Ten questions and answers on technology topics

22 Oct The patient, technologies and ambulatory medicine

Posted at 10:47h in - Classification of publications - All, - Classification of themes - All, - Member Academies - All, Academic report, by a Commission or a Working Group, Academy’s advice and position paper, Co-studies, Communications to the Academy by its members, Major French Technology Adventures, National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF), Other publications, Technologies and Health, Ten questions and answers on technology topics, Working group reports by administrateur 0 Comments
0 Likes 
National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2008
Due to the increased life expectancy and the related increase of chronic diseases (as opposed to acute disorders when patients are younger), an alternative approach to hospital care has become necessary: a third of the population of France and the US now suffers from chronic diseases.  Ambulatory medicine, which is a health care system that keeps the patient at home while offering him the same outstanding quality care that he would receive at the hospital, is such an economically viable approach, responding at the same time to the wishes of patients, to economic requirements and scientific, technological and medical developments. This report describes recent advances of ambulatory medical care, identifies obstacles to overcome and incentives to encourage and makes recommendations for future development with the aim of optimizing the management of healthcare costs, with special emphasis on the role of information technology to master the complex system of information flows between the many stakeholders.  It does also identify the potential hurdles and necessary incentives and looks at issues of compliance with existing law and legal adaptation to the new requirements.  It also evokes the necessary training of the various actors in order for the system to function adequately. Working-group Leaders: Francis Lévi, Professor of Medical Oncology and NATF Fellow, and Christian Saguez, Former Professor at École Centrale de Paris and NATF Fellow.
Read More

21 Oct About Robots

Posted at 14:19h in - Classification of themes - All, - Member Academies - All, National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF), Research, Technologies, Innovation and Employment, Society and Technology, Ten questions and answers on technology topics by administrateur 0 Comments
0 Likes 
National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2009
Man has always sought to free himself from inevitable, fastidious and boring work. Technological progress has partially satisfied his desires through two generic tools: the computer for mental tasks and the robot for physical labour. This report addresses questions about robots frequently raised by the public at large. People regularly hear about them but never actually see them. The main questions concern reasons for their absence, their intelligence and a comparison with human capacities. Since the future cannot be written in advance, where there are no guidelines, the author expresses his own assumptions.
Read More

21 Oct The automobile of the future

Posted at 10:16h in - Classification of publications - All, - Classification of themes - All, - Member Academies - All, Academic report, by a Commission or a Working Group, Academy’s advice and position paper, Co-studies, Communications to the Academy by its members, Mobility and Transportation, National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF), Other publications, Ten questions and answers on technology topics, Working group reports by administrateur 0 Comments
0 Likes 
National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2012
The report gives an overview of world-wide automobile production and its foreseeable development: the position of the electric vehicle, the market for hybrid vehicles and ‘green' fuels (including hydrogen). It suggests that mobility might evolve into a simple service (car ownership no longer being the first choice) where the electric vehicle for urban use finds its place, given that the majority of the world population will live in large urban areas. The car is then looked at from the perspective of a global mobility system with inevitable changes in patterns of movement, infrastructures, regulation and multi-modality. Considering the technological dimension of the car of the future, how will it impact future domestic technological and design capabilities and the industrialisation process and which are the key technologies to remain in control of French companies to maintain a competitive automotive industry. Recommendation: Preserve an automotive industry in France. It is a vector of technological innovation and provides millions of jobs. Working-group leader: Olivier Morel, President Competitiveness Cluster NOV@LOG, President of PREDIT’s Logistics and Transport of Merchandise Group (GO4), and NATF Fellow
Read More

