HYDROPTICS will develop a set of integrated sensors, making use of advanced photonics subsystems, aimed at optimising the processes of the oil industry. The device will be validated in real industrial settings, for oil extraction and oil refining processes. The HYDROPTICS platform will perform: 1) oil in water measurements, 2) corrosion inhibitor concentration measurements, 3) oil droplets and suspended solids in water measurements, 4) industrial process optimisation, based on simulation of processes through digital twins, as well as data assimilation from the readings coming from the sensors. The final HYDROPTICS platform will be tested in both upstream (oil extraction) and downstream (oil processing) industrial processes, in order to validate the sensors, and fine-tune the algorithms that regard process optimisation of said industrial processes.

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SEER aims to develop smart self-monitoring composite tools, able to measure process and material parameters and, thus, to provide real-time process control with unprecedented reliability. SEER consortium will achieve this by: 1) developing miniature photonic sensors, 2) embedding those sensors in the tool with through-the-thickness techniques which minimise alteration of the structural integrity of the tool itself and 3) optimising the manufacturing control system through the implementation of a prototype process monitoring, optimisation, and process control unit.

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SmartEEs is a European project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme the aim of which is to help the European Industry reinforce its competitive advantage by providing acceleration support to Innovative Companies for integration of Flexible Electronics Technologies.
SmartEEs is one of the Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) which are ecosystems that consist of SMEs, large industries, start-ups, researchers, accelerators and investors. They aim at creating the best conditions for long-term business success for all parties involved. They help ensuring that every company, small or large, high-tech or not, can grasp the digital opportunities.
As a Digital Innovation Hub (DIH), the project is aligned with the Smart Anything Everywhere (SAE) initiative. SAE initiative supports product and service innovation through digital technologies.

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ACTPHAST is a unique one-stop-shop open access full supply chain for supporting your photonics innovation. We facilitate cross-border collaboration to match the best solutions to the biggest challenges.
ACTPHAST4.0 is specially designed to support European SME's who want to boost the innovation of their projects with photonics. Even if your company is currently not using photonics.
Learn more about ACTPHAST4.0 .
ACTPHAST4R aims to support researchers who have a conceptional breakthrough and would like to realize their early stage demonstrator with mature photonics technologies.
Learn more about ACTPHAST4R.

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The project titled InSCOPE, has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, and aims to create an open access pilot line service for Hybrid & Printed systems. The pilot line is modular ensuring a comprehensive toolbox of printing, assembly, production integration and process validation distributed over the InSCOPE partners. Building the revolutionary platform business model on the European ecosystem to allow faster transition of product concept from R&D to product and support the build of manufacturing capacity will also give a great chance for SMEs to enter the market with THIN, ORGANIC and LARGE AREA ELECTRONICS enabled products. The technology is well suited for applications that require flexibility combined with smart functionalities, especially in the health, smart packaging and smart building, and automotive sector. Lower manufacturing cost and fast access to prototypes are the main drivers of hybrid process integration for protentional users. imec-Cmst will lead the design activities, optimize the inline testing and develop test plans for evaluating the life time of hybrid TOLAE products.

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As a consequence of the ageing of the society, osteoporosis (literally “porous bone”) and its complications is becoming more and more prevalent, making the bone disease a health priority in many parts of the world. Currently osteoporosis is commonly known as a “silent killer” disease. Usually osteoporosis manifests itself in a drastic manner, i.e. through fracture of the osteoporotic bone in the affected individual. Until now little or no measures for prevention or early detection of this disease are taken, because no simple, yet sufficiently precise or sensitive tools for early detection of individuals at risk of osteoporosis are available.
The overall objective of the currently proposed PoCOsteo project therefore is the development, clinical validation and preparation for commercialisation of a Point-of-Care tool for bone disease (a.o. osteoporisis) prevention, detection and treatment.

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Worldwide, cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer in women. The ELEVATE project sets a multidisciplinary team comprising manufacturers and experts from Europe and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, to improve the global adequacy and coverage of cervical cancer screening, particularly to specific populations of women that by not being regularly screened (hard-to-reach populations) are at higher-risk to develop cervical cancer. In ELEVATE it is proposed to conduct social science investigations to identify hard-to-reach women in Belgium, Brazil, Ecuador and Portugal, to address their barriers to screening and to design strategies to make primary screening more accessible to them, and therefore, contribute to reduce the global burden of cervical cancer. This will be complemented with fundamental and technological research to develop an efficient and marketable test for the combined genomic and proteomic detection of high-risk HPV infections in those populations. The test will be made portable, low-cost, compatible with self-sampling, point-of-care and generate rapid and easy-to-understand results, without relying on electrical outlets or trained health personnel.

