• How augmented reality is putting people in the picture

    Where are all the workers? That’s the question that many manufacturing leaders are asking right now, as labour shortages and skill deficits put the brakes on their ambitions for post-pandemic recovery. New ideas and bold thinking are urgently needed, given the extent of these problems. Labour shortages are creeping upwards in the European Union and manufacturing companies report that it’s getting harder to hire. At the same time, 79 per cent report skills shortages, according to a 2020 report from technology industry trade body Digital Europe . “New graduates lack work-ready competences. Experienced ones got trained in a pre-digital, traditional manufacturing world,” write the report’s authors. The pressure is on for manufacturing companies to offer better and more satisfying jobs, and…

  • National Space Strategy outlines long-term hope for UK space sector

    The UK’s space sector is worth over £16bn. The UK currently wields a six per cent share of the global space market and aims to expand this to 10 per cent by 2030 by identifying and developing high-growth markets and increasing exports. The Space Strategy [PDF] sets out the government’s long-term ambition for the UK to become a leader in space, as the global space economy is projected to grow from £270bn in 2019 to £490bn by 2030. It aims to encourage innovation by British space businesses by unlocking private finance while positioning the UK at the frontier of space research. The four pillars of the strategy are: unlocking growth in the UK space sector; collaborating internationally to become an “international partner of choice in space activities”; growing the UK as a “science and technology…

  • UK hopes to squeeze China’s nuclear company from Sizewell C

    Plans for Sizewell C, which would sit beside Sizewell B, have been under way for more than a decade. The £20bn Sizewell C station, which is planned as a “near replica” of Hinkley Point C in Somerset, would generate 3.2GW of power and together the two stations would provide an estimated 13 per cent of the UK’s electricity needs. While Hinkley C is being constructed, Sizewell C remains in the planning and development stage and faces opposition from local campaigners. Sizewell C is being developed by EDF, which is majority-owned by the French government. CGN has a 20 per cent stake in the civil nuclear project, and has also thrown considerable investment behind Hinkley C. The US government has been applying pressure on its ally to blacklist CGN from its major infrastructure projects, citing…

  • Sponsored: Trends, innovations, and human impacts of artificial intelligence

    Left: Prof. Nick Colosimo, BAE Systems - AI & Autonomy Technical Specialist, and Lead Engineer Future Combat Air System (FCAS) for Technology. Right: Jos Martin, MathWorks - Director of Engineering for Parallel Computing and Cloud Platform Integration How MathWorks and BAE Systems work together Jos, Nick, thank you for joining me. I wondered if maybe Nick you could give us a brief introduction to how MathWorks and BAE Systems are working together? Nick Colosimo BAE Systems and MathWorks are working together to understand and solve the engineering challenges of the future, whether that is in the development of a Future Combat Air System, the Navy’s next submarine, or in the application of Digital Twin technologies and DevSecOps methodologies. MathWorks products are deployed across almost…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Why it’s time to bust the myths that are hampering digital twin adoption

    In 1970, the Apollo 13 mission suffered a terrible mid-flight malfunction. To diagnose and remediate the problem, Nasa engineers built a ‘mirrored’ system to simulate the spacecraft and test various courses of action before deciding what to do next. The astronauts were saved, largely thanks to what many believe is the first example of a ‘digital twin’ being employed to solve a problem. With innovations in artificial intelligence and simulation modelling, today’s digital twin technology looks very different. Enabling something of a virtual testing laboratory, a digital twin will run alongside and in constant sync with a live system and offers the prospect of real-time monitoring as well as improvements in process efficiency. Fed by data from across an organisation's workflow and ERP (enterprise…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Cleanliness sensor helps autonomous robots find dirty areas to clean

    Developed by researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), the sensor works by pressing a white adhesive tape onto the floor and scanning for dirt particles in the tape. By measuring the degree of dissimilarity between the photo of the tape before and after it was pressed, the team came up with a dirt score that can be assigned to the area. The sensor could also count the number of pixels corresponding to dirt on the photo of the tape, providing insight into the area’s dirt density. “With this sensor that assigns a dirt score to an area using the touch-and-inspect analogy, what we need to do next is design the robot that could ‘touch’ a huge region,” explained first author Thejus Pathmakumar. One strategy is to let the robot roam everywhere, checking every…

