CONTENTS published CARTIF Research Centre Boecillo Technology Park. Valladolid, Spain www.cartif.com
staff CARTIF Communication Department
collaborations
CARTIF news Keywords Talking with… One of us CARTIF selection
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Agrofood Area. Health and Quality of Life Area
design www.typopotamo.com
photography CARTIF Archive. Back cover: Typopótamo
ACTIVE AGEING
EDITOR’S NOTE Population ageing is an inarguable and unstoppable fact that could lead to a significant financial and social problem and may even collapse the public systems of health and quality of life. However, researchers and technologists from all around the world are already working to turn that problem into an opportunity. The silver economy will create millions of job positions and increase the GDP in those countries that implement the new business models based on improving the quality of life of people over 65 years old. This section of the population is becoming more relevant in terms of consumption and
looks forward to receiving products and services especially designed for them. Apart from those necessities more purely related to care and health, many niche markets related to leisure and quality of life are being opened, and they are looking for those people with more free time and resources available to enjoy them. In this issue of CARTIF NEWSVIEW, we investigate what those niche markets are and which technologies will provide the necessary solutions to satisfy these new necessities. But, above all, we delve into a gratifying concept: ageing is not a problem for society but an opportunity of mutual profit.
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cartif news
cartif news This news selection is just a small sample of the Center activities in the last months. You can follow us through our web and social networks. 3ENCULT HANDBOOK ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY SOLUTIONS HAS BEEN PUBLISHED
GREEN EMOTION PROJECT ENDS SUCCESSFULLY, DRIVING FORWARD ELECTROMOBILITY After four years the EU’s flagship electromobility project Green eMotion has come to a successful end in February 2015. The project has defined and demonstrated a European framework that connects all electromobility stakeholders for a seamless, cost-efficient, and interoperable electromobility ecosystem. The project developed prototypes to connect the islands of electromobility existing at the time. Key results got presented at the 3rd EU Electromobility Stakeholder Forum and at the European Economic and Social Committee during a special event for public deciders and socioeconomic actors. CARTIF has been actively working on one of the demonstrating regions and also participating in activities developed by the rest of the regions.
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This book is a guide for any stakeholder involved in renovation projects within the historic buildings topic, such as governments, architects, engineers, conservator, etc. The handbook details the 3ENCULT methodology from the pre-intervention analysis to the postintervention evaluation, as well as the intermediate steps in the retrofitting strategy. Combining the existing knowhow of the experts involved, it is a helpful guide for many building owners and professionals tackling the renovation of their specific historic building. This FP VII Project ended a few months ago and this handbook resumes the obtained results after four years of research.
cartif news
MySmartCityDistrict GROUP WILL PRESENT THEIR SIGHTS ON 2015 EUSEW The group was set up last year between fellow projects EU-GUGLE, R2CITIES, and ZenN in a bid to boost synergy and leverage greater visibility of their demonstration activities under a single banner. With the incorporation of CITyFiED, SINFONIA, READY and City-zen Projects, this group is planning to open some of their pool of demo sites to the public as an Open Houses operation. The aim is to fully engage with wide but local audiences who stand to benefit from the retrofitting and energy efficiency gains these projects offer. Various showcases are being discussed since the Open Houses can take different forms – guided visits, exhibitions, demonstrations of technology etc. The European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) due to take place between 15 and 19 June this year.
CARTIF PRESENTED FOUR OF ITS SMART CITY PROJECTS IN SEE EXHIBITION “SMART CITIES” The business models of R2CITIES, CITYFIED, DIRECTION and REMOURBAN, Smart City coordinated projects by CARTIF, were exposed in this South East of Europe Conference hosted last March in Sofia (Bulgary). The Via Expo Smart Cities met the main stakeholders on intelligent transport, building management and automation, ICT technology implementation in the overall urban activity. Kristina Dely, representing Covenant of Mayors, visited CARTIF stand and discussed with our researchers further collaboration with Covenant of Mayors in our projects.
