  example  of  an 
emerging  picture  that  struc-
tural  variants  (duplications, 
deletions  and  inversions)  have 
contributed significantly to phe-
notypic  evolution  of  domestic 
animals,’ concludes ERC grantee 
Prof.  Andersson  from  Uppsala 
University, Sweden.

1 

2  

 ‘Molecular characterization of genetic 
factors in the pig under selection 
during speciation, domestication and 
breeding’, coordinated by Wageningen 
Universiteit in the Netherlands.
 ‘Dissecting genotype-phenotype 
relationships using high-throughput 
genomics and carefully selected study 
populations’, coordinated by Uppsala 
Universitet in Sweden.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Ideas’. 
http://erc.europa.eu > Project and 
results > Success Stories

 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

25

ENVIRONM ENT AND SOCIETY

Protecting biodiversity through better science–policy connection

The importance of biodiversity and its contributions to human well-being call for a dynamic approach linking related science 
and policy. A team of European researchers has set out to achieve exactly this. 

Anthropogenic  drivers  such  as 
climate  change  continue  to 
impact biodiversity, the loss of 
which  affects  ecosystem  ser-
vices  that  offer  a  wealth  of 
benefits  for  all  living  beings. 
A  shift  in  policy  is  needed  to 
a d d r e s s   t h e s e   d r i v e r s   a n d 
encourage behavioural changes 
supporting the conservation of 
biodiversity and its sustainable 
use.

Toward this aim, the Spiral1 pro-
ject is working to enhance the 
connectivity between research 
on  biodiversity  and  sustaina-
bility-related  policy-making. 
To  realise  its  objectives,  the 
EU-funded initiative is promot-
ing  advanced  interdisciplinary 

research on science-policy inter-
faces, focusing on sustainability 
governance at practical, theor-
etical and methodological levels. 
Such an approach aims to sup-
port implementation and oper-
ation of ‘real-life’ designs that 
seek to interface the two areas.

To  improve  the  governance  of 
biodiversity,  a  deeper  under-
standing  is  needed  of  prob-
lem areas in the science–policy 
interface.  A  set  of  project  ob-
jectives thus includes in-depth 
examination of how biodiversity 
research informs policy-making 
processes  and  vice  versa,  and 
assesses challenges presented 
by existing biodiversity science–
policy interfaces.

Expanding  on  and  addressing 
such issues will directly contrib-
ute  to  enhancing  biodiversity 
r e s e a r c h   a n d   g o v e r n a n c e . 
Furthermore, Spiral activities will 
offer opportunities for capacity 
building  and  networking,  and 
will  result  in  a  series  of  phys-
ical products such as handbooks, 
scientiﬁ c papers and online tools 
for accessing and sharing infor-
mation. These will prove invalu-
able to scientists, policy-makers 
and other stakeholders eager to 
employ better practices in their 
respective domains.

Beyond  boosting  research  in 
sustainable  development  to 
the  benefit  of  human  well-
being,  project  outcomes  will 

viably  support  and  contribute 
to the policy-guiding principles 
and goals of the EU's renewed 
S u s t a i n a b l e   D e v e l o p m e n t 
Strategy.

The project is coordinated by the 
Natural  Environment  Research 
Council in the United Kingdom.

1 

 ‘Science-policy interfaces for biodiversity: 
research, action, and learning’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘Cooperation’ under the theme 
‘Environment’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 10014

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
o
t
o
h
p
k
c
o
t
S
i

©

 
 
26

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

ENVIRO NMENT AN D  SOCIE TY

Biodiversity standards unified

The establishment of a new European biodiversity observation 
network will support environmental protection and assist in 
creating  worldwide  standards  for  documenting  ecosystems 
and species.

n
a
m
g
n
o
J

.

.

.

G
H
R
©

With  man's  encroachment  on 
ecosystems  and  the  effects  of 
climate change, the world's bio-
diversity  urgently  needs  better 
monitoring mechanisms to help 
preserve  nature's  balance.  In 
response, the EU-funded project 

EBONE1  designed  and  tested  a 
powerful new terrestrial observa-
tion system to achieve the desired 
level of monitoring.

The  project  envisioned  a  low-
cost system of biodiversity data 

collection to compare European 
statistics with that of other areas 
of the world. It worked on devel-
oping  a  common  strategy  and 
standardisation of data collection 
in Europe with a view to spreading 
this uniﬁ ed approach worldwide.

Some of the project's most im-
portant  achievements  include 
progress  on  implementing  the 
Convention on Biological Diversity 
(CBD)  and  formulating  trend-
revealing biodiversity assessment 
indicators. EBONE also published 
an  array  of  valuable  reports,  a 
field handbook and protocols on 
biodiversity,  supported  by  stat-
istical work, surveys and litera-
ture  reviews.  Topics  addressed 
include articulation of habitat cat-
egories, data on species, remote-
sensing, and achieved faster land 
mapping.

EBONE  organised  a  major  pro-
ject  conference  in  Belgium  and 
a workshop in Israel to publicise 

a host of recommendations and 
protocols  on  many  topics,  such 
as identifying and reviewing new 
life  forms.  Thanks  to  the  pro-
ject team's efforts, research will 
enable the development of key 
indicators to guide policy-makers 
in  protecting  ecosystems  and 
species, as well as tools to man-
age, forecast and validate policy 
options.

The project was coordinated by 
Stichting Dienst Landbouwkundig 
O n d e r z o e k   ( D L O )   i n   t h e 
Netherlands.

1 

 ‘European biodiversity observation 
network; a project to design and test 
a biodiversity observation system 
integrated in time and space’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Environment’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9896

An aquaculture innovation to boost quality fish production

The market for fish is growing at an exponential rate. However, European catches in particular have dropped in recent years 
and the current supply of fish is not enough to meet market demand. Furthermore, as a result of near depletion of certain 
European fishery stocks, reduced annual catch quotas, and reduced fishing fleets, EU Member States are becoming increasingly 
dependent on imports from third countries.

ClosedFishCage 1  is  a  project 
aimed at alleviating the depletion 
of fish stocks. The EUR 1.1 mil-
lion Seventh Research Framework 
Programme  (FP7)-funded  pro-
ject  will  not  only  improve  the 

competitiveness of SMEs in the 
aquaculture sector but will also 
safeguard  the  potential  pro-
duction  of  good  quality  fish,  in 
suﬃ  cient quantities and at com-
petitive prices.

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
e
t
t
e
v
e
r
c
e
n
i
a
l
i

V
©

The ClosedFishCage project has 
focused on the development of 
a closed, escape-proof, constant-
volume, sea-based cage for fish 
farming.  Among  the  project’s 
innovative elements are a highly 
durable and ﬂ exible polymer plas-
tic net pen, a predator guard, a 
control system, and the easy set-
up and replacement of damaged 
cage parts.

‘Our  solution  is  in  essence  an 
environmentally friendly closed 
cage  for  fish  farming,’  says 
Alexander  Solbakken,  manag-
ing  director  of  lead  company 
Plastsveis AS which specialises 
in aquaculture technology. ‘The 
cage  is  made  from  recyclable 
material.  It  ensures  continued 
supply of water and minimises 

ﬁ sh farm production risks, espe-
cially those posed by predators 
like wild fish or seals and para-
sites such as sea lice.’

‘The  technological  solutions 
adopted for the cage have all the 
beneﬁ ts of land-based ﬁ sh farm-
ing while taking advantage of the 
cost efficiency of sea-based fish 
farming,’ he adds.

These cost savings are estimated 
at up to EUR 25 000 per installa-
tion due to the fact that open net 
sea cages do not require chem-
ical-based  cleaning  methods. 
Moreover, thousands of tonnes of 
organic waste could be reused for 
the production of biogas.

 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

27

ENVIRONM ENT AND SOCIETY

Results  have  been  impressive. 
The  ClosedFishCage  team  pro-
duced  100  salmon  in  a  first 
non-commercial prototype over 
a  period  of  six  months.  Their 
growth  was  similar  to  that  of 
other salmon kept in open cages 
in  the  same  farm  at  the  same 
time  of  the  year.  However,  in 
order  to  fight  sea-lice  infesta-
tion, the open cages had to be 
cleaned on a regular basis. The 
closed cages did not require any 
such maintenance, which is the 
main reason why ClosedFishCage 

‘is expected to be economically 
advantageous.’

government to hold a 780-tonne 
ﬁ sh stock.

which are optimal strength, ﬂ ota-
tion and water exchange.’

The consortium is coordinated by 
Norwegian Plastsveis and sup-
ported  by  specialist  maritime 
companies and non-proﬁ t institu-
tions in Norway, Italy, Denmark 
and  Spain.  The  project  is  set 
to  start  work  on  developing  a 
commercial  prototype  for  fur-
ther technological and biological 
testing.  In  fact,  it  has  already 
received  a  five-year  research 
licence  from  the  Norwegian 

S o l b a k k e n   e s t i m a t e s   t h a t 
ClosedFishCage  will  enter  the 
market  in  2015  and  is  very 
upbeat about it. ‘The potential is 
huge,’  he  says.  ‘The  Norwegian 
market alone represents approxi-
mately 65 % of the total produc-
tion  of  Atlantic  salmon  in  the 
world. By 2015, we want to have 
developed  bigger  closed  con-
structions  that  are  built  on  the 
same principles as the test model, 

The  project  is  coordinated  by 
Plastsveis AS in Norway.

1 

 ‘Development of an innovative, 
cost-effective environmentally 
friendly closed cage for sea-based 
fish farming’.

Funded under the FP7 programme theme 
‘Research for the benefit of SMEs’. 
http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre > 
search > offers > 27814

Tree genetics improve breeding strategies

To  deliver  high-quality  wood-related  products,  foresters  used  to  rely  only  on  a  tree’s 
appearance.  A  European  consortium  is  turning  to  genetics  to  unveil  traits  of  adaptive  and 
economic interest.

The increasing pressure on for-
est ecosystems imposed by cli-
mate change and human activity 
necessitates a thorough under-
standing of forest tree biology 
and genetics. However, despite 
advances  in  genome  research, 
complex traits such as wood pro-
duction, which integrate various 
physiological functions, are dif-
ﬁ cult to dissect.

The EU-funded Noveltree1 pro-
ject  was  designed  to  genetic-
ally  improve  the  composition 

and  characteristics  of  forest 
products by enabling the selec-
tion  of  the  most  appropriate 
traits through careful breeding 
planning.

The  genetic  variation  of  tree 
populations from European for-
ests as well as from controlled 
environments  was  explored  to 
define  which  traits  were  re-
sponsible  for  tree  responses 
to  changes  in  the  environment 
and  climate.  Special  emphasis 
was put on assessing water-use 

efficiency  and  wood’s  physical 
and chemical properties.

Through genome research, scien-
tists discovered genomic regions 
involved  in  the  genetic  control 
of  both  adaptive  and  product-
ivity  traits.  By  sequencing  part 
or complete genomes, scientists 
identiﬁ ed several ‘Single nucleo-
tide  polymorphisms’  (SNPs)  in 
genes that confer desirable traits.

Such morphological and physio-
logical  traits  were  selected  for 

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
o
t
o
h
p
k
c
o
t
S
i

©

their contribution to pest toler-
ance, sustainable biomass pro-
duction  and  wood  properties. 
All  phenotypic  and  molecular 
information  was  incorporated 
into  innovative  breeding  tools 
that allowed for earlier genetic 
evaluation,  increased  accuracy 
in genetic selection, and better 
monitoring of genetic diversity 
across generations. This was fur-
ther facilitated through so(cid:2) ware 
and model simulators for evalu-
ating  breeding  strategies  and 
novel techniques, as well as for 
choosing the best tree breeding 
practices.

Collectively, the Noveltree find-
ings have deepened our under-
standing of the nature and origin 
of genetic variation for important 
adaptive traits, increased growth 
and wood yield. Implementation 
of the project’s recommendations 
can help Europe’s forestry sector 
meet related consumer demands 
and  achieve  profitable  forest 
management.

The  project  was  coordinated 
by  the  Institut  National  de  la 
R e c h e r c h e   A g r o n o m i q u e   i n 
France.

1 

 ‘Novel tree breeding strategies’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Food, agriculture and fisheries, and 
biotechnology’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9983

 
 
28

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

ENVIRO NMENT AN D  SOCIE TY

Europeans aim to provide better access to biodiversity data

The Nordic states have entered into an agreement to drive and 
establish a Nordic E-Science for Biodiversity and Ecosystem 
Research  infrastructure.  Called  LifeWatch1,  this  European 
initiative has emerged under the framework of the European 
Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI).

