Videos

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.

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.

"In the early days, a computer was the size of a storage room. But today, this computer wouldn't stand a chance against the smartphone in your pocket" How is this even possible? Well, thanks to the nanotechnology inside your smartphone. In his PhD Balakumar Baskaran zooms in on the nanoscale

New smartphones and laptops with increased memory capacity are released all the time. We've become used to have more storage available at a lower price continuously. Anastassiia Kruv (imec) explains how scientist and engineers are constantly challenged to assure this trend.

Jan-Pieter D'Anvers keeps secrets. Your secrets. Think of your bank card code or your e-mails. He develops encryption algorithms to secure electronic communication and transactions.

Do Google Home, Alexa and Siri have a social impact on our behaviour? Can they encourage us to drive more safely or convince us to exercise more often? That is what Pieter Vanpaemel (Vlerick Business School - KU Leuven) researches in his doctorate.

"If we think in circles, we start producing and consuming differently. In his research, Nicholas Vijverman (Vlerick Business School - University of Ghent) studies how we can engage everyone - from government, producer to consumer - in the circular economy. ♻️

Did you know that your supermarket has a 'psychic' on the payroll? Well not exactly, but they have a forecaster, someone in charge of predicting future sales so your supermarket doesn't run out of stock. A very challenging task. Luckily the forecaster can count on software for help. Shari De Baets looks at how forecasters and computers can work together to make sure their predictions are accurate and customers are served and satisfied.

People are selling overnight stays in their spare rooms and rides in their car. Then why can't they sell their unused (solar) energy? In her research Ariana Ramos proposes new rules that would enable you as a consumer to trade energy with other consumers.

As an entrepreneur it is quite a task to find investors. Through so-called pitching events they can present their company to a group of investors in the hope of convincing them to financially support their project. Zoë Imhof investigates how entrepreneurs are most likely to effectively attract investors and keep them on board.