Energy prices have historically been volatile, as supply is limited and influenced by a number of factors. EU consumers have recently seen them increase exponentially, too, as supply tries to cope with a variety of interconnected problems. According to Eurostat, consumer prices for electricity, gas and other fuels increased by 25% in the Euro area between December 2020 and December 2021.
In 2019, media artists created a convincing video showing President Nixon giving a speech that was conceived but never actually recorded. The video, entitled “In Event of Moon Disaster”, features an alternate version of reality in which the famous 1969 Moon landing was unsuccessful. Created using a branch of artificial intelligence, deepfakes, it’s a truly believable video – which in itself is the most sinister part of this evolving technology.
It’s the year 2028. A robot is landing on the southern pole of the lunar surface with one objective – to find resources. With poor visibility due to low lighting, this robot will need to navigate dusty, loose regolith and rocks in its search for water, one of our most valuable resources.
In 2019, it was announced that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had declared the language of Luxembourgish to be endangered. With a population of 630,000 in 2021, almost half of which are expatriates, the number of Luxembourgish speakers still hovers at nearly 80%.
Compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has become a source of concern for many companies. In fact, due to their nature and sensitivity, data protection policies need to be adapted – to a very high level of detail – in each individual case. However, being written in natural language, they often reflect some of its problems, such as ambiguity, incompleteness, and inconsistency.
Robots are becoming more and more present in our world – and in 2019, American robotics manufacturer Boston Dynamics released one that had the potential to overhaul the construction industry. Affectionately named ‘Spot’, the robot is intuitive and can inspect dangerous or remote environments, collecting data as it goes to feedback along its journey.
On the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency blockchain, shady traders have quietly extracted at least $18.4 million — and no one noticed. No one, that is, until SnT’s Christof Ferreira Torres stumbled upon the massive operations while conducting blockchain research in cooperation with Luxembourg’s Spuerkeess.
When it comes to our education, working to obtain a university qualification could be considered as one of life’s greatest achievements. Many students work hard over the course of a few years to obtain their qualification – some up to six years while managing a full-time job and family life. However, as the famous saying goes, “Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”
2021 saw the establishment of a brand-new initiative at SnT backed by the Ministry of Finance – the Finnovation Hub. Headed by industry expert, Jean Hilger, the Finnovation Hub aims to help Luxembourg continue its reputation as one of the world’s leading financial centres.
The success of any enterprise – be it a project or a business – relies on its design. Defining key requirements, workflows, and data sources makes all the difference – and that holds true for IT systems as well. But when it comes to developing software solutions for financial services, this design phase can be notoriously complex.