A method developed in Aalto University retrieves information to data glasses about people and objects a person is looking at. Equipment including an eye tracker implements machine learning methods and infers from context and gaze direction what the viewer may be interested in, to learn more about. Following that the machine displays additional information on viewer’s data glasses. For instance, a researcher may learn about scientific results of a researcher passing by and singles may see on their data glasses the relationship status of a person they meet. By following the eye-movement the machine also infers when additional information should be displayed.

AR method - View

In the test versions of the augmented reality (AR) method displayed information is retrieved from a database with information keyed in beforehand. However, the method can also be set to retrieve information from internet and social media. In this case searches – using Google among others – can be made by looking through the data glasses only.

The equipment recognizes persons looked at. It requires that images of the persons to be recognized have been inserted into database earlier. At the moment, it is not possible to identify totally unknown persons.

Our basic research on machine learning methods has made it possible to create new advanced user interfaces in which the machine infers without direct human commands what the viewer is interested in, tells professor Samuel Kaski from Aalto University.

As a result of our research we have created a prototype that has been successfully tested in laboratories. However, there is still a way to go before this can be commercialized, reminds researcher Jorma Laaksonen from Aalto University.

Study about the new machine learning methods is to be published in the Virtual Reality journal. The research results have been reached with funding from private companies and organizations to Aalto University’s MIDE research programme.

http://mide.tkk.fi/en/UI-ART

The Research Council of Norway recently carried out an evaluation of the agricultural research institutes receiving funding under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Its conclusion was that the institutes need to focus on value creation and bioeconomics and should establish wide-ranging and binding cooperation with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

In connection with the preparation of a new white paper on Norwegian agricultural and food policy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food sought input on how Norway can cultivate independent research institutes that provide high quality research and are well regarded and highly competitive internationally. The evaluation took as its starting point the following factors:

* The increasing potential for Norwegian bioproduction and as a result the greater need for research-based value creation

* The emergence of a knowledge-based bioeconomy and global challenges connected with climate change and food security
* The internationalisation of research and research funding
* The increased need for recruitment of qualified personnel to industry and research

Work on the white paper began in the spring, led by former Minister of Agriculture and Food Lars Sponheim. The scientific quality of research at the relevant institutes was evaluated by a separate committee chaired by Pro-Rector of Aarhus University Søren Frandsen.
Bio-based industries

Much of the research now being conducted in Europe and elsewhere is aimed at steering the development of the economy in a more sustainable direction. The evaluation concludes that Norway too should place greater focus on developing sustainable industries and that bio-based industries should be given a new and more central role.

“Global challenges connected with climate change, population growth, food security and the development of the knowledge-based bioeconomy will have an impact on Norwegian research. Increased internationalisation and participation in international research cooperation will be essential if we are to be able to obtain new knowledge and enhance the quality of the research institutes,” says Lars Sponheim, who chaired the evaluation committee.
The challenges of internationalisation

The evaluation brought to light many of the strengths of the agricultural research institutes. However, the committee also pointed out that the institutes face a number of challenges associated with the increasing internationalisation of research and research funding. The evaluation identified five concrete areas in which improvements should be implemented immediately under the current institute structure, but indicated that these improvements on their own would not be sufficient to meet the Ministry’s clear stipulations regarding dynamic focus and future-oriented activities.

Source: http://www.forskningsradet.no/en/Newsarticle/Norway_must_focus_more_on_bioeconomics/1253963314045

Although drinking water is monitored more strictly than almost anything, our water supply network is still not immune to accidents, wear and tear or targeted attacks. A one-minute warning system for toxins and other substances in water hazardous to health could set off alarms in future if there is a danger.

The taster in your water line

It is supposed to be cool, colorless, tasteless and odorless. It may not have any pathogens or impair your health. This is the reason why drinking water is put to a whole series of screenings at regular intervals. Now, the AquaBioTox project will be added to create a system for constant real-time drinking water monitoring. At present, the tests required by the German Drinking Water Ordinance are limited to random samples that often only provide findings after hours and are always attuned to specific substances. In contrast, the heart of the AquaBioTox system is a bio-sensor that reacts to a wide range of potentially hazardous substances after just a couple of minutes. It works on the taster principle. That is, some drinking water is diverted from the main line through the sensor in a branching descending line and it contains two different strains of bacteria and mammalian cells. On the one hand, these microscopically small bacteria have a large surface that guarantees quick material turnover and reacts to toxic substances within minutes. On the other hand, the mammalian cells clinch the results because of their close relationship to the human organism and they also extend the range of reactions. This is how Dr. Iris Trick from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart, Germany sees it: “We tested various classes of substances that might occur in water – even though they shouldn’t – and to date our sensor has reacted to each of these substances.” She developed the bio-sensor in joint efforts with her colleague Dr. Anke Burger-Kentischer.

