Every electrical appliance we use, even our cars, embeds electromechanical components. These are, for example, the countless switches and sensors built in the devices we use daily. Due to the crucial functions they perform, these components need to go through rigorous production processes, which involve intense testing and close monitoring.
As the Grand Duchy progresses towards using renewable energy for up to 25% of its gross final consumption of electricity by 2030, its dependency on renewable energy will increase. At the same time, a higher reliance on renewables translates to significant fluctuation in supply. Beyond the challenges brought on by this shift in paradigm, are there opportunities to optimise supply and demand?
In the late nineties, Bob Twiggs – then a professor at Stanford University – walked into a toy store and came out with an idea that would later catalyse the shift of the space industry for decades to come. He wanted to think of a way that could enable his engineering students to obtain experience in building and launching satellites, something that at the time was unheard of. Dominated by government agencies, at this time building satellites was expensive business, and the barrier to entry was simply too high.
There are no more five strikes and out. In 2021, Twitter introduced a five-strike crisis misinformation policy to hinder fake news. This means that users who violate Twitter’s misleading information policy five times will have their account permanently suspended. Since the policy was enacted, this has led to the suspension of more than 11,000 accounts.
How would our lives change if we couldn’t rely on secure online communications? Even though it feels impossible, it is a tangible risk with the advent of quantum computing. As the underlying technology quickly gains commercial pace, the demise of current encryption techniques and the risk of extremely powerful cyberattacks looms closer. So close, in fact, that intelligence agencies have allegedly been intercepting and storing encrypted data to decrypt in the very near future.
Luxembourg has one of the most thriving ecosystems for start-ups in Europe. As such, so many entrepreneurs use it as a launchpad to explore the potential of their product or service. Alongside a support network of government agencies and incubators, research institutions also offer their expertise in levelling-up innovative ideas and turning them into viable businesses. With more than 700 start-ups in the Grand Duchy, the country has shown itself to be a hub of activity and has strengthened its economy to one of the most stable in the world.
Car accidents are one of the leading causes of avoidable deaths in Europe, and despite numbers falling in recent years, there were still almost 20,000 people who lost their lives in 2021 as a result. It’s a problem that has many proposed solutions under way, with the EU aiming to reduce the number of deaths and serious injury by 50% by 2030, and to zero by 2050. This kind of world is hopefully one that will be our future, and SnT researchers are finding ways to bring it closer to a reality.
Whether we as consumers are buying a product or receiving a service, we’d like to think we’re going to be safe in our choices. If we’re buying responsibly, experts behind the scenes have distilled their knowledge into standards that keep us safe from harm. More generally, through technical standardisation, society overall can benefit from consensus-based technical specifications that enhance interoperability, efficiency and quality. We see this through product quality control, health and safety practices and food safety protocols – to name just a few – but actually, technical standards can cover most areas of our life, beyond just safety.
In countless offices worldwide, a new world is taking shape: the metaverse. Beyond the buzz, this virtual universe is being built as we speak, with environments that feel very immersive and real, and that will expand our online experiences. If the internet has taught us anything, it’s that online environments can change our lives. It is only fair to assume that a virtual reality has an even bigger potential to do so.
Covering nearly three quarters of our world, we’d imagine that water is one of our most plentiful resources on Earth – but everything we do on a daily basis consumes vast quantities of it. From the 130 litres of water it took to make the beans in your morning cup of coffee, to the 10,000 litres in just one pair of jeans, our water usage is astounding when you really look deeper.