21 Oct Freight Systems

Posted at 10:13h in - Classification of publications - All, - Classification of themes - All, - Member Academies - All, Academic report, by a Commission or a Working Group, Academy’s advice and position paper, Co-studies, Communications to the Academy by its members, Major French Technology Adventures, Mobility and Transportation, National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF), Other publications, Ten questions and answers on technology topics, Working group reports by administrateur 0 Comments
0 Likes 
National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2012
The report assumes fuel and pollution-related costs of transport will rise substantially.  However, such costs are only a minor part of the overall costs of a transport system that includes logistics for managing the “Production – Transport – Distribution” chain.  The report looks specifically into the transport of manufactured goods, representing 50% of total volume, but growing at a rate of 8% per year.  On a global scale, this marine-based system appears to be resilient and self-adapting to market conditions, while the local chains include rail, road and waterways.  Potential cost reductions are mainly linked to the power of IT in logistics, including in production (M2M), collection, shipping and distribution: the “second invisible arm”. The study takes account of both world and European trends, and draws comparisons for gaining a better understanding of the French issues.  It also looks at related French Research capabilities and how to improve cross-fertilisation between different disciplines, the linkage to the private sector and international collaborations for greater impact.  Last, not least, it points to the need of making this sector more attractive to talented young people and adapt the curriculum at the “Grandes Écoles” to the needs of the market. Group Leader: Jean-Claude Raoule, NATF Territorial Delegate West, Technical Advisor to the French Railway Industry Association, Director of the European Association of Railway Interoperability, and NATF Fellow.
Read More

21 Oct Artificial, man-made, Intelligence

Posted at 09:49h in - Classification of themes - All, - Member Academies - All, Information and Communication Technologies, National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF), Society and Technology, Ten questions and answers on technology topics by administrateur 0 Comments
0 Likes 
National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2009
The dream of creating an artificial Intelligence (AI) is as old as the computer, if not as old as humanity (think of Golem). Since the fifties, theorists like Alan Turin have expressed their belief that machines could match men in performing complex tasks in an intelligent way. Despite the continuous advances of computers can we really say that they have intelligence? If so, how does it relay to human intelligence? The document defines AI and answers many such questions as: what characteristics of human intelligence can be modelled, what are the concepts and tools for AI, what are the industrial successes of AI techniques, how far can and will AI go and what further efforts are needed for future developments of AI?
Read More

21 Oct Impact of ICT on world energy consumption

Posted at 09:07h in - Classification of publications - All, - Classification of themes - All, - Member Academies - All, Academic report, by a Commission or a Working Group, Academy’s advice and position paper, Co-studies, Communications to the Academy by its members, Information and Communication Technologies, Major French Technology Adventures, National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF), Other publications, Ten questions and answers on technology topics, Working group reports by administrateur 0 Comments
0 Likes 
National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2015
How does ICT impact on worldwide energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions? This is what NATF went to find out when auditioning French and foreign experts to evaluate the overall energy and environmental balance that is due to the ICT sector, considering the impacts generated by the operation of its various hardware and infrastructure, and the savings it spawns in other areas of activity. The final energy and carbon balance of ICT, the Academy report concludes, is clearly a positive one. In 2012, ICT accounted for 4.7% of worldwide electricity consumption, and a total carbon footprint of about 1.7 percent (including private, industry and telecom hardware and infrastructure and data centres). These numbers are on an upwards trend, but in smaller proportions than the growing use of ICT, thanks to its contribution to reduce these footprints in other areas of activities such as in the transport sector, buildings, manufacturing industries, or even dematerialised procedures. The report focuses on the (global) transport/mobility sector benefitting from digitisation in and around vehicles, with gradually reduced/optimised travel needs (example United States).  It also lists current lines of research aimed at better performance of computing, with lower energy consumption. Group Leader: Erol Gelenbe, Professor in the Dennis Gabor Chair Imperial College, London, and NATF Fellow and Yves Caseau, Director of the Digital Agency, AXA Group, and NATF Fellow
Read More

21 Oct Big Data: a change of paradigm can hide another – Opportunities and threats related to the emergence of new ecosystems

