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Innovation

How to innovate, make things better - read news and articles about it here (soon).

Pothole detection system irons out the bumps

Drivers are facing a “pothole crisis”’, made worse this year in some areas by the “Beast from the East” arctic air-mass, which delivered icy conditions that further contributed to shattered road surfaces.

A pothole was repaired every 21 seconds on average in England and Wales during the past year and harsh impacts can also cause damage that results in hefty repair bills for car owners.

We are helping limit the impact of damaged roads for drivers of the all-new Focus by introducing innovative pothole detection technology. The system senses when a wheel is falling into a pothole and adjusts the suspension so that the wheel doesn’t fall as far into it.

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Tallink Installs Innovative Wireless Trackers on Vessels to Provide Passengers with Best Network Coverage

Tallink Grupp, the largest maritime passenger and cargo transport provider on the Baltic Sea, in partnership with Swedish company Nowhere Networks have recently installed a cutting-edge Wireless Antenna Tracking System (WATS) on board the company’s newest fleet member Megastar. The tracker provides the ship, operating on the Tallinn-Helsinki route, with a 400M/bit internet connection on board – the fastest and most stable internet connection currently available on the Baltic Sea. 

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automatica 2018: Human-robot interaction is a key to unlock the potential of service robotics

Advances in human-robot interaction, enabled by graphics displays, artificial intelligence and sensors, are ushering in a new generation of service robots that are easy to programme and intuitive to use. In Munich, from 19 to 22 June, 2018, automatica will demonstrate how state-of-the-art products and systems - from flexible, collaborative robot tools to smart warehouses and humanoids - place people at the heart of their design, enabling not only better assistance and collaboration but also reduced costs.

Wireless Charging System developed on Kia Soul EV

Three-year development project successfully progressed from development to real-world performance. System can wirelessly charge cars with up to 85 percent efficiency, even when misaligned.

Marking an important step in the future of electric vehicles, the Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center, Inc. (HATCI) and Mojo Mobility, Inc. (Mojo) have completed a three-year project to develop a fast-charging wireless power transfer system on a test fleet of Kia Soul EVs[i]. The project, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, paves the way for the future of electric vehicles in which plugs are no longer necessary.

Viking Grace transforms into a sailing ship

Viking Line starts collaboration with the winds of the Baltic Sea. The M/S Viking Grace is the first passenger ship in the world equipped with a rotor sail for the utilisation of wind power. Developed by the Finnish company Norsepower Oy Ltd, the Rotor Sail Solution will cut fuel consumption and reduce emissions by up to 900 tonnes annually.

Viking Line will operate the Viking Grace on windassisted voyages between Turku (Finland) and Stockholm (Sweden) from April 12th 2018.

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Finnish Smartphone Producer Bittium presented Bittium Tough Mobile smartphone and innovative Bittium Tough Mobile HybridX solution

Finnish smartphone producer Bittium (based in Oulu) presented Bittium Tough Mobile, secure LTE smartphone, and innovative Bittium Tough Mobile HybridX extension at the British APCO exhibition for authorities in Coventry, United Kingdom, on March 20 – 21. The new Bittium Tough Mobile HybridX extension gives Bittium Tough Mobile a new user interface and functionalities that are very useful in demanding Public Safety use. In addition, Bittium showcased Bittium SafeMove Analytics, which is a monitoring and reporting tool for collecting information on the performance of devices used on the field and thus enhance the efficiency of the authorities.

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VIDEO: Boost innovation with updated laws, education and new funding

Europe can close its innovation gap with other parts of the world by establishing better conditions for innovation. This means enacting flexible legislation and codes of conduct that give start-ups more freedom to create, says the EPP Group’s Michał Boni. The EU can also encourage innovation by supporting 5G Internet technology, financing for start-ups, and by supporting more education.

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Graphene Ultracapacitors Deliver 34% Fuel Savings in One of the Largest Container Terminals in the Baltic Sea

Skeleton Technologies, the European leader in the production of ultracapacitors, and Transiidikeskus, one of the leading container terminals in the Baltic Region with an annual capacity of 600 000 TEU, unveil a Rubber Tyre Gantry (RTG) crane equipped with a graphene ultracapacitors powered kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) reducing the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 34%.

The Muuga Crane KERS solution in Estonia recuperates energy while the crane is lowering the cargo and re-uses the same energy for lifting.