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keywords
keywords care services silver economy
nutrition
According to one of the latest population projections from the National Statistical Institute, in 2050 there will be 7,2 million more people in the “over 64” age group, which will make up to 37% of the overall population in Spain. In fact, population ageing is one of the most significant challenges we will be facing throughout this century. The World Health Organization defines active ageing as “the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age.” In this way, active ageing tries to improve people’s quality of life as they grow older, contributing to their opportunities through their development towards a healthy, participative and safe life. This will help people feel useful through this stage of life, understanding it as another period of personal growth.
Here in CARTIF, we are developing solutions for medical, healthcare centers, and end users
The European Commission launched the EIPAHA initiative – the European Innovation Partnership on Active Health Ageing – a few years ago, whose objective is increasing, until 2020 and on average, by two years the Europeans’ healthy life, improving the
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EIP AHA active ageing
state of health and quality of life of the population, specially the elderly; keeping longterm sustainability and the health care and social systems; and improving the European industrial competitiveness. At this juncture, the most recent concept is the silver economy, which suggests an innovative and positive approach where the elderly citizen is not perceived as “an unsustainable expenditure for the health care system” anymore but as a functionally active person, very useful for society and, moreover, someone who demands a new range of products and services, giving rise to a new niche market with a very high potential growth. Innovation in processes, systems and products for the elderly encompasses many of the areas on which CARTIF has been working for years, such as software architecture, improvement of communications, social robotics, electronics, intelligent sensors or functional nutrition.
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research projects have been initiated in recent years that not only produce nutritionally balanced products, but also appetizing and easy to consume.
In the following years we will see how supermarket shelves are filled with products that seek the attention of the elderly
One of our research lines in the Nutrition Area of CARTIF is precisely this: product reworking in expectation of healthy nutritional profiles (low-fat, sugar-free, saltfree, source of fiber) and optimal sensorial characteristics (gel texture, bold colors, intense taste and scent).
Nutrition and the elderly For the food industry – focused on infant and adult food until very recently – these products not only mean a challenge, but also an opportunity. Producers need to delve into the knowledge of characteristics, necessities and preferences of this age group in order to adapt their supply. With this in mind, several
The food industry does not offer specific lines for the elderly, but it does elaborate products adapted to their needs. Thus far most of the market launches of functional products aimed at preventing or alleviating chronic illnesses related to ageing: cardiovascular problems (by monitoring levels of fat, cholesterol and sodium), diabetes (sugar-free products), digestive disorders (high-fiber, prebiotic and probiotic products) or demineralization (with calcium, vitamin D, phosphates). CARTIF has a wide experience in functional nutrition projects. Precisely, an interesting project about personalized nutrition has just been launched
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Robotics, computer vision, communications and ICT Improvements in care service for the sick, elder, or people with special needs achieved thanks to robotics and ar tif icial vision have been numerous in recent years. Here in CARTIF, we are developing solutions for doctors, medical and healthcare centers on the one hand, and for end users on the other. One of the broadest fields of action in this sense is the use of social and assistive robotics in households and medical centers, through the implementation of devices directed at dependent patients and assistive robots for medical staff (AGVs, robot porters). Thanks to the advanced multimodal interfaces, virtual avatars have been created for the training and diagnosis of neurocognition. Furthermore, the implementation of 2D and 3D artificial vision techniques in physical and mental rehabilitation through recognition of physical and facial gestures have allowed for products like Physiobot to reach their third generation in the developmental process.
There are decision Support tools for the health care community (production of alarms, advice, patient or caregiver support). These techniques can also be used for the processing of 3D medical images and for health care training (through augmented reality). In telecommunications, sensors, embedded systems and communication systems (sensor networks, M2M), besides various implementations in robot-based logistics for hospitals, from transport of medicines, material or waste to monitoring and navigation systems (RFID, SLAM). Ultimately, there are various business opportunities that may originate from the innovations proposed over the next ten years. These technologies are already having a positive outcome for their implementation. The solutions will reach competitive costs thanks to the improvement in the lines of research developed all over the world and, even more importantly, this will allow us to achieve a stronger management and increase longevity in our society.