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
o
d
r
a
n
r
e
B
o
r
d
e
P
©

LifeWatch  seeks  to  provide 
improved access to biodiversity 
data  to  benefit  environmental 
r e s e a r c h .   T h e   m a j o r i t y   o f 
biodiversity  data  are  held  by 
research  institutions,  environ-
mental  management  institu-
tions  and  non-governmental 
organisations (NGOs). By giving 
the public better access, scien-
tiﬁ c biodiversity and ecosystem 
research  will  get  the  boost  it 
needs. 

One hot topic is the sustainable 
management  of  Earth's  bio-
diversity and ecosystem services. 
LifeWatch will eﬀ ectively improve 
our understanding of ecosystem 
functions and enable us to make 
predictions  and  simulations, 
including  environmental  inter-
actions and species distribution, 
in an ever-changing world. The 
work  being  carried  out  by  the 
LifeWatch team will beneﬁ t local 
and global policy-makers. 

Protecting our honey bees

The  past  decade  has  witnessed  the  dramatic  loss  of 
honey-bee  colonies.  An  EU-funded  project  is  examining  the 
hypothesis that interactions between several pathogens were 
the main drivers of colony death.

The  interdisciplinary  BEE  DOC1 
project is enhancing knowledge 
of pests and diseases, including 
colony collapse disorder. This is 
being  achieved  by  harnessing 
European expertise in the fields 
of pathology, chemistry, genetics 
and agriculture.

Virus.  In  addition,  two  model 
pesticides, thiacloprid and t-ﬂ u-
valinate, have been examined to 
determine how their interaction 
with  the  parasites  and  viruses 
affected  individual  bees  and 
colonies  in  different  areas  of 
Europe.

Researchers  are  studying  two 
model parasites in the form of 
Nosema  and  Varroa  mites  and 
three model viruses — Deformed 
Wing  Virus,  Black  Queen  Cell 
Virus and Israel Acute Paralysis 

The  consortium  has  conducted 
state-of-the-art genetic analysis 
to  uncover  the  relationship 
between  host-pathogen-pesti-
cide and to identify new genes 
for disease resistance. Scientists 

‘The Nordic countries have great 
potential to create a joint high-
way for biodiversity informatics, 
enabling cutting-edge research 
and models for sustainable use 
of  our  natural  resources,’  said 
Professor Ulf Gärdenfors, man-
ager  of  the  Swedish  team  of 
LifeWatch,  from  the  Swedish 
Species  Information  Centre 
of  the  Swedish  University  of 
Agricultural Sciences (SLU). 

Sweden  was  the  first  of  four 
Nordic  states  to  begin  build-
ing the national research infra-
structure  for  biodiversity  via 
the LifeWatch initiative. SLU is 
working with a number of uni-
versities and institutions in the 
country, and Denmark, Finland 
and Norway are quickly follow-
ing suit. 

The  members  of  the  Nordic 
LifeWatch team oﬃ  cially started 
working  together  in  November 
2012. Ultimately, the team will 
identify the scientific potential 
of a common Nordic infrastruc-
ture based on inventories of user 
needs, current data repositories 
and limitations related to data-
sharing in general. 

Their  findings  are  expected  to 
lead to the development of strat-
egies and a proposal for funding 
a Nordic LifeWatch construction 
phase in cooperation with diverse 
groups, including research coun-
cils, scientific communities and 
government ministries. 

Under  ESFRI,  LifeWatch  will 
tackle  key  issues  in  species 
observation  and  citizen  sci-
ence;  sensors;  species  traits; 
biodiversity organisations; eco-
system  services  and  auxiliary 
data (Earth observation). Experts 
are currently working on launch-
ing a joint European LifeWatch 
consortium, with Spanish, Italian 
and  Dutch  researchers  keen  to 
participate.

The project is coordinated by the 
Universiteit  van  Amsterdam  in 
the Netherlands.

1 

 ‘Life Watch’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘Capacities’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/news > search > 
35290

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
o
t
o
h
p
k
c
o
t
S
i

©

 
 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

29

ENVIRONM ENT AND SOCIETY

focused on long-term exposure 
to pesticides and examined how 
bee-keeping practices aﬀ ect col-
ony health. In addition, BEE DOC 
has  developed  new  diagnostic 
screening techniques and meth-
ods for disease prevention using 
new  treatments  and  tools  for 
selecting resistant bees.

in Europe and North and South 
America have enabled the pro-
ject's results to be disseminated 
to bee-keepers around the world. 
The aim is to develop new thera-
pies and tools for promoting dis-
ease  resistance  in  appropriate 
strategies for combating colony 
collapse disorder.

Links  to  ongoing  national  and 
international colony health moni-
toring and research programmes 

The  initiative  could  also  affect 
the setting of new limits for the 
concentration of pesticides used 

in agriculture and for chemother-
apies used in treating honeybee 
colonies.

The project was coordinated by 
Martin-Luther-Universitaet Halle-
Wittenberg in Germany.

Thanks to BEE DOC, honey bees 
will  be  better  protected  from 
colony collapse and enabled to 
carry out their vital work of pol-
lination, upon which much of our 
agriculture and food production 
depends.

1 

 ‘Bees in Europe and the decline of 
honey bee colonies’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Food, agriculture and fisheries, 
and biotechnology’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9968

Africa, as seen from above

By  empowering  Africa  to  observe  its  varied  landscape  and 
climate  through  the  latest  satellite  technology,  the  EU  will 
help African nations to exploit valuable environmental data.

Africa can help advance devel-
opment if it has comprehensive 
Earth Observation (EO) tools in 
its  disposal,  particularly  with 
the  support  of  the  EU's  Global 
Monitoring for Environment and 
Security  (GMES)  programme. 
In  this  context,  the  EU-funded 
project  SAGA-EO1  conducted  a 
feasibility  study  to  design  and 
assess  EO  infrastructure  and 
applications across the continent. 
It aimed to train national actors 
in  exploiting  EO  data  to  man-
age the environment and natural 
resources.

The project sought to establish 
networks of actors in Congo, Côte 
d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique and 
Senegal  in  order  to  coordinate 
with GMES and organise EO ser-
vices. Each national network of 
accountable  users  would  have 
a  local  scope,  rules  and  legal 
stature to pursue specific goals 
that would lead to a number of 
beneﬁ ts.

Project  advantages  include 
improved  economies  of  scale 
in EO data supply and capacity-
building,  as  well  as  increased 

synergy between different sec-
tors  through  the  sharing  of 
EO-based  data.  SAGA-EO  also 
saw  the  actors  as  a  means  of 
safeguarding  the  interests  of 
the African national EO user net-
work and following up on policy 
implementation.

By  strengthening  education 
and research actors within the 
African  national  EO  user  net-
work,  the  project  is  encourag-
ing  knowledge,  sustainability 
and  autonomy  of  the  coun-
tries  involved.  It  is  also  lay-
ing  the  groundwork  for  Africa 
t o   a d d r e s s   i m p o r t a n t   t o p -
ics  concerning  its  livelihood, 
such as global climate change, 
which  can  impact  agriculture, 

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
o
t
o
h
p
k
c
o
t
S
i

©

navigation, biodiversity and gen-
eral sustainability.

SAGA-EO  identified  a  major 
theme  for  the  EO  network  to 
work  on  in  each  country.  In 
Congo,  it  proposed  the  impact 
of water shortage on river navi-
gation, while in Côte d'Ivoire it 
aimed  to  assess  the  agricul-
tural impact on forest cover. In 
Ghana, the project's priority was 
monitoring coastal erosion, and 
in  Mozambique  it  pinpointed  a 
need to work on flood forecast-
ing. Lastly, in Senegal the project 
team proposed that the local EO 
network focused on food security.

This horizontal model of cooper-
ation, which creates a national 
network of EO data users touch-
ing on different disciplines and 
sectors, is slated to help these 
five nations address key issues 
that are hampering development. 
With varied expertise revolving 
around  five  different  themes, 
the rest of Africa could benefit 
from this pilot project and help 
advance the world's second most 
populous continent in important 
ways.

The  project  is  coordinated  by 
Thales Alenia Space in France.

1 

 ‘Support action to GMES-Africa on 
Earth observation’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘Cooperation’ under the theme ‘Space’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 10024

 
 
30

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

IT AND TELE CO MMUNI CATI ONS

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,

M
h
s
u
i
r
a
D
©

Beam me to my meeting!

Forget about crackly lines or blurry webcams. Video conferencing has just got a whole lot better. By combining robotics, video 
and a host of other sensor and display technologies, European scientists can now virtually ‘beam’ you to locations on the other 
side of the globe. It may sound like science fiction, but this new approach can make it feel like you are really ‘there’!

Teleconferences, video conferencing and web 
exchanges have become the norm for most 
multinational businesses. But nobody really likes 
them; nothing beats meeting people face to face. 

‘When we meet people in the ﬂ esh we can pick 
up on subtle cues — facial expressions, quirks, 
who is looking at who,’ explains Stephen Dunne 
from Starlab in Spain. ‘There is so much non-ver-
bal communication that you miss, even with the 
highest-quality video conferencing technology. 
You can't shake hands or decide to look around 
the room, for example.’

Working in an EU-funded research project, scien-
tists from across Europe have now combined a 
set of digital technologies that could eﬀ ectively 
transport someone into a meeting room on the 
other side of the world. For the first time ever, 
people have been able to shake hands on a deal, 
separated by thousands of miles. 

As the Beaming ‘traveller’ you are rigged up with 
multiple sensors and have your head covered 
in a full head-mounted display. Yet that display 
means you see and hear what your robotic-
self can see through its video-camera eyes and 
microphone ears — and you can respond just as 
you would if you were really there. If you move 
your head, the robot’s head moves the same 
way; if you speak, the robot talks with your voice. 
Movement sensors on your arms detect how they 
move and the robot's arms match these actions. 
And if someone touches the robot's hands, this 
pressure is relayed back to pressure pads on your 
hand. 

The technology has been demonstrated in a 
groundbreaking interview between a project sci-
entist in Spain and a BBC journalist in University 
College London. The journalist was able to inter-
view the scientist and even ‘high ﬁ ve’ them at the 
end of the demonstration. 

Of course, there is no teleportation involved, but 
the Beaming1 project uses immersive virtual-
reality techniques and technologies to make you 
feel like you are actually somewhere else. In that 
‘somewhere else’, you are embodied by your 
avatar — a real-life robot, for example — which 
becomes your eyes, ears and mouth. 

Today’s technology, tomorrow’s 
market? 
‘What we have achieved here is a real demon-
stration of what can be done with the technol-
ogies we have available to us today,’ remarks Mr 
Dunne, project manager for Beaming. ‘We took 
“oﬀ -the-shelf” products and combined them in 

this unusual way. This is not a breakthrough in 
technology development, but is certainly a break-
through in demonstrating the powerful ways in 
which media can be networked to achieve amaz-
ing things.’

One of the biggest tasks for the Beaming part-
ners has been to develop a framework data 
architecture for the system. This deﬁ nes how all 
the visual, audio, motion and pressure data are 
packaged and transmitted between the traveller 
and their remote environment. It also establishes 
how the 3D model of the remote location is gen-
erated for the ‘traveller’ to create a strong sense 
of presence for them. 

‘The  purpose  of  the  framework  is  to  make 
Beaming entirely independent of the hardware 
or so(cid:2) ware involved,’ explains Mr Dunne. ‘You’ll 
be able to use any robot or any sensor, for ex-
ample. We have also tried to deﬁ ne the minimum 
amount of data you need but still make the 
Beaming experience fully immersive.’

Emotional clues 
Although head-mounted displays, pressure pads 
and 3D graphical interfaces can give you a real 
sense of being elsewhere, what is it like for peo-
ple at the other end, those sitting around a table, 

 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

31

IT AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

for example, having to interact with your avatar? 
Talking to a robot who talks like you could be 
quite unnerving! 

‘It was important for us to make the interaction 
as natural as possible. Whether people are inter-
acting with a robot or some kind of virtual avatar, 
we want the experience to feel natural and not 
get in the way of normal communication,’ says 
Mr Dunne. 

One simple improvement was to give the robot 
a more expressive head. The team replaced its 
mechanical eyes and mouth with an LCD dis-
play. ‘We used graphics for the eyes and mouth; 
they look much more natural. People seem to 
relax more if they can look a robot in the eye 
and the eyes look right. It is easier to forget 
that they are dealing with a machine!’ says Mr 
Dunne. 