The micro-organisms in the sensor were modified so that they produce a protein that has a red fluorescence. The fluorescence changes if it comes into contact with toxic substances. A highly sensitive camera system that the Karlsruhe, Germany-based Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB came up with has an analysis unit that registers even the most minute changes in fluorescence and then analyzes them automatically. Dr. Thomas Bernard, the group manager at the IOSB, tells us why: ”The monitoring unit has a machine-learning process for learning from historical data which fluctuations in the physical, chemical and biological parameters are normal. It sets off an alarm if an unusual pattern shows up in the signals.” The bio-sensor reacts to the smallest quantities of hazardous substances and Dr. Trick provides the explanation: “Our sensor can document even very slight concentrations.” Let’s not forget that classical poisons such as cyanide or ricin as well as plant protectives or toxic metabolic products from bacteria can be fatal even in concentrations of nanograms per liter.

They have to guarantee optimum life conditions for the microorganisms to operate the bio-sensor on a permanent basis. This is the reason why the researchers at the IOSB have come up with a system that automatically monitors and regulates important parameters such as temperature and inflow of nutrients. Another component of the Aqua-BioTox system is a daphnia toximeter of their Kiel, Germany-based project partner bbe Moldaenke, who noticed that water fleas react particularly sensitively to nerve poisons. They are testing this monitoring system in a closed performance route on the grounds of Berlin‘s water company, that is incidentally another partner in this project. The idea behind it is making the system as small and cost-effective as possible so that a network of sensor units communicating with one another could be installed that is distributed over sensitive points in the drinking water network.

Source: http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2010/12/water-bio-sensor.jsp

A new concept for a motorcycle helmet has earned Bournemouth University graduate Jack Hooker a £2,000 prize from Santander Universities after winning the 2010 Santander Design Grand Slam.

Bournemouth University - 2010 Santander Design Grand Slam winner Jack Hooker

Now in its second year, the ‘Design Grand-Slam’ is open to individuals and groups currently enrolled on BU’s Commercialisation Programme with a relevant design-related project. Three business-savvy judges heard pitches from Jack and four other Grand Slam participants, before deciding who would benefit from an immediate £2,000 cash injection from the partnership between Bournemouth University and Santander Universities, to support the further development of their ingenious ideas.

Jack, 23, developed his unique patent-pending ‘Splinter’ motorcycle helmet as a project when completing his BSc (Hons) in Computer Aided Product Design this year and will soon start working for a company in Essex involved in consultancy with the automotive industry.

The novel concept provides quick and safe helmet removal following an accident by removing side clips which unlock the interior and allowing it to slide apart. This feature, says Jack, makes removing the helmet much simpler and could save vital seconds without compromising the safety features of the helmet itself.

“I used to ride motorbikes when I was younger and had a couple of accidents so I knew there was an issue there,” said Jack who is originally from Brighton. “I then did some work with the St John’s Ambulance who helped to develop the brief further.”

This year’s judging panel featured John Hedges, Institutional Relationship Director for Santander Universities; John Davies, Managing Director of UK-based Ventus Innovative Products and guest presenter on QVC television; and James Walker, Innovation Manager of Kingfisher plc.

“The judges were all in agreement that Jack’s Splinter motorcycle helmet is a very worthwhile product that we hope will go on to save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives,” said James Walker. “We congratulate all five competitors who presented their ideas to us. What they have shown us is that Britain is still good at what Britain’s good at – inventing things – and we encourage them and their colleagues to keep doing that for years to come.”

Jack is now working with the University’s Commercialisation Unit to develop the helmet. He has done computer simulation testing on the design but now needs to produce a prototype of the helmet to perform hard product testing in order to attract the attention of a leading manufacturer.

“The University has a good background in developing products,” Jack enthused. “You get their support not only financially but as a team so if there are issues like competitors breaching patents or license agreements, the University is behind you 100%. That is particularly important when you are trying to develop an idea on your own.”

As a member of Santander Universities, BU has benefitted from the company’s generosity in sponsoring a number of scholarships to support student and staff travel and research. Santander is also supporting student entrepreneurs setting up their own businesses through the Grand Slam competition.

John Hedges from Santander Universities said: “All the competitors were very well prepared. The energy and hard work they have put into their projects is commendable. In the end the prize went to the “Splinter” motorcycle helmet for bringing an innovative approach to the competition together with a solution for saving the lives of many motorcyclists. We wish the winner all the best with the commercialisation of this idea”

“The Santander Universities Design Grand Slam is aimed at helping BU graduates to take their products to the next stage of being made ‘market ready’ where funding is required to make that happen,” said Philip Robinson, a Product Design alumnus of BU and successful entrepreneur in his own right who is now working with Bournemouth students and graduates to turn their projects into commercial products.

“Our relationship with Santander Universities through activities like this is so valuable because it gives graduates the ability to move new product ideas off the drawing board or away from the first working prototype and into a much better position to start a new business or look for a licensing partner to help their products through to market,” Robinson concluded.

Source: http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk