Innovation Festivals to promote and stimulate regional excellence

By strengthening regional innovation, the competitive position of Europe will improve.  The new Innovation Festivals project - recently approved under the European Pro Inno programme - aims to promote and stimulate regional excellence. Since innovation is also a result of the sharing of knowledge among citizens, the involvement of local citizens in innovation strategies is of crucial importance. The new INNOEXPO project aims to involve local target groups such as students, business communities, universities and schools by holding six Innovation Festivals throughout Europe. The project has the following goals:
• demonstrate in a simple manner how innovation and design can respond to societal needs and challenges;
• help to raise the international profile of a city or region and thus contribute to building a strong regional innovation identity;
• bring different institutions and organisations closer together, thus strengthening regional innovation systems and the overall commitment towards innovation.
These aims will be achieved by organising 6 Innovation Week in the regions of Barcelona, Lisbon, Kortrijk, Vilnius, Tallinn and Milan, showcasing the innovation excellence of each specific region.

Patient simulator

In the Netherlands, every year approximately 30,000 people suffer serious injury as a result of preventable accidents in hospital. At the very least, this has far-reaching implications. In addition, the cost of this amounts to many hundreds of millions per year. Miscommunication and mediocre cooperation between doctors and nursing staff during emergency situations are often the cause. The drilling of complicated situations in advance can save many lives. Together with Maximá Medisch Centrum (Medical Centre) and Technical University of Eindhoven, EDC has developed an advanced patient simulator, where augmented reality and motion tracking technologies are applied to generate a realistic simulation of hospital delivery rooms. Medical teams practise uncommon scenarios in this simulated environment to reduce the number of medical mistakes in real life situations. This project has resulted in three joint ventures: MedSim Training, MedSim technology and MedSim Serious Gaming. Through research, the three MedSim companies provide a fundamental contribution to patient safety. MedSim is an initiative of the European Design Centre, Máxima Medical Centre, the Technical University of Eindhoven and Schouten & Nelissen. For more information contact Joao Mena de Matos: jmm@edc.nl

BIRTH

The objective of BIRTH (acronym for Bringing ICT and Research To Healthcare) is to decrease the number of medical mistakes made during childbirth, and to increase patient safety. The BIRTH project involves developing a computer game (‘serious game’) in which common as well as rare practical situations during deliveries are simulated and practiced. The nursing team, consisting of gynaecologists, midwives, and nurses, is trained to accurately execute sequential activities, the correct administering of medication, the appropriate use of medical instruments, and optimal communication within the nursing team. This is done through recognizable practical situations and in accordance with the protocols for Dutch hospitals. Midwife nursing in particular is faced with complicated procedures and medical emergencies. Some of these procedures and emergencies can be quite rare. The number of deaths during childbirth is still too high: the Peristat investigation, carried out by order of the European Commission, shows that in the Netherlands, ten out of a thousand babies die immediately after birth. Research in Great Britain has shown that over 75% of babies with a poor start result from non-optimal care.

The cause of medical error is often found in poor communication and insufficient cooperation within nursing teams. This situation can be improved by providing training to teams in simulated emergency situations. www.birthplay.com

Admire

Design is one of Europe’s greatest resources and is rapidly being recognized as a key element of innovative and successful businesses. ADMIRE aims to encourage European companies – especially SMEs – to introduce Design Management procedures in order to improve their competitiveness. To this end, the ADMIRE project established the European knowledge-sharing platform Design Management Europe (DME) and set up a European Design Management Award to identify and test new activities to promote Design Management. 19 partners from 12 European countries currently compose the DME Network, which brings together expertise from different countries, different backgrounds and different approaches to the world of design, turning the DME Network into a truly European platform for the development and promotion of design management. EDC initiated the project in 2005 in collaboration with the City of Eindhoven. Visit www.designmanagementeurope.com

Vista

VISTA [ESPRIT, Virtual Interactive Studio Television Applications using networked graphical supercomputers, 3.4 m Euro] used networked graphic supercomputers to develop a platform for Interactive Television.  The system and a number of applications were tested in conjunction with Dutch and Belgian broadcast organizations. High-speed (ATM) networks and distributed supercomputers form the backbone to supply broadcasting and production companies with the facilities and tools to create interactive television programmes. Issues such as distributed virtual environments, mixing real with virtual elements and simulation will provide much usable knowledge, also of importance for other fields within the design sector.

Maid

Between 1996 and 1998 the MAID project [Telematics Applications Programme, Multimedia Assets for Industrial Design, 5 m Euro] designed and tested a range of high-level multimedia services. The project aimed at improving the competitiveness of design-based industries and professions and demonstrated effective tools for the design and product development industry. The services allowed designers to interactively access an on-line design information centre, with material database and its characteristics, ergonomics, ecological impact, design agencies, suppliers and publications. And a design services centre with 3D modelling tools, virtual reality tools, videoconferencing tools and remote supercomputing power. The MAID project was tested on ISDN and ATM networks and tested with user groups spread over 9 European countries.

Fleur

FLEUR [OC&W, Flexible Learning Environment using Remote Applications, 3 m Euro] used broadband network technologies (ATM) and First Virtual computer systems to develop the ultimate Virtual Learning Environment. EDC leaded the project under order of the Design Academy in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. FLEUR was launched in October 97 and lasted until October 2000. Three application areas were developed while availing of the broadband network infrastructure: a Collaborative Working environment, a Campus Information System and a Virtual Library. FLEUR was co-funded by OC&W, KPN-Telecom and Open Universiteit (Dutch Open University).

Visinet

Between 1993 and 1997 the VISINET [TEN-IBC, 3D Visualisation over Broadband Networks, 3 m Euro] project demonstrated different ways of computer-supported collaborative work across broadband networks, using advanced three dimensional visualisation software on Silicon Graphics computers, and the latest high bandwidth communications technology ATM. Dutch partners the European Design Centre, Philips and the City of Eindhoven, were one of the first to use an ATM Metropolitan Area Network in Europe. EDC was the project manager of VISINET, in which 17 organizations in Europe participated.

United Brains

In 1998, in conjunction with Technical University Eindhoven and Fontys, EDC initiated the New Media Network in Eindhoven. The New Media network established an online knowledge platform where SMEs could access a range of services related to product innovation and production processes. It aimed at an effective collaboration between different centres of knowledge. By means of a broadband network, which is connected to the different participating partners, information can be integrated and offered via a central service. The technical infrastructure of the CP&P project consists of a 622 Mbs ATM network. The project resulted into a company that exists today as United Brains: www.unitedbrains.nl

Materials in design

Materials in Design was a travelling exhibition which represented examples of new materials, new material technologies and applications in actual products. Material innovations are historically driven by the need for increased strength per unit of weight or for improved formability. Today, however, the driving forces are more directly attuned to issues like comfort, environmental impact, visual and tactile appeal and even the propagation of selected technologies and their corporate sponsors. For this reason ‘Quality of Life’ was chosen as the central theme for the exhibition. The idea has been developed by European Design Centre in cooperation with the Dutch association for promoting knowledge of materials.

Edit

Together with six European partners EDC developed a (European) methodology to organize innovative product developments within small and medium-sized enterprises.

Ecodesign Eindhoven region

Between 1997 and 1999, EDC has been advising small and medium-sized enterprises in the Eindhoven region on environmentally focused product development. We provide advice and execute environmental innovation scans and feasibility studies.