• Scottish Power and Shell propose North Sea floating windfarm

    The companies say their plan will create new jobs in the region (the north-east of Scotland) and contribute towards the UK’s 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target. Floating offshore wind is expected to be a significant area of green growth this decade as technology costs fall. It could prove a particularly cost-effective approach in areas with deep waters where fixed offshore wind is not feasible, such as the site to the north-east of Scotland proposed by the companies. The Scottish coast is seen as an ideal location for offshore wind investment thanks to the Scottish government’s renewable energy ambitions and geographic considerations. Hywind Scotland – the first floating offshore wind farm – has the highest average capacity factor for any wind farm in the country, with average capacity…

  • New broadband tech enables 25 gigabits on existing infrastructure

    Currently, the fastest speeds available to consumers top out around 1 gigabit, and even these speeds are only scantly available in the UK. The ‘25G PON’ technology can deliver download speeds of 25 gigabits per second over a single optical fibre, and it can run on the same underlying infrastructure that Openreach is already building across the UK. This means the technology could be rolled out relatively easily and quickly allowing consumers and businesses to upgrade without disruption. While the technology has been tested at Openreach’s Adastral Park lab in Ipswich, Nokia and Openreach plan to launch a field trial by the end of 2021 that will more clearly demonstrate how easily it can be integrated into current infrastructure. The trial will put the technology through its paces using…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Chancellor welcomes new manufacturing hub in Leeds

    UK tech start-up UtterBerry has bought premises in Leeds, which will open in the autumn, and will create up to 1,000 positions. UtterBerry, a spin-out from Cambridge University, is known for its AI sensor technology which has been used on projects such as Crossrail, Thames Tideway and London Underground. “There is so much talent in the area, and I want to invest in local people to create the jobs for the future,” said Heba Bevan, UtterBerry’s chief executive. “We’re proud to be bringing unique jobs to the area and to build the technology of the future in the heart of the city.” She added: “As the nation builds back stronger after the pandemic, we are looking forward to building the manufacturing hub that will educate and train the next generation and give opportunities to local workers…

  • Gigafactory ambitions ‘face dead end’ without extra investment

    The committee concluded that a government scheme intended to support the establishment of ‘gigafactories’ with the Automotive Transformation Fund is insufficient for the scale of ambition. The entire fund is worth £500m but a single Gigafactory costs £2-4bn to establish. There is one official Gigafactory in Europe (Giga Berlin), which will manufacture battery packs and powertrains for Tesla EVs. Deutsche Welle estimates that the factory will cost €4bn, of which the EU contributed €1bn from the €2.9bn European Battery Innovation fund. Witnesses told the committee that national governments in other European countries are supporting factories with £750m each. There are no so-called gigafactories in the UK, although the struggling automotive sector has been heartened in recent months with…

  • Scientists turn methane into methanol at room temperature

    Methanol is used to make various products, such as paints and plastics, and as an additive to gasoline. According to experts, methanol, which is rich in hydrogen, can drive new-age fuel cells that could yield significant environmental benefits. If natural gas, of which methane is the primary component, could be converted economically into methanol, experts believe the resulting liquid fuel would be much more easily stored and transported than natural gas and pure hydrogen. That also would greatly reduce the emissions of methane from natural gas processing plants and pipelines. Today, escaped methane, a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide, nearly negates the environmental advantages of natural gas over oil and coal. To use this knowledge, a team of researchers from…

  • Public transport and buildings need better ventilation to cope with virus threat

    Published by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the report finds that leading engineers believe ventilation is too often neglected, and the Covid-19 pandemic in particular has exposed flaws in the way in which we design, manage and operate buildings. With the government ending all lockdown rules from Monday but Covid cases rising rapidly again, experts have stressed the importance of employing simple steps to minimise the virus’s spread. The report warns that unless the ventilation issues are addressed, future pandemics could impose high financial and health costs on society and constrain our ability to address other challenges such as climate change. Efforts to increase resilience to infection must also work alongside the delivery of significant carbon emission savings from our buildings…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Back story: Esmeralda Ypsilanti, ‘There is more of a push in the UK to diversify engineering’

