Rightful.site

What does an electronic nose smell?

These innovative systems serve both to detect diseases through olfactory patterns and to find and deactivate explosive devices

  When it comes to competing in the animal kingdom, the human nose loses the battle at the first moment of change. According to a study by Japanese researchers, elephants have a smell five times more developed than that of humans and more than dogs. They have 811 olfactory receptors. Humans only 386, although for some scientists there is no problem.

"We can detect and discriminate an extraordinary range of smells, we are more sensitive than rodents and dogs to some of them, we are able to track odor traces and our behavioral and affective states are influenced by our sense of smell," says John McGann , associate professor at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

    Although the best friends of the human being, dogs, are still the preferred ones to detect explosives and prohibited substances, the advance of technology has introduced a new protagonist in this sector: the electronic naris. "A person or an animal is able to distinguish according to what smell due to sensors that connect with the neurons of the brain." An "eNose", in a certain way, does the same, "says Juan Bautista Talens, a professor at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV).

Bautista is part of the group of researchers at the Gandía campus of the UPV and the La Fe Sanitary Research Institute (IIS La Fe) that has developed a prototype electronic nose that can distinguish patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. More than 400 tests conducted since 2014, all based on a simple 'software' and 32 sensors. "Through the use of 'software' for data mining, we can test with different algorithms and / or neural networks reserving samples to test them and samples to train," says Bautista. This system is able to recognize olfactory patterns, so they are trying to test those substances that may have differences in their aroma. "Stools in the case of digestive diseases and urine in other pathologies",

     The device - called Moosy 32 eNose - also detects if the disease is active with an accuracy close to 90%. The nose devised by the Valencian researchers can detect volatile organic compounds that act as diagnostic markers or of intensity of the activity of the disease. "Although it may seem simple, it requires a lot of analysis, repetitions, adjustments and simulations." 

Pilar Nos, Head of Digestive Medicine at Hospital La Fe, explains that "volatile organic compounds are originated by physiological processes of metabolism in the human body, and are expelled as waste through faeces. being a differential marker in certain intestinal diseases and its precise detection, through non-invasive devices such as the electronic nose, would be a great advance for the diagnosis and monitoring of the evolution of these diseases. "

The development of this prototype has been funded by the Generalitat Valenciana. In addition, the initial part of the project - the feasibility study that served to establish the foundations of the system - was paid for by Inbio, a scientific collaboration structure between the UPV and La Fe. Although "funding has been terminated", denounce Baptist.

'ENose' cops
The technological advance in this sector is not only focused on medicine. Two researchers from the Group of Perception and Intelligent Systems (PSI) of the University of Extremadura together with the chief inspector of the TEDAX-NRBQ Group of Badajoz have developed the research work "Artificial Olfactory Systems for the Detection of Hazardous Agents".

A laborious project whose authors, Jesús Lozano Rogado and José Luis Herrero and policeman José Miguel Sánchez, have been awarded the Spanish Police Foundation Research Prize for 2016-2017. Its proposal of artificial olfactory system allows to detect chemical and explosive atmospheres remotely by means of gas sensors, combined with artificial intelligence techniques . The device, which is easy to use through a mobile phone or tablet, has as its main advantage the security it offers TEDAX specialists to be able to work remotely.

"It is an electronic system that incorporates several sensors of gases, temperature and humidity that are connected wirelessly to a device that performs data processing and indicates what type of environment the device is in," Jesús Lozano explains in an interview. release.

Current threats require a very wide field in the search for new detection technologies that are translated at the field level in equipment with high response speed, sensitivity, small size, low cost, low frequency of false alarms, etc., for improve the response to these NRBC-E attacks, in which the price does not represent a stumbling block to guarantee security.

'Low cost' system
"This electronic system, compared to other technologies on the market, has the added value of its low cost, since with only 700 euros you have similar benefits than other much more expensive detectors," says the University of Extremadura on its website.

In addition, the main advantage offered by this device is the possibility of working remotely. For the TEDAX work of the Police , one of the key requirements is security, so this point becomes vital. The electronic nose can be adapted to a drone or mobile robot avoiding personal travel to the dangerous area. In addition, you can consult the data in real time.

Laboratory tests support this system for the detection of explosives, dynamite, gunpowder, pentrite and chemical substances such as chlorine, ammonia, acetone and hydrogen peroxide. It can also detect the precursors of the TATP explosive, commonly used by jihadist terrorism. Until now, there was no detector that contemplated such a diverse range of explosives and narcotics.

Your payroll in bitcoins

Spanish companies begin to get on the cryptocurrency cart and some already think of bitcoins to pay their employees and receive payments

    A large part of the population is not clear about what bitcoins are, although it is a term that has become very popular in the last two years, but on the other hand there are those who already receive part of their salary in this virtual currency and even have the possibility of buying houses and trips with her. As in all technological advances, "it will take a few years" for the population to adapt to change and "cryptocurrencies become a day-to-day thing".

