• Hands-on review: Tronsmart Studio 30W Bluetooth speaker

    Unless you have a particular predilection for tracking new Chinese technology companies (a hobby that undoubtedly would keep you very busy) or are a keen follower of professional footballer (and infamous neck nibbler) Luis Suarez, who became the brand's official ambassador in 2018, there isn't any significant reason why you might have previously heard of Tronsmart. Established in 2013, so already eight years old, Tronsmart was founded by electronic enthusiast Eric Cheng, who started out reverse engineering products he admired in order to understand how and why they worked as well as they did. Putting this knowledge to practical use, Cheng then began building his own interpretations of the devices that had inspired him, building up this practice until he was in a position to establish his…

  • Book review: ‘Rule of the Robots’ by Martin Ford

    For those of us yet to grasp the scale of the potential for artificial intelligence to permeate every aspect of our lives, futurologist Martin Ford offers the analogy of electricity. It’s a big claim, because here at the dawn of the digital revolution electricity is a ubiquitous general purpose technology that has matured to support the basic needs of virtually everyone on the planet. But the comparison has merit, says Ford in ‘Rule of the Robots: How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Everything’ (Hachette, £20, ISBN 9781529346015), if only because it offers insight into how much it’s going to change our lives. It’s also a flawed idea, he admits, because while electricity is universally seen as an agent for good, the same cannot be said of the algorithms that inevitably have the power…

  • How AI is helping make offshore wind power more sustainable

    The global offshore wind market grew by nearly 30 per cent each year between 2010 and 2018, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Countries such as Denmark, China and the UK are leading the way in offshore wind power, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson even stating that he wants Britain to be the “Saudi Arabia of wind power”. The industry promises to keep growing with investment in renewable energy hitting record highs in the first half of 2021, according to BloombergNEF. However, while wind farms harness a sustainable source of energy, the energy transition itself needs to be appropriately managed to reduce both carbon dioxide emissions and the impact on the environment from the businesses that make up this burgeoning industry. The cables and foundations that support turbines…

  • View from India: Cheetahs help ecological balance

    Various state governments have lined up events to mark Wildlife Week. The Tamil Nadu Forest Department will conduct short film competitions for school-college students on themes like marine wildlife, mammal ecology and water birds, among others; the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam will organise events for wildlife lovers; Delhi is preparing to get its first wildlife rescue centre, and many other ecology-wildlife-based activities and events have been lined up across the country. Among all the wildlife activities that have already happened this year, what comes to mind is the announcement about cheetahs being reintroduced in the country. Looking back, India was home to the Asiatic Cheetah until around the early 19th century – the country's last spotted cheetah died in 1947…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Tackling loneliness using ‘mixed reality’ technology

    Scientists are exploring whether off-the-shelf technology that brings together the virtual and physical world can be used to tackle the growing problem of loneliness in the UK. The team are assessing the suitability and feasibility of devices that could, for example, display live hologram-like images of friends and family in a living room to recreate the social interactions that many people hold dear. Whilst located hundreds of miles away from each other, friends and relatives could experience a feeling of being connected in ways much closer to real-life interactions, the team say, whether it be in their own home or a care setting. The project is an attempt at tackling chronic loneliness, with around 1.5 million peopled aged 50 and over in the UK reported to be suffering from the condition…

  • Europe faces the Airbus vs air miles decision for chips

    It’s hard to think of a more globalised industry than chipmaking. The devices themselves probably do more air miles than any other product. Worth more than their weight in gold, air-freighting even half-finished chips from country to country makes sense. Wafers can start off on one continent, get despatched to a fab in Taiwan and then move on to a packaging plant on the other side of the South China Sea. Now that multichip modules have become mainstream in phones and a growing portfolio of other products, a packaged memory could wind up being flown to a second packaging plant in a different country before it starts to make its way through the distribution chain and into a shipping container once final assembly has taken place. At the end of 2019, it was hard to see that trend reversing…

