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Innovative robots make cleaning work easier

Innovative robots make cleaning work easier At night, cleaners use high-pressure sprayers to clean the machines that produce our much-needed food by day. It’s demanding work and puts particular strain on cleaners’ wrists. Couldn’t technology provide a helping hand? This is the question cleaning company Gom pondered when it went in search of a technical solution that would make life easier for its cleaners. As a result, Gom and Kleentec (a Gom subsidiary) partnered with the TU Delft field lab RoboHouse in April 2023, and their client Hilton Foods Holland offered Gom the opportunity to carry out tests. Text: Bennie Mols • Photos: Delta/Thijs van Reeuwijk • November 19, 2024 In the ME and IDE buildings, students may encounter a cleaning robot. "What we liked most about RoboHouse's approach", says Mieke Sprinkhuizen, industry innovation manager at Gom, "is that the cleaners themselves were involved in the solution from day one. RoboHouse researchers first broke down the cleaning process into small pieces and examined how each part could be improved by technology. Which parts of the job are demanding and which are not? What do cleaners enjoy doing and what would they rather get rid of?” Exoskeleton The collaboration has now led to a prototype of an exoskeleton that cleaners can wear on their forearms. This exoskeleton naturally transfers the strain placed on their wrists to the larger arm muscles, which can handle it better than the wrist. “The cleaners’ feedback was clear; the exoskeleton makes their jobs easier”, says Sprinkhuizen. “We’re now preparing for a second phase in which we will investigate how to make the jet and spray nozzles of the high-pressure cleaner adjustable for even greater ease of use. We will work with the manufacturer, who will be responsible for incorporating our innovation into a commercial product.” What we liked most about RoboHouse's approach, is that the cleaners themselves were involved from day one. Vacuum scrubber robot Since Gom also cleans the TU Delft campus, it came up with the idea to explore other ways in which robotics could aid cleaners. “We recently embarked on a pilot project with a vacuum scrubber robot that cleans the floors of the Industrial Design Faculty”, says Charlotte Morijn, GOM’s Performance Centre Manager. Already commercially available, the robot scrubs the floor and vacuums up the water at the same time, which means that the human cleaner becomes more of an operator and supervisor. They may have to prepare the floor for the robot, for example, or check the results afterwards, paying particular attention to hard-to-reach spots. So what do the results show? Morijn: "We evaluated how the cleaners perceived their work, how the robot affected their physical workload, the impact on the diversity and quality of work, and the costs. Now that the pilot has run its course, the robot is poised to be implemented in practice but the TU Delft campus is a complex place. No two buildings are the same, so a bespoke solution is in order. For some buildings, we need a smaller robot, and for others, we only need a vacuum robot.” Cleaner Omar became one of the first robot operators. Understanding the surrounding The vacuum scrubber has now also been embraced in the faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Pulse but as useful as it has already proved to be, there is still room for improvement. That improvement is exactly what Martijn Wisse, professor of biorobotics at TU Delft, spends his days looking for. During a brainstorming session with Gom and a group of cleaners, he developed an interest in innovative robotic solutions for the cleaning sector. “One of today’s great scientific challenges is to develop a robot that understands its surroundings”, Wisse begins. “Currently, a cleaning robot sees all obstacles as generic obstacles that they should avoid and don’t understand what certain objects mean in a particular context. Suppose a vase fell on the floor, leaving shards of glass and a puddle of water. A robot would register the resulting mess as an obstacle and therefore avoid it. You’d want a robot to notify the operator if it finds something it can’t clean itself, for example by taking a picture and sending it to the operator.” Cleaning company Gom Cleaning company Gom Cleaning company Gom is one of the three largest cleaning companies in the Netherlands. It is part of the Facilicom Group, a family-owned company with a 60-year track record. Gom has some 8,000 staff members, who work together to clean offices, educational institutions (including TU Delft), healthcare facilities, industrial environments and food-processing plants. Because cleaning work is physically demanding and highly repetitive, Gom is constantly looking for technology that supports workers, such as ergonomic tools and robots. Gom works with TU Delft’s RoboHouse field lab and with researchers from the faculties of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design. Gom now has 34 cleaning robots up and running (in various shapes and sizes) and expects to expand this to 54 before the end of the year. AI systems In his study, Wisse demonstrates a small, mobile robot that sends camera footage to the ChatGPT AI bot. Wisse: “My research revolves around how AI systems can help robots understand their environment. We have dozens of these robots and give them to our students to use as a platform for experimentation. I’m also researching how we can leverage our knowledge of how the human brain works to improve robotic brains." One of today's great scientific challenges is to develop a robot that understands its surrondings. Visibility Wisse is pleased that robots are finally starting to become more visible on the TU Delft campus. “We’ve been conducting high-level scientific research on robots for years now but the robots themselves always remained invisible to students, staff and visitors. It’s my hope that the visibility of the cleaning robot at our faculty and at Industrial Design inspires students to develop other robots for the campus, such as a robot that can clean outdoor spaces, trim the hedges or ferry around equipment inside. The city of Delft is considering declaring 2026 the year of robotics, which would be an incredible incentive for TU Delft to increase the visibility of robots.” Marco Rozendaal, associate professor of Interaction Design at the Faculty of Industrial Design, also attended the brainstorming meeting with Gom and the cleaners. “The scrubber robot inspired me to include robotics in the industrial design curriculum", Rozendaal says, “and that’s how I came up with the idea of having second-year undergraduates taking Design Project 3 suggest ways in which robotics could help clean the TU Delft campus." Long-term innovation From September 2023, some 300 students spent six months thinking about technically feasible robotic solutions that consider how cleaning is organised, the needs and wishes of the cleaners themselves, and ESG aspects such as energy and material use. Gom was closely involved throughout the programme. "The students came up with countless new robotic concepts to help cleaners", Rozendaal says with pride, “some of which tied in perfectly with ongoing developments at Gom, while others were more long-term prospects. A striking example of one such a long-term innovation is a robotic telescopic arm of sorts that would help cleaners clean the fold-out tables in the lecture halls. “It’s currently a tricky challenge for cleaners”, Rozendaal explains, “because they have to unfold the tables one by one. With a telescopic arm, they’d be able to clean them without unfolding them first. What makes the idea so powerful is that it’s a wearable piece of equipment that would effectively imbue cleaners with a superpower.” Interested in collaboration? Interested in business collaboration or seeking knowledge and insights on your policy themes? Contact us Order the newest magazine Featured article Technology made by and for professionals Pioneering articles

