Engineering | Always have one foot in the future

Society is faced with several major challenges, such as global warming and the increase in chronic and degenerative diseases. Engineers from different specialties use creativity to find solutions to these complex problems. Overview.

By placing a microphone inside an ear on a device that blocks the ear canal, Rachel Bouserhal, professor in the electrical engineering department at the École de technologie supérieure (ETS), realized that we can pick up several signals. In the long term, this could make it possible to detect certain diseases.

For example, people with Parkinson’s have a shorter inspiration than others, and this symptom occurs very early in the progression of the disease. Rachel Bouserhal is therefore working with Parkinson Québec to prove that this symptom can be detected with an in-ear device.

With the McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, she tries to detect Alzheimer’s by looking at the lexicon. “From the start of the disease, the person uses more verbs than nouns and decreases their vocabulary,” explains the researcher. It’s very gradual, so relatives don’t notice. But a device worn long term would see it. »

Already, Rachel Bouserhal has shown – the article is in peer review – that an in-ear device can detect that a person is stressed by reducing the variability of the time elapsed between their heartbeats. “And what’s interesting is that someone who has Alzheimer’s is more likely to have hidden hearing loss which is actually a difficulty in dissecting the message heard in the brain when there is noise, explains Rachel Bouserhal. It causes stress. Thus, the stress detected in the person when there is noise could also help us to detect Alzheimer’s early. »

Sustainable aerospace, building and electronics

A lot of work is also being done in the aerospace field. “There are approximately 300 companies active in this sector in Quebec, from major contractors to small start-ups, and our researchers are attentive to their needs to create more ecological aircraft, for example by developing green fuels or lighter materials,” explains François Bertrand, director of research and innovation at Polytechnique Montréal.

Other developed technologies are now at the stage of being deployed on the market.

“This is the case with geothermal energy, which consists of taking the heat present at a depth of a few hundred meters under buildings to heat them instead of using oil or natural gas”, indicates Mr. Bertrand.

Philippe Pasquier, professor in the department of civil, geological and mining engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, is leading a project carried out with several partners to accelerate the deployment in schools of permanent column wells in geothermal energy. Already, the primary school of Clé-des-Champs, in Mirabel, is heated by this technique.

We are also trying to green the electronics. For example, with her team, Clara Santato, professor in the physical engineering department at Polytechnique Montréal, has shown that she can purify the melanin contained in squid ink – a material derived from living organisms – to create biodegradable electronic components.

Accelerated pace

In engineering, it is necessary to always have one foot in the future.

Ghislain Gagnon, dean of research at ETS who graduated in electronic engineering in 2002, saw the emergence of cellphones, then 3G arrived and now it’s 5G. “In engineering schools, we teach certain standards, but in practice, we always have to learn new ones,” he explains. The engineer must learn to learn, always keep abreast of what is being done. »

And of course, the environmental impact is now a must, whether for regulatory or social acceptability issues. “You have to think about it at the design stage,” adds Ghislain Gagnon. The engineer has a major role to play, but he must also work with other professionals in design, architecture and the human sciences in particular to be able to go even further. »