Project acronym 3DBIOLUNG
Project Bioengineering lung tissue using extracellular matrix based 3D bioprinting
Researcher (PI) Darcy WAGNER
Host Institution (HI) LUNDS UNIVERSITET
Country Sweden
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS9, ERC-2018-STG
Summary Chronic lung diseases are increasing in prevalence with over 65 million patients worldwide. Lung transplantation remains the only potential option at end-stage disease. Around 4000 patients receive lung transplants annually with more awaiting transplantation, including 1000 patients in Europe. New options to increase available tissue for lung transplantation are desperately needed.
An exciting new research area focuses on generating lung tissue ex vivo using bioengineering approaches. Scaffolds can be generated from synthetic or biologically-derived (acellular) materials, seeded with cells and grown in a bioreactor prior to transplantation. Ideally, scaffolds would be seeded with cells derived from the transplant recipient, thus obviating the need for long-term immunosuppression. However, functional regeneration has yet to be achieved. New advances in 3D printing and 3D bioprinting (when cells are printed) indicate that this once thought of science-fiction concept might finally be mature enough for complex tissues, including lung. 3D bioprinting addresses a number of concerns identified in previous approaches, such as a) patient heterogeneity in acellular human scaffolds, b) anatomical differences in xenogeneic sources, c) lack of biological cues on synthetic materials and d) difficulty in manufacturing the complex lung architecture. 3D bioprinting could be a reproducible, scalable, and controllable approach for generating functional lung tissue.
The aim of this proposal is to use custom 3D bioprinters to generate constructs mimicking lung tissue using an innovative approach combining primary cells, the engineering reproducibility of synthetic materials, and the biologically conductive properties of acellular lung (hybrid). We will 3D bioprint hybrid murine and human lung tissue models and test gas exchange, angiogenesis and in vivo immune responses. This proposal will be a critical first step in demonstrating feasibility of 3D bioprinting lung tissue.
Summary
Chronic lung diseases are increasing in prevalence with over 65 million patients worldwide. Lung transplantation remains the only potential option at end-stage disease. Around 4000 patients receive lung transplants annually with more awaiting transplantation, including 1000 patients in Europe. New options to increase available tissue for lung transplantation are desperately needed.
An exciting new research area focuses on generating lung tissue ex vivo using bioengineering approaches. Scaffolds can be generated from synthetic or biologically-derived (acellular) materials, seeded with cells and grown in a bioreactor prior to transplantation. Ideally, scaffolds would be seeded with cells derived from the transplant recipient, thus obviating the need for long-term immunosuppression. However, functional regeneration has yet to be achieved. New advances in 3D printing and 3D bioprinting (when cells are printed) indicate that this once thought of science-fiction concept might finally be mature enough for complex tissues, including lung. 3D bioprinting addresses a number of concerns identified in previous approaches, such as a) patient heterogeneity in acellular human scaffolds, b) anatomical differences in xenogeneic sources, c) lack of biological cues on synthetic materials and d) difficulty in manufacturing the complex lung architecture. 3D bioprinting could be a reproducible, scalable, and controllable approach for generating functional lung tissue.
The aim of this proposal is to use custom 3D bioprinters to generate constructs mimicking lung tissue using an innovative approach combining primary cells, the engineering reproducibility of synthetic materials, and the biologically conductive properties of acellular lung (hybrid). We will 3D bioprint hybrid murine and human lung tissue models and test gas exchange, angiogenesis and in vivo immune responses. This proposal will be a critical first step in demonstrating feasibility of 3D bioprinting lung tissue.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 975 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-01-01, End date: 2023-12-31
Project acronym 3DPBio
Project Computational Models of Motion for Fabrication-aware Design of Bioinspired Systems
Researcher (PI) Stelian Coros
Host Institution (HI) EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH
Country Switzerland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE6, ERC-2019-COG
Summary "Bridging the fields of Computer Animation and Computational Fabrication, this proposal will establish the foundations for algorithmic design of physical structures that can generate lifelike movements. Driven by embedded actuators, these types of structures will enable an abundance of possibilities for a wide array of real-world technologies: animatronic characters whose organic motions will enhance their ability to awe, entertain and educate; soft robotic creatures that are both skilled and safe to be around; patient-specific prosthetics and wearable devices that match the soft touch of the human body, etc. Recent advances in additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are particularly exciting in this context, as they allow us to create designs of unparalleled geometric complexity using a constantly expanding range of materials. And if past developments are an indication, within the next decade we will be able to fabricate physical structures that approach, at least at the macro scale, the functional sophistication of their biological counterparts. However, while this unprecedented capability enables fascinating opportunities, it also leads to an explosion in the dimensionality of the space that must be explored during the design process. As AM technologies keep evolving, the gap between ""what we can produce"" and ""what we can design"" is therefore rapidly growing.
