Guardrails with inbuilt noise-barriers are on the way
A combined solution offers better protection against traffic noise – and can also benefit two-wheeled road-users.
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Smart firms detect their problems in advance
Sensors, data and analyses all help to give advance warning of critical situations developing on production lines. This can reduce downtime by 50 per cent.
Will our cultural heritage stand up to freak rains?
Using an old 19th century apartment block in Oslo as a case study, researchers are looking for conservation measures for heritage buildings. How can we make them watertight, insulated and protected against future climate change?
Taking care of elderly wells
Thousands of old offshore oil wells will have to be plugged to prevent them leaking. The process may cost several hundred million Norwegian kroner, and you and I will have to find most of the money. Researchers are now proposing a solution that may offer some relief for what is a major headache for the Norwegian state.
Anaesthesia with surgical precision
Ultrasound technology will soon be helping doctors to anaesthetise patients more accurately. And the technology is being developed in Trondheim.
Women not very involved in civic affairs on Facebook
A new study has been checking what 20 million users like on Facebook. Its conclusion is that men are interested in politics, women in the environment. Young Norwegian women are among the least involved in civic affairs in the world.
Smart help for phone users
The elderly may find that using a smartphone is difficult and incomprehensible, while the disabled may encounter problems because phone operation requires delicate motor functions. But one inventor saw no reason for it to be this way – and has found a solution to the problem.
Researchers advise against giving health related benefits to healthy youth
Young people without severe health problems should not be given work assessment allowance. They should instead be the responsibility of the municipal services, says one of the most highly recognized labor market researchers in Norway.
Going for a geothermal world record
In Italy, researchers and drilling technologists are on the verge of making a geological breakthrough. They’re drilling deep enough to find what they call ‘supercritical’ water. If they succeed it will be a major technological breakthrough.
A friendly robot
Researchers have developed a robot that adjusts its movements in order to avoid colliding with the people and objects around it. This provides new opportunities for more friendly interaction between people and machines.
Precision injections of Botox into migraine ‘centres’
Researchers are using a high-precision instrument to inject toxins that alleviate migraine attacks. This means even better needle guidance and user-friendliness.
Depression can lead to work disability
In Norway, men suffering from depression are three times more likely to become work disabled than non-sufferers. This risk is only twice as great for women.
Robots – our new underwater “astronauts”
Soon it may be easier to design, plan and carry out infrastructure operations in deep water. The EU project called “SWARMs” aims to achieve this by integrating autonomous vehicles such as ROVs and AUVs.
This is where future power generation in Norway will be developed
Imagine a power generation laboratory housing a generator equivalent to a 40 kilometre-long line of AA batteries connected in series. Well, now it’s here – and was formally opened by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon on 2 September.
New flexible ticketing on buses
Soon you won’t have to worry about how to pay your bus and train fares. All you need is your mobile phone or a bank card.
Listening to roads before construction
They’re going to build a new road right outside your living room window. The authorities have sent you a ‘noise map’, but what you really need is to hear what the traffic noise will sound like. Well, soon you can.
Finding a good home for dementia sufferers
Norway is evaluating innovative housing options for dementia sufferers. Perhaps small serviced housing projects and dementia ‘villages’ will provide a more normal life than nursing homes and institutions?
Norwegian agri-tech goes global
Norwegian manufacturers of agricultural technology are now getting active support from researchers. Such companies will benefit from new applications and exposure to a global market.
Documenting how dementia sufferers benefit from GPS
A brand new study of 200 dementia sufferers in Norway reveals that almost all experience greater peace of mind and increased levels of physical activity using GPS devices.
Self-training to discourage the jobless from returning to the benefits system
Unemployed people who have spent long periods on benefit become passive, and surrender responsibility for their situation to others. Research is now being carried out to develop a system to help them obtain a sense of empowerment.
Users to fine-tune hearing aids themselves
More than 20 per cent of people with hearing aids use their devices for less than one hour a day because of problems they encounter with tuning the settings. But now users can participate in fine-tuning their devices themselves.
Whale tails can make for efficient seafaring
If testing goes well, an invention that helps save fuel in ships may soon be in production, with the support of the British industry.
Fighting climate change – with cement
Norway’s first full-scale facility for CO2 capture may be built at Norcem’s cement factory in Brevik. Four technologies are being tested.
Creating the perfect collision
To you and me, this might look like a disaster. But Norwegian ski star Petter Northug’s car crash was actually pretty ideal. The materials in the car and guard rail acted just the way they were designed to in order to save the lives of passengers in the car.