Virtual avatar showing different emotions
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Physiobot tests
Mobile robot for transport and dispensing of medicines
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talking with
talking with… CARTIF researchers on health and quality of life solutions Health and quality of life makes one of the most multidisciplinary teams in our Center. As the lines of research range from nutrition to the application of telecommunications in our households, the Nutrition, Biomedical Engineering, Robotics and ICT Divisions are working jointly on the projects. On behalf of their colleagues, Belén Blanco, Pablo Viñas and Samuel Marcos, explain how they work in order to put the integral solutions into practice. These solutions would be offered to the customer afterwards, but they concern, above all, the current challenges in the sector. Pablo Viñas believes that the revolution has been influenced by the enormous development in ICT in recent years. These technologies form the backbone of the assistance for the elderly, the sick and the disabled, and its improvement and the cost reduction have decisively contributed to the implementation of the solutions designed by the researchers. After attending the assemblies and meetings organized by the EIP AHA, all of them agree on the fact that the European authorities are fully aware that the current health system is economically unstable - given the significant rise in the European longevity –, and the search for solutions has already started. One part of the problem that public health systems have to face is that while there are many specific developments, there is not an integral solution to implement, for instance, in residences for the disabled and retirement homes. Here in CARTIF, we are precisely working in this path so as to provide these infrastructures with the necessary characteristics to make them self-sufficient and efficient.
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Samuel Marcos reminds us about one of the lines that are currently underway: the introduction of social robotics in open spaces with home automation. With an adequate sensorization of the area and a precise analysis of the collected data, one can control whether a person falls, does something outside their usual routine, leaves the area where they should stay, takes their medication on time…possibilities are numerous. One of those possibilities is developing a robot porter or assistive to help human personnel do a certain task. Also, virtual avatars can carry out escorting tasks, task reminding, and message enforcement tasks. Technology already allows personalizing each avatar so it acquires the shape of a patient’s acquaintance; in this way, they will feel that this person is physically closer to them. Telecommunications are determining in these developments. Viñas reminds us about the operating history of CARTIF on interoperability systems: a simple mechanism a priori, as the objective is that all the medical or surgical devices can communicate to share information and use it for the benefit of the patient; the difficulty lies in implementing that information using a single standard. In his opinion, the main idea that researchers must be aware of is that technology is a means to facilitate human interaction, not an obstacle whatsoever. The main goal is active ageing, turning the elderly or the disabled into active members of society and providing them with a life project. Belén Blanco is well aware of this, working – like her colleagues in the Nutrition area – on the development of food specially designed for specific
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stages of life. As for the “senior” stage, factors such as loss of appetite, trouble with chewing or swallowing and reduction of physical exercise are taken into account. “Now we are developing food containing more essential micro-nutrients and fiber, carefully focusing on the organoleptic characteristics (taste, smell, texture) and with different formats depending on whether it is for individual or collective consumption. We think that nutrition for the elderly is perfectly liable to meet with the health requisites and sensory quality in a more suited way to this sector. Our job is to facilitate the consumption of that ready-to-eat food,” she claims. Blanco also alludes to other important aspects such as labeling (with more detailed information), and packaging (with more ergonomic shapes to facilitate consumption). Ultimately, research towards an improvement in the quality of life of the elderly, besides contributing to make their life more humane, is an interesting niche market. Following the Japanese model – a country with an exceptional longevity among its population and
where many similar solutions have already been implanted –, Spain and the rest of Europe have already established hospitals and healthcare institutions with logistics automation systems, information management and decision support systems, and other solutions with a high level of embedded technology. Nevertheless, there are still many business opportunities for those companies that choose to build residential areas specially aimed at the elderly (with precise home automation, sensorization, robotics and software). It is also possible to build adapted wheelchairs that can be controlled with a simple facial movement, or developing apps that send information, alarms, etc. from a person who lives alone to their relatives. But the agro-food industry could have a broader scope in this field: the “silver” feeder lines are still in an embryonic stage of development, but given that their potential market average is more than 50% of the population, the wait until supermarket shelves are filled with these “senior” products should not be much longer. The innovation that researchers provide means, undoubtedly, the best impulse towards the sustainable growth of our economies.