Curro Quevedo works from Zooo, a mobile repair shop in the ABC Serrano shopping center in Madrid, where one of the first cryptocurrencies ATMs in the Bitnovo company has been installed. The responsible says that although it has been installed for a year and a half, at first it was not very used. However now "every day people come to buy bitcoins"


    How does it work? It is not a cashier to use, but rather it is a vending machine in which you enter the amount in euros that you want to exchange for bitcoins (from 10 to 500 euros) and generate a coupon that the customer You can change on your website for the virtual currency within three months. "There are people who although they bought it today, do not exchange it for another week because they are waiting for the change, this currency fluctuates a lot," explains Quevedo.

Are there already salaries in bitcoins?
"Some companies already pay in bitcoins in Spain," says Pablo F. Burgueño, founder of NevTrace and an expert in crypto-dumbs. In his case explains that they raised in the company but decided it was better to continue charging in euros and then each "bought the bitcoins you want" because by law "you can only receive 30% of salary in this currency" because it is recognized as a payment in kind to be a digital asset.

It is, therefore, a payment in kind of very high risk. "If this large amount is given to the worker, he runs the risk of losing everything, so it can not be imposed that the collection is like that and at most 30% of the total salary," explains Burgueño.


Different is the case of the company ReparaTuDeuda , where they have decided that their employees can collect the part of the salary that they decide in bitcoins although they make it clear that "not as a tax benefit because everything will pay the same, but to encourage the use of new technologies" , says Enrique Espinosa, CTO of the company.

At the moment they are in the phase of training courses so that workers learn more about this cryptocurrency and make their decision. In addition, the CTO announces that ATMs will be installed in its headquarters so that people with their "virtual wallet can change bitcoins for euros".

There are more cases outside our borders. The Japanese Internet services giant GMO announced last December that it will pay in bitcoin part of the salaries to those of its 4,700 employees who wish to do so starting in February, which is the first initiative of its kind among large companies in the world. country. The company offers to receive a fraction of its salary between 10,000 yen (74 euros) and 100,000 yen (748 euros) in the virtual currency. Its objective is to "promote the active use of virtual currency" among its employees and "increase its knowledge about this type of currency," according to a statement from the Japanese company.

Houses in bitcoins
Despite the distrust it generates in the market, the recent restrictions against it and the increase of its control by the Treasury, the bitcoin is also getting stronger in the real estate market, where experts believe that the consolidation of this Currency is just a matter of time. In fact, there are already houses that are for sale only in bitcoins in the photo portal Fotocasa.

It is a house in El Sauzal, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife of 200 m2 with sea views. It can be purchased only through the cryptocurrency for a price of 45 bitcoins (about 450,000 euros). From Fotocasa assure this newspaper that this is a trend "totally new and not yet has many followers." Currently in the portal have nine homes that accept payment in bitcoins. They emphasize the fact that of these houses, four are in Catalonia. "Being intermediaries are not present at any time of the exchange, so while the type of payment is legal and regulated, we will let them announce the type of payment that owners want to make", explain the same sources.

Only 3 out of 10 Spaniards have the skills to face the digital transformation

65% of young people will work in positions that do not exist today, so their training and the digitalization of companies and public administrations «is key», warns César Alierta

    Although 65% of young people who currently study Primary and Secondary in Spain will occupy jobs related to the digital world that currently do not exist, only 31% of Spaniards today have advanced digital skills to adequately address this moment of digital transformation that the world has to face.

Therefore, the focus should be on education because it is "fundamental" that new generations "know how to move" in digital skills in Big Data, Cloud and Artificial Intelligence , said César Alierta, president of Fundación Telefónica, during the presentation this Monday in Madrid of the report 'Digital Society in Spain'. "It takes 2.5 million boys and girls by 2020 to study to be experts in digitalization and meet the high demand," said Alierta, who has called for this issue to be a "priority" for governments, that they must change all education. «In our country we continue to teach what was valid in 1980and that can not be. Those who are in charge are not aware of the problem of lack of training, and that is worrying, "he has denounced.

     In fact, a LinkedIn study reveals that nine of the ten most demanded professional skills in Spain are related to ICT and data analysis : cloud computing, data collection, web architecture, user testing, user interface design, SEO / SEM, data engineering, integration software, etc. The global investment in Artificial Intelligence systems indicates that Spain could increase labor productivity by 11% .

Regarding the international position, Spain is ranked 17 out of the 28 countries that make up the European Union in the Human Capital indicator included in the indicator DESI, a situation of "clear disadvantage" in the current labor market. During the round table after the presentation of the report, Ramón López, CSIC researcher and AI expert, said that the Spanish position is "powerful in some areas of Artificial Intelligence".

