Research Projects
'CODE: RE-FARM: CONSUMER-DRIVEN DEMANDS TO REFRAME FARMING SYSTEMS´
FUNDING: European Commission. H2020.
The overall objective of the Code Re-farm project is to contribute to a better understanding of the relationships between different poultry and goat production systems and the intrinsic quality of the resulting products. This assessment will be used, together with indicators of the demand for the different products and the sustainability of the production processes employed, to provide new solutions to implement efficient and sustainable farms that are highly adapted to consumer demands. In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the research team of the project is highly multidisciplinary and has partners with specialities ranging from livestock farming to the manufacture of laser devices. In particular, UC3M is one of the partners involved in the development of the gas analysers that will measure the concentrations of certain gaseous compounds inside the stables; it is also leading the design of one of these devices.
'Development of New digital Microphone-MEMS-Sensors for wind tunnels with open/closed test sections and flight tests' (AEROMIC)
FUNDING: Clean Sky 2 Joint Undertaking (JU).
Grant Agreement 101007958.
AEROMIC aims at envisioning an innovative sensor technology for aeroacoustic measurements based on high performance MEMS microphones integrated as microphone arrays, and the development of a compact smart sensor surface through the integration of sensors and electronic components using vertical integration technology. With this goal, prototypes of the required instrumentation for wind tunnel and flight testing will be provided. After the project, the instrumentation approach is matured to a turnkey-instrumentation solution and MEMS microphones are industrialized to mass production and can be applied in various high-performance applications. This breakthrough of the sensor technology based on MEMS microphones and its tremendous advances in aeroacoustic applications will open completely new possibilities in these research areas.
'A collaborative platform to provide a relevant training on nanosat technology through Student Challenges’ (SOE2/P1/F0684)
FUNDING: Interreg SUDOE
(European Regional Dev. Fund)
NANOSTAR is a network of excellence among universities, the regional industry and the scientific ecosystem in order to create a leading platform in Europe on nanosatellites. The challenge of the project is to provide students with the experience of a real space engineering process that includes all stages, from conception and specifications, to design, assembly, integration, testing and documentation. That is, the whole process through a network that combines high-level engineering careers and entrepreneurial ventures in the area of nanosatellites.
The consortium is composed of 7 universities and 2 aerospace clusters, plus 3 ESA Business Incubation Centres as associates, in France, Spain and Portugal. To support the emergence of a dynamic environment around the construction of nanosatellites in the south west of Europe, these partners have proposed a collaborative project to link their resources. The main actions are the partners resources catalogue, the development of Concurrent Design Facility software, the work methodology and the Student Challenges to test the network and train future engineers of this field.
'Convergence of Electronics and Photonics Technologies for Enabling Terahertz Applications' (CELTA)
FUNDING: European Commission.
H2020.: H2020-MSCA-ITN-2015-675683
CELTA aims to produce the next generation of researchers who will enable Europe to take a leading role in the multidisciplinary area of utilising Terahertz technology for applications involving components and complete systems for sensing, instrumentation, imaging, spectroscopy, and communications. All these technologies are keys to tackling challenges and creating solutions in a large number of focus areas relevant for the societal challenges identified in the Horizon 2020 programme. To achieve this objective, CELTA is comprised of 11 leading research institutions and has assembled a comprehensive research training programme for all the 15 early-stage researchers (ESRs). In this project SITec has developed a novel THz dual-comb architecture with applications in gas spectroscopy and other fields.
Taking Hyperspectral Terahertz Imaging to the Industry’ (HYPERTERA)
FUNDING: European Commission Research Executive Agency. ATTRACT initiative (Grant Agreement 777222).
The aim of this project is the development of the architecture of dual-comb sources operating in the terahertz range that are capable of transforming a regular video camera into a high-resolution hyperspectral imaging system to be employed for the monitoring of agri-food products.
‘Real time assessment of water quality parameters using photonics components and architectures’ (PARAQUA)
FUNDING: Dirección General de Innovación y Competitividad. MINECO (TEC2017-86271-R)
This project focus on the study and implementation of prototypes using different photonic components and architectures for the identification and quantification of substances and emerging contaminants for water quality, including the detection of volatile organic compounds. Different spectroscopy techniques have been validated and compared including photoacoustics, dual-comb electro-optical systems and dispersion spectroscopy in the NIR and MIR.
