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ETRO valorisation possibilities and results

Know How

Potentially applicable and transferable know-how with economic value


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Spin-off companies born at ETRO


Infrastructure

Equipment & Infrastructure available to industry


Overview

The ETRO department hosts 3 research groups: Micro-electronics (LAMI), Multidimensional signal processing and communication (IRIS) and Audio-Visual Signal Processing (AVSP).

Through an intense collaboration between these groups, ETRO aspires to

  • Make sense of audio, video, hyper-dimensional signals & sensors for various sectors.
  • Deliver unique value through multi-disciplinary engineering and through demand-driven and fundamental research - beyond mainstream.

As a true multidisciplinary research group, people at ETRO look for inspiration in the unexplored engineering bottlenecks at the interface of various application domains. Creating an impact on the transformation processes of the knowledge society is their ambition. Knowledge accumulation and dissemination remains the day-to-day assignment. With approx. 100 motivated people, the researchers at ETRO strive to surpass the state of the art in their research domains and try to pass on that knowledge to an ever more international student population.

Because of the application driven research focus, ETRO has a longstanding reputation in cooperating with local and international industry, but also public services and hospitals. Considerable experience was gained in dealing with various actors along different application value chains which enabled them to develop a generic R&D background that is applicable in very diverse sectors (e.g. health care, automotive, media, surveillance, security, public safety, remote sensing, energy, telecommunications, content industry, creative industries …).

In recent years, policymakers have recognized the increasing need of closer industry-academia collaboration and dedicated funds have been allocated to foster such type of bridge building research. Since 2005 the ETRO department is recognized as a key industrial research pole at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Industry Contact

Related News

INTOWALL: detection of leaks and isolation 25.03.2022

PROJECT: INTOWALL: detection of leaks and isolation in walls
Our buildings generate 35% of the CO2-emissions and 40% of the energy use. 75% of our buildings need to be energetically renovated. In order to do so, one needs to know what the status is of the current isolation, and if there are any water leaks. The Vrije Universiteit Brussel researches with a consortium of partners towards a unique, patented technique to look into the walls without breaking them. With a compact and mobile radar system you can "read" your walls. This project is part of the Smart Hub Cleantech, climate ambitions of the province and the communes.

Partners: Vrije Universiteit Brussel i.s.m. WTCB, Green Energy Park, BAM, ING, Flux50 en Alter Reim.

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Communications of the ACM – Holograms on the Horizon 22.12.2021

The department of Electronics and Informatics (ETRO) of VUB and imec built-up a reputation in the domain of computer-generated holography. This technology is key to providing high-end media content for holographic display and printing. Recently, ETRO presented a novel approach combining classical raytracing approaches in computer graphics and state-of-the-art computer-generated holography techniques. In an interview in Communications of the ACM, David Blinder discusses together with other experts from MIT and the universities of Stanford and Cambridge the challenges that are currently being faced.

Links to relevant literature:

• Signal processing challenges for digital holographic video display systems, Signal Processing: Image Communication 70 (2019) 114-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.image.2018.09.014
• "Photorealistic computer generated holography with global illumination and path tracing," Opt. Lett. 46, 2188-2191 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.422159

Picture taken in ETRO visual testing lab

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JPEG Pleno Holography: an international standard in 2024... 22.12.2021

At its 93rd meeting in October 2021, the JPEG committee – well-known for its omnipresent image compression standard – selected coding technology proposed by the department of Electronics and Informatics (ETRO) of VUB and imec as basis for the JPEG Pleno Holography standard. This will be the first international standard specifying a holographic coding solution. The standard is aspiring a versatile solution for efficient compression of holograms for a wide range of applications such as holographic microscopy, tomography, interferometry, printing and display. The final specification is planned to be published as an international standard in early 2024.

Green Energy Park officially opened! 26.11.2021

The Green Energy Park in Zellik was recently officially openend. ETRO will be part of this initiative in the context of Hospital of the Future, together with the UZ Brussels. This unique collaboration between technological and medical experts makes it possible to develop the sustainable care and technological infrastructure of the future.
In concrete: ETRO will apply a complex wireless net of sensors in an experimental area to view at all times how air streams and air quality evolves in the operation quarter. The OP-quarter will be CO2 neutral. Data will be collected about temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration with wireless sensors. During this process, permanent attention goes also to the wellbeing of the patient and hospital staff. A real trans disciplinary challenge where UZ Brussels and ETRO will play a pioneering role in the area.

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Milestone for very accurate weather prediction 05.10.2021

Prof. Lesley De Cruz, who joined ETRO recently, gave an interview on the Flemish radio about a new model that can very accurately predict rain fall up to two hours in advance. This is a milestone in the weather forecasting scene. You can listen to the interview via the link.