To effectively leverage the extraordinary design possibilities enabled by AM, 3DPBio will develop the computational and mathematical foundations required to study a fundamental scientific question: how are physical deformations, mechanical movements and overall functional capabilities governed by geometric shape features, material compositions and the design of compliant actuation systems? By enabling computers to reason about this question, our work will establish new ways to algorithmically create digital designs that can be turned into mechanical lifeforms at the push of a button."
Summary
"Bridging the fields of Computer Animation and Computational Fabrication, this proposal will establish the foundations for algorithmic design of physical structures that can generate lifelike movements. Driven by embedded actuators, these types of structures will enable an abundance of possibilities for a wide array of real-world technologies: animatronic characters whose organic motions will enhance their ability to awe, entertain and educate; soft robotic creatures that are both skilled and safe to be around; patient-specific prosthetics and wearable devices that match the soft touch of the human body, etc. Recent advances in additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are particularly exciting in this context, as they allow us to create designs of unparalleled geometric complexity using a constantly expanding range of materials. And if past developments are an indication, within the next decade we will be able to fabricate physical structures that approach, at least at the macro scale, the functional sophistication of their biological counterparts. However, while this unprecedented capability enables fascinating opportunities, it also leads to an explosion in the dimensionality of the space that must be explored during the design process. As AM technologies keep evolving, the gap between ""what we can produce"" and ""what we can design"" is therefore rapidly growing.
To effectively leverage the extraordinary design possibilities enabled by AM, 3DPBio will develop the computational and mathematical foundations required to study a fundamental scientific question: how are physical deformations, mechanical movements and overall functional capabilities governed by geometric shape features, material compositions and the design of compliant actuation systems? By enabling computers to reason about this question, our work will establish new ways to algorithmically create digital designs that can be turned into mechanical lifeforms at the push of a button."
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2020-02-01, End date: 2025-01-31
Project acronym 3DPROTEINPUZZLES
Project Shape-directed protein assembly design
Researcher (PI) Lars Ingemar ANDRe
Host Institution (HI) MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University
Country Sweden
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS9, ERC-2017-COG
Summary Large protein complexes carry out some of the most complex functions in biology. Such structures are often assembled spontaneously from individual components through the process of self-assembly. If self-assembled protein complexes could be engineered from first principle it would enable a wide range of applications in biomedicine, nanotechnology and materials science. Recently, approaches to rationally design proteins to self-assembly into predefined structures have emerged. The highlight of this work is the design of protein cages that may be engineered into protein containers. However, current approaches for self-assembly design does not result in the assemblies with the required structural complexity to encode many of the sophisticated functions found in nature. To move forward, we have to learn how to engineer protein subunits with more than one designed interface that can assemble into tightly interacting complexes. In this proposal we propose a new protein design paradigm, shape directed protein design, in order to address shortcomings of the current methodology. The proposed method combines geometric shape matching and computational protein design. Using this approach we will de novo design assemblies with a wide variety of structural states, including protein complexes with cyclic and dihedral symmetry as well as icosahedral protein capsids built from novel protein building blocks. To enable these two design challenges we also develop a high-throughput assay to measure assembly stability in vivo that builds on a three-color fluorescent assay. This method will not only facilitate the screening of orders of magnitude more design constructs, but also enable the application of directed evolution to experimentally improve stable and assembly properties of designed containers as well as other designed assemblies.