  • Major economies must deliver in run-up to COP26, says summit president

    With one month to go until the crucial UN climate conference in Glasgow, which aims to solidify agreement between the delegation on curbing dangerous global temperature rises, Sharma warned countries have not delivered all the needed commitments on emissions cuts or finance. The COP26 president said the “ball is in the court” of countries such as China to unveil stronger action to cut pollution for this decade. Sharma also said he is continuing to press developed nations to deliver a long-promised $100bn (£74bn) a year to help poorer countries tackle climate change. Sharma's comments come after a UN report on the national action plans put forward by countries to meet the goals of the global Paris Agreement to curb temperature rises to well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit them to 1…

  • Rare metals recovered with whisky-fuelled filtration system

    The consortium of organisations – comprising of Aberdeen-based environmental tech company SEM, waste services provider WEEE Scotland, the University of Edinburgh and the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) – has proven the feasibility of a more sustainable method for recovering reusable scrap metal from products such as TVs and laptops. Current physical and chemical extraction techniques are energy intensive or use solvents that are difficult to recycle to dissolve valuable metals from electronic circuit boards. The latter process generates large volumes of acidic liquid waste containing traces of metals, which can be damaging to the environment. The new method developed by the group uses recyclable solvents to extract valuable gold and copper from printed circuit boards…

  • Sponsored: Leveraging marginal gains to improve manufacturing performance

    “It simply means focusing on small changes to everything in the business one per cent at a time,” Dave Hughes, pre-sales director UK at PTC, says. “There is still a time and place for broad sweeping transformation change, but it is risky. By concentrating on making multiple incremental, one per cent improvements, the compound effect will be significant while avoiding the risk of considerable upheaval.” The principle came to public attention through, Sir David Brailsford, the performance director of British cycling. The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, and then improved it by one per cent you will get a significant increase when you put them all together. It certainly worked with the UK cycling team topping…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Helmet-style scanner lets kids roam free during MEG imaging

    MEG is a non-invasive form of imaging which measures the tiny magnetic fields produced by electrical activity in the brain. It can be used to analyse brain function with millisecond and millimetre precision, allowing clinicians to identify the exact location of the source of epileptic seizures, for instance. Until now, MEG scanning - which is not as mature as other forms of imaging, such as MRI - has required the patient to stay completely still during the scan, sometimes requiring sedation. Traditional MEG scanners are also optimised for adults and are of limited use in children due to their size. The development of the first wearable MEG helmet will make the process far easier for children, especially those with complex needs, by allowing them to move freely during the scan. The helmet…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Matching loads in LV assemblies with the electrical installation

    BE EN IEC 61439-2 Edition 3: 2021 is the reference for industrial and commercial low-voltage assemblies. Compared with the previous edition it includes one very significant change, the introduction of a new characteristic, ‘group rated current of a main circuit of an assembly’. This paper suggests ways in which the new characteristic enables the installation designer and assembly manufacturer to work together in a partnership to achieve a cost-effective assembly without compromising the needs of the installation. Key Learning Points: The importance of correctly specifying the design current ratings within an installation The assembly manufacturer’s responsibilities for thermal performance when designing and manufacturing a low-voltage assembly How to optimise a low-voltage assembly…

  • Money & Markets: Supply chain problems are caused by money supply

    Hysteresis was a word bandied about by the Fed chairman at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. It’s a word engineers will immediately grasp but not one generally understood. To me that was an especially scary word to use in the circumstances. A situation so dramatic that might throw a systemic switch in global society is tantamount to suggesting that a revolution might take place, and those things generally end up very badly and take generations to sort out. Happily, the overwhelming of barriers seems to have been limited to economics. As we find ourselves at the exit of the pandemic (at least we hope this is where we are), hysteresis is back with a vengeance, this time as the lag and resistance needed to be overcome to get the world economy running smoothly again rather than as a barrier…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Are autonomous trucks a long-term solution to driver shortages?