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Demo @ BRIEC session From AI to IA 23.09.2021

Quentin Bolsee participated to the BRIEC session that focused on Digital as a Cross-cutting Innovation Force, more specifically Artificial Intelligence for Industrial Applications (From AI to IA) with a nice scanning demo
As always, there were two goals: getting attendees to help each other move forward and formulating policy recommendations in case any policy gaps or obstacles are identified during the presentations and subsequent interactive Q&A sessions.

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I-LOVE-SCIENCE FESTIVAL 08.09.2021

A research team of ETRO was selected (under supervision of Prof. Johan Stiens and Dr. Bruno Da Silva) to participate to the I-LOVE-SCIENCE FESTIVAL (15-16-17/10/2021) in BRUSSELS with demos of wearable devices.

During the festival, the visitor will be introduced to various existing portable/wearable
medical measuring instruments and their operating principles by Angel, Joan, Salar, Vlad, Bruno and Johan. The visitor will be able to experiment with various technologies to detect different physiological signals of his/her body under different conditions of activity. The measurement systems are specially designed for educational purposes, such that the user will also be able to change settings themselves and check their influence (a little engineering experience).
In addition to the technical-medical aspects, the social relevance will also be explained
: how this measurement technology can contribute to preventive medicine, extremely
important for social cost reduction of the health care costs.

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FARI - a new Artificial intelligence institute in Brussels 18.03.2021

VUB, ULB and the Brussels Capital Region government announce the launch of a new Artificial Intelligence for the Common Good Institute during the Belgian AI Week of AI4Belgium.
Today, Annemie Schaus and Caroline Pauwels, respectively rectors of ULB and VUB, were proud to announce the launch of FARI the Artificial Intelligence institute for the Common Good. It was also endorsed by the Brussels Capital Region ministers Barbara Trachte and Bernard Clerfayt.

FARI is a unique structure that aims at gathering over 300 researchers in AI (amongst others the ETRO dept) and associated disciplines, around projects that could benefit the general interest. The institute will promote research on trustworthy, transparent and explainable artificial intelligence. It will also aim at helping the Brussels Region and its inhabitants address some of the challenges they face in various domains. FARI researchers will provide ideas and contribute to projects on transportation, sustainable development, healthcare services, civic consultations on AI and algorithms. Its projects will actively involve citizens and reinforce education on AI and its impacts in the region.

The institute aims at creating a bridge between AI experts, citizens, companies and local organizations. It will have three hubs: an Research & Innovation Hub, a Think Tank on AI, Data and Society, and an AI Test and Experience Hub.

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Cardiology prepared for the fourth dimension 08.03.2021

DIASTOLE prepares heart surgery by computer simulations in 4D
4D CT scanners add the dimension of time to three-dimensional images and visualise the movement of the heart in detail. The imec.icon project DIASTOLE, involving VUB, UZ Brussel and imec, is paving the way to safely implement 4D scans in heart surgery.
Researchers from the radiology department of VUB-UZ Brussel developed a model to calculate the radiation dose of 4D scans on the skin, and immediately applied it to draw up a safe protocol. For a usable 4D scan, on the one hand the quality has to be sufficient, on the other hand you want to avoid the radiation dose being too high at certain places on the body. Unlike classic CT scans, a 4D scan repeatedly irradiates the same region of the body, so we need to specifically monitor the dose to the skin.

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Bugra Ersu gave a webinar for the Istanbul Project Management Institute 01.02.2021

ETRO's Senior Business Development Manager Bugra Ersu was invited by Istanbul Project Management Institute to give a webinar on problems encountered in technology transfer projects.
A very productive event was held with the participation of more than 100 project professionals from different sectors.


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Related Press

Zijn de spruitjes diepgevroren? 20.06.2015

In De tijd

3D Visualisation Technologies 27.10.2014

In Insights (Iminds)

Nieuwe pc's krijgen Belgische 3D-sensortechnologie 04.06.2013

In De Tijd

Criminelen vang je met wiskundigen 11.04.2013

In De Standaard - Donderdag 11 April 2013

Gebarentaal voor beeldschermen 01.11.2012

In Interconnect 40 (IMEC) pp 10-12

Lam Gods in 100 miljard pixels 01.06.2012

In Akademos - Jg.15 • Nr2 • Mei - Juni 2012 • pp. 8-9

Closer to Van Eyck - an Artwork in Digital Image Processing 20.05.2012

In DSP Valley Newsletter Jg.13 • Nr2 • April - Mei 2012 • pp. 1-3

Softkinetic klaar voor doorbraak 23.03.2012

In De Standaard • Vrijdag 23 Maart 2012 • pp 36-37

Brussels-Eindhovense wereldstandaard voor cameracommunicatie over coax 09.09.2011

In Bits&Chips • Nr10 • 9 september 2011 • pp. 6-7

Met de GSM als Gids. 26.10.2010

In EOS

Television Will Soon Watch You (for Instructions). 02.03.2010

In www.wired.com

De rooskleurige toekomst in 3D. 04.02.2010

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