Bringing science to Europe’s living rooms

Date: 23/06/05

Europe has some of the world's brightest and best scientists. It is home to many successful technology firms which turn new ideas into cutting-edge products. But a 'European paradox' suggests that this does not happen often enough.

There is a need to build bridges between ivory-tower academic research and the business innovation Europe must develop to grow businesses and create jobs.

The European Commission wants to double the amount it spends on research in 2007-13, believing that this is essential for Europe to take the lead in emerging technologies and turn innovation into economic growth.

Looking ahead means looking for new areas of potential, helping researchers do their work better and encouraging business to take good ideas out of the lab and into the marketplace. The Commission aims to create a research-friendly environment by bringing Europe's brains together on a high-performance data transfer network, Géant2, which connects ideas and researchers wherever they are.

The EU is also trying to identify and support projects it believes have the greatest chances of changing how we live. Researchers are looking inward to see how our brains and our bodies work, hoping that they can use this information to create better medicines and, maybe better, more intelligent machines.

The newest lab rats are humans. Scientists are watching how we use the objects around us in our own homes. Dutch electronic firm Philips tries out new innovative products in a virtual house, recording every move users make. One of our reporters tells her tale of her survival in an 'intelligent apartment' in Gothenburg.

But making technology human-friendly forces us to face fears over emerging areas such as nanotechnology to look at the possibility that tiny nanoparticles could damage human health. Ultimately, the innovations that will succeed are those we believe can offer us a better world.