    Shini Somara: What inspired you to go into engineering? Esmeralda Ypsilanti: I was interested in designing products that make life easier for people. I enjoy bringing human-centric engineering to design in objects that facilitate people’s lives. SS: Are diverse and inclusive teams important in engineering? EY:   Definitely. Homogeneous teams predominantly design for people who look, act, and use things the same way they do. The more diverse a team, the more perspectives, opinions, and use-cases on the project, then the more viable for everyone. For example, new products are a lot more inclusive of people with disabilities, who occupy a huge portion of the population. This is thanks to diverse and inclusive engineering teams. SS:   I’m really inspired by your confidence. Where does that…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • The measure of: Trombia Free autonomous electric street sweeper

    Developed by Finnish road maintenance equipment manufacturer Trombia Technologies, Trombia Free is an autonomous electric street-cleaner that uses less than 15 per cent of the power needed by current sweeping technologies and 95 per cent less water, while still being capable of heavy-duty operation, effectively removing both debris and fine PM2.5 dust. Image credit: . Built to operate in all weather conditions, the Trombia Free has the look of an oversized robotic vacuum cleaner or lawnmower. It makes use of lidar and machine vision technology to trundle around cleaning up city streets and pathways. The company equipped the sweeper with a safety margin zone so it can register obstacles in front and stop if needed. Vital statistics Working width: 2.2m (up to 3m…

  • Summer STEM Challenge: The Vacuum Engine

    “I sell what all the world desires: power.” So said Birmingham’s Matthew Boulton when he partnered with James Watt to make the world’s first powerful industrial engines. They were actually 'vacuum engines', with vacuum from condensing steam on one side of their pistons and atmospheric pressure on the other side. Here’s how to make a big working model of those pioneer engines, using a bike wheel, plastic plumbing and vacuum cleaner power instead of steam. Boulton and Watt’s enormous steam engines had a piston in a cylinder, pulling and pushing the flywheel via a crankpin and a valve to turn the vacuum on only when the piston is being sucked down and not otherwise. The valve needs to move with a quarter-turn lag after the piston. A front bike wheel makes a good flywheel since it has ball…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Teardown: Apple iMac 2021 desktop computer

    Apple’s strongest products have often been those that combine market-leading industrial design with ease-of-use. The 24-inch M1-powered 2021 iMac desktop computer aims to join that group. It may be serendipitous that the latest iMac arrives during a pandemic that has made mainstream consumers more conscious of the hardware that sits in the living room and elsewhere around the house. For many of them, working from home has meant sitting in front of a screen for much of the day as well as perhaps making it available for homeschooling. The iMac line has always aimed to look good. In its latest incarnation, the computer is a mere 11.5mm thick and available in seven colours, strong tones at the back and more muted ones at the front. It has then been configured to do all the things typical…

  • AmpliTube X-Gear FX pedals launched with hardware-software integration

    Each of the new AmpliTube X-Gear pedals features 16 different effects, drawn from the most popular AmpliTube virtual models already found in IK's popular amp and stomp box modelling software, as well as all-new reverb and delay algorithms from the IK team. Each pedal is accompanied by an exclusive virtual X-Gear version of the same effects hardware for use within AmpliTube 5. An SE version of that program will be included with each hardware pedal to facilitate this. The hardware-software integration will allow users to record, tweak settings and save presets (up to 300 for each pedal) from their computer back to the hardware pedal, giving more freedom and extending the usefulness of each of the pedals. The inaugural four AmpliTube X-Gear pedals will be the X-Drive, for distortion and overdrive…

  • Should we trust machine learning?