Summary
Large protein complexes carry out some of the most complex functions in biology. Such structures are often assembled spontaneously from individual components through the process of self-assembly. If self-assembled protein complexes could be engineered from first principle it would enable a wide range of applications in biomedicine, nanotechnology and materials science. Recently, approaches to rationally design proteins to self-assembly into predefined structures have emerged. The highlight of this work is the design of protein cages that may be engineered into protein containers. However, current approaches for self-assembly design does not result in the assemblies with the required structural complexity to encode many of the sophisticated functions found in nature. To move forward, we have to learn how to engineer protein subunits with more than one designed interface that can assemble into tightly interacting complexes. In this proposal we propose a new protein design paradigm, shape directed protein design, in order to address shortcomings of the current methodology. The proposed method combines geometric shape matching and computational protein design. Using this approach we will de novo design assemblies with a wide variety of structural states, including protein complexes with cyclic and dihedral symmetry as well as icosahedral protein capsids built from novel protein building blocks. To enable these two design challenges we also develop a high-throughput assay to measure assembly stability in vivo that builds on a three-color fluorescent assay. This method will not only facilitate the screening of orders of magnitude more design constructs, but also enable the application of directed evolution to experimentally improve stable and assembly properties of designed containers as well as other designed assemblies.
Max ERC Funding
2 325 292 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-06-01, End date: 2023-05-31
Project acronym ABODYFORCE
Project High Throughput Microfluidic Cell and Nanoparticle Handling by Molecular and Thermal Gradient Acoustic Focusing
Researcher (PI) Per AUGUSTSSON
Host Institution (HI) LUNDS UNIVERSITET
Country Sweden
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE7, ERC-2019-STG
Summary In this project we will push the limits of microscale ultrasound-based technology to gain access to diagnostically important rare constituents of blood within minutes from blood draw.
To meet the demands for shorter time from sampling to result in healthcare there is an increased interest to shift from heavy centralized lab equipment to point-of-care tests and patient self-testing. Key challenges with point-of-care equipment is to enable simultaneous measurement of many parameters at a reasonable cost and size of equipment. Therefore, microscale technologies that can take in small amounts of blood and output results within minutes are sought for. In addition, the high precision and potential for multi-stage serial processing offered by such microfluidic methods opens up for fast and automated isolation of rare cell populations, such as circulating tumor cells, and controlled high-throughput size fractionation of sub-micron biological particles, such as platelets, pathogens and extracellular vesicles.
To achieve effective and fast separation of blood components we will expose blood to acoustic radiation forces in a flow-through format. By exploiting a newly discovered acoustic body force, that stems from local variations the acoustic properties of the cell suspension, we can generate self-organizing configurations of the blood cells. We will tailor and tune the acoustic cell-organization in novel ways by time modulation of the acoustic field, by altering the acoustic properties of the fluid by solute molecules, and by exploiting a novel concept of sound interaction with thermal gradients.
The project will render new fundamental knowledge regarding the acoustic properties of single cells and an extensive theoretical framework for the response of cells in any aqueous medium, bounding geometry and sound field, potentially leading to new diagnostic methods.
Summary
In this project we will push the limits of microscale ultrasound-based technology to gain access to diagnostically important rare constituents of blood within minutes from blood draw.
To meet the demands for shorter time from sampling to result in healthcare there is an increased interest to shift from heavy centralized lab equipment to point-of-care tests and patient self-testing. Key challenges with point-of-care equipment is to enable simultaneous measurement of many parameters at a reasonable cost and size of equipment. Therefore, microscale technologies that can take in small amounts of blood and output results within minutes are sought for. In addition, the high precision and potential for multi-stage serial processing offered by such microfluidic methods opens up for fast and automated isolation of rare cell populations, such as circulating tumor cells, and controlled high-throughput size fractionation of sub-micron biological particles, such as platelets, pathogens and extracellular vesicles.