Research still continues to investigate how data 
about the Beaming traveller’s physiological and 
emotional state could be recorded and relayed 
to the people in the remote location. The pro-
ject has experimented to see how the travel-
ler's heart rate, facial expressions and even 

brainwaves could be clues to their emotional 
state. So far, technology can be trained to use 
these  signals  to  recognise  basic  emotional 
states, for example to differentiate between 
relaxed and stress. The challenge now is to work 
out how to communicate their signals to every-
one else through the avatar. 

‘As  a  project,  our  inspiration  was  strictly  to 
demonstrate that this kind of virtual travel and 
interaction could be done. Now it is the job of 
individual partners to translate this into the real 
world and real products. We are moving from the 
realm of scientiﬁ c curiosity and looking at ser-
vices we could oﬀ er.’ 

Is travel a thing of the past? 
‘We are not claiming that Beaming will revolu-
tionise meetings or save the world millions of 
tonnes of carbon dioxide because people won’t 
need to travel anymore,’ Mr Dunne stresses, ‘but 
we do think this idea of “beaming” individuals 
to locations where they can move and interact 
through a robot could really work for some very 
speciﬁ c applications initially.’

‘It is ideal if you want to transport a person with 
speciﬁ c skills or knowledge to another location,’ 
Mr Dunne continues. ‘It gives that person total 
physical immersion in their remote location. 
They can touch and interact with their remote 
environment. We think it might work for top sur-
geons who could “beam” into operating theatres 
all over the world and share their expertise and 
knowledge, even perform operations. 

The  Beaming  project  received  EUR  9.2  mil-
lion (of a total EUR 12.4 million project budget) 
in  research  funding  under  the  EU’s  Seventh 
Framework Programme (FP7). 

The  project  was  coordinated  by  Starlab  in 
Spain.

1  

 ‘Beaming through augmented media for natural 
networked gatherings’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme ‘Cooperation’ 
under the theme ‘Information and communication 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > search > offers 
> 9642

A micro-sized robot wins the race

EU funding enabled European researchers to develop a world-
class miniature robot with a variety of potential applications in 
robotics and micro-manufacturing.

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
a
r
e
m
e
H
©

‘Adaptronics’ is a state-of-the-art 
multidisciplinary ﬁ eld focused on 
the  development  of  mechano-
electrical  systems  capable  of 
adaptive control, i.e. self-adapting 
in response to changes in environ-
mental conditions.

millisecond  response  time.  The 
fast, precise, miniature sensors 
required for micro-robotic appli-
cations  are  currently  lacking. 
European  scientists  sought  to 
fill this gap with the EU-funded 
Micropads1 project.

Micro-robotics  and  micro-man-
ufacturing  systems  for  assem-
bling microscopic components are 
among the most promising appli-
cations of adaptronics. Adaptive 
systems  have  many  complex 
components and functions.

Micropads  focused  on  develop-
ing centimetre or millimetre-scale 
active structures that integrated 
actuating and sensing functions 
together with embedded control 
technology  on  the  same  piezo-
electric material.

Smart (active) materials — such 
as those that respond to a change 
in  pressure  with  a  change  in 
electrical output and vice versa 
(piezoelectric  materials)  —  are 
often  at  the  heart  of  adaptive 
devices. They also include sen-
sors to determine changes in cer-
tain parameters and actuators to 
affect an appropriate response. 
Finally, they require control tech-
nology to coordinate the working 
of all the parts together.

Such  systems  have  very  strict 
performance requirements includ-
ing  nanometre  resolution  and 

Scientists  first  researched  new 
materials  and  processing  tech-
niques. They identiﬁ ed a new gen-
eration of piezoelectric materials 
— ‘Lead magnesium niobate-lead 
titanate crystals’ (PMN-PT) — in 
combination with silicon, as the 
most  promising  for  developing 
high-performance microsystems.

The  consortium  then  designed 
innovative  micro-actuators  and 
micro-grippers based on a com-
bination  of  thermal  and  piezo-
electric  principles  (so-called 
hybrid thermopiezoelectric 

>

 
 
32

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

IT AND TELE CO MMUNI CATI ONS

actuators) for which a patent is 
pending.

at  lower  cost  and  requiring  a 
much smaller space.

ICRA) and set a world record in a 
robotic race.

Development of embedded meas-
urement systems for the piezo-
electric micro-actuators enabled 
use of the piezoelectric system 
as both actuator and sensor with 
measurement and control embed-
ded in one electronic board. The 
systems facilitated better signals 

Building on the new technology, 
the Micropads consortium created 
a mobile micro-robot. The amaz-
ing device took ﬁ rst place at the 
prestigious ‘Institute of Electrical 
a n d   E l e c t r o n i c s   E n g i n e e r s 
International  Conference  on 
Robotics and Automation’ (IEEE 

The Micropads consortium thus 
developed  cutting-edge  adap-
tronics  with  virtually  limitless 
applications.

The project was coordinated by 
the Université de Franch-Comté in 
France.

1  

 ‘New micro-robotic systems featuring 
piezoelectric adaptive microstructures 
for sensing and actuating, with 
associated embedded control’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘People’ (Marie-Curie 
actions). 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9605

Towards the ‘Future Internet’, experiment by experiment

You may not notice as you surf the web, but the internet is a clunky thing, built on a mixed bag of technologies, some of them 
decades old. Upgrading such a vast network is no easy task, although the same trial-and-error approach that led to the internet’s 
creation now promises to keep it expanding and improving in the future, thanks in part to EU-funded research.

‘Experimentally driven research is 
now seen as being very important 
in many fields. It led to the cre-
ation of the internet and it will 
be very important for the Future 
Internet,’  argues  Serge  Fdida, 
a  professor  in  the  network  and 
performance group at University 
Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris. 

But for researchers and develop-
ers to experiment with new tech-
nologies, from content-delivery 
methods to wireless communi-
cations and location-awareness, 
they  need  somewhere  to  run 
tests  and  measure  the  results. 
In effect, they need a high-per-
formance,  adaptable,  scalable, 
low-cost and easy-to-use play-
ground. Thanks to the eﬀ orts of 
the EU-supported OneLab1 pro-
ject, they now have one. 

Based  primarily  on  the  results 
of two projects, OneLab (2006-
2008)  and  OneLab2  (2008-
2010), which were supported with 
combined funding of around EUR 
8.2  million  from  the  European 
Commission, the OneLab initiative 
is today oﬀ ering the telecommu-
nications  and  internet  research 
community access to a range of 
innovative tools and test beds. 

Among them is PlanetLab Europe, 
the European branch of a global 
network of open computers avail-
able for the development of new 
network services. With more than 
300 virtual server nodes spread 
across the continent, PlanetLab 
Europe is already being used by 
almost 2000 researchers. It con-
stitutes one of the most realis-
tic  platforms  available  for  trial 

deployment and experimentation, 
with services such as distributed 
storage, network mapping, peer-
to-peer systems, distributed hash 
tables and query processing. 

A key part of PlanetLab Europe’s 
development  and  its  intercon-
nection  with  similar  resource 
platforms  in  the  United  States 
and Asia is the concept of fed-
eration, introduced by the OneLab 
researchers  and  now  becom-
ing increasingly popular in other 
research disciplines. 

A federation of test beds 
‘There are lots of test beds out 
there: every test bed has its own 
value but they are only used by 
the  people  who  develop  them 
— and have a very short lifes-
pan  because  they  are  usually 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
o
n
i
z
o
r
b
m
a
©

i

established for a speciﬁ c purpose 
and used only while the funding 
for them lasts. However, at the 
same time, it is completely use-
less to try to design a test bed 
that will ﬁ t everyone’s needs. It’s 
just impossible, each community 
has diﬀ erent requirements — the 
wireless  community  would  like 
one  thing,  distributed  systems 
developers want other stuff, the 
cloud community would be dif-
ferent  again...  and  so  on,’  Prof. 
Fdida, the coordinator of OneLab, 
explains. ‘But because there are 
commonalities, our approach was 
therefore to bring these test beds 
and  the  organisations  behind 
them together in a federation sys-
tem, enabling technology to be 
reused, helping developers avoid 
repeating mistakes and reinvent-
ing the wheel, enabling them to 
share best practices, and aggre-
gating funding to beneﬁ t from the 
multiplier eﬀ ect.’

Besides  the  far-reaching  and 
diverse array of testing resources 
offered  by  PlanetLab  Europe, 
the OneLab team also followed 
the same approach to establish 
more focused test bed platforms, 
among them NITOS for real-time 
wireless testing, Etomic for high-
precision  measurement  of  net-
work capabilities, and DIMES to 
study the topology of the internet. 

‘One of the main challenges was 
to advance the idea of federation 
as being critical for the design of 
a  Future  Internet  facility,’  Prof. 
Fdida  says.  ‘There  are  issues 

 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

33

IT AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

related  to  governance,  trust, 
authentication, resource descrip-
tion, user access, scheduling of 
tests,  isolation  of  experiments 
to avoid excessive resource use, 
monitoring and data collection... a 
multitude of so(cid:2) ware and archi-
tectural challenges. But the bene-
fits  of  a  federated  system  are 
obvious, not least that it oﬀ ers the 
research community easy access 
to many resources at much lower 
cost in terms of test-bed develop-
ment time and money.’ 

In  establishing  their  federated 
platform,  the  OneLab  team 
developed  a  range  of  publicly 
available test-bed components, 
from  open  source  software  to 
hardware  packages,  as  well  as 
measurement tools, enabling any 
developer to use the underlying 
technology  to  set  up  their  own 
test bed and, if they choose to, 
join the federated platform. 

Today, a significant part of the 
core so(cid:2) ware underlying all of the 

PlanetLab platforms, including the 
original one in the United States, 
has  been  developed  in  Europe. 
And it has also started to be used 
commercially.  Orange  Poland, 
formerly Polish Telecom, for ex-
ample, has further developed the 
so(cid:2) ware and is currently using it 
for its content-delivery network. 

Meanwhile, some of the tools are 
also being transferred in M-Lab, 
an open, distributed server plat-
form  for  researchers  to  deploy 
internet measurement tools, set 
up  by  Google.  And  the  OneLab 
team have also launched a spin-
oﬀ  project with EU funding called 
OpenLab, bringing together the 
essential ingredients for an open, 
general purpose and sustainable, 
large-scale shared experimental 
facility. 

In addition, the project partners 
have  started  to  work  with  the 
European Institute of Innovation 
and  Technology  (EIT),  which 
has  launched  a  programme 

of  Knowledge  and  Innovation 
Communities  (KICs)  integrating 
higher  education,  research  and 
business in key areas. Speciﬁ cally, 
the OneLab researchers are will-
ing to offer their federated plat-
form to students in a KIC Masters’ 
programme which is focused on 
ICT, giving them the opportunity 
to become familiar with the con-
cepts of the ‘networking domain’ 
using the PlanetLab facility. 

‘In my view, developing this fur-
ther  is  not  just  about  research 
and  innovation,  it’s  also  about 
education. And our collaboration 
with the KIC ICT will give young, 
talented students the opportunity 
to use very diverse, cutting-edge 
technology,’ Prof. Fdida says. 

In the long run, the OneLab co-
ordinator  sees  the  team  being 
in  a  position  to  fully  evaluate 
the  benefits  of  their  work  and 
approach within the next two to 
three  years.  In  the  meantime, 
OneLab will continue to evolve, 

cooperating and competing with 
similar initiatives such as GENI in 
the United States and a soon-to-
be-launched platform in China. 

OneLab  and  OneLab2  received 
research  funding  under  the 
E u r o p e a n   U n i o n ’s   S e v e n t h 
Framework Programme (FP7). 

The project was coordinated by 
the  University  Pierre  et  Marie 
Curie in Paris, France.

1  

 ‘An open, federated laboratory supporting 
network research for the Future Internet’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Information and communication 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9695

The space-time connection

European  scientists  are  developing  what  may  be  the  most 
precise clocks ever built. Based on laser excitation of atoms, 
these  optical  clocks  will  have  a  ticket  to  ride  aboard  the 
International Space Station (ISS) for a test run.

Clocks  are  conceptually  rather 
simple devices. They are based 
on a repeated event that occurs 
at a highly regular interval and a 
mechanism for keeping track of 
the  events.  Grandfather  clocks 
get their reference interval from 
a  swinging  pendulum.  Quartz 
watches get theirs from an oscil-
lating crystal.

Atomic clocks measure the fre-
quency  of  electron  transitions 
from  one  orbital  to  another 
in  atoms  of  certain  elements. 
Transitions  are  so  reproducible 
that the deﬁ nition of a second is 
currently  tied  to  atomic  transi-
tion. The standard is cesium-133 
(Cs-133).

Cesium  -based  clocks  ‘tick’  at 
about  1  trillion  times  per  sec-
ond, operating in the microwave 
range of the electromagnetic (EM) 

spectrum of frequencies. Optical 
clocks,  operating  in  the  visible 
light range of the EM spectrum 
(frequencies of 1 million trillion 
times per second), would be cap-
able of even greater accuracy.

Furthermore, optical clocks use 
neutral atoms (zero net charge) or 
ions (charged species) conditioned 
to absorb light over an extremely 
narrow  frequency  range.  The 
excited atoms are then trapped 
inside an optical lattice. 

A   E u r o p e a n   c o n s o r t i u m   i s 
developing  ultra-precise  port-
able neutral-atom lattice optical 
clock  demonstrators  for  use  in 
space. Their goal is to provide a 
10-fold increase in performance 
compared to microwave atomic 
clocks  employed  in  a  previous 
European  Space  Agency  (ESA)-
backed ISS mission.

With  EU  funding  for  the  SOC21 
project,  scientists  developed 
laser technology and integrated 
it with atomic set-ups for stron-
tium  (Sr)  and  ytterbium  (Yb). 
They are investigating two novel 
approaches for loading the atoms 
into the optical lattice clock.

SOC2 technology is expected to 
impact space- and ground-based 
investigations of time and gravity 
and the commercial development 
of  technology  relying  on  lasers 
and high-precision timing devices. 
It might even provide the basis 

for the new standard of measure-
ment of the second.

The project was coordinated by 
the  Heinrich-Heine-Universität, 
Düsseldorf in Germany.

1  

 ‘Towards Neutral-atom Space Optical 
Clocks: Development of high-performance 
transportable and breadboard optical 
clocks and advanced subsystems’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘Cooperation’ under the theme ‘Space’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9837

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
s
e
g
a
m

I
k
e
r
t
k
c
o
t
S
©

 
 
 
34

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

IT AND TELE CO MMUNI CATI ONS

Putting accessibility at the heart of e-government

Public administrations across Europe are making the leap from government to e-government, 
but citizens will only reap the rewards of being able to access more services online if they are 
efficient,  accessible  and  easy  to  use.  A  new  user-centric  web-based  platform,  developed  by 
EU-funded researchers, promises to bring down the barriers to accessing e-government services.

Developed by the Diego1 project, 
the  platform  offers  a  scalable, 
open-standards-compliant solution 
for public administrations looking 
to implement e-government ser-
vices from scratch or update exist-
ing ones to a more user-friendly 
and accessible system. The pro-
ject’s  completion,  following  two 
years of work supported by EUR 
2.5  million  in  funding  from  the 
European Commission, comes at 
a crucial time for the roll-out of 
e-government in Europe. 

On the one hand, the increasingly 
widespread use of mobile devices 
such as smart phones and tab-
let  computers,  even  among  the 
elderly and traditionally less tech-
savvy citizens, is creating demand 
and opportunities for more inclu-
sive online services accessible at 
anytime, anywhere. On the other 
hand, public administrations are 
increasingly coming to realise that 
in many cases the e-government 
services  they  have  deployed  in 
recent years, often at substantial 
cost, do not meet citizens’ needs 
or are not easily accessible to inex-
perienced users. And, as European 
Commission Vice-President Neelie 
Kroes, recently pointed out, such 
systems have often been devel-
oped in isolation, creating digital 

borders between towns, regions 
and  countries  where  phys-
ical boundaries have long since 
disappeared.2 

‘Over the last ﬁ ve to 10 years, pub-
lic administrations of all sizes have 
spent  millions  on  e-government 
services  but  often  they  weren't 
planned or designed very well. The 
result is people don't use them, and 
in many cases penetration is as low 
as 10 or 15 %,’ explains Alejandro 
Echeverría, marketing director at IDI 
EIKON in Spain, the Diego coordi-
nating partner. 

Inclusive e-government 
The Diego platform aims to over-
come that problem. It is designed 
with  user-friendliness  firmly  in 
mind, allowing anyone, regardless 
of their level of digital literacy, to 
access online services through an 
adaptable and intuitive interface. 
And, as a web-based standards-
compliant system, it is accessible 
from any device, including smart 
phones,  televisions  and  digital 
kiosks in public locations. 

For administrations, implementing 
the Diego system is cost-eﬀ ective 
and  relatively  straightforward, 
even  in  cases  where  they  have 
legacy  e-government  systems 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,

n
h
o
J

.
S
©

that  need  to  be  updated  or 
transferred. 

‘The  basic  framework  for  the 
system is the same for all appli-
cations  and  the  use  of  open 
standards,  and  its  provision  as 
software-as-a-service  helps 
overcome interoperability issues. 
However,  some  services  need 
to be tailored specifically to the 
requirements of individual admin-
istrations. For example, data pro-
tection  and  data-management 
laws are diﬀ erent in every coun-
try,  so  how  data  is  stored  and 
accessed, whether locally or using 
cloud  resources,  varies  in  each 
case,’ Mr Echeverría explains. 

The  differences  were  under-
scored  in  seven  pilot  deploy-
ments  of  the  Diego  platform 
involving public administrations 
in Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Spain and 
the United Kingdom. In each case, 
a variety of different e-services 
were  developed  or  migrated  on 
to the Diego system. In the trials, 
citizens could access a range of 
e-government services: they could 
arrange appointments with local 
councillors, ﬁ nd out about training 
courses, renew their ID cards or 
look for jobs. End-users, including 
less ICT-experienced elderly citi-
zens, generally found the system 
easy to use, and appreciated the 
range of services on oﬀ er. 

‘One  key  focus  of  the  pilots  in 
Spain was employment services 
— understandably, given the high 
unemployment rate here at pre-
sent.  Job  searches  used  to  be 
handled at the regional level, but 
they are now being oﬀ ered at the 
local level, and in most cases the 
systems used to provide access 
weren’t  very  efficient  or  acces-
sible. With the Diego system we 
have  been  able  to  interconnect 
job  databases,  connecting  with 
private  job  search  engines  and 
the EURES European portal, pro-
viding citizens with better access 
and enabling them to upload their 

CVs  and  apply  for  jobs  online,’ 
Mr Echeverría says. 

Saving time and cutting 
costs 
For  administrations,  the  costs 
of implementing the system are 
relatively low: it costs around EUR 
150 per month to use the Diego 
platform in a town of 10 000 to 
15 000 people and, depending on 
speciﬁ c requirements, it takes just 
one or two months to set up. 

The  system  is  continuing  to  be 
used at many of the pilot sites, 
and  IDI  EIKON,  in  collaboration 
with  other  project  partners,  is 
looking  to  deploy  it  with  other 
public  administrations  across 
Europe in the future. Among other 
possible uses, the United Nations 
Development Programme (UNDP) 
is looking at the system to open 
communications  channels  and 
enhance social and cultural inter-
action  between  communities  in 
north and south Cyprus. In add-
ition,  Mr  Echeverría  points  out 
that  the  platform,  being  100 % 
web-based, ‘ﬁ ts perfectly’ into the 
European Commission’s recently 
launched strategy to drive busi-
ness and government productivity 
via cloud computing. 

Mr Echeverría notes, however, that 
uptake of the platform is dependent 
on several factors, not least the will 
of politicians and other stakehold-
ers  to  implement  e-government 
services or update existing ones. In 
addition, the economic crisis and 
the scaling back of public budg-
ets across Europe also represent a 
challenge, despite the mid- to long-
term beneﬁ ts of e-government. 

‘Ultimately, stakeholders need to 
realise that e-government saves 
everyone  time  and  money.  If 
citizens  can  complete  proced-
ures online, they don't need to go 
to public administration offices, 
queue up, and occupy the time 
of a government oﬃ  cial. It's hard 
to quantify the cost savings, but 
it's realistic to think that a pro-
cedure  that  may  cost  a  couple 
of euros to complete in the trad-
itional way will only cost a couple 
of cents if it is done digitally,’ Mr 
Echeverría explains. 

 
 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

35

IT AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

In addition, the Diego researchers 
found that by introducing users, 
some of whom had little or no ICT 
experience, to the platform, the 
same people went on to access 
other services online. 

‘After  using  the  system,  some 
elderly people went on to set up 
Twitter or Facebook accounts to 
communicate  with  friends  and 
family,’  Mr  Echeverría  explains. 
‘We like to see the platform as a 
training bicycle, in which access to 
e-services are the support wheels 

that help people get on their way 
in the online world — it’s a big 
step forward to e-inclusion.’

It  is  also  an  important  leap 
towards  more  widespread  and 
eﬀ ective e-government in Europe. 
As  Neelie  Kroes  has  noted: 
‘Dealing with government services 
can be trying or time-consuming. 
First and foremost, governments 
should put users in control, and 
in the centre. I want citizens to 
beneﬁ t from services they really 
want  to  use,  services  targeted 

to their needs, services that are 
smooth and seamless.’3

The Diego platform sets an im-
portant example for how that can 
be achieved. 

Diego  received  research  fund-
ing under the European Union’s 
Competitiveness and Innovation 
Framework Programme (CIP).

The project was coordinated by IDI 
EIKON in Spain.

 ‘Digital inclusive e-government’.

1  
2, 3  ‘Build, Connect, Grow’: 

The road towards borderless 
eGovernment’. 
Speech at Sixth Ministerial eGovernment 
Conference, Poznan, Poland, 
17 November 2011

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Information and communication 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9871

A low-cost, fingernail-sized radar

EU-funded  researchers  have  squeezed  radar  technology 
into a low-cost fingernail-sized chip package that promises 
to  lead  to  a  new  range  of  distance-  and  motion-sensing 
applications. The novel device could have important uses in 
the automotive industry, as well as mobile devices, robotics 
and other applications.

Developed in the Success1 pro-
ject,  the  device  is  the  most 
complete silicon-based ‘system-
on-chip’ (SoC) package for radar 
operating  at  high  frequencies 
beyond 100 GHz. 

‘As far as I know, this is the small-
est  complete  radar  system  in 
the world,’ says Prof. Christoph 
Scheytt,  who  is  coordinating 
the  project  on  behalf  of  IHP  in 
Frankfurt,  Germany.  ‘There  are 
other chips working at frequencies 
beyond 100 GHz addressing radar 
sensing,  but  this  is  the  highest 
level of integration that has ever 
been achieved in silicon.’ 

Measuring just 8 mm by 8 mm, 
the chip package is the culmina-
tion  of  three  years  of  research 
by nine academic and industrial 
partners across Europe, supported 
by EUR 3 million in funding from 
the  European  Commission.  The 
team  drew  on  expertise  from 
every part of the microelectronic 
development  chain  to  develop 
the groundbreaking technology, 
which is expected to be put to use 
in commercial applications in the 
near future. 

time of the waves to calculate the 
distance of an object up to around 
three metres away, with an ac-
curacy to within one millimetre. 
It can also detect moving objects 
and calculate their velocity using 
the Doppler eﬀ ect. 

From a commercial perspective, 
the technology is also extremely 
cheap: manufactured on an indus-
trial scale, each complete mini-
ature  radar  would  cost  around 
one  euro,  the  project  partners 
estimate. 

That  gives  it  the  potential  to 
replace  ultrasonic  sensors  for 
object and pedestrian detection in 
vehicles, to be used for automatic 
door control systems, to meas-
ure vibration or distance inside 
machines,  for  robotics  applica-
tions and a wide range of other 
uses. It could even find its way 
into cell phones. 

To develop the miniaturised radar 
system,  the  team  had  to  over-
come a range of technical chal-
lenges, not least integrating and 
ensuring the reliability of the tiny 
antenna. 

Operating at 120 GHz — corres-
ponding to a wavelength of about 
2.5 mm — the chip uses the run 

‘In  this  area,  size  matters  a 
lot,’  Prof.  Scheytt  notes.  ‘The 
main  motivation  for  using  high 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
4
0
4
e
l
ﬁ 
©

frequencies  rather  than  lower 
ones is that the antennas can be 
smaller.’ 

W h i l e   a n   F M   r a d i o   h a s   a n 
antenna that is about one metre 
long and a WiFi router’s anten-
nas are about 10 cm in length, at 
mm-wave frequencies (between 
30 GHz and 300 GHz) the anten-
nas can also be at the millimetre 
scale. Given the increasing mini-
aturisation  of  modern  devices 
— from cell phones to robotics 
components  —  working  in  the 
millimetre range is therefore a 
signiﬁ cant advantage. 

A novel substrate to solve 
attenuation 
However,  at  high  frequencies 
unwanted electromagnetic radi-
ation  and  high  attenuation  are 
serious problems. ‘The higher you 
go in frequency the more the wir-
ing radiates: modelling this inter-
face  was  a  big  challenge,’  the 
project coordinator admits. 