    For better or worse, says Brian Christian, questions that link ethics and technology, particularly in the field of machine learning “are not going away. In some ways I see this as one of the defining challenges of the decade ahead of us.” By ‘this’ he is referring to the core subject of his new book ‘The Alignment Problem’, which tackles the question of how we can ensure that the growth industry of machine learning “is behaving in the way we expect it to. How do we make sure that we can trust it and that we are safe and comfortable?” Machine learning, says the author, whose previous books have included ‘The Most Human Human’ and ‘Algorithms to Live By,’ “is the fastest-growing sub-field in artificial intelligence and one of the most exciting things happening in science today, full stop”.…

  • Tower of London to offer mixed-reality experiences

    Layered Reality, which develops digital immersive experiences, including feature-length mixed-reality experiences, for the entertainment sector, said in a statement that it will create an “all-new experience which will explore the landmark’s history in a completely new way”. The company’s ‘Layered Reality’ experiences are based on three multimedia elements: digital elements such as VR scenes, projection mapping, ‘holograms’ , and binaural sound; immersive sets which participants can walk around and interact with live actors; and physical sensations such as temperature, scent, movement, and touch. There are scant details about what the 10-year partnership will involve, although Layered Reality promises a “landmark new experience” which combines live actors, interactivity, VR, and unspecified…

  • 3D-printed knee implants made of metal could cut decades of pain

    The high tibial osteotomy (HTO) implants are made of titanium alloy, and are designed to reduce discomfort for knee osteoarthritis patients The ease of 3D printing makes their production relatively simple and could allow for earlier intervention, potentially saving patients decades of pain before surgery becomes viable The implants are due to be trialled on UK patients, following a virtual ‘in-silico’ trial that demonstrated the technique's safety. Using CT scan data from 28 patients, the trial modelled the stresses that would be exerted on the bespoke plates digitally and showed they would be comparable in safety to the standard treatment. The process, called TOKA (Tailored Osteotomy for Knee Alignment), is used to realign a patient’s knee, making it more stable, comfortable and better…

  • ‘Engineers don’t often get much recognition’: Professor Hugh Griffiths OBE

    “It really does seem such an honour, because engineers don’t often get much recognition,” says Hugh Griffiths on being elected to the fellowship of the Royal Society. The 2021 elite cohort will, in time, Covid restrictions permitting, attend a ceremony in the Society’s storied halls in Carlton House Terrace, where he will be in elevated company. The Royal Society has counted among its fellows such names as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Ernest Rutherford and Albert Einstein. Fellowship of the Royal Society is awarded to those who have made a “substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics, engineering science, and medical science”. It allows laureates to use the post-nominal letters ‘FRS’, which, for the onlooking engineering community…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Online Media Literacy Strategy seeks to help young people navigate disinformation

    The strategy [PDF] will involve training teachers, library staff, youth workers, and carers to help young people spot disinformation, including how to critically analyse the content they consume. According to research by the National Literacy Trust, just 2 per cent of children have developed sufficient critical-thinking skills to spot disinformation online. Concerns are not limited to children; the coronavirus pandemic has inspired a wave of dangerous disinformation and misinformation, including falsehoods about vaccines, 5G technology, and the origins of the virus. These falsehoods have led to instances of arson and harassment of telecoms and healthcare workers. Digital minister Oliver Dowden decried real-life harms done by consumers of disinformation. He wrote in a statement: “We want…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • 3D-printed steel bridge loaded with sensors opens for pedestrians in Amsterdam

    The bridge was installed over the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in Amsterdam’s Red Light District and was unveiled today (July 15) by a robot. The project has been in development since 2015 by Dutch start-up MX3D and uses torch-wielding robot welders for its construction. Researchers from Imperial College London (ICL) will now measure, monitor and analyse the performance of the 12-metre-long structure as it handles pedestrian traffic. The data collected will enable them to measure the bridge’s ‘health’ in real time, monitor how it changes over its lifespan and understand how the public interacts with 3D-printed infrastructure. The data from the sensors will be put into a ‘digital twin’ of the bridge – a computerised version which will imitate the physical bridge with growing accuracy…

  • Labs go auto

    The Covid-19 crisis has taxed biomedical laboratories to their utmost, under the urgent imperatives of rapid diagnostic testing and drug discovery. On top of workflow pressures, facilities had to cope with the added stresses of workplace distancing and staff sickness. For many, the pandemic has highlighted a need to automate many standard laboratory procedures sooner rather than later. Automated technology has become increasingly important in the conduct of many types of standard lab-based work. Collaborative robots – cobots – can now be configured to perform routine tests such as batch sample screening and even chemical experimentation. As well as helping to reduce chances of human error caused by heavy workloads, automation also releases researchers from repetitive tasks, enabling them…

