Engineering at its best In this issue of engineyou will learn how global network of more than 400 companies engineers can contribute to a safer, more envi- in the building sector (page 36). It develops ronmental-friendly world. i nnovative, maintenance-free wireless solutions The article about PolyCare (pages 14-17) dis- for sustainable building automation based on cusses the brainchild of Dr. Gerhard Dust, an en- the same standard, so that products can be gineer who invested millions of his own money combined with each other. Fully addressing into a building concept that helps create homes the l atest EPBD is demanding but worth doing for needy people in some of the poorest regions because it creates a better planet for all of us. of the world. Alternatively, for the re-building of Smartphones have changed how we do communities in the aftermath of natural disasters many things – and these incredibly useful gad- Yves Valentin – for example hurricanes or the Haiti earthquake gets have evolved to the point of indispens- CEO of Techniques de l’Ingénieur of 2010. Like many great ideas, the concept is ability for most people (page 26). Consumers simple. We all know it. It is based on the Lego now expect to use their smartphones to access building-block principle. PolyCare helps people quality information, products and services any- to build, or re-build, their homes themselves. where, and at any time. What about our health? Industrial innovations today must address the Can smartphones help us manage our health question of energy (page 18); how will it help and prevent injuries? The advent of easy-to-use to save energy in the workplace? In the article apps which allow self-measurement of the vi- about drones, you will learn about energy har- tal signs (blood pressure, blood oxygen, heart vesting (also sometimes known as “energy scav- rate and others) will enable individuals to self- enging”)which allows electronics to operate screen, detecting problems before symptoms where there is no conventional power source, appear and the condition becomes acute, or eliminating or reducing the need for cables or worse, causes a heart attack or stroke. replacement batteries by using unconventional This is engineering at its best. Simple, effec- ambient energy sources to power circuitry. Tiny tive and human. energy sources are captured and converted to Sincerely electricity and stored in durable storage cells. The latest EU EPBD building directives emphasis on building automation under- scores the need for smart implementation of smart buildings. The EnOcean Alliance is a Nous avons le plaisir de vous offrir 16 pages extraites du numéro 5 d’engine, le magazine en anglais pour les ingénieurs. Pour tout abonnement souscrit jusqu’au 15 décembre 2019, recevez en cadeau un accès d’un an au dictionnaire technique multilingue de techniques-ingenieur.fr. eniGne lairotide