Information Technology

Thanks to a series of highly successful projects in the EUREKA MEDEA+ Cluster, Europe leads the way in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for the production of future generations of semiconductor chips. As a result of strong co-operation between chipmakers, equipment suppliers and research centres, European companies will dominate the world market for equipment and materials. This is expected to generate some 18,000 jobs, mainly at a high technical level, as well as a €1 billion turnover b

A European research project has developed a prototype infrared-camera system that substantially enhances human visual perception in poor visibility conditions such as fog, heavy rain and at night.

The system doubled airline pilots’ ability to detect obstacles in tests simulating poor visibility, and in road tests it boosted automobile drivers’ vision up to 400 per cent. It could eventually be used aboard commercial airliners and in cars to improve safety.

Penn State researchers have developed software that allows databases to “talk to each other” automatically without compromising the security of the data and metadata because the queries, data communicated and other information are encrypted.

The Privacy-preserving Access Control Toolkit (PACT) acts like a filter but is resilient to eavesdropping or other attacks because of the encryption.

“The software automatically regulates access to data, so some information can be exchan

Supporting learning for blind and visually-impaired children in schools is the goal of a system that offers collaboration, data exploration, communication and creativity based on a common software architecture. Already interfaces and application prototypes are being tested.

Partners in the IST programme-funded MICOLE project, the teams responsible are working in close contact with national and local associations and organisations of visually-disabled persons, as well as schools. The

HEBE is an EU-funded joint research project involving Com&Media Projects and Services S.L., Fatronik, Ingema (the Matía Gerontological Institute) and Icavi – Bikain from within Spain; i know how, Zenon and Net Technologies from Greece; and the French companies, Wany Robotics and Lirmm.

By means of this biannual project a mechanism for the detection of falls and the monitoring of the activity of the elderly has been developed.

According to the statistics, 30% of elderly

Until now, little was known about the physiochemical processes that determine the protective qualities of military uniforms (for example, for protection against poisonous gases). TU Delft researcher Michal Sobera has changed all this however through the use of computer modeling. He believes that within a few years it will be possible to calculate this by means of a realistic model of the human body with protective clothing. On April 25, Sobera will receive his PhD based on this research subject