  • Canada to back turboprop hybrid engine technology

    The unspecified “co-investment” toward a demonstration flight of the hybrid engine for regional turboprops is part of a wider announcement for aerospace expected today (15 July), sources told Reuters. It would also be Canada’s latest support for the local branch of the US engine maker, a division of Raytheon Technologies Corp. Canada is part of a select group of aircraft-producing nations, but its most well-known planemaker, Bombardier, exited commercial aviation in 2020. Pratt & Whitney, which dominates the turboprop market, has been working towards a flight demonstration of an integrated hybrid engine under an effort called Project 804. Testing is to be performed on a De Havilland Canada Dash-8 100 turboprop. Previously, Pratt said the hybrid-electric propulsion system could yield average…

  • European Central Bank to investigate digital euro

    The central bank is proceeding with considerable caution as its counterparts around the world – such as the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England – weigh up how to manage the growing popularity of digital currencies, including volatile cryptocurrencies. A digital currency issued by a central bank would be distinct from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin because they would be legal tender and usable for any transaction with a stable value. A Bank for International Settlements survey showed that 86 per cent of central banks are researching the potential for digital currency, 60 per cent were experimenting with the technology and 14 per cent were deploying pilot projects. It explained that digital currencies issued by central banks could promote diversity in payment options…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Microsoft offers cloud-based version of Windows as home working ramps up

    Dubbed Windows 365, the service will allow the full Windows 10 experience, including apps, data and settings, to be accessed directly from Microsoft’s Azure cloud. It will secure and store information in the cloud rather than on the device. Windows 365 will also create a new hybrid personal computing category called Cloud PC, which uses both the power of the cloud and the capabilities of the device it’s being used on. “With Windows 365, we’re creating a new category: the Cloud PC,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “Just like applications were brought to the cloud with SaaS [software as a service], we are now bringing the operating system to the cloud, providing organisations with greater flexibility and a secure way to empower their workforce to be more productive and connected, regardless…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Strive for diversity and inclusion in the workplace

    Back in the 1960s, campaigning lawyer Lord Lester devised a simple test to discover whether employers were prejudiced. He’d apply for a job under the name of Smith and then again with identical qualifications, but as Mr Singh. That employers all those decades ago weren’t interested in the Singhs comes as no surprise. What has astonished social scientists is that more than half a century later, some UK employers remain just as biased, research shows. And there are stark differences in how white and minority ethnic young engineering professionals fare. Britain has been a pioneer in developing anti-discrimination legislation but now falls behind most of Europe, says Dr Valentina Di Stasio, who has researched racial discrimination among employers. She found that people from Nigerian, Middle…

  • View from India: Airport sustainability is a journey

    The aviation industry attributes about 2.5 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Though the pandemic has made a dent in business, still airports in India are undertaking green initiatives to become sustainable. Stakeholders of aviation and airports are interlinked through complex processes: many functions require carbon-neutral measures and emission-reduction strategies, hence it’s only appropriate that airport operations scale-up operational efficiencies and adopt new technologies for improving air navigation. Fuel-efficient procedures are being implemented. The investments in emission-reduction initiatives and energy-efficient measures are part of the long-term growth. “As part of our sustainability practices, we have put up solar panels and parallel runways in our airports. Social…

  • Scientists tune in to the Sun to monitor melting ice sheets

    The Sun and other stars are colossal sources of electromagnetic radiation across the spectrum. In this chaos of signals, Stanford researchers have identified the potential for monitoring ice and polar changes on Earth and across the solar system. At present, information about the polar subsurface is collected by flying aeroplanes over ice sheets, transmitting an 'active' radar signal from a system on board (airborne ice-penetrating radar). This is a resource-intensive technique which only provides information about conditions at the time of flight and contributions to carbon emissions with every trip. However, the Stanford researchers have demonstrated a battery-powered receiver with an antenna placed on the ice; this detects solar radio waves as they reach Earth and pass through the ice…

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