Das Projekt "Design study for the living lab research Infrastructure, to research human interaction with, and stimulate the adoption of, sustainable, smart and healthy innovations around the home (LIVING LAB)" wird/wurde gefördert durch: Kommission der Europäischen Gemeinschaften Brüssel. Es wird/wurde ausgeführt durch: BASF SE.The project's aim is to develop a design study of a future European research infrastructure that researches the acceptance and the human interaction with, and stimulates the adoption of sustainable, smart and healthy innovations around the home. Living Labs address some of the difficulties that occur in the course of an innovation process. Worldwide, 85 percent of development efforts are spent on products and services that never reach the market. At the same time, the experts often totally underestimate the market potential of many products and services. Living Labs are an approach to stimulate user-driven innovation, which can lead to a better understanding of customer needs and thus to more successful innovations. This approach is particularly important in the field of the so-called eco-innovations designed to respond problems like climate change and increasing resource use fast and efficiently. Also other trends like e.g. the demographic change or a developing tendency of individualisation represent a new challenge with regard to a profound understanding of customers. The LIVING LAB infrastructure will be designed out of different elements. Based on a network of stake-holders from academia, business and government it offers a three-step research portfolio: - Insight generation in existing homes, monitoring living behaviour over an extended period of time and getting real-life observation results. - Alpha-testing of prototypes of sustainable innovations, taking place in lab houses. Those modular, highly flexible dwellings enable testing of building-integrated systems as well as products of daily use, both installation and user experiences are considered. - Evaluating fully functional prototypes in the field, i.e. in existing or newly built homes. Again, this testing will take place over a prolonged period of time. New research methods will be developed in the context of LIVING-LAB projects in order to gain experience and data on innovations which are able to reduce resource use in households, e.g. so-called Open Innovation Sessions. Within the European pool, the Wuppertal Institute represents the consumption and sustainability research and acts as moderator and integrator for the different participating expert disciplines. Based on a focused foresight process it has elaborated an intersectoral research profile and strategy.
Das Projekt "ECODESIGN - Ein innovativer Weg zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung" wird/wurde gefördert durch: Kommission der Europäischen Gemeinschaften Brüssel. Es wird/wurde ausgeführt durch: Technische Universität Wien, Institut für Konstruktionswissenschaften und Technische Logistik (E307).Das Ziel dieses CD-MOD Projektes 'ECO-DESIGN: An Innovative Path Towards Sustainable Development' ist die Ingenieurstudien der Partnerinstitutionen zu verbessern und auszubauen. Dabei sollen folgende Module entwickelt und an den Universitäten der Partner durchgeführt werden. -ECODESIGN: Grundlagen; - ECODESIGN in der Produktentwicklung; - Umweltbewertung; - Produkt Recycling Technologien. Die Projektschritte die während des Projektes durchgeführt werden sind: Bedarfsanalyse, Recherche, definieren des Lehrplans für die vier Module, Entwicklung der Lehrmaterialien, testen und implementieren der Module, Evaluierung der Lehrmaterialien, Publizieren der Lehrmaterialien (Skriptum, CD) der Zertifizierung der Module und Verbreitung.
Das Projekt "BIOFOAM - Bio-Source based recyclable poly(ester-co-amide)s and poly(ester-co-urethane)s for industrial foam applications" wird/wurde gefördert durch: Kommission der Europäischen Gemeinschaften Brüssel. Es wird/wurde ausgeführt durch: Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Energiewirtschaft und Rationelle Energieanwendung.The biofoam project aims to develop new types of aliphatic block co-polyesters (poly(ester-amide)s and poly(ester-urethane)s), and industrially important foams made thereof. The combination of inexpensive renewable bio-source based feedstock, efficient chemical synthesis, and high value foam applications leads to an innovative approach to make biopolymers competitive in the market place. The new low cost biopolymers ( smaller than 1 Euro/kg) provide opportunities for tailored biodegradability and performance properties. A foam manufacturing process is optimized for biopolymer processing by using newly developed 3 D foaming process simulation software. An integrated life cycle management analysis methodology directs the engineering decisions at each stage of the product development cycle. Environmental, economic and societal aspects are simultaneously assessed. The project is managed following a develop and commercial technology staging workprocess. A multi-disciplinary approach of world leading experts in complementary industrial and academic fields is used to achieve the biofoam project objectives.