Spain

Polytechnical University of Madrid Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, or UPM, was founded as the result of a merging between different technical schools of engineering and architecture. UPM is ranked as the best technical university of Spain and is part of the TIME network, which consists of 50 European engineering schools. Type of contract AE faculty contract with the school of Aeronautical and Space Engineering. Course possibilities Students can choose between admission to the School of Aeronautical Engineering (ETSIAE), the School of Telecommunication Engineering (ETSIT) or the School of Industrial Engineering (ETSII). The amount of admissions per school is limited. Courses taught in English are available at ETSIT and ETSII. English-taught courses at ETSIT can be found here , while the English-taught courses of ETSII can be found here . Only Spanish courses are available at ETSIAE. Students are not allowed to follow MSc courses in Biomedical Engineering during the Spring semester. UPM offers intensive Spanish language courses for foreign students. A fee is charged for these courses, however. Please note that the Spring semester starts at the end of January. Language requirement A B1 level in Spanish is required and needs to be proven with a certificate during application. If the student is still learning the language, then a document needs to be handed in (preferably signed by the Spanish language instructor) which states that the student is learning Spanish and is expected to obtain a B1 level certificate before the start of the exchange. Funding Students to this university are eligible for the Erasmus Grant . Housing Housing is not provided by UPM. However, they do provide a list of housing companies which you can use to find accommodation. Link Polytechnical University of Valencia (UPV) Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, or UPV, is a young institution dating back to the seventies. It has nearly 40,000 students and composes of ten schools, three faculties and two higher polytechnic schools. Type of contract AE faculty contract with ETSID. Course possibilities At the School of Engineering Design (ETSID) , BSc courses in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronic and Automation Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Design Engineering and Product Development are offered. Besides this, MSc courses in Design Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing, and Maintenance Engineering are also available. Students can choose courses from all those available programs as long as pre-requisites are met. 60% of the selected courses must be taken at ETSID . Their fact sheet states some course restrictions. You can find general academic information on their website . The Faculty of Business Management has a very restrictive policy of acceptance of students from other schools and faculties, courses there are not open for exchange students. However, business courses are offered at other faculties as well. Language requirement In general courses are taught in Spanish, but some UPV schools offer courses in English. The Bachelor degrees in Electronic and Aerospace Engineering can be followed fully in English. Please note that English courses are highly demanded. Enrolment for the selected English courses is not always guaranteed. Therefore, a good level of Spanish and flexibility in your choices will make things easier. To take courses in Spanish, a B1 level is required and needs to be proven with a certificate before the exchange programme starts. For courses taught in English minimum an English B2 level is required, if needed, the International Office can provide a statement declaring your English language level is at C1. This applies to both BSc and MSc Aerospace Engineering students. For more detailed information, visit the following LINK . To receive free Spanish classes a Spanish level of A1 is required. Funding Students to this university are eligible for the Erasmus Grant . Housing UPV does not arrange accommodation. A mentor student will be assigned to each accepted student for assistance if requested in the online application. Link University Carlos III of Madrid Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, or Carlos 3, was founded in 1989 and is therefore a relatively new university. It has four campuses, with the main one in Getafe, and schools of Social Sciences, Engineering, Humanities and Law. Type of contract AE faculty contract Course possibilities Students can choose between admission to the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences at the Getafe campus. Students can always choose to be admitted to the Faculty of Engineering, but places at the Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences are limited. Courses offered by either faculty can be found here . Please indicate what faculty you want to be admitted to in your application, as taking courses from other faculties is typically not possible. Bachelor students are not allowed to take Master level courses, but Master students are allowed to take Bachelor level courses. An overview of offered Bachelor courses, along with course restrictions, can be found here . A list of offered Master level courses can be found here . Furthermore, Intensive Spanish Language Courses are offered by the Language Centre . Enrolment for courses works on a first-come-first-serve basis. Students selected for the Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences can temporarily be registered at the Faculty of Engineering for administration purposes. After being admitted, they will be transferred to the Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences. Language requirement B2 in Spanish for Spanish-taught courses. Funding Students to this university are eligible for the Erasmus Grant . Housing Information about accommodation can be found under Accommodation Services Information . Link

