How can we modernise rail networks without disrupting passengers? Academics from the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education are driving rail improvements around the world without needing to leave their computers.
How can we secure a responsible supply of critical materials? Academics from the Centre for Strategic Elements and Critical Materials are mitigating the dependency on rare earth imports by developing novel technological solutions.
How can we stay safe from hackers in the era of ‘smart products’? From convenience to safety, smart technologies bring innumerable benefits to users. However, in the rush to bring these futuristic products to market, companies are at risk of introducing security flaws that provide opportunities for hackers.
How has the law been pushed aside in the age of AI? Artificial intelligence and automation are responsible for a growing number of decisions by pubic authorities, yet the current ‘AI ethics’ discourse removes these new technologies from legal accountability.
Why should robots understand the reason for performing tasks? How could insights about how humans manipulate their surroundings guide Dr Valerio Ortenzi and his team of international collaborators in devising a paradigm for robotic grasping that could be a ‘game changer’?
How do we explode conventional thinking on the Milky Way’s evolution? Researchers expose the shortcomings of stellar evolution models and theory - going back to fundamental physics to herald a new generation of stellar modelling.
How is technology accelerating the discovery of new dinosaur species? For all of the innovation and advances in technology, the field of palaeontology is still rooted in traditional methods of discovery - be that rummaging through museum collections or through field work. Imaging technologies, however, are helping researchers analyse and interpret specimens, revolutionising the field.
How will quantum sensors transform all our lives? Quantum sensors are providing qualitatively new data about our world, which can be turned into valuable information, underpinning advances in everything from autonomous transport, navigation and brain imaging to the Internet of Things.
Are quantum sensors the key to reducing the public health burden of dementia? Innovation in quantum technology will improve our understanding of everything from basic cognition to dementia and ADHD.
Revealing the secrets of our solar neighbourhood Much like the stars observed in the TESS, NASA’s new exoplanet and stellar astrophysics mission, the future for the field of asteroseismology has never looked so bright, building on the discoveries from Kepler to open up unique insights into stellar systems in our own cosmological back yard.
Will gravity sensors unlock economic and social benefits by mapping what we can't see? From construction works, water pipes and electricity cables, to natural resource management and irrigation, ground conditions impact everything from railways and housing to agriculture. Quantum gravity sensors, developed by physicists and civil engineers at the University of Birmingham, promise to illuminate the underworld, with far-reaching economic and social benefits.
Stopping outbreaks becoming epidemics The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976. Since the first confirmed case was recorded 23 March 2014, over 11,000 people died as the result of the virus. How did Birmingham researchers place genomic sequencing at the heart of the outbreak response?