  • AR system shows nuclear reactor damage in real time

    The system uses microscopy data to detect and quantify radiation-induced problems such as defects and swelling. The researchers hope the system could speed up the development of components for advanced nuclear reactors, which may play a critical role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “We believe we are the first research team to ever demonstrate real-time image-based detection and quantification of radiation damage on the nanometre length scale in the world,” said Professor Kevin Field, a Michigan nuclear engineer and VP of machine vision start-up Theia Scientific. The new technology was tested at the Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory. By directing beams of ions at material samples, the lab can quickly emulate the damage sustained after years or decades of use in a nuclear reactor. The team…

  • Solid-state battery promises high energy density

    The team said that initial tests have demonstrated that the battery is safe and long lasting and believe it holds promise for applications such as grid storage or electric vehicles. Silicon anodes typically have an energy density around 10 times greater than the graphite anodes most often used in lithium ion batteries. But the anodes also expand and contract as the battery charges and discharges and degrade quickly with liquid electrolytes. Until now, these factors have kept all-silicon anodes out of commercial lithium ion batteries despite their tantalising energy density. “With this battery configuration, we are opening a new territory for solid-state batteries using alloy anodes such as silicon,” said Darren HS Tan, the lead author on the paper. Next-generation solid-state batteries…

  • Engineers make Martian fuel using CO2 reactor

    Professor Jingjie Wu and his students used a carbon catalyst in a reactor to convert carbon dioxide into methane. This process, the Sabatier reaction, is used on the International Space Station to 'scrub' CO2 from the air its inhabitants breathe and generate rocket fuel to keep the station in stable orbit. Wu, who began by studying fuel cells for electric vehicles, started looking at CO2 conversion in his lab 10 years ago. “I realised that greenhouse gases were going to be a big issue in society,” he said. “A lot of countries realised that carbon dioxide is a big issue for the sustainable development of our society. That’s why I think we need to achieve carbon neutrality. [US decarbonisation targets] mean we’ll have to recycle carbon dioxide.” Wu and his students experimented with catalysts…

  • View from Brussels: Horizon Europe’s expansion begins

    Horizon Europe’s €95bn six-year run of funding research, innovation and development kicked off in 2021 and will last until 2027. Fully open to researchers within the EU, the programme also accepts applications from third-party countries. On Friday, the European Commission announced that negotiations had wrapped up with Iceland and Norway, meaning they can be granted associated country status under the same conditions enjoyed by the EU’s 27 member states. It makes the two Nordic countries the first non-EU states to get the full Horizon Europe privileges and means that researchers can start applying for funding. Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s tech tsar, said that “by joining forces with Iceland and Norway, we will pursue a series of actions in support of the green, digital and public health…

  • Preserve the past: locating and protecting historic sites

    A shackled male skeleton discovered in June this year by house builders in a garden in Rutland suggested a gruesome history – rare evidence of slavery in Roman Britain nearly 2,500 years ago. With feet bound by iron fetters, the body seemed to have been thrown in a ditch. When builders dig, the past pops up - as the hundreds of archaeologists working on the new high-speed rail link HS2 know only too well. The archaeological sector is bolstered by money from road and rail builders obliged to investigate the history of the land they build upon. As HS2 progresses, the body count is mounting: tens of thousands of bodies famously were disinterred from a burial ground beside London’s Euston Station in 2018 to make way for construction. In 2019, a 19th-century burial ground at HS2’s rail station…

  • AI helps to detect and count puffins

    The project, which is supported by Microsoft, Avanade and nature reserve NatureScot, could transform the way animal colonies are counted when companies such as those building developments want to understand the impact on local wildlife, the operator said. The trials are taking place on the Isle of May off the coast of Scotland. In order to count puffins, traditionally rangers would lie on the ground and put their hand into burrows to feel for a pair of puffins and their egg. But very often, the birds would give these rangers a bite or a scratch. The rangers would check tens of thousands in an area. While they are not at imminent risk of extinction, puffins are on the Birds of Conservation Concern 4 Red List, meaning that there are serious concerns over numbers in the wild. One reason for…