Students Amos Yusuf, Mick Dam & Bas Brouwer winners of Mekel Prize 2024

Master students Amos Yusuf, from the ME faculty, Mick Dam, from the EEMCS faculty, and graduate Bas Brouwer have won the Mekel Prize 2024 for the best extra scientific activity at TU Delft: the development of an initiative that brings master students into the classroom teaching sciences to the younger generations. The prize was ceremonially awarded by prof Tim van den Hagen on 13 November after the Van Hasselt Lecture at the Prinsenhof, Delft. They received a statue of Professor Jan Mekel and 1.500,- to spend on their project. Insights into climate change are being openly doubted. Funding for important educational efforts and research are being withdrawn. Short clips – so called “reels” – on Youtube and TikTok threaten to simplify complex political and social problems. AI fakes befuddle what is true and what is not. The voices of science that contribute to those discussion with modesty, careful argument and scepticism, are drowned in noise. This poses a threat for universities like TU Delft, who strive to increase student numbers, who benefit from diverse student populations and aim to pass on their knowledge and scientific virtues to the next generation. It is, therefore, alarming that student enrolments to Bachelor and Master Programs at TU Delft have declined in the past year. Students in front of the class The project is aimed to make the sciences more appealing to the next generation. They have identified the problem that students tend miss out on the opportunity of entering a higher education trajectory in the Beta sciences – because they have a wrong picture of such education. In their mind, they depict it as boring and dry. In his pilot lecture at the Stanislas VMBO in Delft, Amos Yusuf has successfully challenged this image. He shared his enthusiasm for the field of robotics and presented himself as a positive role model to the pupils. And in return the excitement of the high school students is palpable in the videos and pictures from the day. The spark of science fills their eyes. Bas Brouwer Mick Dam are the founders of NUVO – the platform that facilitates the engagement of Master Students in high school education in Delft Their efforts offer TU Delft Master Students a valuable learning moment: By sharing insights from their fields with pupils at high school in an educational setting, our students can find identify their own misunderstandings of their subject, learn to speak in front of non-scientific audiences and peak into education as a work field they themselves might not have considered. An extraordinary commitment According to the Mekel jury, the project scored well on all the criteria (risk mitigation, inclusiveness, transparency and societal relevance). However, it was the extraordinary commitment of Amos who was fully immersed during his Master Project and the efforts of Brouwer and Dam that brought together teaching and research which is integral to academic culture that made the project stand out. About the Mekel Prize The Mekel Prize will be awarded to the most socially responsible research project or extra-scientific activity (e.g. founding of an NGO or organization, an initiative or realization of an event or other impactful project) by an employee or group of employees of TU Delft – projects that showcase in an outstanding fashion that they have been committed from the beginning to relevant moral and societal values and have been aware of and tried to mitigate as much as possible in innovative ways the risks involved in their research. The award recognizes such efforts and wants to encourage the responsible development of science and technology at TU Delft in the future. For furthermore information About the project: https://www.de-nuvo.nl/video-robotica-pilot/ About the Mekel Prize: https://www.tudelft.nl/en/tpm/our-faculty/departments/values-technology-and-innovation/sections/ethics-philosophy-of-technology/mekel-prize

Publications

Wetenschappelijke papers Alle gepubliceerde papers van de leerstoel Publiek Opdrachtgeverschap kunt u vinden door hier te klikken. Intreerede Marleen Hermans heeft op 14 november 2014 ter gelegenheid van de aanvaarding van het ambt van hoogleraar ‘Publiek Opdrachtgeverschap’ aan de faculteit Bouwkunde van de Technische Universiteit Delft de volgende tekst uitgesproken. Klik hier om de tekst terug te lezen. Tools Maturity Model Professioneel Publiek Opdrachtgeverschap in de Bouw. Klik hier voor de toolkit van het maturity model. Publicaties Handreiking professioneel opdrachtgeverschap voor corporaties en andere (semi-)publieke opdrachtgeverschap. Inbedding van opdrachtgeverschap in gemeentelijke organisaties : het uitgebreide onderzoeksrapport Inbedding van opdrachtgeverschap in gemeentelijke organisatie : de samenvatting van het onderzoeksrapport Publieke opdrachtgever als lerende organisatie: een handreiking Symposia De leerstoel heeft de afgelopen jaren de volgende symposia georganiseerd. Voor de verslaglegging kunt u op de titel van het symposium klikken. Symposium Contract Management Symposium Public Values Symposium Circulair Bouwen voor opdrachtgevers Lopende projecten Promotieonderzoek ‘Safeguarding Public Values’ van Lizet Kuitert . Klik hier voor de publicaties van Lizet. Promotieonderzoek ‘Learning Across Boundaries: The Organizational Learning of Public Clients in the Dutch Construction Industry’ van Sarah Kamphuis. Promotieonderzoek ‘Inter-organizational Relations of Public Construction Clients: Capabilities, Governance and Paradoxes’ van Pedram Soltani. Graaf Reinald Alliantie: de meerwaarde van de alliantie als samenwerkingsvorm. Door Marleen Hermans, Hans Wamelink, Leonie Koops, Pedram Soltani, Sarah Kamphuis Afstudeerrapporten De leerstoel is betrokken geweest bij de volgende afstudeeronderzoeken: Miguel Angel Ortega Silva (2020): Modernizing the Dutch Housing Industry using offsite construction: Removing adoption barriers through innovation policy. Nadine Schmidt 2020: Future of cities: A research for the optimization of the application of instruments within a municipality to increase sustainability in area development. Akshay Budhihal Ashokkunar (2020): Implementing the design for disassembly (DfD) principle in the public procurement process of buildings in the Netherlands. Misiu Smits (2020): Developing a decision-making framework to deal with MR&R challenges in a fit-for-purpose manner. Jolanda de Hoog (2020): Client-contractor collaboration in bouwteams: A contractor's perspective. Heleen Joustra (2020: Upscaling circularity in urban area development: A qualitative study in ‘Circular Buiksloterham’. Michael Osseweijer (2020): Outsourcing maintenance using PBMC: Introducing a decision-support method for performance based maintenance contracts. Thom Scheurs (2019): A strategic approach to 'Office as a Service': An explorative study into the optimization of the physical resource in order to obtain maximum added value. Nesaneth van Sobbe (2019): A process framework for the transition to circular urban area development of M4H. Laurens Lancee (2019): Belemmeringen en kansen op weg naar duurzaam woonzorgvastgoed in Nederland. Kevin van der Kruis (2019): The Interplay between the Contract Type and the Management of Cost Groups: Exploring the relationship between the contract type and the management of cost groups in Dutch national infrastructure projects. Scipio Kok (2019): Public Procurement For Innovation: Optimising the preparation phase of the innovation partnership and competitive dialogue procedure for Dutch public authorities procuring for innovation in the Physical domain. Abishah Neeli (2019) : A step towards Successful Implementation of Business Model Innovation: Philips Perspective. Vera van Maaren (2019): In transition towards a circular future in north-east section of Nairobi river: An exploration of potential (re)implementation of circular resource management in Dandora, Kenya. Anouk Slockers (2019: To Bid or not to Bid: that is the Question: Relating Contractor Bid Decisions to Tender Design Related Attributes. Daan de Wit (2019): Enlarging the solution space in infrastructure planning processes: A study into the factors that influence the planning of infrastructure and new working processes within that planning process. Ditte Gerding (2019): Design for Disassembly - a way to minimize building waste: A design for a transformation of an office building into dwellings taking into account circularity, demonstrating how circularity offers freedom for (non-traditional) households. Anna van Veenen (2018 ): A Best Value approach to public procurement: Stimulating the transition towards a circular infrastructure in the Netherlands. Jesse van der Mieden (2018): Setting up the Innovation Partnership: Designing a guide for project managers for Dutch contracting authorities with a demand for construction-related innovation. Robbert van Staveren (2018): A co-creational approach in the Dutch infrastructure sector: Exploring the added value of implementing a co-creational approach in the pre-contractual phase. Zarifa Abbasova (2018): Adopting circular innovative technologies in the construction supply chain of the MRA: Supply Chain through the lenses of the service dominant logic’s foundational premises. Jasper Meijsen (2018): Creating line-of-sight in performance management: A search for and application of a practical method for brownfield asset management organisations. Dirk van Wijck (2018): Early Contractor Involvement in the Netherlands: The potential of ECI in public construction projects. Dawn Tulling (2018) : Conflicts in Best Value: A research into the causes of conflicts in the execution phase of Best Value projects and what actions to take to prevent them. Joost Den Hoed (2017): Capture and storage of performance information: How contractors in the water construction industry can capture and store performance information to present in Best Value tenders Eirini Papatriantafyllou (2017): Trust and Contractual Governance: Managing Relationships in the Offshore Industry Christine Siedenburg (2017): Freedom for Contractors – Cross-border analysis on the solution space for contractors within infrastructure projects Wouter Eitjes (2017): Contract Management: Managing Conflict Escalation in the Dutch Building Sector Tine Nientker (2017): Corporate Real Estate Alignment in Practice: A study on how corporate real estate is aligned by multinational corporations in different industries in practice and its relation to theory Lisette de Jonge – van Wijngaarden (2017) : Contract management competencies Esther Korvinus (2017) : Conflicts between client and contractor Raoul Rutten (2016): Demand specification within Integrated Contracts. Identifying and avoiding key issues. Wester Regelink (2016) : Disputes in infrastructure projects Anne de Jager (2016) : Collaborative procurement in the construction sector Marcos Solís Madrigal (2016) : Contract management for Dutch wastewater industry Mariya Ivanova (2016) : Building new roads in tendering: Towards selection based on values and competencies Leon de Jong (2016) : The tender as investment: A qualitative study on contractor perception of tender costs in integrated infrastructure projects Thu Hoan Nguyen (2015) : Uitbesteding door publieke opdrachtgevers in de bouw­ en vastgoedsector. Een onderzoek naar de relatie tussen organisatiespecifieke overwegingen voor uitbesteden en de ontwikkeling van een gedeelde uitbestedingsstrategie en –beleid bij samenwerking. Farah Puspita Sari (2015) : Maturity Model for Maintenance Organisations in Public Sector. Rudolf Stam (2015) : Concentration in office environments Cornelis Ryan Kaal (2015) : Besluiten over samenwerkingsvormen: De realisatie van een besluitvormingsmodel voor de keuze van samenwerkingsvormen bij herontwikkeling van monumentaal gemeentelijk vastgoed Jiska Schimmelpennink (2015) : Professionaliseren van het opdrachtgeverschap. Naar een weloverwogen keuze op organisatieniveau ten behoeve van een passende samenwerkingsvorm bij het beheer en onderhoud van bestaand vastgoed. Alireza Rahat (2014) : Organizational barriers for adopting project alliancing. An investigation in the Dutch public infrastructure procurement organizations. Charlotte Ipema (2014) : Designing the perfect tender. Michelle Ham (2014) : Het gebruik van wetenschappelijke kennis bij het managen van vastgoed in de gemeentelijke sector. Arnold Bosch (2014) : Beheer 2.0. Een onderzoek naar het informatiemanagement in de beheerfase en de mogelijke rol van BIM in de beheerfase bij organisaties in de publieke sector.

Sarro

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Tracing ancient settlements in Colombia with remote sensing

A team of the LDE alliance (Leiden University, TU Delft, and Erasmus University Rotterdam) asked whether it might be possible to search for signs of ancient settlements in the jungle with affordable remote sensing techniques. For an expedition in a Colombian dense forest, the team, including remote sensing expert Felix Dahle of TU Delft, joined forces with archaeologists and drone experts from Colombia. In mountainous forests, drones provide affordable access to areas that would otherwise be unreachable from the ground. A LiDAR laser scanner already proved its value in coastal observation . The big question was whether LiDAR could bypass the many treetops. Trees reflect the laser, so it was crucial to fly close so it found its way through the foliage. The team mounted a highly portable LiDAR laser scanner to a drone and went on expedition nearby ancient terraces of the Tairona culture in the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. “We had to find the sweet spot. Close to the archaeological sites and still secure above the canopy”, says Felix Dahle. And it passed the test. The LiDAR laser scanner create a point cloud and a detailed 3D model of the landscape. “We were able to detect ancient terraces in the jungle. We discovered that we can scan through the forest when it is not too dense, but some areas remained unfathomable. We could also distinguish several types of vegetation, which might be of great use too to find undiscovered archaeological sites.”

PRELIFE consortium receives NWA funding to investigate the origin of life

The interdisciplinary research consortium PRELIFE has been awarded an NWA grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to investigate the origin of life on Earth and in the universe, one of science’s greatest unsolved puzzles. The consortium will receive €6.7 million to explore this question and comprises scientists from sixteen universities and research institutes across the Netherlands.

Kwartetspel maakt seksisme bij politie bespreekbaar

IO alumnus Noortje Kwakernaak bezocht twee politiekantoren om er de rol van vrouwelijke agenten te onderzoeken. Ze merkte dat er wel eens sprake was van grove en seksistische humor. Om spelers over deze grappen te laten reflecteren, en misschien gedrag te veranderen, ontwikkelde ze een kwartetspel.

What trees teach us about sustainable production of materials

Trees are excellent teachers when it comes to making materials for load-bearing structures with as little resources and energy as possible. One of their secrets? When a tree grows, the direction of the wood grain adapts itself to fit the load that part of the tree is going to bear.

Exhale Sluitingsweek: A week of free events to say goodbye to Exhale and cosy up for Winter

De allerlaatste Exhale Week vindt plaats van 25 november tot 1 december en staat volledig in het teken van afscheid nemen van Exhale en het omarmen van de winter.

TIL student Laura Drechsel wins Q-Park thesis award

TIL student Laura Drechsel wins the 2024 Q-Park Student Award with her thesis called: Stories of Aging and Access - Exploring capabilities and challenges of accessibility for urban elderly through microstories. Her award-winning thesis can be found here .

TU Delft jointly wins in XPRIZE Rainforest competition in Brazil

TU Delft jointly wins in the XPRIZE Rainforest competition in the Amazon, Brazil Imagine using rapid and autonomous robot technology for research into the green and humid lungs of our planet; our global rainforests. Drones that autonomously deploy eDNA samplers and canopy rafts uncover the rich biodiversity of these complex ecosystems while revealing the effects of human activity on nature and climate change. On November 15, 2024, after five years of intensive research and competition, the ETHBiodivX team, which included TU Delft Aerospace researchers Salua Hamaza and Georg Strunck, achieved an outstanding milestone: winning the XPRIZE Rainforest Bonus Prize for outstanding effort in co-developing inclusive technology for nature conservation. The goal: create automated technology and methods to gain near real-time insights about biodiversity – providing necessary data that can inform conservation action and policy, support sustainable bioeconomies, and empower Indigenous Peoples and local communities who are the primary protectors and knowledge holders of the planet’s tropical rainforests. The ETHBiodivX team, made of experts in Robotics, eDNA, and Data Insights, is tackling the massive challenge of automating and streamlining the way we monitor ecosystems. Leading the Robotics division, a collaboration between TU Delft’s Prof. Salua Hamaza, ETH Zurich’s Prof. Stefano Mintchev and Aarhus University’s Profs. Claus Melvad and Toke Thomas Høye, is developing cutting-edge robotic solutions to gather ecology and biology data autonomously. “We faced the immense challenge of deploying robots in the wild -- and not just any outdoor environment but one of the most demanding and uncharted: the wet rainforests. This required extraordinary efforts to ensure robustness and reliability, pushing the boundaries of what the hardware could achieve for autonomous data collection of images, sounds, and eDNA, in the Amazon” says prof. Hamaza. “Ultimately, this technology will be available to Indigenous communities as a tool to better understand the forest's ongoing changes in biodiversity, which provide essential resources as food and shelter to the locals.” . . . .