To achieve effective and fast separation of blood components we will expose blood to acoustic radiation forces in a flow-through format. By exploiting a newly discovered acoustic body force, that stems from local variations the acoustic properties of the cell suspension, we can generate self-organizing configurations of the blood cells. We will tailor and tune the acoustic cell-organization in novel ways by time modulation of the acoustic field, by altering the acoustic properties of the fluid by solute molecules, and by exploiting a novel concept of sound interaction with thermal gradients.
The project will render new fundamental knowledge regarding the acoustic properties of single cells and an extensive theoretical framework for the response of cells in any aqueous medium, bounding geometry and sound field, potentially leading to new diagnostic methods.
Max ERC Funding
1 999 720 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-11-01, End date: 2024-10-31
Project acronym ACQDIV
Project Acquisition processes in maximally diverse languages: Min(d)ing the ambient language
Researcher (PI) Sabine Erika Stoll
Host Institution (HI) University of Zurich
Country Switzerland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH4, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "Children learn any language that they grow up with, adapting to any of the ca. 7000 languages of the world, no matter how divergent or complex their structures are. What cognitive processes make this extreme flexibility possible? This is one of the most burning questions in cognitive science and the ACQDIV project aims at answering it by testing and refining the following leading hypothesis: Language acquisition is flexible and adaptive to any kind of language because it relies on a small set of universal cognitive processes that variably target different structures at different times during acquisition in every language. The project aims at establishing the precise set of processes and at determining the conditions of variation across maximally diverse languages. This project focuses on three processes: (i) distributional learning, (ii) generalization-based learning and (iii) interaction-based learning. To investigate these processes I will work with a sample of five clusters of languages including longitudinal data of two languages each. The clusters were determined by a clustering algorithm seeking the structurally most divergent languages in a typological database. The languages are: Cluster 1: Slavey and Cree, Cluster 2: Indonesian and Yucatec, Cluster 3: Inuktitut and Chintang, Cluster 4: Sesotho and Russian, Cluster 5: Japanese and Turkish. For all languages, corpora are available, except for Slavey where fieldwork is planned. The leading hypothesis will be tested against the acquisition of aspect and negation in each language of the sample and also against the two structures in each language that are most salient and challenging in them (e. g. complex morphology in Chintang). The acquisition processes also depend on statistical patterns in the input children receive. I will examine these patterns across the sample with respect to repetitiveness effects, applying data-mining methods and systematically comparing child-directed and child-surrounding speech."
Summary
"Children learn any language that they grow up with, adapting to any of the ca. 7000 languages of the world, no matter how divergent or complex their structures are. What cognitive processes make this extreme flexibility possible? This is one of the most burning questions in cognitive science and the ACQDIV project aims at answering it by testing and refining the following leading hypothesis: Language acquisition is flexible and adaptive to any kind of language because it relies on a small set of universal cognitive processes that variably target different structures at different times during acquisition in every language. The project aims at establishing the precise set of processes and at determining the conditions of variation across maximally diverse languages. This project focuses on three processes: (i) distributional learning, (ii) generalization-based learning and (iii) interaction-based learning. To investigate these processes I will work with a sample of five clusters of languages including longitudinal data of two languages each. The clusters were determined by a clustering algorithm seeking the structurally most divergent languages in a typological database. The languages are: Cluster 1: Slavey and Cree, Cluster 2: Indonesian and Yucatec, Cluster 3: Inuktitut and Chintang, Cluster 4: Sesotho and Russian, Cluster 5: Japanese and Turkish. For all languages, corpora are available, except for Slavey where fieldwork is planned. The leading hypothesis will be tested against the acquisition of aspect and negation in each language of the sample and also against the two structures in each language that are most salient and challenging in them (e. g. complex morphology in Chintang). The acquisition processes also depend on statistical patterns in the input children receive. I will examine these patterns across the sample with respect to repetitiveness effects, applying data-mining methods and systematically comparing child-directed and child-surrounding speech."
