Informatics & Technology
Covert polarisation display: The future of everyday encryption
Did you know that you can store information in a way that it is right in front of you, yet you cannot see it unless being under specific light conditions? Nowadays there is smart technology, which allows valuable, written information to be protected, using materials that reveal the message only when placed under polarised light. Dr Young Min Song and […]
Social Robots – a New Perspective in Healthcare
Some social robots are assistants helping with tasks such as lifting, while others take on companion roles and simulate emotions. Dr Oliver Korn, Professor for Human Computer Interaction and Director of the Affective & Cognitive Institute at Offenburg University in Germany, discusses whether social robots should be able to replicate human emotions and explores ethical challenges arising from it. He […]
Understanding statistical significance of subgroups in the data science era
Statistical models are routinely used to derive inferences from large amounts of data. They directly impact several disciplines, including precision medicine and individualised learning, which rely on information concerning individuals and groups to make predictions on the expected effects of a specific intervention on population subgroups. Although it is relatively easy to find impressive-looking associations in big data, for instance […]
A new academic discipline: Advancing factory science, economics and artifacts science
Professor Masayuki Matsui from The University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, proposes that Industrial Engineering and Operational Research (IEOR) can be viewed as the art of his 3M&I-body system. His methods have led to a new academic discipline that contribute to the integration of knowledge and intelligence in nature versus artifacts science. This research facilitates the realisation of the cyber/real world, including […]
Post-quantum secure encryption and cybersecurity education
Encryption systems that are capable of surviving quantum computer attacks are urgently required, but the cybersecurity talent gap militates against securing cyberinfrastructure. Dr Aydin Aysu, Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University, is advancing the research and teaching of post-quantum secure encryption. He has developed a quantum-secure encryption system together with a new graduate program on hardware security and is […]
Volumetric representations
could revolutionise 3D printing
The world of manufacturing is facing a massive game change. For half a century, subtractive manufacturing (SM) has reigned king. In SM, a cutter removes material from a homogeneous block until the desired shape is formed. Additive manufacturing is a major industry waiting just around the corner – and with it, the opportunity to design in a more flexible way. However, […]
Cooperation with autonomous machines through culture and emotion
People tend to be less cooperative with machines than with humans. Dr Celso de Melo, a computer scientist with the US Army Research Laboratory, and Dr Kazunori Terada, an Associate Professor at Gifu University, Japan, demonstrate how incorporating simple cultural and emotional cues, such as virtual faces showing positive or negative emotion, can help mitigate unfavourable bias toward machines and […]
We need to fix how we think about ergonomics
Ergonomics is a crucial but misunderstood aspect of workplace safety. Companies generally approach ergonomics aiming for legal compliance, but Anca Mocan thinks we need a different approach. Ergonomics can be as basic as workplace training and as complex as robotic automation. Mocan has created a grading system for understanding ergonomic solutions, to keep managers better informed, so that they can improve […]
The future of product creation is open and community-based
Professor Roland Jochem from the Technische Universität Berlin is coordinating the European research and innovation project OPENNEXT, a project that is enabling small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across Europe to engage in communities with consumers and makers, in order to fundamentally change how products are designed, produced, and distributed. Product creation is inaccessible to most people, but open source […]
Cradle-to-Cradle principles change how products are designed
Industry from the very beginning has treated natural resources as essentially infinite, and the world’s capacity to accommodate waste with the same regard. As the economy becomes global, we now understand this is not true – so the way we make products also should change. EPEA Switzerland has developed ‘Reference Model Cradle-to-Cradle Design Innovations’. Their reference model works for every product […]