High-risk research returns
“When I grab something hard, then I can feel it in the fingertips, which is strange, as I don’t have them anymore. It’s amazing,” said Robin af Ekenstam, who lost his hand when an aggressive tumour was discovered on his right wrist. Amputation was the only way to save his life. After the operation in 2009, the Swedish boy was one of the first in Europe to try a robotic hand, an early prototype weighing in at a hefty 2 kg. EU-supported research, first with the CYBERHAND project and then the NEBIAS project, has developed a cybernetic prosthetic neuro-controlled hand which is helping those who’ve lost limbs to regain their independence. Today the technology is small enough to fit in a rucksack, making it portable, and much lighter, like the one worn by Almerina Mascarello, who lost her hand in an accident. Her prosthetic hand moves using sensors that detect information that is relayed to Almerina's brain via tiny electrodes implanted in nerves in the upper arm. The BRAINBOW project, too, is using these brain-machine interfaces to help disabled people walk again by using mind-controlled exoskeletons. Projects that began as a dream or a far-fetched sci-fi fantasy are now a reality for citizens in Europe: an example of how the so-called Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) are creating horizons we never imagined we’d see,developing solutions some of the most complex and challenging conundrums facing humanity, from the rise of artificial intelligence to applying greener technologies to combat climate change. A recent study showed that this disruptive and innovative research has a concrete impact on the everyday life. The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research and the Austrian Institute of Technology have found that FET support has founded a start-up company in about 12 percent of the projects. Moreover, according to the study at least one industrial enterprise is involved in 40% of the projects and there are direct links to companies in the majority (83%). For example, Switzerland-based healthcare tech firm InSphero has grown rapidly through its access to this funding. Its ‘Body on a chip’ project produces advanced 3-D microtissue models that mimic the behaviour and function of living organs much better than conventional cell cultures. This scalable, flexible technology promises to support more rapid and accurate testing and safety screening of new drugs, decreasing the need for animal testing. “The most difficult part of this research is that drug discovery is a long, cost-intensive and viscous process involving many stakeholders,” says Olivier Frey, project manager of Microphysiological Systems at InSphero. “New in-vitro technologies including 3D cell cultures and microphysiological systems require a paradigm change, ranging across multiple scientific and management levels.” Game-changing FET technologies are also taking on energy consumption with some projects that are currently focusing on alternatives to using fossil fuels. The ongoing A-LEAF project aims to create a photo-electro-catalytic cell which will combine sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to produce carbon based liquid fuels, and oxygen as a by-product. This first step towards “artificial leaves”, could lead to sustainable fuel for power generation. Other plant-inspired projects are SWARM-ORGAN, which is developing swarm-robotics inspired by cellular level morphogenesis in plant roots, and PLANTOID, which is more focused on culture and society and looks to see how root and shoot growth can be used to influence living spaces. Read more: http://www.fetfx.eu/story/high-risk-research-returns/(odnośnik otworzy się w nowym oknie)
Kraje
Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden