Innovation

Topic description and stories

The application of new ideas, discoveries and inventions contributes to society and the economy nationally and globally.

Democratising design

07 Jun 2013

A new simulator could help the elderly or disabled users engage more effectively with electronic devices, including websites, smartphones and digital...

Flexible opals

30 May 2013

A synthetic material which mimics the brightest and most vivid colours in nature, and changes colour when twisted or stretched, has been developed by...

Down but not out

26 Apr 2013

Most business start-ups fail. But countless failed entrepreneurs go on to establish further enterprises. In his PhD research, Dr Keith Cotterill, a...

Microscope/Micrograph of MEMS Micro-heating element with integrated CMOS electronic driver and temperature sensing circuits, Credit: Cambridge CMOS Sensors

New device could make diagnosing disease as simple as breathing

25 Apr 2013

A range of diseases and conditions, from asthma to liver disease, could be diagnosed and monitored quickly and painlessly just by breathing, using...

EDSAC, the first programmable computer for general use by scientists, built at the “Mathematical Laboratory” and launched in 1949. Maurice Wilkes, Head of Lab and leader of the project, promised to build “a computer that works”,

From EDSAC to Raspberry Pi: 75 years of “computers that work”

24 Apr 2013

Cambridge’s Computer Lab marks its 75th anniversary this month, celebrating a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship that has taken it from the...

New system to combat online banking fraud

18 Apr 2013

A security solution which protects against the most serious threat to online banking customers, responsible for millions in annual losses, is being...

New system to improve DNA sequencing

03 Apr 2013

A sensing system developed at Cambridge is being commercialised in the UK for use in rapid, low-cost DNA sequencing, which would make the prediction...

A normally developed child engaged in pretend play with the Augmented Reality system

The land of make-believe

14 Mar 2013

Using augmented reality to encourage autistic children to engage in imaginative play.

Scanning Electron Microscope image of micro-structures of cathodes made of carbon nanotubes and sulphur

Building a better battery

07 Mar 2013

A new battery technology provides double the energy storage at lower cost than the batteries that are used in handheld electronics, electric vehicles...