Videos

Gofran
Chowdhury
imec
KU Leuven

A crystal ball for solar power

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.
Andrea
Itziar Pitillas Martinez
imec
KU Leuven
UGent

How can we build the batteries of the future?

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.
Shirley
Elprama
imec
VUB

Will an exoskeleton give me superpower?

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. 
Boshen
Liang
imec
KU Leuven

How to be prepared for the next pandemic

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.
Alexander
Cruz
imec
KU Leuven
VUB

A dog's nose in your smartphone

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.
Reinhart
Van Poucke
UGent

Intelligent filters to remove metals from water

Did you know that the water we drink and the air we breathe contain small fractions of metals? If the doses are low, this is not a problem, but once they're too high, this becomes harmful to our health. That's why Reinhart Van Poucke wants to capture metal particles from the air, water, and soil so that they don't end up in our food chain.
José
Santos
imec
UGent

Smart cities are transforming their urban services

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.
Mónica
Vara Perez
FWO
KU Leuven
VIB

Understanding the self-cannibalism instincts of melanoma

Melanoma is a very common and lethal type of skin cancer. Melanoma cells have a strange, yet effective defence mechanism called autophagy: they can manage to survive by eating parts of themselves. Monica Vara Perez tries to figure out this self-cannibalism mechanism in order to help defeat melanoma.
Sven
Dierickx
FWO
UGent

Green or low-cost? Why not both?

Products with an eco-label are often more expensive than regular products. Bio-engineer Sven Dierickx is determined to change this: he uses yeast from bumblebee honey to make environmentally friendly ánd low-cost detergent 🐝🍽🧽
Stefan
L. Smith
UGent

Surviving in dry environments: lessons from the past

As a result of climate change, more and more areas in the world are suffering from drought. Can we draw lessons from the Ancient past, where people learned to adapt to life in arid regions of the Near East and built entire communities there?
Robin
Bonné
FWO
UHasselt

Can you build a smartphone from bacteria?

Last year, scientists discovered bacteria in the mud of the North Sea that can conduct electricity. Robin Bonné (Hasselt University - FWO) is investigating whether we can use these 'cable bacteria' to create biodegradable electronic wires.
Joyce
Stroobant
UGent

How reliable is dr. Google?

We used to go to the doctor when feeling ill. Now we all first pay a visit to Doctor Google. But how reliable is online health information? Joyce Stroobant (University of Ghent) has three tips for you to assess the trustworthiness of online health info.