Moving the Closet

You simply cannot miss it, it is big and magenta: the Pink Closet . On 12 November 2024 the Pink Closet will head to the Main Hall of the TU Delft Library for the first time! The Pink Closet will take its place at the Nook, where it will feature as part of the Studium Generale programme on loneliness. More information on events that coincide with and incorporate the Pink Closet at TU Delft Library will soon be available on the website of Studium Generale .

Green ammonia remains a challenge, but researchers make significant progress

The production of ammonia, essential for fertiliser production, is responsible for almost 1.5% of global carbon emissions. This needs to be greener, which is why researchers have been looking for sustainable alternatives for years.

"Measuring brain activity through the skull with ultrasound opens new doors"

PhD Candidate Rick Waasdorp is looking for ways to correct the distortion caused by the skull when using Ultrasound technology. ‘’My goal is to develop an adaptive method for skull corrections that automatically measures the skull of new patients.’’

NWO funding for flexible power demand in electrically driven industry

NWO is funding two projects to explore ways to make the power demand of industry more flexible, allowing it to better align with future energy supplies. One of these projects, “DEFLAME,” is led by Machteld van den Broek from TU Delft.

Students Amos Yusuf, Mick Dam & Bas Brouwer winners of Mekel Prize 2024

Master students Amos Yusuf, from the ME faculty, Mick Dam, from the EEMCS faculty, and graduate Bas Brouwer have won the Mekel Prize 2024 for the best extra scientific activity at TU Delft: the development of an initiative that brings master students into the classroom teaching sciences to the younger generations. The prize was ceremonially awarded by prof Tim van den Hagen on 13 November after the Van Hasselt Lecture at the Prinsenhof, Delft. They received a statue of Professor Jan Mekel and 1.500,- to spend on their project. Insights into climate change are being openly doubted. Funding for important educational efforts and research are being withdrawn. Short clips – so called “reels” – on Youtube and TikTok threaten to simplify complex political and social problems. AI fakes befuddle what is true and what is not. The voices of science that contribute to those discussion with modesty, careful argument and scepticism, are drowned in noise. This poses a threat for universities like TU Delft, who strive to increase student numbers, who benefit from diverse student populations and aim to pass on their knowledge and scientific virtues to the next generation. It is, therefore, alarming that student enrolments to Bachelor and Master Programs at TU Delft have declined in the past year. Students in front of the class The project is aimed to make the sciences more appealing to the next generation. They have identified the problem that students tend miss out on the opportunity of entering a higher education trajectory in the Beta sciences – because they have a wrong picture of such education. In their mind, they depict it as boring and dry. In his pilot lecture at the Stanislas VMBO in Delft, Amos Yusuf has successfully challenged this image. He shared his enthusiasm for the field of robotics and presented himself as a positive role model to the pupils. And in return the excitement of the high school students is palpable in the videos and pictures from the day. The spark of science fills their eyes. Bas Brouwer Mick Dam are the founders of NUVO – the platform that facilitates the engagement of Master Students in high school education in Delft Their efforts offer TU Delft Master Students a valuable learning moment: By sharing insights from their fields with pupils at high school in an educational setting, our students can find identify their own misunderstandings of their subject, learn to speak in front of non-scientific audiences and peak into education as a work field they themselves might not have considered. An extraordinary commitment According to the Mekel jury, the project scored well on all the criteria (risk mitigation, inclusiveness, transparency and societal relevance). However, it was the extraordinary commitment of Amos who was fully immersed during his Master Project and the efforts of Brouwer and Dam that brought together teaching and research which is integral to academic culture that made the project stand out. About the Mekel Prize The Mekel Prize will be awarded to the most socially responsible research project or extra-scientific activity (e.g. founding of an NGO or organization, an initiative or realization of an event or other impactful project) by an employee or group of employees of TU Delft – projects that showcase in an outstanding fashion that they have been committed from the beginning to relevant moral and societal values and have been aware of and tried to mitigate as much as possible in innovative ways the risks involved in their research. The award recognizes such efforts and wants to encourage the responsible development of science and technology at TU Delft in the future. For furthermore information About the project: https://www.de-nuvo.nl/video-robotica-pilot/ About the Mekel Prize: https://www.tudelft.nl/en/tpm/our-faculty/departments/values-technology-and-innovation/sections/ethics-philosophy-of-technology/mekel-prize

