Case Studies

Observations of the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and land from space are vital for climate studies. These are built into models used by climatologists to understand and predict how weather patterns are changing. International initiatives such as the Quality Assurance Framework for Earth Observation (QA4EO) are increasing this com...

In our cities, small airborne soot particles form a serious health risk, generating an estimated 492,000 premature deaths per year from respiratory and cardiovascular problems in Europe. The EU’s Air Quality Directive requires Member States to limit exposure to these particles, many of which are produced by vehicle engines. Cit...

Biogas production and its upgrade to biomethane have the potential to reduce Europe’s dependency on imported natural gas. In 2017, 65 000 GWh of biogas generated electricity and 18 000 biogas plants contributed to energy supply diversification. Biogases are produced by digesting a variety of industrial waste streams high in org...

High-speed digital data acquisition enables the direct observation of sensor outputs - a major advantage over conventional instrumentation. More compact and less power hungry, the use of this technology in mobile applications is increasing. For example, first responders at major nuclear incidents can check surroundings for cont...

The processing power of traditional silicon chips, or integrated circuits, is now reaching its limit. To address this, and the demand for smaller devices, manufacturers are introducing ‘3D’ chips where parts are assembled on top of each other. This additional level of architecture requires new types of measurements to verify th...

The manufacture of many low-value items is being outsourced to countries outside of Europe. In response European manufacturers are repurposing high-throughput processes, such as printing and injection moulding, to produce high-value devices, recognising the [potential] ‘economy of scale’. Roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing is an ...