The Success team addressed the 
issue through precise modelling, a 
novel technique for antenna inte-
gration,  and  using  a  polyamide 
substrate for the antenna. 

>

 
 
 
 
36

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

IT AND TELE CO MMUNI CATI ONS

‘The project partners researched 
and tested a lot of diﬀ erent sub-
strates  for  the  antenna  to  find 
one that was the least lossy. Then 
they  used  a  technique  to  print 
the  antenna  on  it  and  connect 
it  through  solder  bumps,’  Prof. 
Scheytt  explains.  ‘The  antenna 
itself  is  planar,  meaning  it  is 
mounted flat on top of the chip. 
This is completely diﬀ erent to the 
packaging  technology  of  other 
millimetre-wave systems, which 
usually have bulky antennas with 
tube-like conductors. The advan-
tage is that the whole “system-in-
package” is a lot smaller.’ 

Another  issue  with  high-fre-
quency  devices  is  testing  that 
they work as they are designed 
to. Current testing techniques are 
expensive  and  ill-suited  to  the 
high-volume  testing  necessary 
if the device is to be manufac-
tured commercially. To address 
this, the Success team took the 

unusual  step  of  including  self-
testing  features  built  in  to  the 
chip package. 

‘Built-in self-testing is quite com-
mon  for  cell-phone  chips  that 
work at much lower frequencies, 
but it is something quite novel 
for millimetre-wave chips,’ Prof. 
Scheytt  says.  ‘Our  industrial 
partners put a lot of emphasis 
on including this as it makes no 
sense  to  have  a  chip  that  can 
be manufactured for a euro and 
then  have  to  spend  30  or  40 
euros to test each one.’ 

The built-in test features enable 
technicians to easily and cheaply 
test if the antenna is connected 
correctly, its transmission power 
and if it is operating in the right 
frequency  range.  And,  because 
there is no radio-frequency inter-
face to deal with, integration on 
to a printed circuit board is simi-
larly cheap and easy. 

‘Since all the high-frequency cir-
cuitry is in the package you have 
only low-frequency interfaces to 
work with,’ Prof. Scheytt notes. 

He  points  out  that  an  applica-
tion engineer can handle the chip, 
because it is a standard surface-
mount  package,  in  much  the 
same way they would ﬁ t an ultra-
sonic sensor or microcontroller. 

‘Users can solder the chip on to 
their standard circuit boards and 
receive  low-frequency  signals 
that can be processed without dif-
ﬁ culty,’ says Prof. Thomas Zwick, 
head  of  IHE  at  the  Karlsruhe 
Institute  of  Technology  (KIT),  a 
project partner. 

The  different  partners  in  the 
Success consortium are now look-
ing to use the technology com-
mercially. Bosch, for example, is 
investigating deployment possi-
bilities, seeing major potential for 

low-cost radar operating at high 
frequencies, while other partners, 
such as Silicon Radar in Germany, 
Selmic in Finland, and Hightec in 
Switzerland are also expected to 
incorporate the work carried out 
in  Success  into  their  industrial 
processes. 

Success received research fund-
ing under the European Union’s 
Seventh Framework Programme 
(FP7). 

The project was coordinated by 
IHP Microelectronics, Germany.

1  

 ‘Silicon-based ultra-compact cost-efficient 
system design for mm-wave sensors’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Information and communication 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9845

Integrated high-resolution urban-mapping system

EU-funded  researchers  have  developed  an  urban-mapping 
system  capable  of  distance  resolution  of  5  to  50  cm  in 
one  second.  The  technology  provides  a  step  increase  in 
performance compared to current technology.

Geo-location and reference sys-
tems  have  become  a  part  of 
everyday life. People use satellite-
based navigation systems in their 
cars to navigate unknown roads 
and on their home computers to 
ﬁ nd their houses on detailed sat-
ellite images.

Satellite navigation systems that 
provide global coverage are col-
lectively called Global Navigation 
Satellite  Systems  (GNSS).  The 
term Global Positioning System 
(GPS) refers to the GNSS of the 
United States, the ﬁ rst such sys-
tem that was fully operational. 
Galileo is Europe’s own GNSS cur-
rently being built and tested by 
the EU and the European Space 
Agency (ESA).

GNSS provide information about 
the  position  of  something  on  a 
global map. Another technology 
important  in  capturing  images 
and measuring positions of things 

and the distances between them 
is ‘Light detection and ranging’ 
(LIDAR).

LIDAR  technology  is  currently 
used  to  provide  fast,  accurate 
images  over  large  areas  such 
as those required in urban plan-
ning. These images can be com-
plemented with lower-resolution 
images like those provided with 
web-based satellite services.

Geo-location of urban maps pro-
duced by LIDAR is currently pro-
vided  by  loosely  coupled  GPS/
Inertial Navigation System (GPS/
INS)  receivers.  So  far,  technol-
ogy has proven to be very expen-
sive  and  performance  sub-par 
under conditions of poor satellite 
visibility.

With EU funding for the Atenea1 
project, European scientists inte-
grated  LIDAR  techniques  with 
GNSS/INS receiver architectures 

and  Galileo  signal-processing 
capabilities.

Atenea delivered a system cap-
able  of  navigating  5  to  50  cm 
with  a  one  second  accuracy  in 
difficult  urban  environments, 
providing  a  drastic  increase  in 
robustness and continuity at sig-
niﬁ cantly lower cost.

Project  technology  facilitates 
numerous  outdoor  and  even 
indoor  applications  not  previ-
ously possible. It will be the key 
to terrestrial mobile mapping, the 
generation of 3D Earth surface 
models  that  include  3D  urban 
models. Atenea has already been 
the enabler of several terrestrial 
geodata acquisition missions.

Overall, Atenea has not only deliv-
ered an innovative and improved 
geo-location technology but also 
a  software  development  envir-
onment that will be valuable in 
future integration of navigation 
systems and sensors.

The project was coordinated by 
Deimos Space in Spain.

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,

i

m
o
c
.
s
o
t
o
h
P
©

1  

 ‘Advanced techniques for navigation 
receivers and applications’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Transport (including aerospace)’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9791

 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

37

IT AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Business success: knowing the rules and making them work

Businesses  may  be  run  by  people,  but  they  have  to  follow 
rules.  An  EU-funded  project  is  using  semantic  techniques 
to  help  businesses  identify  and  adapt  more  easily  the  rules 
behind their operations.

If there was ever a single ‘secret’ 
to business success, it was prob-
ably  stated  by  Socrates  some 
2500 years ago: ‘know thyself’. To 
maintain its success and improve 
its competitive advantage, every 
business  must  understand  the 
details of ‘what makes it tick’, from 
how new products or services are 
developed to gathering and using 
customer feedback. 

Thanks to powerful so(cid:2) ware sys-
tems,  organisations  can  churn 
through  data,  analyse  business 
processes and document the rules 
people must follow to comply with 
legislation, improve customer sat-
isfaction and generally ensure that 
the organisation performs well. 

Businesses use knowledge-man-
agement systems to record all the 
rules that govern the work people 
have to do; o(cid:2) en the rules are so 
complex that it would be impos-
sible for individuals to be able to 
do their job properly without the 
guidance of the knowledge-man-
agement system. 

But most knowledge-based sys-
tems  deployed  in  organisations 
today are tricky to set up and use. 
It is diﬃ  cult to maintain the rules, 
adjust  and  tweak  them  as  leg-
islation changes or the business 
responds to competition or devel-
ops new working methods. 

A complicated business 
‘The  problem  with  knowledge-
based systems at the moment is 
that they are encoded by knowl-
edge-systems experts,’ explains 
Christian  de  Sainte  Marie  from 
IBM, France. ‘It can be extremely 
complicated to identify and docu-
ment rules in the ﬁ rst place; then 
you  have  to  actually  write  the 
computer code which will imple-
ment  these  rules  through  the 
business.’ 

‘Knowledge-based  systems  are 
difficult to manage and maintain 
because they require the expertise 

of statisticians and data analysts, 
people involved in operations and 
customer-facing roles and tech-
nical computer programmers,’ Mr 
de Sainte Marie continues. ‘There 
are lots of different people, each 
with their own specialist expertise 
and knowledge.’ 

Mr  de  Sainte  Marie  coordinates 
the EU-funded Ontorule1 project 
which was set up to give business 
experts  more  ownership  of  the 
rules, helping them to capture and 
implement them across the busi-
ness, without requiring the exper-
tise of so(cid:2) ware programmers, for 
example, to turn rules into com-
puter code. 

‘The idea of the Ontorule project 
is to separate out knowledge from 
its implementation,’ Mr de Sainte 
Marie explains. ‘At the moment, 
the  business  experts,  who  are 
most aware of how the business 
operates and the constraints on 
its  activities,  have  to  somehow 
communicate this knowledge to IT 
experts, who then have to work out 
how the rules are expressed within 
so(cid:2) ware systems. We believe that 
by using highly deﬁ ned vocabulary 
with agreed meanings, known as 
ontologies, we can separate out 
knowledge from rules, and the rep-
resentation of the knowledge from 
its IT implementation.’ 

The  Ontorule  project  is  helping 
the relevant people in the organ-
isation to manage and maintain 
ontologies, business rules and data 
models separately, without having 
to worry about how to communi-
cate their work to others. 

Make up rules… like a 
natural 
One of the biggest challenges is 
to translate policies, legislation, 
statistical analyses and the stra-
tegic  planning  of  a  company's 
executive board, for example, into 
concrete, unambiguous, rules. The 
knowledge is often expressed in 
documents (legal texts, minutes 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
y
y
l
l

o
©

of board meetings, etc.) written in 
prose. 

Ontorule has applied natural-lan-
guage processing technology to 
help business-knowledge experts 
formulate ontologies and express 
rules based on the text in docu-
ments. The natural-language pro-
cessing software analyses texts, 
looking  for  key  phrases,  gram-
matical constructions and other 
features of a document to identify 
candidate rules. A business expert 
can  then  pick  appropriate  rules 
from  the  candidates  and  refine 
them, still using natural language 
and not having to worry about how 
they will be implemented in code. 

‘With this natural language pro-
cessing,  we  have  been  able  to 
suggest rules which are speciﬁ ed 
sufficiently  precisely  that  there 
is little or no room for interpreta-
tion by the specialist who has to 
translate rules into computer-exe-
cutable rules. This is quite a step 
forward, although the full automa-
tion of rule extraction from natural 
language is still a long way oﬀ ,’ Mr 
de Sainte Marie acknowledges. 

rule  implementation  and  busi-
ness strategy and compliance can 
effectively work from the same 
knowledge bank, thanks to the way 
an ontology organises knowledge 
in a highly structured and unam-
biguous way. 

The Ontorule platform makes use 
of ‘Semantics of business vocabu-
lary  and  business  rules’  (SBVR) 
which is an internationally agreed 
standard  for  the  high-level  for-
malisation of business vocabulary 
and rules. It is close to natural lan-
guage (making it understandable 
for business-knowledge experts) 
but also close to ‘Web ontology 
language’ (OWL) which is under-
stood by experts in formulating 
and implementing business rules. 

‘Ontorule builds on the SBVR bridg-
ing  format,’  says  Mr  de  Sainte 
Marie, ‘that goes from the natural 
language  description  of  a  busi-
ness and what it does to the highly 
structured  and  defined  version 
of this description in an ontology. 
From this ontology you can then 
develop specific, usable business 
rules.’

The  Ontorule  business  know-
ledge  ontology  brings  together 
abstract  business  knowledge 
and  concrete  operational  rules 
into a single domain. Experts in 

Rules for the real world 
The  Ontorule  technology  and 
methodology has been tested in 
two prototype systems, one 
in  car-maker  Audi’s  design 

>

 
 
38

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

IT AND TELE CO MMUNI CATI ONS

department  in  Germany  and 
another in a steel galvanisation 
plant belonging to ArcelorMittal. 

ArcelorMittal use an expert soft-
ware system to analyse the qual-
ity  of  its  galvanised  steel  coils 
and  assign  which  coils  can  be 
shipped  to  specific  customers 
or whether they need repairing 
or  recycling.  The  Ontorule  sys-
tem  will  be  used  to  capture  all 
the rules involved in this process 
—  not  just  those  programmed 
into  the  expert  system,  but  all 
the  other  constraints,  policies 

and contexts affecting the final 
shipping decision. Once the rules 
have been captured they can be 
implemented  and  adapted  by 
other ArcelorMittal plants around 
Europe. 