The ENHANCE Diversity Seed Fund

Are you a student at TU Delft or another ENHANCE university with a passion for promoting diversity and inclusion? The ENHANCE Diversity Seed Fund is your chance to turn that passion into action. ENHANCE provides funding to support innovative, student-led projects that address key challenges related to inclusion and diversity within our academic communities. Key Details: Funding Available: Up to 1500 Euros per project in the 1st round! Eligibility: Students from ENHANCE member universities. Staff can also join student-led initiatives. Application Deadline: 8 January 2025. More information: Join the online Information Event on the 26 November 2024 16:00-17:00 CET on Zoom . More information: enhanceuniversity.eu/diversity/diversityseedfund/

New catheter technology promises safer and more efficient treatment of blood vessels

Each year, more than 200 million catheters are used worldwide to treat vascular diseases, including heart disease and artery stenosis. When navigating into blood vessels, friction between the catheter and the vessel wall can cause major complications. With a new innovative catheter technology, Mostafa Atalla and colleagues can change the friction from having grip to completely slippery with the flick of a switch. Their design improves the safety and efficiency of endovascular procedures. The findings have been published in IEEE. Catheter with variable friction The prototype of the new catheter features advanced friction control modules to precisely control the friction between the catheter and the vessel wall. The friction is modulated via ultrasonic vibrations, which overpressure the thin fluid layer. This innovative variable friction technology makes it possible to switch between low friction for smooth navigation through the vessel and high friction for optimal stability during the procedure. In a proof-of-concept, Atalla and his team show that the prototype significantly reduces friction, averaging 60% on rigid surfaces and 11% on soft surfaces. Experiments on animal aortic tissue confirm the promising results of this technology and its potential for medical applications. Fully assembled catheters The researchers tested the prototype during friction experiments on different tissue types. They are also investigating how the technology can be applied to other procedures, such as bowel interventions. More information Publicatie DOI : 10.1109/TMRB.2024.3464672 Toward Variable-Friction Catheters Using Ultrasonic Lubrication | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore Mostafa Atalla: m.a.a.atalla@tudelft.nl Aimee Sakes: a.sakes@tudelft.nl Michaël Wiertlewski: m.wiertlewski@tudelft.nl Would you like to know more and/or attend a demonstration of the prototype please contact me: Fien Bosman, press officer Health TU Delft: f.j.bosman@tudelft.nl/ 0624953733

Design and imagination as essential tools during the climate crisis

In Nature Partner Journals, ten researchers advocate the use of imagination in tackling the climate crisis. They focus specifically on urbanising river deltas, which are of great social and economic importance and highly vulnerable to climate change. "We scientists should not merely outline doomsday scenarios," says Professor Chris Zevenbergen. "Create a vision for people to believe in and work towards.”

How comfortable are cargo bikes actually for children?

It’s impossible to imagine the Dutch street scene without the cargo bike. It’s ideal for transporting goods and especially popular for shuttling children from A to B. Surprisingly, however, no real research has been done on the comfort of children during cargo bike rides. Mechanical engineering students Jelmer, Renate, Dirk-Jan, Santo and Alexander set out to change this. The final project for their bachelor’s degree is the first step in this unexplored area of research.

Inaugural address: machine optimisation key to more efficient logistics system

The processing and transport of materials can be made much more efficient, says TU Delft professor Dingena Schott in her inaugural address, ‘Advancing Transport and Processing: from Model to Impact’. She will deliver her address on 15 November. Her research focuses on the interaction between machines and materials, with a special emphasis on granular materials.

FAST University Fund invites all TU Delft students

FAST University Fund invites all TU Delft students to apply for the Ambitious Project Grant or the Event Grant of up to €15.000!

Education demonstration in Utrecht cancelled

Safety cannot be guaranteed In our post of 22 October , we announced that students and staff of TU Delft will have the opportunity to take part in protests against the cabinet's plans to cut higher education. Today it has been announced that the demonstration against the cuts to higher education and science on 14 November in Utrecht has been cancelled because the safety of the demonstrators cannot be guaranteed. Read the reaction of Universiteiten van Nederland to the cancellation of the education demonstration in Utrecht (Dutch only).

Young Investigator Award for Gabrielle Laloy-Borgna

Gabrielle has won the technical Young Investigator Award at Euroson 2024 (congress of the European Federation of Ultrasound Societies in Medicine and Biology) with her presentation entitled: “Ultrasound imaging in bones: tissue characterization, anatomical images
and blood flow measurements”.