It’s hard to grapple with the massive changes rocking the world. Almost exactly two years ago at the outbreak of corona, I boarded a train from the main station in Berlin. While standing there, I looked out at the other platforms and saw that I was the only person there.
🚆Contrast that with the pictures in the news today. This same train station, the largest in Europe, is now overflowing with Ukrainian refugees fleeing from Putin’s war. Makeshift stands have been set up to help traumatized people find food and shelter, guided by volunteers wearing color-coded vests: yellow for English-speakers and orange for Russian and Ukrainian.
👬🏾 The thought that a few hundred kilometers to the west people can think of something completely different is almost unbearable. But life must go on. For instance, the life of Siebe van Mensfoort, founder and CEO of Simbeyond. He tells Linda Bak about the digital twins his company makes to carry out various experiments and make calculations for different materials.
🤖 We don’t know what the future will look like. But one thing is for sure. Robots will. The British University of Bath discovered a new way to coat soft robots with materials that allow them to move and function in a more purposeful way.
🍔 Sustainability continues to move forward, too. The Dutch parliament just passed a measure allowing the sampling of cultured meat. This means that hamburger lovers will not have to go without their favorite dish – but without having to kill animals in the process. Progress is also happening in the construction industry, which has a considerable carbon footprint.
🔥 Dutch start-up Gashouders helps contractors make their construction sites more sustainable by providing cylinders for biogas, collecting this valuable resource that used to just be burned off.
Wishing you an innovative and sustainable day!
Brenda Arnold
Munich correspondent Innovation Origins
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