TECH DAY 2021: Eight flagship technologies to watch

28 September 2021

How to tackle the challenges of our society, environment, and economy together?

Tech Day by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), which took place on 22 September 2021, presented eight new technologies in domains such as Energy transition, Digitial transition, Global technologies innovations for the 21st century transportation.

Creating Luxembourg Digital Twin

A digital twin makes it possible to obtain information about an action in a simulated world before that action is carried out in the real world, opening up enormous possibilities for citizens, businesses and authorities.

This web-based platform, which maps the energy transition in cities, regions and entire nations around the world at a very high resolution, offers considerable possibilities. Renewable energy potentials can be calculated to efficiently identify opportunities for energy production and related investments in entire digital twins.

Communicating transparent antennas

In the context of a digitalised, modern and sustainable society, the solution of an existing transparent communicating antenna is to ensure 5G compatibility while showing energy recovery capabilities.

As autonomous sensor units, these transparent antennas embedded in glass receive data from environmental sensors with Bluetooth communication, which they transmit to our smartphones.

From smart buildings to smart vehicles to space, this technology has the potential to open up many forms of applications.

Detecting Airborne chemical compounds

Air pollution is one of the major environmental hazards in the world and requires a dense network of miniaturised devices.

The innovative microsensor is an ultra-miniaturised, low-power, low-cost gas sensor capable of monitoring the distribution of chemical compounds in the air with unprecedented spatial resolution.

This solution has the potential to be integrated into wearable electronics and stand-alone IoT devices to improve air quality monitoring.

A unique water sample

In light of the impacts of global climate change on water resources, there is an urgent need to better understand the life cycle of water, as well as to manage it accurately.

The field-deployable, portable and automatic water sampler prototype is likely to become an essential tool for a great diversity of water stakeholders, from hydrologists to local authorities and research organisations.

Sustainable by design bioplastics

Plastic pollution raises critical challenges that Research Luxembourg is seeking to address through the development of new sustainable and intelligent materials.

The solution involves the development of high-performance plastics with a chemical structure that can be recycled or self-repaired.

In addition, they are made from renewable and bio-based raw materials and are manufactured in an environmentally friendly process. The durability of the material is based on the molecular design.

This new bioplastic is of great interest to the space, aerospace, automotive and transport sectors.

Plant-stem cell

By modulating the genetic parameters of apple cells to turn them into so-called plant stem cells, as well as the parameters of the bioreactors in which they grow, the solution offers industrial partners massive and unlimited production of triterpene, a molecule known colloquially for its anti-ageing and anti-inflammatory properties.

Bringing in situ learning to the factory

Machines such as CNCs require specific training to ensure proper handling and avoid risks.

In an effort to support industry players in moving towards a 4.0 industry, this new integrated and IoT-based system allows CNC machine users to be trained directly on site. This means there is no forced downtime as users are trained faster and benefit from the feedback-based system.

Solution for data analytics and AI

Businesses of all types, whether in the private or public sector, are looking to unlock more value from their data and offer differentiated services.

A catalogue of services, offered by LIST, is available to organisations seeking to engage in the creation of innovative data-centric services, along with all the associated high-level tools and technological infrastructure. These services are to help them take advantage of AI solutions and test their ideas in technologically and economically sound conditions.

The experimentation of these new concepts and services is applicable to a wide range of fields, including Industry 4.0, financial technologies, logistics, policy making and B2B / B2C service delivery.

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