Industrial technologies - European industry at the dawn of the 21st century

The seventh European conference on industrial technologies, "European industry at the dawn of the 21st century - What research and for whom?", will take place in Toulouse, France, on 27-30 October 1997. The conference is being organized by the European Commission within the framework of the BRITE/EURAM programme in the field of industrial and materials technologies, and the Standards, Measurements and Testing programme (SMT).

Within the central theme "Europe's research at the service of its people", the conference will focus on three main areas:

- Towards a better living and working environment:
An overview of technologies aimed at improving the living and working environment of European citizens, including:
. Technologies for economic and sustainable construction;
. Technologies for the restoration of Europe's cultural heritage;
. Technologies for clean, safe and "intelligent" urban vehicles;
. Measurements to support quality control of materials, products and services as well as anti-fraud measures;
. Technologies for waste recovery and recycling;
. Development of methods for life-cycle assessment, sustainability and eco-efficiency;

- The factory of the future:
A presentation of research aimed at integrating new technologies for design, manufacturing, control and production, both within organizations and across the supply chain. For example:
. Micro-engineering, multi-disciplinary design and product miniaturization for high functionality products;
. "Intelligent" and "virtual" manufacturing;
. Technologies to reduce resource utilization, emissions and effluents;
. Advanced manufacturing technologies for materials and products of tomorrow;
. Clean, efficient and safe processing and products, including on-line control;
. New methods of organization of work and production;

- New perspectives in aeronautics:
Examination of the integration of advanced enabling technologies in the European aviation sector, aimed at improving competitiveness, enhancing aircraft efficiency and ensuring environmental sustainability and air transport safety, in particular through:
. Reduction of time to market and production costs;
. Improved overall aircraft efficiency (aircraft drag and weight reduction, propulsion and onboard systems efficiency);
. Enhanced aircraft operations and safety;
. Improved environmental compatibility of aircraft;
. "Intelligent" infrastructures and operations for passengers, freight and aircraft.

These three areas will be the subject of parallel sessions, invited papers, technical presentations and round-table discussions. The opening session of the conference will include presentations by major key figures from the European institutions, as well as by representatives of French government and local and regional authorities. Technical sessions will be dedicated to the presentation of RTD projects carried out within the framework of the Community's BRITE/EURAM and SMT (Standards, Measurements and Testing) programmes (as well as from a number of other related programmes).

The closing session of the conference will provide a synthesis of round-table debates and technical sessions, together with a presentation, by European Commission officials, of European industrial RTD perspectives envisaged under the Fifth Framework Programme.

In parallel to the conference, an exhibition organized around the three central themes will present innovations resulting from EC-funded projects. Within this exhibition, an area dedicated to information on Community RTD will allow participants to become acquainted with the telematics services developed by the European Commission (CORDIS, EUDOR, ARCADE, EUROPA).
Information on the conference may also be found on the World Wide Web at:

http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg12/dg12tst2.html(se abrirá en una nueva ventana)

A second announcement, including a registration form, will be available in May.