Universidad Politecnica de Madrid

​When buildings are being insulated or torn down, a lot of waste "mineral wool"-type insulation ends up in the landfill. Thanks to new research, however, that material may soon instead find use in an improved type of construction mortar.

​If you've ever watched a speedboat slamming its way across the waves, you may have thought "That can't be good for its hull" … and you'd be right. A new invention from Spain's Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), however, could help keep those boats intact.

​​If you're going to place a robot among fish to learn about water quality, what better form for it to take than a fish itself? The latest example of this is an autonomous vehicle designed specifically to track pH levels in aquaculture settings to help keep inhabitants fit and healthy.​

A team of researchers from Madrid is developing a thermal energy storage system that uses molten silicon to store up to 10 times more energy than existing thermal storage options and could form the basis for a new generation of low-cost solar thermal stations to store solar energy in urban centers.

Approximately 5.8 million tons (5.26 million tonnes) of textile waste are generated in the European Union every year. That's why scientists are exploring a new use for the waste – they're turning it into interior wall panels. ​

Move over, fingerprints and iris scans, because a new form of biometric identification may soon be joining you – body odor. According to Spanish scientists, peoples' unique BO signatures remain steady enough over time to allow for an ID accuracy rate of approximately 85 percent.

When a patient can't breathe through their mouth or nose, often the only way of getting air to their lungs is to perform a tracheotomy. This involves making an incision in the trachea, and inserting a breathing tube through it. Now, scientists are creating a device to streamline the process.

The Robotics and Cybernetics Research Group at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) is developing Rosphere, a spherical robot that rolls like a ball and may one day be rolling up for work in fields to monitor and tend crops.

Drywall boards containing paraffin microcapsules can reportedly reduce a building’s energy consumption by up to 40 percent.

An emotion-recognizing computer system has been designed to make the use of automated telephone services less stressful.

The Gloria project will allow amateur astronomers to remotely control a worldwide network of 17 robotic telescopes, via the internet.