In Focus

A cross-party group of politicians has called on Whitehall to back joint working among European cities to accelerate the uptake of new technology. Writing in an open letter published in the Sunday Telegraph today (23rd July), 15 politicians highlighted the environmental and economic benefits of new technologies such as electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles emit zero carbon dioxide and particulate emissions at source, and have been touted as an answer to London’s air pollution crisis. The letter was signed by a raft of politicians including Conservative MEP Julie Girling, Labour peer Lord Whitty, and SNP MP Alan Brown. Lib Dem MEP Catherine Bearder joined Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb and Labour peer Baroness Blackstone in backing cross-border cooperation.

The letter highlights the work of Sharing Cities, a Europe-wide programme aiming to deliver pioneering new smart technologies in hundreds of municipalities including London, Milan, and Lisbon. The project draws on €24 million in EU funding. It aims to trigger €500 million in investment and to engage over 100 cities across Europe. The letter said: “Through municipalities working together, Sharing Cities is sharing the cost of testing new technologies and is using economies of scale to reduce the price paid by taxpayers and increasing the attractiveness to innovators.”

Sharing Cities Programme Director Nathan Pierce said: “Electric cars and bikes will help to transform our cities, helping to improve air quality and tackle climate change. “In order to achieve the Government’s ambitious aim of ‘almost every car and van to be zero emission by 2050’ it is clear that cities will need to work together.“We are pleased that such a broad group of politicians sitting in the European Parliament, Westminster and City Hall have come together to back the work we are already doing to achieve these aims.”

Sharing Cities has the ambitious goal of achieving a 10 percent switch from conventional vehicles to eMobility devices.

Digital transformations redesign every facet of modern business and have recently progressed from a fanciful trend to a fundamental element of successful business strategy. New technologies have allowed content creators to connect and communicate with customers in new and exciting ways. No matter how turbulent the year seemed when it came to political affairs or global conflicts, 2016 was an inspired year for Augmented (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), and to some extent, last year could be thought of as the year marking the tech’s ‘coming of age’.

Though closely linked, VR is centered on inventing an entirely digital world while AR is about enriching reality with digital content. VR is synonymous with hardcore gamers; the intense tech heads who are more than happy to wear a huge set of black goggles and network with people, places, and things that aren’t actually there. On the other hand, AR combines reality with virtual reality making it more accessible and user-friendly for the majority of people and businesses.

Why?One of the most important goals of modern industry is maximising production efficiency while minimising costs. This is particularly true for companies producing or using complex industrial plants. Whenever faults occur in machinery, it is essential to act promptly to ensure minimal downtime and reduce related costs. Some maintenance and corrective procedures are so complicated or site-specific as to commonly require specialist maintenance expertise, and plants located in remote sites can be difficult to service effectively.

Can augmented reality be used to empower local workforces and make them so tightly connected with skilled remote engineers as to almost give the feeling that experts are present 24/7 at the local site no matter where it is in the world? Italian company VRMedia thinks it is and has created a wearable industrial visor using augmented reality that specialises in real-time, remote assistance: the smARt helmet.

We speak with Mikael Spuhl, CEO at 3D Interactive Sthlm AB

James Brown: Could you give us a brief introduction to AR and its benefits?

The usual technical description of augmented reality (AR) is “a technology that layers computer generated enhancements on top of an existing reality”. I would introduce AR as way of bringing the real and digital worlds together. With AR, you can make printed material or objects come to life by adding 3D content, animation and video on top of those objects. We see AR as a communication platform that allows you to connect with your clients/customers in a completely new way. To describe the benefits of AR, I think it´s best to give concrete examples of how some of our customers have integrated AR into their businesses:

3D Interactive Sthlm is the leading company in Sweden when it comes to creating augmented reality (AR) content. With 40+ AR projects completed in the last three years, we have acquired expert knowledge on AR and on how it can be used in various industries to improve sales, explain product USPs and digitalise printed communication. Among our clients are companies within the real estate, defence, yachting, aviation, banking and telecom industries.

3D Interactive Sthlm was founded in October 2010 with a vision to change the way people visualise new housing via the use of interactive 3D solutions. We wanted to get away from static material like 3D images and instead provide interactive experiences where users can interact with 3D content on computers. After seeing AR for the first time, we realised the potential in using it for visualising and communicating new houses and products.

Nordic Life Science Days 2017 Nordic Partnering at its best! Welcome to the Nordic life science community in the heart of the Medicon Valley! Invest – Partner – Network NLSDays 2017 The Nordic region is proud to host some of the world’s most innovative biotech, medtech and pharma companies. It also has the 12th strongest economy, making it the perfect place to invest. Set in the heart of the Medicon Valley, the conference offers conference sessions, panel discussions, company presentations, exhibition, face-to-face meetings and unique receptions, providing so many opportunities to network with peers, potential partners and investors.

Nordic Life Science Days is the largest Nordic partnering conference for the global Life Science industry. Bringing together the best talents in Life Science, offering amazing networking and partnering opportunities, providing inputs and content on the most recent trends. Nordic Life Science Days attracts leading decision makers from the Life Science sector, not only from biotech, pharma and medtech but also from finances, research, policy and regulatory authorities.

Biotechnology and life sciences are now making a serious contribution to the modernisation of European industry. They are used in a wide range of industrial sectors such as healthcare and pharmaceuticals, animal health, textiles, chemicals, plastic, paper, fuel, food, and feed processing. Taking advantage of biotechnology can helps economies grow and provides new jobs while also supporting sustainable development, public health and environmental protection.

The word biotechnology originates in the Greek words bios – everything to do with life – and technikos – involving human knowledge and skills. Biotechnology involves using living organisms to make useful products. Production can be carried out by using intact organisms such as yeasts and bacteria and natural substances (e.g. enzymes) from organisms, or by modifying plant genomes. Thus, biotechnology uses biological systems and processes to manufacture useful products and provide services.

London was once the ground zero of bespoke craftsmanship – New European Economy  reports on how Tim Slack is on a mission to re-instate the capital’s lost traditional skills.

What makes a classic? Style and quality are the obvious the driving forces, but there’s a certain amount of alchemy that comes into the equation, and British design and culture critic Stephen Bayley offers his insight: “It takes time to become a classic,” he says. “If there’s one definition of this abused term, it’s about resisting the inevitable ebb and flow of taste and fashion. Classics can’t be invented, they evolve. They have to win approval and slowly acquire value.” When husband-and-wife team Tim and Fiona Slack began re-interpreting a British sartorial classic in 1970, little did they know they’d still be producing it today. Back then, trading as Walkers Shoes, members of art-rock band Roxy Music seized upon the Slack’s bright colour blocked blue suede five-hole Derby shoe with its canary yellow sole.