  • View from India: Entrepreneurship and collaborations in the biotech industry

    What the pandemic has also done is to try and break the boundaries between academia and startups. “These broken silos are enablers. They can help academia-startups-industry to work together. The industry and apex bodies may well collaborate to create the necessary infrastructure for the country to move forward and position itself as a biotech destination,” said Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, addressing the online audience at the CII Life Sciences Conclave 2021. Biotech startups need an impetus. “India is home to 5,000 startups, so we could probably look at expanding their tribe. Wishfully, some of these startups become unicorns and make it to the global list. All this may perhaps pave the way for biotechnology to grow into a $100bn…

  • WHO tightens air pollution guidelines in bid to reduce early deaths

    The WHO said the new guidelines reflect the damage that air pollution can inflict on human health at even lower concentrations than previously thought. It recommends reducing levels of key air pollutants, some of which also contribute to climate change. The WHO last updated its air quality guidelines in 2005, but there has been a marked increase of evidence that shows how air pollution affects different aspects of health since then. After reviewing the latest evidence, it adjusted almost all of its maximum recommended airborne pollutant levels downwards, suggesting that if properly adhered to, they could save millions of lives. Every year, exposure to air pollution is estimated to cause seven million premature deaths and results in the loss of millions more healthy years of life. In children…

  • Climate change tipping points revealed using AI insights

    Some tipping points that are often associated with runaway climate change include melting Arctic permafrost, which could release mass amounts of methane and spur further rapid heating; breakdown of oceanic current systems, which could lead to almost immediate changes in weather patterns; or ice sheet disintegration, which could lead to rapid sea-level change. The innovative approach with the AI, according to the research team from the University of Waterloo, Canada, is that it was programmed to learn about not just one type of tipping point but the characteristics of tipping points generally. The researchers are looking at thresholds beyond which rapid or irreversible change happens in a system. Chris Bauch, a professor of applied mathematics at the University of Waterloo and co-author…

  • AI-generated drug regime for deadly childhood cancer in trials

    Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a rare, aggressive type of brain tumour which affects children. It occurs in a part of the brainstem which controls many of the body’s most critical functions. DIPG is difficult to treat with surgery because the cancer is diffuse; there is no well-defined border suitable for operation. A quarter of children with DIPG have a mutation in a gene known as ACVR1; there are no approved treatments to target this mutation. Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust have used AI to identify a potential treatment for the cancer. They found that combining the drug everolimus with another called vandetanib could enhance the latter’s capacity to pass through the blood-brain barrier in order to treat the cancer…

  • Drax could delay closure of coal-fired generators as energy crisis looms

    Last year, Drax announced plans to drop its remaining coal-fired generators in 2021 after 50 years in operation as part of efforts to lower its carbon emissions. It originally planned to replace them with gas-fired generators but ultimately dropped that plan, too, following backlash from environmental campaigners. It then delayed the closures to September 2022, with plans to convert the generators to biomass instead. Speaking to the FT , the company’s chief executive Will Gardiner said that the ongoing energy crisis places the UK in a tough position going into the winter, but that his firm’s coal plant could help to fill some of the gap before it finally closes. Gas prices have recently reached record highs due to a number of factors including rising global demand as economies start opening…

  • Sperm-inspired swimming robots ride ultrasonic waves through body

    Professor Mingming Wu and her lab have, for more than a decade, investigated how microorganisms – from bacteria to cancer cells – migrate and communicate with their environment. The researchers aim to create a remotely controlled microrobot that can navigate in the human body. Initially, they tried designing a 3D-printed microrobot that mimicked how bacteria use their hair-like flagellum to propel themselves; these early robots were cumbersome and the effort collapsed. Wu and her colleagues took an alternative, less literal approach to microrobot design. The primary hurdle was how to power the device to swim through the human body. “Bacteria and sperm basically consume organic material in the surrounding fluid and that is sufficient to power them,” Wu explained. “But for engineered robots…