    There’s nothing new about a shortage of truck drivers. In the US, the American Trucking Association has predicted there will be a shortage of 160,000 drivers by 2028. Similar shortages are present in Europe. In the UK, the impact of Brexit and changing regulations has compounded the problem further, leaving the country facing probably the worst crisis. Why is the UK hardest hit? The Road Haulage Association has estimated the UK is short of 100,000 drivers, out of a pre-pandemic total of 600,000. In recent weeks we have seen reports of major supply chain issues attributed to the shortage. Wetherspoon’s has been running out of beer, McDonald’s has had to stop selling milkshakes and Nando’s has had to close 50 of its sites. Furthermore, there has been some indication that the worst may be yet…

  • Amazon’s domestic bot disparaged as bumbling privacy nightmare

    Astro is a 'domestic assistant' that works with Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa, to respond to voice commands. It can also be integrated with Amazon-owned Ring home security products, such as connected doorbells. Astro has been designed with consumer appeal in mind. It resembles a small, squat vacuum cleaner with large wheels, a face-like display screen with large, expressive eyes, and a periscope camera that extends on a rod to the approximate height of a person. It moves using Amazon’s 'Intellect Motion' technology, which incorporates simultaneous location and mapping, capturing live footage of the home which can be streamed anywhere. It can be set to provide alerts, such as when the smoke alarm is triggered or broken glass detected. Amazon, which is a specialist in facial-recognition…

  • Ford invests $11.4bn to add electric F-150 plant, three battery factories

    The two companies intend to create nearly 11,000 jobs by opening assembly and battery plants in Stanton, Tennessee, and two additional battery factories in Glendale, Kentucky, as part of Ford's previously announced plan to spend more than $30bn between now and 2030 on electrification. Plants on both sites are slated to open in 2025. Following the announcement - which represents the single-largest manufacturing investment in the company's 118-year history - Ford said that it expects to have 40 to 50 per cent of its global vehicle volume to be all-electric by 2030, up from its previous forecast of 40 per cent. The Tennessee assembly and battery complex will be approximately three times the size of Ford's sprawling, century-old Rouge manufacturing complex in Dearborn, Michigan, said Lisa Drake…

  • Oil will be ‘number one energy source for decades’, says Opec

    Opec's bullish pronouncement comes as nations prepare to gather for the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow to discuss ways in which the world's population can continue to limit the negative effects of climate change , with the primary goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In its annual 'World Oil Outlook' (WOO) report, Opec acknowledged that increasing the number of electric vehicles on the world's roads and the push for alternative and renewable energy will indeed usher in an era of declining demand for oil in rich countries. However, the report also noted that the long-term energy needs of expanding economies in other parts of the world will still leave oil as the world’s number one source of energy until at least the year 2045. The long-term report was…

  • Crackdown on criminals using e-scooters pursued by government

    A call for ideas that “enhance the ability of UK police to prevent e-scooters and e-bikes from being used to commit criminal acts” has been issued after a rise in reports of such incidents. The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) – the part of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) tasked with finding and funding technology for the armed forces, police and security services – is carrying out the so-called “market exploration” on behalf of the Home Office and described the subject as a “problem that has ministerial interest”. The government is particularly interested in ways the devices could be brought to a stop without putting the rider, police or the public at risk; how stationary e-scooters could be rendered “incapable of moving”, and suggestions for tracking down suspects electronically…

  • NHS Scotland uses AI to guide heart operations

    During PCI operations, tiny stents are placed in coronary arteries to keep them open and maintain blood flow towards the heart. This non-surgical procedure helps patients with coronary artery disease whose arteries have been narrowed by plaque build-up. Now, cardiologists at NHS Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, have become the first in Scotland to perform the procedure with guidance from AI technology. The clinicians carried out planned PCIs using Ultreon 1.0 software, which combines the imaging technique Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and computer vision, gaining a comprehensive and accurate view inside arteries and helping them determine the best decisions. The software speeds up the operation, using infrared lasers and AI to measure how much of the artery…