Internet connection
The report also reveals that 24 million Spaniards between the ages of 16 and 74 connect daily to the Internet, which represents 68% of the total. Likewise, half of the young people in 2018 will be 'mobile first' , that is, they will consume between 90% and 100% of their time in the network on a mobile screen.

Thus, 98% of young people connect daily to the Internet , a percentage that in the case of adults between 65 and 74 years old is 43.7%. From Telefónica they say that older people are joining "quickly to the digital society, since their use of the Internet increased by 26% last year.

The report says that there are already more mobile lines than people on the planet: 103% penetration has been achieved. The Internet of Things (IoT) has increased by 30% in 2017 and there are already more than 8.500 million devices connected to the internet. In addition, they have ensured that Spain is a "leader" in the deployment of fiber optics.

The reduction of the gender gap in the use of internet is also verified : it goes down from 3.9 to 1.8 points. 86% of young people own a 'smartphone' and use it as a reference device for instant messaging, access to social networks, consumption of music and videos in streaming.

Internet security
83% of respondents are concerned about Internet privacy and 90.2% consider it important to exercise control over the contents that can be monitored by hanging on the Internet.

Alierta explained that Telefonica invests around 10 billion euros per year in networks to show that with a contribution of 4 billion from Europe would ensure the security of communications throughout the continent, something "fundamental because everything will be digital » "You just have to convince the European Commission because afterwards it will be copied everywhere and we will have a free and secure society," he said.

R & D has a hard time overcoming the crisis in Spain

Europe is the accelerator of innovation, while here the public sector investment is 13% below 2009

    Although the economic crisis began in 2008, the R & D & i sector (Research, Development and Innovation) comes later because there is a first drop in private spending in 2009, but public spending is not reduced until 2011. Cows fat of innovation occupied the year 2000 to 2008, beginning the millennium with an investment 50% higher than what the average of European countries, but reaching eight years later to 71%.

The report of the Cotec Foundation for Innovation (which takes data from the INE and Eurostat as a reference) reveals that public investment today stands 13% below pre-crisis levels , while private investment 5.8% below . Aleix Pons, director of Economy and Finance of Cotec, explains to this newspaper that currently "practically all European countries have recovered the investment prior to the crisis", but this is not the case of Spain.

     The EU as a whole has increased investment by 27% compared to 2009, while in Spain in the same period it has fallen by 9%. Surrounding countries have bet much more than us in this field. This is the case of the United Kingdom, with an investment 40% higher in 2016 than in 2009 , Germany with 38% more or even Italy with a rise of 12%.

But Spain still does not recover the levels prior to the crisis. The responsibility falls on both the low investment of the private sector and the public, but according to INE data of November 2016, companies have two years of positive growth in investment, although the average is still far from the European. "This may have to do with the business structure composed of SMEs for the most part, but it is the larger companies that invest the most in R & D," says Pons.

     However, the public sector reached its maximum level of investment in 2009, but since then there has been a cut of approximately 30%. "In addition, there is an additional cut because a part smaller than the budgeted one is being executed, that is to say, not everything that is available is being spent", affirms Cotec's director of Economy.

Not everything is negative

On the other hand, sources of the Secretary of State of Investigation, Development and Innovation assure to this newspaper that although there is "many things that to improve", in Spain it is made "very good science". "We have researchers with global impact in various areas and an important participation in many of the largest European and international facilities." Some of these aspects in which the public sector works are "progressive and stable long-term public financing , greater administrative flexibility and better contracts for researchers".

    From the Secretariat of State they emphasize that not everything is as negative as it is painted, although the figures are what they are. They affirm that although R & D expenditure increased for the second consecutive year in 2016, the weight of science decreased "due to the significant increase in the Spanish economy", which ended up placing it at 1.19% of GDP, far from 2% that the State set itself as an objective in 2020. "It is the responsibility of the Central Administration, the Autonomous Communities and the companies to increase investment in R & D", explain the same sources.

"The biggest challenge we face is to increase the weight of private investment . The EU states that to achieve a healthy R & D & I system, two thirds of the total investment must come from companies. In Japan, the US, South Korea or Germany private contribution is higher than 65%, even close to 80% in some cases, while in Spain it stands at 53%. Since 2012 we have opted for public-private collaboration and we have worked with insistence to bring the actors of the system closer, they say.

Competitive position

However, Ángel San Segundo, a professor at the EAE Business School, does not see it as positive. "The competitive position of Spain in the field of R & D & I is doubly worrisome because on the one hand it is far from the reference countries for our economy and on the other hand that distance tends to increase according to the available data," he says. Although the expert recognizes that in the last five years the R + D + i efforts of most of the countries that surround us hardly grew, "in Spain they not only did not stagnate but they decreased 9% accumulated", laments San Second.