Peter Rosina has helped to test 
the  Ontorule  system  in  Audi’s 
R&D department. ‘We are using 
ontologies and business rules to 
capture and analyse some of the 
knowledge  in  our  department,’ 
he explains. ‘During the project 
we were able to model business 
knowledge  that  we  had  never 

managed before using other sys-
tems. I can say for sure that using 
Ontorule technology to maintain 
our business knowledge is sav-
ing us time and reducing “digital 
waste”. We no longer maintain our 
business knowledge in a spread-
sheet, but in one centralised place 
where it is easier to store, monitor 
and  update  this  knowledge  to 
improve the processes within our 
design labs.’ 

The Ontorule project received EUR 
6.1 million (of the total EUR 10.2 
million project budget) in research 

funding under the EU's Seventh 
Framework Programme (FP7). 

The  project  was  coordinated  by 
IBM in France.

1  

 ‘Ontologies meet business rules’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Information and communication 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9844

EU study tackles vision-mapping language

Scientists  led  by  the  Norwegian  University  of  Science  and 
Technology (NTNU) are developing sophisticated techniques 
to understand vision-language mapping across the lifespan 
in typically and atypically developing populations.

The  Lanpercept 1  project  has 
received  a  Marie  Curie  Initial 
Training  Network  grant  worth 
more  than  EUR  4  million  under 
the  EU’s  Seventh  Framework 
Programme (FP7), to investigate 
the ability of humans to map vis-
ual information and language. 

The Lanpercept team is testing 
novel tools and training so(cid:2) ware 
that will benefit the elderly who 
are diagnosed with dementia, and 
individuals with disabilities or dis-
orders like deafness and autism. 
The so(cid:2) ware will enable them to 
negotiate the translation between 
vision and language. 

The study will allow the research-
ers  to  identify  behavioural  and 
brain  mechanisms  that  play  a 
role in mapping visual information 
about language in daily events. 

Thanks to the work being carried 
out in the study, the project part-
ners who work in various areas 
of research will give practitioners 
in educational and health insti-
tutions  the  means  to  deal  with 
challenges  impacting  European 
society. 

‘The  current  network  is  unique 
in  bridging  basic  research  and 
clinical  research  (which  is  still 
rare),  with  a  strong  focus  on 

methodology and advanced tech-
niques  for  studying  language 
and  perception,’  said  Prof.  Mila 
Vulchanova, who is coordinating 
Lanpercept.  ‘This  is  a  must  for 
the European researcher for the 
future.’ 

The researcher commented on the 
signiﬁ cance of the clinical aspects 
of this network: ‘Typically, we can 
see why and how basic research 
can  contribute  to  improve  and 
address clinical research and con-
cerns.  However,  basic  research 
can also beneﬁ t from studies con-
ducted in clinical settings or with 
clinical populations, and clinical 
studies bring in a completely new 
perspective.’

‘The evidence we get from clinical 
populations is extremely valuable 
and  helps  research  zoom  into 
speciﬁ c problems or areas which 
may  be  specifically  highlighted 
in the case of developmental or 
acquired deficits. This evidence 
complements the picture we have 
from typical populations.’

For  the  purposes  of  this  study, 
researchers are developing theo-
ries that are able to capture the 
features  of  the  visual  environ-
ment and humans typically attend 
to. The results will provide insight 
into  how  visual  objects,  events 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
a
v
o
k
h
s
e
P
©

and actions are shaping language 
understanding. 

In  terms  of  the  diverse  groups 
that  make  up  the  Lanpercept 
network, the partners said indus-
try  and  academia  are  work-
ing  together  to  obtain  the  best 
results. 

Tommy  Strandvall,  the  global 
head of Knowledge and Training 
at  Tobii  Technology  in  Sweden, 
said:  ‘This  is  a  great  opportu-
nity  for  us  as  a  full  partner  of 
Lanpercept to collaborate closely 
with eight outstanding European 
universities. By engaging an expe-
rienced researcher for 24 months 
we aspire to make new knowledge 
and eye-tracking solutions avail-
able to the research community.’

Martin Pötter, product manager 
at  SensoMotoric  Instruments 
GmbH  in  Germany,  added:  ‘We 
at SMI are looking forward to the 

collaboration with senior special-
ists as well as future profession-
als in the area of language and 
perception to better understand 
the needs and develop the next 
generation of research tools for 
this community.’ 

Experts from Denmark, Germany, 
Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden 
and the United Kingdom are con-
tributing to this study.

The  project  was  coordinated 
by the Norwegian University of 
Science and Technology (NTNU).

1  

‘Language and perception’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘People’ (Marie-Curie 
actions). 
http://cordis.europa.eu/news > search 
news > 35251

 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

39

INDUSTRIA L TECH NO LOGIES

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,

n
a
P
s
i
n
o
T
©

Employing virtual reality technology 
to revolutionise manual work 

A European-funded project promises to improve productivity and working environments across Europe, thanks to its newly 
developed system which combines virtual and augmented reality technology, ergonomics and product lifecycle management.

According  to  Eurostat,  in  2011,  15.7  mil-
lion people were involved in high-knowledge 
manual work in Europe, mainly as plant and 
machine assemblers and operators. But one 
result of globalisation is that some work, in 
particular manual work, which is an expen-
sive component of manufacturing, is increas-
ingly being outsourced globally. While reducing 
costs, this does create its own set of problems: 
increased lead times, lower-quality products 
and services, and weaker management. 

The  partners  in  the  Manuvar1  project  have 
developed a modular, reconfigurable system 
that will support manual work across a range 
of industries. 

Outsourcing is not always an option: work such 
as spacecra(cid:2)  assembly, maintenance of power 
plants, operation of complex machinery, and 
design and manufacturing of highly custom-
ised products requires high-level knowledge 
and skills in manual workers. ‘Manuvar could 
improve utilisation of the workforce’s know-
ledge and raise global competitiveness,’ com-
mented Manuvar’s Project Coordinator, Dr Boris 

Krassi from the VTT Technical Research Centre 
in Finland. ‘This in turn will protect domes-
tic employment and result in better quality, a 
shorter time to market and better value.’

As  a  result  of  the  researchers’  efforts,  the 
Manuvar system can successfully improve all 
aspects of manual work for all actors involved 
in the product life cycle, from engineers and 
managers to workers and operators. The sys-
tem enhances communication in the product 
life cycle, supports workplace and work pro-
cedures design, and facilitates training and the 
delivery of instructions.

During a demonstration phase of the project, 
held in February and March 2012, senior man-
agers and engineers from European industry 
conﬁ rmed the potential of the system in real 
manufacturing scenarios. They were enthu-
siastic in their feedback: ‘This is exactly what 
we need to provide eﬃ  cient communication ... 
With this system you may design a good work-
station right ﬁ rst time ... The application would 
save  us  many  man  hours…  We  would  also 
improve customer service via the application... 

Also, the quality of our work would clearly be 
improved.’

The project was organised around five clus-
ters: spacecra(cid:2)  assembly, assembly lines and 
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), 
remote maintenance, power plants, and heavy 
machinery. These areas represent niche indus-
tries as well as crucial sectors that are vital for 
Europe’s economic as well as scientiﬁ c future.

Manuvar  included  18  partners  from  eight 
EU  countries,  was  coordinated  by  the  VTT 
Technical  Research  Centre  in  Finland,  and 
received more than EUR 7 million in funding 
from the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme 
(FP7). 

1 

 ‘Manual work support throughout system lifecycle by 
exploiting virtual and augmented reality’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme ‘Cooperation’ 
under the theme ‘Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials 
and new production technologies’. 
http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre > search > 28153

 
 
 
40

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

INDUS TRI AL TECHNO LO GI ES

Bioplastic bottles from agricultural waste

EU-funded scientists are developing fermentation processes 
to produce natural polymers as an alternative to traditional 
petrochemical-based  ones.  Overcoming  the  cost  barrier 
should facilitate widespread commercialisation.

Polymers have many industrial 
applications,  from  plastic  bev-
erage  and  food  containers,  to 
foams for furniture and construc-
tion, and products as diverse as 
bicycle helmets and cell phones. 
Most polymers consist of hydro-
carbons, compounds made pri-
marily of hydrogen and carbon.

Synthetic polymers are usually 
derived from petrochemicals (so-
called ‘fossil fuels’, derived from 
the remains of living organisms). 
Numerous polymers also exist in 
nature, among them the nucleic 
acids  that  form  our  genetic 
material, the cellulose in wood 
ﬁ bres and even spider silk.

‘Polyhydroxyalkanoates’ (PHAs) 
are  biopolymers  that  could 
replace  petrochemical  plastics 

in many applications. PHAs are 
natural, renewable and biocom-
patible, and are produced inside 
the  cells  of  bacteria.  They  can 
be derived from biotechnologi-
cal  conversion  of  waste  from 
slaughterhouses, oil-processing 
plants and biodiesel factories.

Until now, the major obstacle to 
widespread adoption of PHAs by 
the  plastics  industry  has  been 
their prohibitively high production 
costs  compared  with  low-cost 
petrochemical equivalents.

In the Animpol1 project, European 
scientists sought to develop cost-
eﬀ ective production mechanisms 
for these highly valuable biopoly-
mers  to  avoid  the  necessity  of 
future imports, while creating a 
win-win situation for all players. 

The  researchers  carried  out  a 
vast amount of work related to 
production,  isolation  and  char-
acterisation  of  PHAs  via  ex-
perimental  and  mathematical 
modelling  methods.  They  also 
started  processing  industrial 
amounts of PHAs to gain insight 
into the processing behaviour of 
these biomaterials.

Results to date demonstrate that 
the Animpol team has developed 
a viable strategy for converting 
agricultural and industrial waste 
into  raw  materials  for  value-
added bio-products.

Commercialisation of the tech-
nology in order to utilise waste 
streams at the sites where they 
are produced should have a posi-
tive impact on jobs and the local 
environment.

The project was coordinated by 
the Technische Universität Graz 
in Austria.

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
t
o
h
s
d
o
o
G
©

1 

 ‘Biotechnological conversion of carbon 
containing wastes for eco-efficient 
production of high added value 
products’.

Funded under the FP7 specific programme 
‘Cooperation‘ under the theme 
‘Food, agriculture and fisheries, and 
biotechnology’ (KBBE).
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9651

Linking factories via a manufacturing software tool

EU-funded  scientists  are  developing  a  novel  software-based  manufacturing  tool  linking  factories  in  production  networks. 
The software environment should help small businesses benefit from shared resources and economies of scale.

Cloud computing is a relatively 
new concept in ‘Information and 
communication  technologies’ 
(ICT). Cloud architectures make 
available a number of distributed 
applications and ICT services for 
use with remotely located data 
in order to enable management 
and  execution  of  tasks  across 
multiple physical locations.

Cloud ICT systems oﬀ ering so(cid:2) -
ware-as-a-service facilitate col-
laboration, agility, scaling up or 
down according to demand, and 
the potential for cost reductions 
by pooling resources.

Application  of  such  services 
could  assist  European  manu-
facturers  in  transitioning  from 
mass-production  to  the  per-
sonalised,  customer-oriented 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
k
a
s
r
i
J

©

 
 
 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

41

INDUSTRIA L TECH NO LOGIES

approach. Such a transition is key 
to securing a competitive posi-
tion in today’s economy.

B y   e n c o u r a g i n g   s m a l l   a n d 
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) 
to join production networks, the 
European manufacturing econ-
omy could  optimise production 
planning and processes through-
out the whole supply chain.

European  investigators  initi-
ated the Manucloud1 project to 
evaluate  a  production  cloud-
based  IT  scenario  that  takes 
multiple  levels  of  the  manu-
f a c t u r i n g   v a l u e   c h a i n   i n t o 
account.

the across-factories (inter-fac-
tory) component, and the module 
for conﬁ guration of the front-end 
product.

These  parts  were  designed 
to  enable  seamless  integra-
tion  among  customers,  prod-
uct  integrators,  and  product 
and component manufacturers. 
I n t r a - f a c t o r y - r e l a t e d   t a s k s 
included description of factory 
equipment that was then used 
to  describe  equipment-level 
services and parameters. These 
were  integrated  into  process-
level services and parameters to 
form aggregate manufacturing 
services.

The  consortium  defined  the 
Manucloud architecture require-
ments based on main use cases. 
The prototype system consisted 
of three components: the within-
factory  (intra-factory)  domain, 

Inter-factory  IT  service  infra-
structure required interfaces to 
the intra-factory and front-end 
domains to enable coordination 
of virtual organisations, process 
plan  initialisation  and  product 

orders.  The  front-end  system 
used  a  web  portal  for  ease  of 
use.