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Technological innovations have a major impact on the way we enjoy sports and exercise. Nano4sports uses sensor technology to develop smart, innovative solutions that enable us to exercise safely, better and for longer. But Nano4sports is also a unique partnership between Flemish and Dutch knowledge institutions, across different disciplines, and in which the relevant border region business community is explicitly involved.

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Flexible Electronics is a technology that offers huge growth potential. New processing methods provide the promise to realise light, thin, flexible and portable electronics on a large scale. The technology is new, what implies that players often work on one specific aspect in the value chain and that the end customer must set up this value chain by himself. To bridge that gap, Flexlines wants to develop and coordinate the individual links in the value chain - processes and infrastructure for design and production. The aim of this project is to build a state- of-the-art but stable pilot line and then set up a 'one-stop-shop' for the realisation of Flexible Electronics prototypes.
Prototypes that meet the needs of the local industry in the border region will be realised for validation and as showcases.

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Smart@Surface aims to develop object surfaces that are active and even interactive, surfaces that detect and react on external stimuli such as touch, pressure, strain and proximity. Smart@Surface supplies objects with a sensitive skin for recording human motion and vital parameters. This smart skin, made of diverse materials such as leather, stone, wood or foil, forms a seamless and neat surface of elegant appearance thus supporting intuitive interaction with humans with visual and haptic feedback.

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I-CART: Individual Capturing of Thermal Risks.
Firefighters are exposed to extremely high temperature conditions during interventions, but due to the sense-muting effects of their protective clothing, are unable to tell in time when they are at serious risk of being burned. To reduce the number of burn injuries sustained by firefighters, the I-CART project seeks to create a robust sensor-equipped garment that warns the firefighter when they are in harm’s way, giving them essential time to react or retract from the intervention.

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Choosing orthotics as a test case, the i2AFO project will develop a technology platform for the fabrication of 3D smart objects. The intelligent instrumented ankle foot orthosis (i2AFO) created will feature a flexible, stretchable polymer matrix. This matrix will contain sensors and other electronics to monitor and analyze the deformation of the AFO and hence the movement of a patient’s foot and ankle. The resulting analysis can then be utilized to create a more effective patient specific holistic therapy program for walking problems. The consortium will also develop energy-efficient software enabling cloud-based processing of data gathered from the smart AFO, providing feedback and monitoring to the patient and therapy team.

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With the rise of the Internet of Things, consumers increasingly expect to be connected to their devices and personal items over the internet. There is plenty of opportunity for the luggage industry to capitalize on this trend. Smart suitcases – connected to the internet and equipped with sensors – can enhance the travel experience and streamline the processes of stakeholders along the travel industry value chain. That’s exactly what the SMART SUITCASE project intends to develop.

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See-through head-mounted displays (HDM) impose a virtual image over a user’s view of the real world without blocking it. The smartGLAZ project will investigate how a transparent HMD – consisting of an optical engine, a lightguide and diffractive optics – can be integrated onto the visor of a motorcycle helmet.

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The massLIFT consortium aims to design and demonstrate a novel high-speed laser transfer printing process formass transfer and assembly of small semiconductor chips. This can lead to new and more cost-effective applications of the technology in various domains.

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High density interconnect (HDI) printed circuit boards (PCBs) and associated assemblies are essential to allow space projects to benefit from the ever increasing complexity and functionality of modern integrated circuits. The combination of a high number of I/Os with a reduced pitch places additional demands onto the PCB, requiring the use of laser drilled microvias, high aspect ratio core vias and small track width and spacing. While the associated advanced manufacturing processes have been widely used in commercial, automotive, medical and military applications; reconciling these advancements in capability with the reliability requirements for space remains a challenge. The goal of the project is to design, evaluate and qualify HDI PCBs that are capable of providing a platform for assembly and the routing of small pitch AAD for space projects. The assembly of HDI components on HDI PCBs will be verified and test methodology for the assessment of the reliability of the HDI technology will be developed.