The theme for Science Week 2025 is Then. Today. Tomorrow. And, while science tends to look to the future, the RTÉ Archives team are looking at the Then - marking 30 years of the event with stories from the past.
Living in the future
We kick off with a RTÉ News report from 2012. Engineers and scientists at NUI Maynooth create football playing robots in the hope research will help develop automatons capable of assisting humans.
ROBO Éireann is a research project at NUI Maynooth which uses footballing robots in a quest to develop machines which will one day assist humans with a variety of tasks. Watch the report up top.
Living in the future in the future was a big topic in the past. And you can click on the stories below for stories on Virtual Newsreaders, Young Scientists and AI.
Click here for more futuristic ideas:
- NUI Maynooth has developed a team of football playing robots ROBO Éireann. Taken from RTÉ News 2 July 2012.
- Young people discuss new technology uses, computer hacking and what artificial intelligence might do for our lives. Taken from Nothing To It 12 October 1987.
- People on the streets of Dublin offer their views on what the future will be like? Taken from Year In 31 December 1979.
- Ananova is a virtual newsreader who delivers the news of the day. Taken RTÉ News 18 April 2000.
- A blueprint for the Irish school of the future in the form of an intelligent classroom. From 2004
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Energy
In the video above, from Youngline, young scientists look at how wind power could provide energy security and employment for Ireland.
A team of five students from Blackpool Secondary School in Cork have conducted a study titled 'Wind Power: The Possibilities For Ireland'. The project on show at the Young Scientist Exhibition looks at how the manufacture of wind generating units would create employment and lessen Ireland's dependence on fossil fuels.
Click on the links below for more:
- Young scientists from Cork have carried out a study on how Ireland could create a wind industry. Taken from Youngline 18 January 1979.
- How a Wexford farmer is using the wind to generate energy to light his home and power farm equipment. Taken from Newsround 2 February 1975
- Cape Clear using wind power and battery storage to supply power for the island. Taken from RTÉ News 23 October 1987.
- The ESB and Trinity College Dublin are using ground water and heat pumps to heat their buildings. Taken from RTÉ News 19 November 1990
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Food & Sustainable Living
In 1976 RTÉ News had a report featuring a new technology - Hydroponics. The Horticultural Research Centre in Kinsealy, Dublin hopes to produce better yields with a new system for growing tomatoes.
Growing any greenhouse plants in soil is becoming a thing of the past. Half of the tomatoes grown in Ireland are grown in peat moss and growing in water is the next step.
Check out what else is in the Archives below:
- A new way to grow tomatoes using water. Taken from RTÉ News 14 April 1976
- How to live a more sustainable life in Fairview. Taken from RTÉ News 21 September 1998
- A Dutch couple have a created a largely self-sufficient life for themselves in Cork. Taken from RTÉ News 9 October 1984
- Irish hedgerows contain plenty of edible wild foods. Taken from Anything Goes 13 October 1984
- The Cultivate Centre offers advice and information on sustainable living and alternatives to fossil fuels. Taken from RTÉ News 18 April 2006.
About
RTÉ Archives are responsible for collecting, preserving and making accessible the creative and documentary output of the national broadcaster.
Combining hundreds of thousands of hours of moving image and sound recordings together with significant collections of photographs, manuscripts and administrative documents, RTÉ Archives contain a unique record of Irish life.
As well as keeping these audiovisual records RTÉ Archives are looking to make more content available on an increasing number of platforms and devices. RTÉ Archives provide content for radio and television programmes, both internally and for our content partners.
Follow the Archives for more daily updates on features, profiles and exhibitions at www.rte.ie/archives.
Visit rte.ie/scienceweek for more content - with support from Research Ireland/ Taighde Éireann.
