Technologies

4Ts Game was born in ITD in 2017 to indicate a board game for teacher training, which aims to develop skills in designing collaborative learning activities. The game was originally conceived as a 'tangible' game, consisting of a board and 4 decks of paper cards which contain inputs that guide the teachers/players' design process. Subsequently the game evolved and was developed in its digital version. In this version, developed in Unity and with an underlying knowledge base in Prolog, the game is able to provide feedback to teachers regarding the design/game choices made.

The Proof-of-Concept A.L.I.C.E. or "Actuators based on Light sensitive CompositE" aims at the development of innovative materials through 3D/4D printing processes and uses them as actuators in the fields of photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, thermodynamic solar, and other applications such as optical deflectors, optical microvalves, and optical switches.

The proposed technology consists of a portable device for monitoring the freshness of fish, based on its smell. The device is based on a gas sensor and pattern recognition software to correlate the sensor signal to the freshness of the food. The technology is designed for its integration into domestic or industrial refrigerators.

Mergers e Acquisitions represent important forms of business deals because of the volumes involved in the transactions and the role of the innovation activity of companies. By considering the patent activity of about one thousand companies, we develop a method to predict future acquisitions by assuming that companies deal more frequently with technologically related ones.

This invention comprises an interrogation and readout differential method for chemical sensors based on Surface Plasmon Resonances (SPR). The integration of the SPR sensing unit (chip or other), as intermediate reflecting element of a Fabry-Perot (FP) optical resonator, is the starting point for the application of this method.

The proposed technology is based on the concept of Power-Over-Fibre (PoF), which involves the transmission of data and power over an optical fiber. This technology is suitable for applications where traditional copper cabling is impractical or undesirable. This is the case with pantographs, where there is a large potential difference between the catenary and the earth, and therefore any electrical contact must be avoided for safety reasons. Furthermore, pantographs operate in an environment with very high electromagnetic interference (EMI).

The metasurface optomechanical modulator is a device designed to modulate the amplitude, phase and polarization of a beam of electromagnetic radiation, independently, or simultaneously, according to prescribed paths in the parameter space (for example, as regards polarization, paths on the Poincaré sphere). The concept of our device can be applied to the entire spectrum of electromagnetic waves: from radio frequency, to microwaves (GHz), to millimeter waves (THz), to far and near infrared radiation, and to visible light.

The proposed technology deals with the development of active SERS (Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering) substrates ad hoc designed for diagnostics of cultural heritage. The substrates are prepared starting from common commercial 'polishing film' sheets (lapping optical fibers) showing an intrinsic roughness (48- 1000 nm) that favors the SERS effect. A pattern of silver or gold nanoparticles are deposited on these films through Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD).

We developed an hybrid organic-inorganic composite consisting of a 2D perovskite and a copolymer. At room temperature the composite is highly transparent in the visible region with transmittance > 90%. At higher temperatures, the movement of the polymer chains releases the precursors, allowing the perovskite formation, which results in a colored film. The color changes according to the ‘n’ value of the PVK. PVK with n=1 starts coloring at 70°C, achieving a ∆T_max = 91.5% at 510 nm.

The invention is a synthetic method to prepare colloidal nanomaterials of V-VI-VII semiconductors that do not contain toxic elements. This is the first method for the synthesis of mixed anion nanomaterials without toxic elements at large, which permitted to obtain, among others, bismuth chalcohalide nanocrystals that are arguably considered as one of main candidates to be the next big thing for light energy conversion.

Recently, it has been demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy can play a fundamental role in assisting the work of the anatomopathologist by allowing classification of oncological samples with practically 100% accuracy in oncological diagnosis.

Environmental monitoring is a rapidly growing field, both in academia and industry. The use of wearables for environmental monitoring is a promising technique, as it allows data to be collected continuously and comprehensively. The main problem with using wearables for environmental monitoring is the size and weight of the system, as well as the high degree of specialization required to develop a fully functional device.