Max ERC Funding
1 998 438 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-09-01, End date: 2019-08-31
Project acronym ACTOMYO
Project Mechanisms of actomyosin-based contractility during cytokinesis
Researcher (PI) Ana Costa Xavier de Carvalho
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUTO DE BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR E CELULAR-IBMC
Country Portugal
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS3, ERC-2014-STG
Summary Cytokinesis completes cell division by partitioning the contents of the mother cell to the two daughter cells. This process is accomplished through the assembly and constriction of a contractile ring, a complex actomyosin network that remains poorly understood on the molecular level. Research in cytokinesis has overwhelmingly focused on signaling mechanisms that dictate when and where the contractile ring is assembled. By contrast, the research I propose here addresses fundamental questions about the structural and functional properties of the contractile ring itself. We will use the nematode C. elegans to exploit the power of quantitative live imaging assays in an experimentally tractable metazoan organism. The early C. elegans embryo is uniquely suited to the study of the contractile ring, as cells dividing perpendicularly to the imaging plane provide a full end-on view of the contractile ring throughout constriction. This greatly facilitates accurate measurements of constriction kinetics, ring width and thickness, and levels as well as dynamics of fluorescently-tagged contractile ring components. Combining image-based assays with powerful molecular replacement technology for structure-function studies, we will 1) determine the contribution of branched and non-branched actin filament populations to contractile ring formation; 2) explore its ultra-structural organization in collaboration with a world expert in electron microcopy; 3) investigate how the contractile ring network is dynamically remodeled during constriction with the help of a novel laser microsurgery assay that has uncovered a remarkably robust ring repair mechanism; and 4) use a targeted RNAi screen and phenotype profiling to identify new components of actomyosin contractile networks. The results from this interdisciplinary project will significantly enhance our mechanistic understanding of cytokinesis and other cellular processes that involve actomyosin-based contractility.
Summary
Cytokinesis completes cell division by partitioning the contents of the mother cell to the two daughter cells. This process is accomplished through the assembly and constriction of a contractile ring, a complex actomyosin network that remains poorly understood on the molecular level. Research in cytokinesis has overwhelmingly focused on signaling mechanisms that dictate when and where the contractile ring is assembled. By contrast, the research I propose here addresses fundamental questions about the structural and functional properties of the contractile ring itself. We will use the nematode C. elegans to exploit the power of quantitative live imaging assays in an experimentally tractable metazoan organism. The early C. elegans embryo is uniquely suited to the study of the contractile ring, as cells dividing perpendicularly to the imaging plane provide a full end-on view of the contractile ring throughout constriction. This greatly facilitates accurate measurements of constriction kinetics, ring width and thickness, and levels as well as dynamics of fluorescently-tagged contractile ring components. Combining image-based assays with powerful molecular replacement technology for structure-function studies, we will 1) determine the contribution of branched and non-branched actin filament populations to contractile ring formation; 2) explore its ultra-structural organization in collaboration with a world expert in electron microcopy; 3) investigate how the contractile ring network is dynamically remodeled during constriction with the help of a novel laser microsurgery assay that has uncovered a remarkably robust ring repair mechanism; and 4) use a targeted RNAi screen and phenotype profiling to identify new components of actomyosin contractile networks. The results from this interdisciplinary project will significantly enhance our mechanistic understanding of cytokinesis and other cellular processes that involve actomyosin-based contractility.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 989 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-07-01, End date: 2021-12-31
Project acronym AfricanNeo
Project The African Neolithic: A genetic perspective
Researcher (PI) Carina SCHLEBUSCH
Host Institution (HI) UPPSALA UNIVERSITET
Country Sweden
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH6, ERC-2017-STG
Summary The spread of farming practices in various parts of the world had a marked influence on how humans live today and how we are distributed around the globe. Around 10,000 years ago, warmer conditions lead to population increases, coinciding with the invention of farming in several places around the world. Archaeological evidence attest to the spread of these practices to neighboring regions. In many cases this lead to whole continents being converted from hunter-gatherer to farming societies. It is however difficult to see from archaeological records if only the farming culture spread to other places or whether the farming people themselves migrated. Investigating patterns of genetic variation for farming populations and for remaining hunter-gatherer groups can help to resolve questions on population movements co-occurring with the spread of farming practices. It can further shed light on the routes of migration and dates when migrants arrived.