Marcos, Blanco and Viñas with social robots developed by CARTIF
one of us
one of us María Wonenburger (La Coruña 1927 - 2014)
Mathematician. Creator of the Kac-Moody algebra At the age of four, the inventor of the famous Kac-Moody algebra had already started to check her mother’s bills. María Wonenburger, Galician mathematician with global recognition, studied at the Central University of Madrid and became the first Spanish citizen to obtain a Fulbright scholarship. After getting her PhD from Yale, where she worked along with the most prestigious algebraist in the past century, Nathan Jacobson, she returned to Spain with a grant from the Institute of Mathematics Jorge Juan (CSIC). Pushed by the political climate of the time, she had to return to America – Canada this time – where she met Robert Moody, her first doctorate student. Together, they founded the Kac-Moody algebrae, an infinite-dimensional type for the most part and related to certain Cartan algebrae, with important applications in Mathematics and Physics. She became a recognized algebraist in America thanks to her research on Group Theory.
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Wonenburger’s first publications covered one of the topics that raised keen interest in the mathematics field: group classifying, specifically the study on simple groups – which can determine the rest. The Galician gave her first steps towards the complete classification in 1985, fruit of a laborious research. After being Chair at the University at Buffalo (New York) she returned to Spain in the 80s for family reasons. Being less than 60 years old, her career was at its best and had international recognition. For some reason, her recognition in Spain came later. Thanks to the work and determination of two Galician mathematicians, María José Souto and Ana Doroteo, Wonenburger became a famous personality in her field. She was named Honorary Member of the Royal Spanish Mathematical Society (RSME) in 2007, and honorary doctor from the University of La Coruña in 2010. The most universal Galician mathematician passed away in June 14th, 2014, in her hometown.
cartif selection
Oliver Sacks, physician, best-selling author, and professor of neurology at the NYU School of Medicine, died last 2015 March.
UNCLE TUNGSTEN. Oliver Sacks. KNOPF DOUBLEDAY. 2001. 352 pags.
THE ISLAND OF THE COLORBLIND. Oliver Sacks. VINTAGE. 1997. 336 pags.
Sacks invokes his childhood in wartime England and his early scientific fascination with light, matter and energy as a mystic might invoke the transformative symbolism of metals and salts. The “Uncle Tungsten” of the book’s title is Sacks’s Uncle Dave, who manufactured light bulbs with filaments of fine tungsten wire, and who first initiated Sacks into the mysteries of metals. For Sacks, the onset of puberty coincided with his discovery of biology, his departure from his childhood love of chemistry and, at age 14, a new understanding that he would become a doctor. Many readers and patients are happy with that decision.
An exploration of a society where total congenital colorblindness is the norm, this book is also a meditation on islands and the strange neurologic malady on Guam which resembles parkinsonism and Alzheimer’s, and may provide the key to these diseases. Oliver Sacks has always been fascinated by islands–their remoteness, their mystery, above all the unique forms of life they harbor. For him, islands conjure up equally the romance of Melville and Stevenson, the adventure of Magellan and Cook, and the scientific wonder of Darwin and Wallace.
AN ANTHROPOLOGIST ON MARS. Oliver Sacks. VINTAGE. 1995. 352 pags. Seven paradoxical tales of patients adapting to neurological conditions including autism, Asperger’s syndrome (featuring the story of Temple Grandin), amnesia, epileptic reminiscence, Tourette’s syndrome, acquired colorblindness, and the restoration of vision after congenital blindness. These are paradoxical tales, for neurological disease can conduct one to other modes of being that–however abnormal they may be to our way of thinking–may develop virtues and beauties of their own. Sacks gives us a new perspective on the way our brains construct our individual worlds. In his lucid and compelling reconstructions of the mental acts we take for granted– the act of seeing, the transport of memory, the notion of color–Oliver Sacks provokes anew a sense of wonder at who we are.
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