‘Development of an on-board winter maintenance system for roads with continuous measurement of innovative variables’ (SALICAR)
FUNDING: Dirección General de Innovación y Competitividad. MINECO (RTC-2015-4205-4)
Project in collaboration with the companies SEAC and ALVAC consisting in the development of an on-board system for data collection and cloud storage of different roads parameters useful for decision making in winter maintenance activities. The main innovation was the development of an optical sensor prototype for the detection of water and ice on the road surface.
‘Multimode photonics sources for spectroscopy and fiber optic sensors interrogation' (MOSSI)
FUNDING: Dirección General de Innovación y Competitividad. MINECO (TEC2014-52147-R)
In this project, several architectures based on multimode optical sources (Optical frequency combs) were developed in order to obtain ultra-high resolution, fast, and highly sensitive spectroscopy systems for application in various fields such as gas sensing, interrogation of optical fiber sensors, biomedicine and security and defense, among others. Among the most important scientific milestones achieved in the project we can highlight the proposal of the standard architecture of Dual-comb schemes based on electro-optical modulators currently used by several groups in the world; the demonstration, for the first time, of a dispersion spectroscopy measurement system using EOMs Dual-combs; the demonstration, for the first time, of a mid-infrared spectroscopy system using EOMs dual-combs and a single non-linear crystal; and the first dual-comb spectroscopy scheme in the THz range using EOMs.
'Linear and Non-Linear Spectroscopy of Dual Optical Frequency Combs for Biomedical, Environmental and Industrial Applications’ (LOLI-COMB)
FUNDING: Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) (PID2020-116439GB-I00).
Dual-Comb Spectroscopy (DCS) combines many of the strengths of conventional Fourier- Transform spectroscopy and tunable laser spectroscopy into a single platform further providing fast measurement times. In DCS two mutually coherent Optical Frequency Combs (OFCs) with slightly different repetition rates are combined in a photodiode mapping the spectral information of the measurement comb to the highly accessible Radiofrequency (RF) domain.
The project’s main objective that is to propose, explore and validate novel implementations of both linear and non-linear Dual Optical Frequency Comb architectures and test them in several biomedical, environmental and industrial applications not properly explored so far.
‘Nuevas Tecnologías de Fabricación y Optimización de Tejidos: La Piel como Sistema Modelo' (BIOIPIELTEC-CM)
FUNDING: Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. Consejería de Educación, Juventud y Deporte (P2018/BAA-4480)
The aim of BIOPIELTEC-CM is to bring together top research groups from the Community of Madrid around one of the most important technological challenges in the field of biomedicine/biotechnology: the development of viable and functional tissues and organs manufacturing technologies, and the optimization of these for their clinical and industrial application. The fundamental objective is to improve both the methods of manufacturing biological (artificial) tissues, using 3D bio-printing techniques, and their functionalities (biological and non-biological), using as a model system the most extensive organ of the human body: the skin; although the techniques and concepts proposed to be developed are susceptible to be applied to other tissues and organs.
‘Development evaluation and validation of a new non-invasive assessment system for flaps in reconstructive surgery'
FUNDING: Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Ministerio de Economía, Industria y competitividad (DTS19/00146)
This project aims to develop an instrument based on optical spectroscopy in the visible range capable of monitoring the state of skin grafts (by measuring mainly hemoglobin concentration and oxygen saturation) and of detecting hematoma during the surgical practice and the post-operative period.
‘Development evaluation and validation of a new non-invasive diagnostic tool for sustained hyperglycaemia detection using millimetre wave spectroscopy’
FUNDING: Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Ministerio de Economía, Industria y competitividad (DTS17/00135)
The objective of this project was the development, validation and evaluation of a new tool that allows the measurement of sustained hyperglycemia in humans using millimeter-wave spectroscopy, with the ultimate goal of obtaining a non-invasive, compact, portable and easy-to-use diagnostic and monitoring system for diabetes. This tool was tested in a study of diagnostic utility in humans to evaluate its performance against the usual methods of evaluation of glycemic control in the short, medium, and long term. The results obtained showed that the measured spectral response can provide an excellent indicator of sustained hyperglycemia closely related to the HbA1c value.
