Videos

What if we could offer heart surgeons true 3D-representations of their patient's heart instead of having them rely on 2D imaging such as CT scans for complex surgery? Anabel De Proft (imec - KU Leuven) is working on technology to project such 'holograms'.

Solar panels are very interesting to invest in, but which technology should you choose? How many panels should you install? And what is the return on investment? Gofran Chowdhury is developing a "crystal ball" to help you decide on the optimal solar technology for your home.

Can you imagine a future where you could travel from Liverpool to London in a fully electric flying taxi in one hour? Andre Pitillas (Imec & Ku Leuven) is working on the 'batteries of the future' that will help make this happen.

Industrial exoskeletons can support factory and construction workers in their heavy daily tasks and prevent back pain and other work-related injuries. So why exoskeletons not yet widely used in companies? That's what Shirley Elprama (Imec - VUB) is researching: she talks to companies and informs exoskeleton-designers so that they can build better exoskeletons in the future. 

Wouldn't it be great if you could have your own virus detection facility at home, or even in your pocket? That's what Boshen Liang & his colleagues at imec & Ku Leuven are working on via so-called lab-on-chip technology.

A dog's nose is one of the most powerful sensors we have. Trained dogs are even able to detect early signs of certain diseases by sniffing our breath. As this would not be very practical, Alex Cruz is looking to integrate a doglike 'nose' in our smartphones to do the trick.

Imagine a city where street lighting only functions when there are cars nearby and where waste bins alarm garbage trucks when they're full and need to be emptied... This might soon become reality, but only if we manage to process the huge amount of data that these smart devices will produce. That's what José Santos is trying to accomplish in order to turn our cities into smart cities.

Did you know that your smartphone contains, among many other precious metals, about 20 milligrams of gold? That may not seem like much, but it's 200 times as much gold as in a small piece of gold ore. Nick Gys (UAntwerpen - VITO) is working on a technique to easily recycle these precious metals from smartphones.

Is the battery of your smartphone draining quickly? Charlotte Vets wants to ensure that our smartphone battery lasts longer. How? By focusing on new, tiny components that are up to 1,000 times smaller than a hair: carbon nanotubes.

So-called "smart devices" aren't always as smart as you might think. Bram Steenwinckel (imec - Universiteit Gent) fuses artificial intelligence with the knowledge of experts to make them smarter.

"If we would cover the entire surface of Portugal with solar panels , this would generate enough energy to power the entire world. But of course, no Portuguese would ever allow this. But what about using their windows?" Jacopo Sala talks about new generation of solar panels.