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‘ The industry has even been enthusiastic about our long-term research, which is not so common in a world where everyone wants to see results fast.’ single car is produced today without airbags, curtain airbags or specially designed seats. – The whiplash protection that has been built into all Volvo and Saab cars since 1997 has reduced the risk of neck injuries by at least 50 per cent in connection with serious accidents, he says. This is the result of many years’ research. – We have gone all the way from basic to applied research. The industry has even been enthusiastic about our longterm research, which is not so common in a world where everyone wants to see results fast. ADVANCED IMPACT DUMMY The results of neck injury research include the development of a very advanced impact dummy that has been used in many studies. It can measure the stress on different joints in connection with a collision. The research team has also developed a mathematical model corresponding to the female anatomy. The reason for this is that women are injured more seriously than men in connection with rear-end collisions. – We do not know yet why this is. There is a theory that it has something to do with differences in muscle mass and nerves. We hope that new studies STUDY QUANTIFIES THE BENEFITS OF NECK INJURY RESEARCH Vehicle safety research has generated more than 500 million euro in socioeconomic benefits in the form of lower medical costs, reduced loss of income and less suffering. VINNOVA (the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems) and its predecessor have supported neck injury research at Chalmers University of Technology ever since 1985. A vehicle research programme has enabled researchers to collaborate with Volvo and Saab and other companies on ways and means of making vehicles safer. Needs-based research has given safety developers in these companies the knowledge they need to develop new products. A study has now been made of the achievements of this research. – We ourselves were surprised at the will point us in the right direction, says Per Lövsund. – Later on, a completely new dummy will be built so that we can study angle collisions from the rear and from the front. results. The studies of collisions and injuries indicated without any doubt that serious injuries can be reduced by 50 per cent. This is a direct result of measures taken as a result of the research done at Chalmers University of Technology, says Knut Sandberg Eriksen of the Institute of Transport Economy, Oslo, one of the authors of the study. The study, which was carried out in cooperation with Møre Research in Molde, Norway, found that this research benefits society in two different ways. First, it benefits ordinary citizens by making vehicles safer in connection with rear-end collisions. Second, it benefits Swedish industry by increasing exports of these products or vehicles that include them. 8 | V I N N O V A M A G A Z I N E
INNOVATIVE THINKING SVENSK INDUSTRIS INNOVATIVA FRAMSTEG Cooperation promotes hightech primary industries Sweden’s mines, steelworks and paper mills are among the most technologically advanced in the world. But they must become even more efficient if they are to be profitable in the future. HERE IS A SUCCESSFUL example in the north of Sweden of how primary industries can collaborate with universities to secure economic growth and create new jobs in small technology-based companies. Ore mining in the LKAB Group’s mines in Kiruna and Malmberget is carried out nowadays by means of remotecontrolled machinery about 1 kilometre underground. The cost per tonne of ore mined has been reduced by 3 per cent per year in the last few decades. As a result, twice as much ore is now mined by only half as many employees, and LKAB is one of the country’s most profitable groups with profits exceeding 1 billion euro and constantly increasing turnover. – If this trend is to continue, we will have to develop our processes even further so that we can extract more from the raw materials while controlling production so as to avoid bottlenecks. This will require integration of IT systems, better process monitoring and other improvements, explains Lars-Eric Aaro, Director of Research and Development. LKAB’s head office is in the centre of Luleå. The inhabitants of this prosperous city are the wealthiest in Sweden V I N N O V A M A G A Z I N E | 9
Page 1 and 2: Swedish research for growth A VINNO
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Page 5 and 6: Swedish protein research proved to
Page 7: INNOVATIVE THINKING Sweden became a
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Page 15 and 16: INTERVIEW Smooth cooperation at ABB
Page 17 and 18: STRATEGIES FOR THE FUTURE Wood Manu
Page 19 and 20: GOOD IDEAS RECEIVE SUPPORT Maria Gr
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Page 23 and 24: Advanced production of nanothreads
Page 25 and 26: 3G OPENS UP NEW OPPORTUNITIES - Cut
Page 27 and 28: SAAB RESPONSIBLE FOR HYBRID CARS Sa

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