Posted at 09:05h in - Classification of publications - All, - Classification of themes - All, - Member Academies - All, Academic report, by a Commission or a Working Group, Academy’s advice and position paper, Co-studies, Communications to the Academy by its members, Information and Communication Technologies, Major French Technology Adventures, National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF), Other publications, Ten questions and answers on technology topics, Working group reports by administrateur 0 Comments
0 Likes 
National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2015
Big Data implies a revolution in IT, reaching from technology to applications and practices, enabling the analysis of vast pools of "digital traces" to know customer intentions with unmatched precision. Data manipulation from smartphones and connected objects opens up new service opportunities and significant cost reductions of information systems.  While it is a major issue for sciences, politics and citizens, this report looks at the impact on businesses: mastering these methods permits a new immediacy in customer relationships and may leave enterprises less vulnerable to the GAFAs. Big data is: • a disruptive data-analysis methodology, in particular in marketing, replacing classic approaches by iterative loops in which detected patterns are immediately confronted with situations of implementation and judgement on operational effectiveness. • a new way of massive parallel data-centred programming and of designing algorithms, due to the: - treatment on a myriad of machines, - high-performance requirements and - need to develop algorithms through learning. • a major challenge and paradigm shift for Governments and companies, deserving strong support in terms of training and awareness. Technology and practice play key roles; new ways of working with an extremely wide scope need to be developed. Rapporteur : Yves Caseau, Director Digital Agency, Axa Group, and Fellow of NATF
Read More

21 Oct Large Socio-Technical Systems

Posted at 09:03h in - Classification of publications - All, - Classification of themes - All, - Member Academies - All, Academic report, by a Commission or a Working Group, Academy’s advice and position paper, Co-studies, Communications to the Academy by its members, Information and Communication Technologies, Major French Technology Adventures, National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF), Other publications, Ten questions and answers on technology topics, Working group reports by administrateur 0 Comments
0 Likes 
National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2013
Large, networked Socio-Technical Systems (or LSTSs), often continental or even global in scale, such as railroad-, air traffic-, electric-, and telecommunications systems, and the internet, have modified life-styles and society. Citizens see them as combining sciences and technologies, offering essential value-for-money services. They have common characteristics: expected safe and no-break service quality; co-operation of a myriad of component parts, including agents. Success and vulnerability through complexification (national and European regulations, multiplication for each LSTS of autonomous agents) and inter-dependence (inroads by ICTs, liberalisation) go hand-in-hand. During the past 15 years, the drafting of new regulatory texts that promote sustainable development of the LSTSs, incorporating technical trends while reconciling local aspirations and nation-wide issues, has become increasingly difficult. NATF proposes: 1) An objective analysis of the experience from the last 20 years for each LSTS, covering operations, quality, costs, jobs, risk control, governance and regulation, crises situations/incidents and the degrees of interdependence with other LSTSs. 2) Exploring possible (global) trends for the next two decades including sustainable development. 3) Teach LSTSs to young people early on for a better appreciation, including of S&T and ongoing innovations. These proposals should contribute to better informed decision processes that benefit our children. Yves BAMBERGER (WP Chair and Draft author) – Scientific counsellor to EDF CEO – Fellow of the NATF
Read More

18 Oct Hans Werthén – One of Sweden’s most prominent industrialists

Posted at 10:11h in - Classification of publications - All, - Classification of themes - All, Academic report, by a Commission or a Working Group, Academy’s advice and position paper, Biotechnologies, Co-studies, Communications to the Academy by its members, Demography, Education, Training, Employment, Energy and Climate Change, Environment, Ethics, Information and Communication Technologies, Major French Technology Adventures, Mobility and Transportation, Other, Other publications, Research, Technologies, Innovation and Employment, Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA), Society and Technology, Technologies and Development for Developing Countries, Technologies and Health, Ten questions and answers on technology topics, Urbanism and Housing, Working group reports by administrateur 0 Comments
0 Likes 
Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2015
A pamphlet produced by the Hans Werthén Fund at IVA, 2015, 16 pp.
Read More

18 Oct Arable crops: a source of renewable raw materials

Posted at 09:34h in - Classification of publications - All, - Classification of themes - All, Academic report, by a Commission or a Working Group, Biotechnologies, Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW), Ten questions and answers on technology topics by administrateur 0 Comments
0 Likes 
Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW)
2010
Once the easily accessible reserves of oil are exhausted, plants will become increasingly important as an industrial resource. For this reason there will probably be a renaissance in wood, linseed, straw and other plant products as raw materials. The objective of research and development should be to optimise the practicability of production processes and the usefulness of the end products. There is a great need for research into the relatively new area of transgenic plants which could in some cases deliver specific high quality substances. We should be thinking about bio-refineries rather than oil refineries. Our most important task will be to improve public perception of such technologies and to consider the social consequences of introducing them and their implications for the overall safety of foodstuffs, not only in industrial nations but also in developing countries.
Read More