The spread of farming to Europe has been thoroughly investigated in the fields of archaeology, linguistics and genetics, while on other continents these events have been less investigated. In Africa, mainly linguistic and archaeological studies have attempted to elucidate the spread of farming and herding practices. I propose to investigate the movement of farmer and pastoral groups in Africa, by typing densely spaced genome-wide variant positions in a large number of African populations. The data will be used to infer how farming and pastoralism was introduced to various regions, where the incoming people originated from and when these (potential) population movements occurred. Through this study, the Holocene history of Africa will be revealed and placed into a global context of migration, mobility and cultural transitions. Additionally the study will give due credence to one of the largest Neolithic expansion events, the Bantu-expansion, which caused a pronounced change in the demographic landscape of the African continent
Summary
The spread of farming practices in various parts of the world had a marked influence on how humans live today and how we are distributed around the globe. Around 10,000 years ago, warmer conditions lead to population increases, coinciding with the invention of farming in several places around the world. Archaeological evidence attest to the spread of these practices to neighboring regions. In many cases this lead to whole continents being converted from hunter-gatherer to farming societies. It is however difficult to see from archaeological records if only the farming culture spread to other places or whether the farming people themselves migrated. Investigating patterns of genetic variation for farming populations and for remaining hunter-gatherer groups can help to resolve questions on population movements co-occurring with the spread of farming practices. It can further shed light on the routes of migration and dates when migrants arrived.
The spread of farming to Europe has been thoroughly investigated in the fields of archaeology, linguistics and genetics, while on other continents these events have been less investigated. In Africa, mainly linguistic and archaeological studies have attempted to elucidate the spread of farming and herding practices. I propose to investigate the movement of farmer and pastoral groups in Africa, by typing densely spaced genome-wide variant positions in a large number of African populations. The data will be used to infer how farming and pastoralism was introduced to various regions, where the incoming people originated from and when these (potential) population movements occurred. Through this study, the Holocene history of Africa will be revealed and placed into a global context of migration, mobility and cultural transitions. Additionally the study will give due credence to one of the largest Neolithic expansion events, the Bantu-expansion, which caused a pronounced change in the demographic landscape of the African continent
Max ERC Funding
1 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-11-01, End date: 2022-10-31
Project acronym AGILEFLIGHT
Project Low-latency Perception and Action for Agile Vision-based Flight
Researcher (PI) Davide SCARAMUZZA
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAT ZURICH
Country Switzerland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE7, ERC-2019-COG
Summary Drones are disrupting industries, such as agriculture, package delivery, inspection, and search and rescue. However, they are still either controlled by a human pilot or heavily rely on GPS for navigating autonomously. The alternative to GPS are onboard sensors, such as cameras: from the raw data, a local 3D map of the environment is built, which is then used to plan a safe trajectory to the goal. While the underlying algorithms are well understood, we are still far from having autonomous drones that can navigate through complex environments as good as human pilots. State-of-the-art perception and control algorithms are mature but not robust: coping with unreliable state estimation, low-latency perception, real-time planning in dynamic environments, and tight coupling of perception and action under severe resource constraints are all still unsolved research problems. Another issue is that, because battery energy density is increasing at a very slow rate, drones need to navigate faster in order to accomplish more within their limited flight time. To obtain more agile robots, we need faster sensors and low-latency processing.
The goal of this project is to develop novel scientific methods that would allow me to demonstrate autonomous, vision-based, agile quadrotor navigation in unknown, GPS-denied, and cluttered environments with possibly moving obstacles, which can be as effective in terms of maneuverability and agility as those of professional drone pilots. The outcome would not only be beneficial for disaster response scenarios, but also for other scenarios, such as aerial delivery or inspection. To achieve this ambitious goal, I will first develop robust, low-latency, multimodal perception algorithms that combine the advantages of standard cameras with event cameras. Then, I will develop novel methods that unify perception and state estimation together with planning and control to enable agile maneuvers through cluttered, unknown, and dynamic environments.