  • Superconducting flakes could outperform quantum computer parts

    The researchers made the discovery while exploring the junction between two layers of a superconductor - niobium diselenide - after the layers were cleaved apart, twisted 30° with respect to one another and then stamped back together. This process created a superconducting quantum interferometer device (aka 'SQUID'): an extremely sensitive sensor used to measure magnetic fields. SQUIDs, which are based on superconducting loops, are crucial components in MEG imaging and are also used in MRI; cardiography; mineral exploration; scanning microscopes; gravitational wave detection, and in commercial quantum computers. Although this work remains at an early stage, these new superconducting flakes have the potential to play an important part in the development of quantum computing in coming years…

  • Light-powered microscopic metavehicles ready to roll

    Light has an inherent power to move microscopic objects – a property previously used to develop the Nobel prize-winning research idea of ‘optical tweezers’, which use a highly focused laser beam to control and manoeuvre tiny particles with incredible precision. Now, a research group at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, both of Sweden, has shown how even an unfocused light can be used to manoeuvre microscopic particles in a controlled manner. Their research has been published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology . The researchers manufactured vehicles at a scale of 10 micrometres wide and 1 micrometre thick (one thousandth of a millimetre). The vehicles consisted of a tiny particle, coated with a ‘metasurface’. Metasurfaces are ultra-thin arrangements of…

  • Battery bends and stretches like a snake

    A snake’s individual scales, while rigid, can fold together to protect against external impacts. They possess structural characteristics that allow them to stretch and move flexibly. It is this unique set of properties that researchers from the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials decided to replicate in a mechanical meta structure. Unlike conventional wearable devices, in which the device’s frame and battery are combined in a tight formation, this new device enables flexible movement by connecting several small, rigid batteries in a scale-like structure. To ensure its safety, the researchers optimised the structure to minimise deformation of the material from which the battery was made. The shape of each battery cell is optimised to achieve high capacity…

  • Ultrathin QLED can be folded into origami structures

    QLEDs use quantum dots (nanoscale semiconductor particles) for the emission of light. Thanks to their outstanding electroluminescence, they have attracted considerable attention as a candidate for the next generation of display technologies. QLED displays do not require any bulky components such as backlight units, potentially allowing them to be manufactured with ultrathin form factors. A research team of experts from Seoul National University and the Institute for Basic Science presented a prototype QLED in 2015 that had a thickness of just 3μm. Thanks to its thinness, it had outstanding mechanical flexibility, which allowed it to be applied in wearable devices such as electronic tattoos. The team has now presented the next stage of this technology - a foldable variant of the ultrathin…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • US tests Raytheon hypersonic weapon, as China unveils military drones

    The test by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) took place as the US and its global rivals quicken their pace to build hypersonic weapons - the next generation of arms that rob adversaries of reaction time and traditional defeat mechanisms. In July this year, Russia said it had successfully tested a Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin has touted as part of a new generation of missile systems without equal in the world. The US' free flight test of its Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) occurred last week, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, said in a statement. "This brings us one step closer to transitioning HAWC to a program of record that offers next generation capability to the US military…

  • Pandemic boosts public’s faith in technology, but suspicion lingers over AI

    The 'Consensus for Change' report found that a slender majority of people interviewed wanted to see more advanced technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics used to boost public safety. The study - conducted by Motorola Solutions and a research team at Goldsmiths, University of London – found that more than three-quarters of people in the UK (76 per cent) believe technology should be used to help emergency services predict risk, while 72 per cent said technology such as video cameras, data analytics, cyber security and cloud computing needed to be more widely used to address the challenges of the modern world. The report said that in the wake of the pandemic and the high-speed innovation it sparked in the name of public safety - e.g. accelerated vaccine development;…

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