Two research projects led by TU/e can start thanks to financial support from the Dutch Research Council. The projects aim to make an important contribution to the timely diagnosis of complications during pregnancy and to solving the major housing shortage in the Netherlands. The grants are part of the Open Technology Program, through which NWO supports interdisciplinary scientific research and collaboration between scientists and companies and other organizations. A total of six projects were awarded, receiving funding totaling almost 6 million euros.
The shape of the home is inspired by that of a boulder. Photo: Bart van Overbeeke
Printing houses
The first TU/e project to receive funding is called BUILTWISE, and revolves around automated 3D printing of affordable concrete houses, a key research area of our university. In the study, researchers led by professor Theo Salet of the department of Built Environment, combine 3D concrete printing with modular construction principles.
The aim is to increase knowledge of suitable reinforcement methods for large-scale concrete printing. The researchers also plan to develop a new design technology for 3D concrete printing.
Complications in pregnancy
The second research project involving TU/e is called MAPPING, and is led by professor Massimo Mischi of the department of Electrical Engineering. Together with the project partners, Mischi wants to contribute to the development of new tools for the timely diagnosis and eventual prediction of pregnancy complications. The hope is that this will allow pregnant women to receive treatment earlier, with a greater chance of a successful delivery.Complications during pregnancy often result from an abnormal interaction between the cardiovascular system of mother and fetus. MAPPING aims to not only chart this interaction using visual maps, but also develop a smart system to automatically detect these complications. This is done through AI algorithms capable of recognizing differences in the visual maps.