Summary
Drones are disrupting industries, such as agriculture, package delivery, inspection, and search and rescue. However, they are still either controlled by a human pilot or heavily rely on GPS for navigating autonomously. The alternative to GPS are onboard sensors, such as cameras: from the raw data, a local 3D map of the environment is built, which is then used to plan a safe trajectory to the goal. While the underlying algorithms are well understood, we are still far from having autonomous drones that can navigate through complex environments as good as human pilots. State-of-the-art perception and control algorithms are mature but not robust: coping with unreliable state estimation, low-latency perception, real-time planning in dynamic environments, and tight coupling of perception and action under severe resource constraints are all still unsolved research problems. Another issue is that, because battery energy density is increasing at a very slow rate, drones need to navigate faster in order to accomplish more within their limited flight time. To obtain more agile robots, we need faster sensors and low-latency processing.
The goal of this project is to develop novel scientific methods that would allow me to demonstrate autonomous, vision-based, agile quadrotor navigation in unknown, GPS-denied, and cluttered environments with possibly moving obstacles, which can be as effective in terms of maneuverability and agility as those of professional drone pilots. The outcome would not only be beneficial for disaster response scenarios, but also for other scenarios, such as aerial delivery or inspection. To achieve this ambitious goal, I will first develop robust, low-latency, multimodal perception algorithms that combine the advantages of standard cameras with event cameras. Then, I will develop novel methods that unify perception and state estimation together with planning and control to enable agile maneuvers through cluttered, unknown, and dynamic environments.
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2020-09-01, End date: 2025-08-31
Project acronym AGRIMKT
Project Improving Market Access for Farmers: Evidence from East Africa
Researcher (PI) Lorenzo Casaburi
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAT ZURICH
Country Switzerland
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH1, ERC-2019-STG
Summary Agriculture employs the majority of the labor force in many developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Increasing efficiency of agricultural production is a crucial step to foster economic development. Limited access to both input and output markets is widely considered a major obstacle to technology adoption and, in turn, to agricultural productivity.
In this proposal, I outline a research program that focuses on improving farmers’ market access in East Africa. The research builds on the expertise I have developed on these topics over the last ten years.
The research program consists of three related projects. In Project A, we will use a randomized experiment to evaluate the impact of a holistic approach to improve market access: contract farming. The prevalence of contract farming arrangements in the developing world is growing. However, so far, there is no experimental evidence on their impact. We have established a partnership with a large contract farming company in Kenya, which has agreed to randomize the order in which it will expand to new villages.
In Project B, we will study how to increase demand for crop insurance among smallholders. Building on previous successful experimental work, we will test i) whether offering pay-at-harvest insurance, as opposed to upfront premium pay, raises take-up, ii) which behavioral mechanisms may drive such response, and iii) whether pay-at-harvest can foster sustained insurance demand over multiple crop seasons.
In Project C, we will combine parcel-level proprietary data for three decades that we obtained from a large agribusiness company with land registry data to study the determinants and impact of land market access for smallholders.
The research program will generate new insights on how to improve access to key markets for agricultural producers. We expect the findings of the study will generate high interest among academics, development practitioners, and policymakers.
Summary
Agriculture employs the majority of the labor force in many developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Increasing efficiency of agricultural production is a crucial step to foster economic development. Limited access to both input and output markets is widely considered a major obstacle to technology adoption and, in turn, to agricultural productivity.
In this proposal, I outline a research program that focuses on improving farmers’ market access in East Africa. The research builds on the expertise I have developed on these topics over the last ten years.
The research program consists of three related projects. In Project A, we will use a randomized experiment to evaluate the impact of a holistic approach to improve market access: contract farming. The prevalence of contract farming arrangements in the developing world is growing. However, so far, there is no experimental evidence on their impact. We have established a partnership with a large contract farming company in Kenya, which has agreed to randomize the order in which it will expand to new villages.