  • Nasa splits human spaceflight department in two ahead of Moon mission

    Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson said the changes were being made because of increasing space operations in low-Earth orbit and development programs that are well underway for deep space exploration, including Artemis missions . “Nasa has long set the vision for space exploration, not only for our nation, but also for the world,” he said. “This reorganisation positions Nasa and the United States for success as we venture farther out into the cosmos than ever before, all while supporting the continued commercialisation of space and research on the ISS. This also will allow the United States to maintain its leadership in space for decades to come.” The new Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) directorate will manage programs critical to the Artemis mission as well as…

  • Flying microchips the size of a sand grain used to monitor air quality

    Developed by engineers at Northwestern University, the chips do not have a motor or engine and instead catch flight on the wind. In a similar way to maple tree seeds, the chips use the wind to spin like a helicopter through the air toward the ground. By studying maple trees and other types of wind-dispersed seeds, the engineers optimised the microflier’s aerodynamics to ensure that it falls at a slow velocity in a controlled manner when dropped at high velocity. This behaviour stabilises its flight to ensure dispersal over a broad area and increasing the amount of time it interacts with the air, making it ideal for monitoring air pollution and airborne disease. A 3D microflier sits next to a common ant to show scale The engineers believe they are the smallest…

  • China commits to ending foreign coal projects

    As the world’s largest carbon emitter, China has been under considerable diplomatic pressure to end its sustained expansion of coal projects . In the first half of 2021, the country committed to a series of carbon-intensive steel and coal project s – 18 new blast furnaces and 43 new coal plant units – which could collectively emit carbon emissions equivalent to the total emissions of the Netherlands. Now, Xi has promised an end to foreign coal-fired projects, following similar moves by South Korea and Japan earlier this year. China has been under pressure by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and US climate envoy John Kerry to follow with its own commitment. The three countries collectively account for more than 95 per cent of all foreign financing for coal-fired plants. As an end to…

  • Fresh water divined in Easter Island seas using drones

    Although surrounded by the vast Pacific ocean, fresh water is a scarce commodity on Rapa Nui, as the island is known to its inhabitants. No rivers or streams cross its surface and there are only three small crater lakes, which regularly dry up during periodic droughts. However, as first reported by European explorers in the late 1700s, the people of Easter Island appeared to drink directly from the sea. Today, animals - most famously horses - can be observed doing the same thing. Due to a quirk of geology, rainwater immediately sinks down through the porous bedrock, where it feeds an underground aquifer. That freshwater emerges at spots on the coastline known as coastal seeps. Robert DiNapoli, a postdoctoral research associate in environmental studies and anthropology at Binghamton University…

  • UK risks biodiversity loss without urgent action, report warns

    The joint report was signed by the five UK statutory nature agencies: Natural England (NE); Natural Resources Wales (NRW); NatureScot; Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The report states that more efforts to maintain biodiversity would deliver “huge benefits” to human health, well-being and the UK economy, but will require significant societal changes. It suggests nine priority actions that should to be taken by 2030 to help reverse the biodiversity decline trend. These include better conservation of wildlife habitats outside protected areas; investing in habitat restoration; tackling pollution; developing the market for green finance, and deploying nature-based solutions to help mitigate climate change. The report suggests…

  • Ofgem threatens to scrap licence for five energy suppliers

    Suppliers are obliged to fund the Feed In Tariff (FIT) scheme, which is administered by Ofgem, but Colorado Energy, Igloo Energy Supply, Neon Reef, Whoop Energy and Symbio Energy have so far failed to do so for this year. They owe a collective £765,000 to the scheme, with Igloo alone responsible for nearly half of the total. The FIT scheme was first introduced in 2010 as a way to encourage property managers and organisations to generate their own renewable electricity using technology such as solar panels or wind turbines, and feeds any surplus back to the grid. The Government has estimated that FITs support small-scale low-carbon generation that would cost £8.6bn up to 2030 and produce monetised carbon savings worth £0.42bn. The scheme was closed to new entrants in 2019, but those…

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