Specific  parameter  sets  were 
included  to  enable  creation  of 
a  manufacturing  service  for 
two  test  products,  an  ‘Organic 
light-emitting diode’ (OLED) and 
‘Organic photovoltaic’ (OPV) ele-
ments.  Several  Manucloud  ICT 
system  tests  demonstrated 
proof-of-principle.

The growth in complexity of con-
sumer demands has signiﬁ cantly 
increased  scale-up  time,  risk 
and costs, particularly for SMEs. 
Manucloud may soon provide a 
viable manufacturing ICT solution 
to these problems.

The  project  was  coordinated 
by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft 
zur Förderung der Angwandten 
Forschung E.V., Germany.

The  Imagingelectrons  project 
resulted  in  numerous  publica-
tions in peer-reviewed journals 
and has advanced the state of 
the art in photoelectron imaging 
not  only  through  its  own  work 
but through collaborations with 
others.

The project was coordinated by 
the  Consiglio  Nazionale  delle 
Ricerche in Italy.

1 

 ‘Distributed cloud product specification 
and supply chain manufacturing 
execution infrastructure’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, 
materials and new production 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9628

Automated polishing of complex shapes

Manual polishing of machine tools with complex shapes is costly and time consuming. The European tooling industry is set for 
its own revolution thanks to automated polishing technology being developed by an EU-funded consortium.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the 
use of machines to do work has 
advanced  manufacturing  expo-
nentially. However, producing the 
machine tools to do that work still 
relies on human hands, at least in 
part.

Machine tools are largely made 
using dies and moulds, structures 
with special geometries that form 
materials  into  complex  shapes. 
The ﬁ nal process in machine-tool 
manufacturing is ﬁ nishing — pol-
ishing a component’s surface to 
make it smooth and non-abrasive.

As  machine  tools  have  become 
quite complex, finishing of free-
form surfaces with function-rel-
evant edges (the norm in about 
95 % of today’s tools) is accom-
plished by time- and cost-intensive 
hand polishing. In fact, more than 
10 % of manufacturing costs and 
between 30 and 50 % of manu-
facturing  time  are  devoted  to 
ﬁ nishing.

Automated  laser  polishing  and 
force-controlled  robot  polishing 
have been successful in the ﬁ nish-
ing of flat surfaces, but have not 
yet been applied to free-form sur-
faces due to technical diﬃ  culties.

A European consortium is chang-
ing the rules of the game with EU 
funding of the Polimatic1 project. 
Researchers and partners deﬁ ned 
selected work pieces and assigned 
one  of  the  two  polishing  tech-
niques in order to assist in process 
specifications based on intended 
use.

Process strategies were developed 
for both of the selected processes. 
The  team  enhanced  machine 
technology for laser polishing and 
developed  new  algorithms  for 
programming  the  robot  as  well 
as simulation so(cid:2) ware for robotic 
polishing.  As  regards  the  latter, 
the scientists built and tested two 
prototype force-control modules.

Scientists  also  developed 
standardised  methods  of 

>

i

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,
s
o
t
o
h
p
k
c
o
t
S
i

©

 
 
42

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

INDUS TRI AL TECHNO LO GI ES

measurement of surface rough-
ness to be used both in the opti-
misation of processes and also in 
‘Metrology-assisted manual polish-
ing’ (MAMP).

Polimatic  technology  will  pro-
vide  a  major  breakthrough  in 
machine-tool manufacturing, for 
the ﬁ rst time enabling widespread 

automation of the time-consum-
ing and costly manual ﬁ nishing of 
freeform machine tools.

In addition to enhancing the com-
petitiveness of the European tool-
ing industry, Polimatic technology 
could  find  broad  application  in 
other industrial sectors in which 
the smooth polishing of parts is 

important. These include medical 
implants and devices, engine parts 
and valve components, to name a 
few.

The  project  was  coordinated 
by  the  Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft 
zur  Förderung  der  Angwandten 
Forschung E.V., Germany.

1 

 ‘Automated polishing for the European 
tooling industry’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, 
materials and new production 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9832

High-tech materials from Mexico’s mines

Although mining is an age-old industry, a team of European and Mexican scientists are developing novel cutting-edge materials 
from one of Mexico’s most important metals.

Mexico is a country with a min-
ing  history  stretching  back 
nearly  500  years.  Its  bismuth 
mines  are  a  major  part  of  the 
country’s  economy  and  it  was 
the  third  largest  bismuth  pro-
ducer in the world in 2010.

molecules  have  unique  and 
exciting  properties  relative  to 
those of the same bulk material. 
‘Nanomaterials’  science  has 
become  a  very  critical  field  of 
research  in  developing  new 
products of all types.

The physical properties of bulk 
bismuth are well known. It is a 
semi-metal with unusual elec-
tronic properties that are often 
present in compounds and alloys 
of  bismuth  (the  former  when 
combined with non-metals, the 
latter with metals).

In recent years, scientists have 
discovered  that  many  mater-
ials on the scale of atoms and 

A consortium of scientists from 
the EU and Mexico initiated the 
Bisnano1 project to explore the 
properties and potential appli-
cations of bismuth and its com-
pounds when synthesised at the 
nanoscale.

Researchers  are  synthesising 
and  characterising  nanomate-
rials for use in lubricants, energy 
production, optoelectronics and 

so-called smart materials that 
respond to changes in the envir-
onment (e.g. current generation 
in response to a deformation).

To date, the team has developed 
numerous interesting bismuth-
based nanoparticles, nanowires 
and  thin  films.  The  materials 
have  potential  applications  in 
all areas identiﬁ ed in the project 
proposal.

Although  bismuth  has  been 
touted  as  the  ‘green’  heavy 
metal due to its eco-friendliness 
compared to lead, a major part 
of  the  Bisnano  project  is  con-
cerned  with  cytotoxicity  tests 
now  under  way.  Bisnano  is 

expected to write a new chapter 
in Mexico’s long history in bis-
muth mining.

The  project  was  coordinated 
by the University of Picardie — 
Jules Verne, France.

1 

 ‘Functionalities of bismuth-based 
nanostructures’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, 
materials and new production 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9797

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,
s
n
e
m
e
l
C
l
e
c
r
a
M
©

 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

43

INDUSTRIA L TECH NO LOGIES

Custom-ordering apparel with integrated electronics

EU-funded  scientists  are  developing  an  entire  supply-side  paradigm  for  customised  clothing  with  integrated  electronics. 
Customers will be able to choose both electronics and production processes that suit their levels of eco-consciousness. 

Mass  customisation  is  a  term 
coined  around  25  years  ago 
to  reflect  manufacturing  and 
marketing  combining  the  per-
sonalisation  of  custom-made 
products with the ﬂ exibility and 
low cost of mass production.

Since  then,  many  companies 
have sought to implement and 
benefit from mass-customisa-
tion  principles.  A  common  ex-
ample  is  a  software  core  that 
enables  the  user  to  make  cer-
tain  changes  for  tailor-made 
functionality.

E u r o p e a n   r e s e a r c h e r s   a r e 
e x t e n d i n g   c u r r e n t l y   a v a i l -
able  garment  customisation 
for  men’s,  women’s  and  chil-
dren’s clothing targeting small 
and  medium-sized  enterprises 
(SMEs)  with  EU  funding  of  the 
Micro-dress1 project.

The  products  of  interest  are 
g a r m e n t s   w i t h   i n t e g r a t e d 
microelectronics such as those 
important  in  the  consumer 
health  sector.  Scientists  are 
developing manufacturing tech-
niques, screening tests and an 
e-supply  chain  management 
platform to include, for the ﬁ rst 
time, user-conﬁ gurable function-
ality and user-selected level of a 
material’s eco-friendliness.

Giving  the  customer  the  free-
dom to select both the devices 
included (sensors, actuators and 
physiology monitoring devices) 
and  the  level  of  eco-friendli-
ness  of  production  processes 
will provide a truly customised 
experience.

To  date,  the  consortium  has 
carried  out  digital  printing  on 
fabrics to integrate solar cells, 

electrically  conductive  layers 
and lighting devices. A remov-
able  microelectronic  card  and 
jacket  with  motion-tracking 
capabilities are in the prototype 
phase.

Tools  are  being  developed  to 
estimate  and  predict  the  eco-
eﬃ  ciency of production, includ-
ing associated air and chemical 
emissions associated with tox-
icity.  The  final  e-supply  chain 
platform  enabling  selection  of 
functionality and level of eco-
friendly production processes is 
currently being designed.

Micro-dress has the potential to 
revolutionise the garment indus-
try, making mass customisation 
of  garments  with  microelec-
tronics integrated into the fab-
ric a reality rather than science 
ﬁ ction.

The project was coordinated by 
the  Athens  Technology  Centre 
SA, Greece.

1 

 ‘Customised wearable functionality 
and eco-materials extending the limits 
of apparel mass customisation’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, 
materials and new production 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9676

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,

i

m
o
c
.
s
o
t
o
h
P
©

 
 
 
44

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

INDUS TRI AL TECHNO LO GI ES

Fast and precise microsystem manufacturing

Novel technology being developed and tested by EU-funded researchers should ensure fast and accurate manufacturing of 
microsystems. Exploitation is expected to reduce the need for outsourcing and boost European competitiveness. 

Current integration technology 
for  3D  microsystems  relies  on 
robotic machines and machine 
vision  which  must  sacrifice 
speed  for  precision  and  vice 
versa.

The  FAB2ASM  consortium  is 
developing  hybrid  assembly 
technology  combining  robotic 
tools  with  self-alignment  pro-
cesses based on physical forces 
acting  at  the  micro-scale.  The 
consortium has already devel-
oped the necessary components, 
tools,  and  self-assembly  and 
joining technologies as well as 
the joining materials. It has also 
designed three different indus-
trial  demonstrators.  Tests  on 
industry  samples  demonstrate 
the ability to handle small and 
thin microchips, ultra-high chip-
assembly speed and very high 
precision.

FAB2ASM should have no prob-
lems reaching its goal of sim-
ultaneously  fast  and  accurate 
3D  integration  technology  for 

multifunctional  microsystems, 
overcoming the current bottle-
neck to commercialisation.

Exploitation  of  the  technol-
ogy  will  no  doubt  have  an  im-
portant  impact  on  European 
nano- and micro-manufacturing, 
enabling  competitive  produc-
tion of innovative products that 
would  otherwise  have  to  be 
outsourced.

The  project  was  coordinated 
by  Aalto-Korkeakoulusaatio  in 
Finland.

1 

 ‘Efficient and precise 3D integration 
of heterogeneous microsystems from 
fabrication to assembly’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, 
materials and new production 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9636

k
c
o
t
s
k
n
h
T
,

i

m
o
c
.
s
o
t
o
h
P
©

Forecasts regarding the evolu-
tion of the semiconductor indus-
try  and  integrated  circuit  (IC) 
fabrication suggest that shrink-
ing component dimensions will 
not be suﬃ  cient to achieve per-
formance  and  cost  benefits  in 
smaller volumes.

Three-dimensional (3D) integra-
tion is an emerging technology 
that  may  provide  the  solution 
to the density problem. It can be 

used to form vertically stacked 
and  connected  materials  and 
components  with  a  number 
of  important  benefits.  Among 
these are reduced power, pack-
aging and costs with increased 
performance.

European researchers initiated 
the FAB2ASM1 project to develop 
technology for high-throughput 
and  precise  3D  integration  for 
microelectronics.

High-strength plastics using novel reinforcement

EU-funded  scientists  are  studying  the  interface  between 
molecules  and  the  plastics  in  which  they  are  embedded. 
Advances should result in products of superior strength for 
the automotive and aircraft industries. 

Polymers are compounds made 
up of individual subunits called 
monomers. They are ubiquitous 
in  nature  (for  example,  starch 
and  proteins)  and  are  synthe-
sised  in  industry  for  a  variety 
of applications. ‘Polyoleﬁ ns’ are 
synthetic  polymers  produced 
from simple oleﬁ ns, or alkenes. 
Polyethylene and polypropylene 
are  among  the  most  common 
polyoleﬁ ns industrially.

Polyoleﬁ n nanocomposites, ma-
terials made from a polyoleﬁ n 
matrix in which nanoparticles of 

some other compound(s) have 
been embedded (‘intercalated’), 
have  shown  great  promise  in 
the lab. However, mass produc-
tion using conventional equip-
ment is expensive and results 
in products of inferior perform-
ance relative to expectations.

European  scientists  initiated 
the Nanotough1 project to char-
acterise the dispersion of nano-
particles  within  the  polyolefin 
matrix. In particular, investiga-
tors are focusing on the inter-
face  between  nanocomposite 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,

u
y
i
u
H
e
n
e
x
a
M
©

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

45

INDUSTRIA L TECH NO LOGIES

materials  and  the  polyolefin 
matrix.

