Mobile phone becomes an everyday tool

Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) challenged elderly people to come up with ideas for developing mobile phone services. The response was almost 4,300 ideas.

Most of the ideas were associated with everyday activities such as home care, living, well-being, health, maintaining social relations, hobbies and leisure-time. Some of the ideas are commercially exploitable as they are and can be implemented by means of modern technology.

A mobile phone could, for example, give a reminder about taking medicine, surgery times and the payment of bills, and help its user in taking an adequate daily supply of nutrition and outdoor exercise. A mobile phone could also give information about the quality of outdoor air at the local level and could even recommend suitable clothing.

A check when leaving home could ensure that doors are locked and electrical equipment is turned off. A mobile phone might show where spectacles or a wallet have been left, point out that keys should be taken when you leave and let you know who is behind the door when the doorbell rings.

Altogether 750 people with an average age of about 70 took part in forwarding their ideas, which ideas were collected at an open idea bank at the internet address www.idealiike.fi, which, as far is known, is now the biggest of its kind in the world.

>> www.idealiike.fi
>> www.vtt.fi

Pine used for making pulp

The forest products company UPM has developed a new method that enables pine to be used for producing pulp. The company will be investing 11 million euros to introduce the method on a mill scale at Kajaani.

The use of pine in the production of mechanical pulp has traditionally been restricted by the pitch in the pine. The new method disperses the harmful pitch effectively by using ozone.

The use of pine at the mill will start at the beginning of 2008. After the trial run at Kajaani it will be possible to apply the method at the company's other paper mills that use mechanical pulp.

UPM's aim is to diversify raw-material management at the mill and achieve cost benefits without compromising the quality and runnability of the paper.

Tests have been carried out on the use of pine at UPM's Kajaani paper mill with good results for several years. ITT Wedeco, a German company, has been acting as UPM's co-partner in the pilot project.

>> www.upm-kymmene.com

New potential in the use of wood

A Finnish-Swedish research programme into wood materials has been seeking new innovative potential for the use of wood.

One of things the programme found was growth hormones and the genes that regulate them, which can have an effect on the structure and composition of wood fibres. Changing the properties of the fibres can improve the quality of the end-products i.e. pulp and paper products.

Promising results were also achieved from processing and modifying the different components of wood, such as tree bark, into new materials. Biopolymers that are suitable as lubricants and binders were successfully produced from compounds obtained from bark and acting as antioxidants.

Areas of application for new cellulose derivatives are electro-spun fibres and cellulose-based sponges, coatings and beads in pharmaceutical applications. Areas of application are also to be found in bio- and nanomaterials.

To meet the needs of the wood-products industry the programme developed wood polymer composites with a better UV and biological durability. A completely new product is a binder developed from tall oil and used for coating wooden surfaces.

The Finnish-Swedish Wood Material Science and Engineering research programme was started on the initiative of Tekes-Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovations in 2003. The final seminar of the programme was held in Stockholm on 22 May 2007. Taking part in the programme were 28 companies and 18 research institutes and universities. Overall funding of the programme amounted to 20 million euros.

>> www.tekes.fi

FogScreen at the forefront of innovations

The projection screen of the Finnish company FogScreen Oy was selected to be among the 30 most interesting innovations in the United States, which meant entry to Launch: Silicon Valley 2007 in June.

This event is arranged by the the Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs (SVASE). The jury, which comprised experts in the investment sector, selected the 30 companies and products on show at the event from 160 candidates.

The jury felt that not only was FogScreen's projection screen attention-grabbing but also visually compelling, visionary and innovative.

The FogScreen projection screen is a dry fog surface formed from pure water where various contents can be reflected. Thanks to the thin fog surface images seem to be floating. The product is used at theme parks, in night clubs, at museums and at fairs and various corporate events.

FogScreen strengthened its position in the summer by establishing a subsidiary in Silicon Valley, California. "We are expecting the USA office to bring clear growth of some 30 per cent in sales this year," says CEO Mika Koivula.

>> www.fogscreen.com

Helsinki the sixth most popular

Helsinki has climbed to sixth and Finland to eighth as the most popular congress venue in the world. The placings are a record high.

Last year Helsinki overtook cities such as Barcelona, Amsterdam and New York as a congress venue. Finland was the only Scandinavian country to be placed in the top ten. The rise was boosted by Finland's Presidency of the EU, which increased the number of congresses by 50 per cent.

In 2006 Finland arranged about 500 congresses and a large number of international meetings that were attended by 86,000 people.

The Union of International Associations (UIA) carries out an annual survey of the world's most popular congress venues. Last year 212 countries and 1,512 cities were included.

The highest-flying of the elderly people's ideas for the mobile phone hoped for a service that would tell them when the right person comes along.