Research news

List of news published in the Press Room on research and innovation

  • The VIMAC virtually reproduces the architectural evolution of the medieval complex of Barcelona’s Palau Reial Major

    The UPC’s Virtual Innovation Laboratory for Modelling Architecture and the City (VIMAC) has performed laser scanning and drawn up the plans of Barcelona’s Palau Reial Major, a work that has allowed researchers to explore and accurately virtually reproduce the architectural evolution of the medieval complex over the five golden centuries of the city as the capital of the Mediterranean, and unveil previously unknown details. The work is part of the virtual historical restitution projected at the exhibition “La metamorfosi medieval, segles XIII-XV” extended until 5 January 2020 at the Tinell Hall in the Barcelona History Museum (MUHBA), on the Plaça del Rei.

  • UPC researchers create an app to monitor outings with children during the lockdown

    The Data Management Group (DAMA-UPC) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) and the spin-off Sparsity have developed the app SafeWalkNearby to help to monitor the distance and the duration of outings with children under 14 to public spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

  • Two UPC cutting-edge research projects selected under the MIT-Spain ”la Caixa” programme

    Quantifying vegetation response to climate change with statistical models and studying atmospheric electricity using small uncrewed aerial vehicles. These two projects involving UPC researchers have been selected under the third MIT-Spain ”la Caixa” Foundation Seed Fund, an initiative to foster knowledge and cutting-edge research between Spanish universities and research centres and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.

  • UPC’s INTE research for improving the detection of radon gas in the atmosphere and soil to monitor its impact on health and climate change

    The researchers Claudia Grossi and Arturo Vargas, from the UPC’s Institute of Energy Technologies (INTE), and other European scientists are studying how to improve radon gas measurements in the atmosphere and soil to better control its impact on health and the environment.

  • The UPC has developed a payload for a United Arab Emirates satellite

    The NanoSat Lab at the UPC has developed one of the payloads for a United Arab Emirates satellite that is being developed by the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC), at the UAE University (UAEU) in Al Ain, to explore new GNSS reflectometry and RF monitoring techniques for the measurement of soil moisture and ionospheric scintillation.

  • Barcelona will implement a UPC-designed sustainable construction system

    The UPC’s Architectural Rehabilitation and Restoration (REARQ) research group and the Interdisciplinary Group on Building Science and Technology (GICITED) have developed a construction prototype to extend buildings sustainably that will be tested for a year before being implemented on a large scale in apartment blocks in Barcelona. The 'Regenerar Barcelona' proposal has been selected by the Barcelona City Council.

  • The UPC has conferred an honorary doctoral degree on the Italian mathematician Alessio Figalli

    The Italian mathematician Alessio Figalli, who received a 2018 Fields Medal, has been awarded an honorary doctoral degree by the UPC. He is a professor at ETH Zurich and one of the most outstanding mathematicians worldwide today. The Governing Council approved the award, which was proposed by the School of Mathematics and Statistics (FME), on 24 May. The 'honoris causa' award has taken place on Friday 22 November at 11.30 a.m in the auditorium of the Vèrtex building, in Barcelona, and in live on UPCtv.

  • Exploring connections between AI and music: Sónar and the UPC introduce the #ThinkingLab

    On Thursday 13 May, a panel of groundbreaking artists and leading experts in artificial intelligence have explored the connections between AI and music in a live-streamed event and that has marked the first activity of the #ThinkingLab created by Sónar and the UPC, ahead of the S+T+ARTS AI and Music Festival that is taking place in Barcelona this autumn.

  • For the first time in Barcelona, Sónar, the UPC and betevé will organise the AI and Music Festival

    Sónar, the UPC and betevé will host the AI and Music Festival on site in Barcelona and online on 27 and 28 October. Within the framework of the S+T+ARTS programme of the European Commission, the festival will focus on the applications and challenges of artificial intelligence in creating music. Since the end of April, the UPC is leading an applied research laboratory to explore this relationship.

  • Sónar, the UPC and betevé present, for the first time in Barcelona, the AI and Music S+T+ARTS Festival

    Sónar, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) and betevé are partnering to present the AI and Music S+T+ARTS Festival on 27 and 28 October. The festival will be held live in Barcelona and online and will feature nearly 30 activities, including shows, presentations, talks and roundtables with artists, scientists and other professionals who incorporate artificial intelligence as an essential element in musical projects. UPC students can get a discount (ticket price of 15 euros) by presenting their student card.

  • Testing a drone to save lives in the Mediterranean

    Three students from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) are participating, together with the Hemav Foundation, in the FREEDA project, in which they are developing an offshore reconnaissance drone to search for people and boats. The aim is to improve Proactiva Open Arms rescue missions. The first test to check the operation of the drone on the NGO’s ship was recently carried out offshore from Borriana (Castellón).

  • The UPC’s Baix Llobregat Campus will host the business incubator ESA BIC Barcelona for three more years

    The UPC’s Baix Llobregat Campus in Castelldefels will host ESA BIC Barcelona for three more years to accelerate start-ups based on innovative space technologies or infrastructures. The incubator will continue to be located in the RDIT building of the Parc UPC with the support of the Government of Catalonia, the Mediterranean Technology Park, the Baix Llobregat County Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area and the Barcelona City Council.

  • The UPC participated in the 3rd Unite! Dialogue Grenoble and will host the 4th instalment in Barcelona

    The UPC, as a partner university of the Unite! alliance, joined the third instalment of the Unite! Dialogue, which took place from 8th to 10th March 2021 in Grenoble. This regular meeting between the members of the alliance and key guests is a great opportunity to strengthen the links and foster further collaboration within the alliance.