In Project B, we will study how to increase demand for crop insurance among smallholders. Building on previous successful experimental work, we will test i) whether offering pay-at-harvest insurance, as opposed to upfront premium pay, raises take-up, ii) which behavioral mechanisms may drive such response, and iii) whether pay-at-harvest can foster sustained insurance demand over multiple crop seasons.
In Project C, we will combine parcel-level proprietary data for three decades that we obtained from a large agribusiness company with land registry data to study the determinants and impact of land market access for smallholders.
The research program will generate new insights on how to improve access to key markets for agricultural producers. We expect the findings of the study will generate high interest among academics, development practitioners, and policymakers.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 913 €
Duration
Start date: 2021-01-01, End date: 2025-12-31
Project acronym AGRISCENTS
Project Scents and sensibility in agriculture: exploiting specificity in herbivore- and pathogen-induced plant volatiles for real-time crop monitoring
Researcher (PI) Theodoor Turlings
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITE DE NEUCHATEL
Country Switzerland
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS9, ERC-2017-ADG
Summary Plants typically release large quantities of volatiles in response to attack by herbivores or pathogens. I may claim to have contributed to various breakthroughs in this research field, including the discovery that the volatile blends induced by different attackers are astonishingly specific, resulting in characteristic, readily distinguishable odour blends. Using maize as our model plant, I wish to take several leaps forward in our understanding of this signal specificity and use this knowledge to develop sensors for the real-time detection of crop pests and diseases. For this, three interconnected work-packages will aim to:
• Develop chemical analytical techniques and statistical models to decipher the odorous vocabulary of plants, and to create a complete inventory of “odour-prints” for a wide range of herbivore-plant and pathogen-plant combinations, including simultaneous infestations.
• Develop and optimize nano-mechanical sensors for the detection of specific plant volatile mixtures. For this, we will initially adapt a prototype sensor that has been successfully developed for the detection of cancer-related volatiles in human breath.
• Genetically manipulate maize plants to release a unique blend of root-produced volatiles upon herbivory. For this, we will engineer gene cassettes that combine recently identified P450 (CYP) genes from poplar with inducible, root-specific promoters from maize. This will result in maize plants that, in response to pest attack, release easy-to-detect aldoximes and nitriles from their roots.
In short, by investigating and manipulating the specificity of inducible odour blends we will generate the necessary knowhow to develop a novel odour-detection device. The envisioned sensor technology will permit real-time monitoring of the pests and enable farmers to apply crop protection treatments at the right time and in the right place.
Summary
Plants typically release large quantities of volatiles in response to attack by herbivores or pathogens. I may claim to have contributed to various breakthroughs in this research field, including the discovery that the volatile blends induced by different attackers are astonishingly specific, resulting in characteristic, readily distinguishable odour blends. Using maize as our model plant, I wish to take several leaps forward in our understanding of this signal specificity and use this knowledge to develop sensors for the real-time detection of crop pests and diseases. For this, three interconnected work-packages will aim to:
• Develop chemical analytical techniques and statistical models to decipher the odorous vocabulary of plants, and to create a complete inventory of “odour-prints” for a wide range of herbivore-plant and pathogen-plant combinations, including simultaneous infestations.
• Develop and optimize nano-mechanical sensors for the detection of specific plant volatile mixtures. For this, we will initially adapt a prototype sensor that has been successfully developed for the detection of cancer-related volatiles in human breath.
• Genetically manipulate maize plants to release a unique blend of root-produced volatiles upon herbivory. For this, we will engineer gene cassettes that combine recently identified P450 (CYP) genes from poplar with inducible, root-specific promoters from maize. This will result in maize plants that, in response to pest attack, release easy-to-detect aldoximes and nitriles from their roots.
In short, by investigating and manipulating the specificity of inducible odour blends we will generate the necessary knowhow to develop a novel odour-detection device. The envisioned sensor technology will permit real-time monitoring of the pests and enable farmers to apply crop protection treatments at the right time and in the right place.
Max ERC Funding
2 498 086 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-09-01, End date: 2023-08-31