Roundtrip scientists

According to INE data, there are currently 8,000 fewer researchers in Spain than before the crisis, but Spain is recovering. Since 2014 there has been an "important" increase in the number of scientists, but the fall of the hardest years of the crisis was so strong that recovery is hard.

The professor of the EAE Business School, Ángel San Segundo, reveals that according to the latest available data, Spain has 7.9 researchers per 1,000 employees, a figure below France (9.9) and United Kingdom (8.9) . But remember that when these figures are analyzed taking into account the origin of the researchers, Spain has a similar number and even higher in the public and higher education sectors. "It is in the private sector where we are below our environment and where our shortcomings are evident".

Sources from the Secretary of State explain that in 2016 there was an increase of 5,000 R & D workers compared to 2015, of which more than 4,000 were researchers. And they reveal that in 2018 the Government will stabilize up to 90% of the positions filled with temporary contracts.

TIAGo, the robot assistant made in Spain

The semihumanoid device is programmed to help the elderly at home

     About five million Spaniards live alone and the vast majority are people over 65, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). By Autonomous Communities, those with the highest percentage of single-person households are Asturias, Castilla y León and La Rioja.

Technology has become an ally to help older people to carry out their daily tasks and monitor the day to day of the elderly. This is the summary of the Catalan project of the company PAL Robotics, which has developed a semihumanoid robot capable of giving the pills at the time it touches, monitoring vital signs and physical state, and locating the keys or the mobile.

     TIAGo, which is the name of the device, is able to accompany sick or dependent people who are notified about the time to eat. In addition, the robot is also prepared to recommend healthy dishes, carry objects and monitor the vital signs of the elderly

"The robot allows the elderly to stay longer at home" instead of having to go to a center or residence as it lengthens, on average, between 2 and 3 years the time of their autonomy, says Francesco Ferro to the EFE Agency

TIAGo is also able to detect objects previously marked with a special label, such as keys or mobile phone, and assist the person at bedtime, such as tucking her up or helping her get into bed, all of this "to preserve the dignity of the person ", explains the director of communication of PAL Robotics, Judith Viladomat.

The user can also teach the robot to develop new functions because it is "very easy to program since one of the objectives is for everyone to be able to use it", according to its creators.

The price of the robot varies between 20,000 and 60,000 euros depending on its components, but Ferro stresses that "you have to lower the price of robots so that everyone can have one at home."

Spanish SMEs need help to join ecommerce

The leaders in this channel are the Aragonese companies

   Seven out of ten small and medium-sized Spanish companies recognize that they need external support to integrate the mobile channel into their business, according to the study Spanish SMEs in the online field, conducted by the global e-commerce platform eBay.

This study emphasizes that the smartphone is one of the main means by which users search, compare and buy products.

However, the need for external support is offset by the willingness of SMEs to reinforce their strategy in several channels. Thus, 44.4% say that having mobile applications or optimized websites is vital for the growth of their business, while 43.1% recognizes that, in the future, everyone will buy through applications.

     The study shows that 70.5% of the SMEs surveyed know the advantages of mobile commerce, but only 28.4% have an application or an optimized web of their business for this channel.

By region, Aragonese SMEs lead the implementation of the mobile channel, since 37.3% of them have an application or an optimized website. Aragonese autonomy is followed by Madrid (36.6%), Catalonia (33.1%) and Castilla y León (32.9%).

The Civil Guard blocks 23 websites for downloading movies and games

Divxtotal, Gamestorrents and Estrenosdtl, among others, gave access to P2P links for direct download of all kinds of protected audiovisual material, in some cases without having been released in Spain yet

    The Civil Guard has announced on Tuesday that it has launched a campaign to block websites downloading content protected by copyright with the blocking of 23 web pages that link free of charge to sites where movies, series, music and video games were downloaded. .

In this first phase of the 'Cascada' operation, which is led by the Central Operational Unit (UCO), a total of 23 web domains have been blocked from which P2P links were directly downloaded from all types of protected audiovisual material. in some cases without having been released in Spain yet.

    According to the Guardia Civil, the blocked websites, including www.divxtotal.com, www.estrenosdtl.com or www.gamestorrents.com, offered high quality versions of films available on the cinema billboards of our country, without even having They were put on sale in physical or digital format and dubbed with audio in several languages.

Most of the web pages investigated had very high rates of daily visits, some of them being the best known and used in our country to download illegally and free of charge, all kinds of protected audiovisual material. These domains were created in the beginning by a person of Spanish origin, who then sold them to a company based in Argentina, current owner and administrator thereof.

     According to the researchers, those responsible for these pages used various methods to avoid closing or blocking such as hiding the actual location of their servers and the registration data of the contracted domains, even to the constant change of the location of their servers in several countries .

The Department of Telematic Crimes of the UCO has detected cases in which domains previously blocked judicially, were reactivated in a matter of hours, with virtually identical domain names or even changing only the extension of the same.