T h e y   a r e   s e e k i n g   w a y s   t o 
i n c r e a s e   t h e   s t i f f n e s s   a n d 
impact  strength  of  polyole-
fin  nanocomposites  through 
devel opm ent   o f   n e w,   cos t-
eﬀ ective nanoﬁ ller-ﬁ bre (hybrid) 
nanocomposites.

In  addition  to  synthesising 
novel  polymers  to  enhance 
i n t e r c a l a t i o n   o f   n a n o p a r t -
icles in polyoleﬁ ns, Nanotough 

scientists  are  using  state-of-
the-art  microscopy  and  visu-
alisation  technology  to  study 
the  interface  structure  and 
composition.

Using experimental data, they 
h a v e   d e v e l o p e d   i m p r o v e d 
models  of  nanocomposites. 
Experimental  and  theoretical 
data have  helped the team to 
enhance  several  mechanical 
properties as well as provided 
important insight into chemical 
modiﬁ cation and processing.

Insight provided know-how that 
should  help  remove  technical 
barriers  to  production  leading 
to the realisation of the great 
performance potential of these 
materials.  Mass  production  of 
such  polyolefin  nanocompos-
ites could lead to fundamental 
changes  in  the  way  numerous 
metal and plastic-based prod-
ucts, such as those in the auto-
motive  and  aircraft  industries 
are used.

The project was coordinated by 
Aalborg Universitet, Denmark.

1 

 ‘Nanostructured toughened hybrid 
nanocomposites for high-performance 
applications’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, 
materials and new production 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9629

Making lightweight metal parts faster and easier

Scientists  are  improving  state-of-the-art  manufacturing  technology  with  a  focus  on  light-
weight metal components. This innovation should have a major impact on numerous sectors 
of the EU economy. 

Most  people  think  of  cutting 
and  moulding  processes  when 
manufacturing is mentioned. A 
new  type  of  manufacturing  is 
revolutionising  the  field,  mak-
ing  it  possible  to  rapidly  pro-
duce  prototypes,  and  products 
in small quantities, for a fraction 
of the price.

R a p i d   m a n u f a c t u r i n g   ( R M ) , 
also  known  as  additive  manu-
facturing  (AM),  involves  build-
i n g   c o m p o n e n t s   f r o m   t h e 
bottom up in successive thin lay-
ers using speciﬁ cations provided 
by  a  three-dimensional  (3D) 
computer-aided  design  (CAD) 
model. Benefits for large-scale 

k
c
o
t
s
r
e
t
t
u
h
S
,

n
i
s
u
a
R
k
c
u
h
C
©

manufacturing are numerous as 
parts with very complex geome-
tries can be made without expen-
sive castings or material waste.

European  scientists  are  devel-
oping RM techniques to produce 
lightweight metals with diﬀ erent 
internal structures: channels are 
used for thermal regulation and 
hydraulic system function; hol-
low zones, such as those created 
by  honeycomb  structures,  and 
are employed to reduce weight; 
porosities  are  used  in  air  and 
water ﬁ ltering.

EU funding of the Compolight1 
project enabled researchers to 
address shortcomings of RM in 
relation  to  metal  components 
and  to  create  solutions  in  the 
context of selected part types.

Scientists  in  the  project  are 
formulating  design  rules  to 
aid  product  designers,  as  well 
as  guidelines  and  simulation 
software  to  assist  end-users 
in defining a final product. The 
so(cid:2) ware also facilitates predic-
tion of the quality and mechan-
ical properties of manufactured 
items. In addition, the research-
ers are modifying CAD so(cid:2) ware 
for  the  design  of  lightweight 
items  with  inner  open  spaces 
and integrating RM techniques 
w i t h   c o n v e n t i o n a l   m a n u -
facturing methods.

With  improved  RM  techniques, 
manufacturers  can  reduce  the 
time-to-market of a design and 
associated  costs  due  to  lower 
energy consumption, fewer man 
hours and less waste.

The project has already produced 
an  extensive  toolbox  for  RM, 
including design guidelines and 
new  algorithms  to  handle  the 
complex 3D structures required 
by the project. It has also suc-
ceeded in significantly increas-
ing the stability and reliability of 
RM machinery. Compolight also 
played an important role in the 
creation  of  the  International 
Organization for Standardization 
( I S O )   c o m m i t t e e   o n   A M 
technology.

T h e   c o m m e r c i a l i s a t i o n   o f 
Compolight technology will inﬂ u-
ence innovative product design 
a n d   m a n u f a c t u r i n g   —   a n d 
should benefit the environment 
by reducing the emissions asso-
ciated with energy consumption.

The project was coordinated by 
the  Dansk  Teknologisk  Institut 
Forening in Denmark.

1 

 ‘Efficient and precise 3D integration 
of heterogeneous microsystems from 
fabrication to assembly’.

Funded under the FP7 specific 
programme ‘Cooperation’ under the 
theme ‘Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, 
materials and new production 
technologies’. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/marketplace > 
search > offers > 9636

 
 
 
 
46

EVENTS

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

International conference on agents and Artiﬁ cial Intelligence

The fifth ‘International conference on agents and Artificial Intelligence’ will take place from 15 to 18 February 2013 in Barcelona, Spain. 

The concept of agent has become increasingly important in both Artiﬁ cial Intelligence (AI) and mainstream computer science. Over recent decades, 
little consideration has been given to the issues surrounding agent synthesis, but this topic is now widely discussed by researchers in mainstream 
computer science, as well as among those working in data communications, robotics and user-interface design. 

The conference will be a forum for researchers, engineers and practitioners to discuss both applications and current research within the ﬁ eld of 
agents, multi-agent systems and so(cid:2) ware platforms.

For further information, please visit: 
http://www.icaart.org/ 

International conference on sustainable construction and design

The fifth ‘International conference on sustainable construction and design’ will take place from 20 to 22 February 2013 in 
Ghent, Belgium. 

Sustainable construction encompasses environmental concerns, health and issues of convenience. Buildings account for the largest share of the 
EU’s total ﬁ nal energy consumption (42 %) and produce about 35 % of all greenhouse gas emissions. In order to reduce their environmental 
impact, the way they are built and designed needs to be reconsidered. 

The conference will cover diﬀ erent aspects related to the mechanical failure of structures and machine components, with a focus on tribology and 
fatigue in today’s constructions. It will be a forum for various specialists to ensure that today’s research meets the requirements of tomorrow’s 
end-users.

For further information, please visit: 
http://www.scad.ugent.be/ 

International conference on technical and legal aspects of the e-Society

The fourth ‘International conference on technical and legal aspects of the e-Society’ (Cyberlaw2013) will take place from 24 February 
to 1 March 2013 in Nice, France. 

Cyberlaw is a new phenomenon that has emerged since the advent of the internet in an unplanned and unregulated manner. The emergence 
of cyberspace as a new ‘environment’ that people can inhabit has created various legal challenges and diﬃ  culties which have to be dealt with. 
Cyberlaw does just that, building on principles such as intellectual property, freedom of speech, privacy and public access to information. 

The event will be a forum for stakeholders to exchange views and discuss some of the latest trends in this ﬁ eld.

For further information, please visit 
http://www.iaria.org/conferences2013/cyberlaws13.html

International conference on education and management innovation

The second ‘International conference on education and management innovation’ (ICEMI 2013) will take place from 24 to 25 
February 2013 in Rome, Italy. 

In today’s fast-paced, converging world, sustained innovation is a necessity. To ensure it, educational institutions and other organisations require 
constant monitoring to identify potential areas for improvement. However, educational reforms are o(cid:2) en not well implemented. This results in a 
waste of money and human resources, as well as untapped potential.  

The conference will be a forum to promote research and development activities in education and management innovation. It will also allow for the 
exchange of scientiﬁ c information between researchers, developers, engineers, students and practitioners.

For further information, please visit 
http://www.icemi.org/index.htm 

research*eu results magazine — N° 19 — February 2013

World Sustainable Energy Days

47

EVENTS

The ‘World Sustainable Energy Days’ will be held from 27 February to 1 March 2013 in Wels, Austria. 

In a recent speech, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon urged member countries to act decisively to tackle the ‘growing 
crisis’ of climate change. Europe is also suﬀ ering from the consequences of this crisis, with extreme weather and unusually high temperatures that 
have served as a timely reminder of the need to invest in addressing the consequences of climate change. 

The event will bring together various stakeholders to further raise awareness about green energy and eﬃ  ciency. It will be an opportunity to 
 showcase some of the latest technologies and initiatives from across Europe.

For further information, please visit: 
http://www.wsed.at/en/service/home/ 

International congress on targeted anticancer therapies

The ‘International congress on targeted anticancer therapies’ (TAT 2013) will take place from 4 to 6 March 2013 in Paris, France. 

Targeted cancer therapies are drugs or other substances that block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with speciﬁ c molecules involved 
in tumour growth and progression. By focusing on molecular and cellular changes that are speciﬁ c to cancer, targeted cancer therapies may be 
more eﬀ ective than other types of treatment, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as being less harmful to normal cells. On the 
other hand, the treatment raises new questions around the tailoring of cancer treatment to an individual patient’s tumour, the assessment of drug 
eﬀ ectiveness and toxicity, and the economics of cancer care. 

The conference will be a forum for the scientiﬁ c community to exchange clinical and translational research, as well as new molecularly targeted 
cancer therapeutics.

For further information, please visit 
http://www.tatcongress.org/tat13-home.html 

International symposium on ocular pharmacology and therapeutics

The  10th  ‘International  symposium  on  ocular  pharmacology  and  therapeutics’  (ISOPT  2013)  will  take  place  from  7  to  10 
March 2013 in Paris, France. 

The prevalence of blindness in Europe is estimated to be at about 0.3 %, which represents 7 % of total world blindness. Most sight-threatening eye 
diseases among Europeans are age related, and the number of people aﬀ ected will increase as a result of population ageing. 

Advancement in the treatment of blindness depends on the development of new technologies that enable early detection, follow-up, and treat-
ment of disease. The conference will discuss such technologies, notably methods for measuring visual function in clinical trials, stem cells and 
gene therapy for retinal diseases and corneal surface damage, and treatment for macular diseases and inﬂ ammation of the eye. It will enable 
interactions between European regulators, doctors, patient representatives and the pharmaceutical industry.

For further information, please visit: 
http://isopt.net/index.php 

Breaking into your brain

Imperial College London will host an event entitled ‘Breaking into your brain’ on 14 March 2013 in London, United Kingdom. 

The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. It is the seat of intelligence, the interpreter of the senses, the initiator of body movement, 
and it controls our behaviour. For centuries, scientists and philosophers have been fascinated by the brain, but until recently they viewed it as 
nearly incomprehensible. Over the last 10 years, however, thanks to the accelerating pace of research in neurological and behavioural science, as 
well as the development of new research techniques, scientists have learned more about the brain than in all previous human history. 

The event will be an opportunity for attendees to discuss computing, physics and engineering methodology aspects of brain research.

For further information, please visit: 
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/eventssummary/event_9-10-2012-14-35-36 

CORDIS is the Community
Research & Development
Information Service

cordis.europa.eu

Key services:
• Browse and find: all the EU-funded research

projects, results and reports, multilingual summaries
and National Contact Points.

• News and events: available daily in six EU languages
from the European Commission or distributed by the
research community through CORDIS Wire.
• Partners Service: an interactive platform to

•

promote your organisation and expertise, find
business or research partners, create groups and join
networks, with search and filtering facilities to find
the collaborators best matching your needs.
research*eu results magazine: to keep up with
the latest exploitable outcomes, with regular
research*eu focus editions on themes of interest.
• National and regional: a gateway to research and
innovation in EU Member States and associated
countries.

Z
Z
-
A
C
-
1
3
-
0
0
1
-
E
N
-
N

• User services: email notifications, RSS feeds, forums, facilities

for reuse, helpdesk.

• Web publishing platform: for specific programmes, EU research

activities and hosted applications.

• The transparent record of EU research projects and results.
• Document library and publication references dating back to 1990.

Online subscription form

The research*eu magazines are free of charge. 

To subscribe to either research*eu results magazine or research*eu focus, please go to: 

http://surveys.publications.europa.eu/formserver/po_cordis_publications_subscription

To order a single issue of a research*eu results magazine or research*eu focus, please go to EU- bookshop:

http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/home/

Online services oﬀ ered by the Publications Oﬃ  ce

eur-lex.europa.eu: EU law
  bookshop.europa.eu: EU publications
ted.europa.eu: Public procurement
cordis.europa.eu: Research and development

EN