  • Leadership of a European project aimed at using ultrasound to produce antimicrobial textiles and devices on an industrial scale

    Researcher and professor Tzanko Tzanov, who works on the Terrassa Campus of the UPC, is the leader of the European PROTECT project, which focuses on applying ultrasound technology in the industrial-scale manufacture of textiles and devices coated with antimicrobial nanoparticles. The technology will be used to coat medical textiles, materials used in public areas, medical devices, and water treatment membranes.

  • The UPC, among the world’s 500 best universities and the top 100 in four subjects

    In the 2019 edition of the Taiwan Ranking, the UPC ranks among the world’s 500 best universities and 138th in the field of Engineering, in which it remains the leader among Spanish universities. The University is also listed among the world’s top 100 in four subjects: Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Computer Science.

  • The European project GEECCO faces the challenge of promoting and increasing the presence of women working in science and technology

    The implementation of actions that eliminate barriers to hiring, maintaining and promoting women researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is the objective of the European project Gender Equality in Engineering through Communication and Commitment (GEECCO), carried out by nine European partners, including the UPC.

  • Barcelona will be the European capital of urban mobility, with the UPC as one of the key technological partners

    The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has chosen the MOBILus consortium, led by the city of Barcelona and co-partnered by the UPC, to develop one of its innovation communities, in the field of urban mobility.

  • Launch of EIT Urban Mobility in Barcelona to transform European cities into liveable spaces

    The city of Barcelona launched the European initiative EIT Urban Mobility at the Smart City Expo World Congress. The event marked the official start of the EIT Innovation Community, which aims to finance projects that contribute to mobility solutions that accelerate the transition towards more liveable urban spaces.

  • Microchips manufactured at the UPC will measure the wind on Mars

    The UPC’s Micro and Nanotechnologies Research Group has participated in the design, manufacture and calibration of the wind sensor of the MEDA instrument, which will travel to Mars on board NASA’s Mars 2020 mission to measure wind direction and speed, relative humidity, pressure and properties of suspended dust on the Red Planet. It will be the third time that UPC technology travels to Mars. On this occasion, it is 60 silicon dice that make up the heart of the sensor and that were recently delivered to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

  • NASA’s InSight probe with UPC technology on board lands successfully on Mars

    On 26 November, NASA’s InSight probe landed successfully on Mars with UPC technology on board. Researchers from the UPC’s Micro and Nanotechnologies Research Group participated in the design of the wind sensor that travelled on the probe, which will be the first to record seismic vibrations and measure the flow of heat emitted by the planet’s surface. This information will help determine the planet’s internal composition and how it was formed.

  • A microchip designed at the UPC is on its way to Mars

    Researchers from the UPC’s Micro and Nanotechnology Research Group participated in the design of a wind sensor that has been installed in NASA's InSight spacecraft to study the interior of the planet Mars.

  • A new hydrogel developed for desalinating seawater using sunlight and for medical therapies

    Researchers from the UPC’s research group Innovation in Materials and Molecular Engineering - Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies (IMEM-BRT) are working on a thermosensitive hydrogel with several applications, such as the desalination of seawater with solar radiation and the creation of new biomedical adhesives for semi-invasive therapies and for medical diagnosis.

  • The Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, the UPC and Probitas create iMAGING, an AI-based app to diagnose malaria

    A multidisciplinary team involving the Microbiology Service of the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, the Microbiology research group of the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, the UPC and the Probitas Foundation has developed a novel AI-based diagnostic method for malaria.

  • Fractus and the UPC create a technological hub to develop deep tech solutions

    Fractus and the UPC have agreed to create the Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub, a research centre where deep technologies will be designed and improved so as to develop disruptive technological solutions based on scientific challenges with great potential and social impact. Fractus is one of the first spin-offs that emerged from the UPC.

  • The UPC launches Connèxia, a new 360° programme to accelerate technology transfer to industry

    On 27 October, the UPC presented the Connèxia UPC programme. Aimed at industry, it provides tailored collaboration to connect the University’s technological capabilities with the specific and strategic needs of the productive sector.

  • Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub reveals that AI and 5G-6G are the technologies with the highest potential for techno-social disruption

    Artificial intelligence, 5G-6G, big data, robotics, cybersecurity, computers and IoT protocols and 3D and 4D printing are the technologies with the most research groups at the UPC, according to the study 'Analysis, map and detection of Deep Tech areas and technologies'. Prepared with its own methodology within the framework of the Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub, the study detects the end of 16 technologies in which 50% of the University's research groups are distributed, depending on the social impact or industrial escalation.

  • The UPC climbs positions in the 2024 QS Sustainability Ranking and is placed as one of the world’s 150 best universities

    The new edition of the QS Sustainability Ranking places the UPC as one of the world’s 150 best universities, specifically in 143rd place. The ranking also places the University among the world’s top 100 in governance, in 79th.

  • Semiconductors, at the heart of technology

    The semiconductor ecosystem in Catalonia, a sector that is in a phase of development, comprises around a hundred companies and research entities and some 4,400 professionals. Companies such as Cisco, Monolithic Power Systems (MPS) and Intel have chosen Barcelona as the location for their microchip design centres, and another twenty or so foreign investment projects are expected to follow in the next few years.

  • The UPC celebrates the inauguration of MareNostrum 5, which positions the University as a global benchmark in supercomputing knowledge

    Recently, the rector of the UPC, Daniel Crespo, welcomed Catalan president Pere Aragonès and Spanish president Pedro Sánchez to the launch event of MareNostrum 5 at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center–Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS).

  • Cyber avatars for a new era

    The UPC takes part in the Avatar Symbiotic Society, an initiative by the Japanese government to drive the creation of a society in which teleoperated avatars and cyborgs can stand in for individuals in various areas of life. Researcher Alberto Sanfeliu, from the Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics (IRI), is the only international member in a team of Japanese researchers led by professor Hiroshi Ishiguro.