• 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…

  • Welsh train system needs urgent upgrades and electrification, MPs say

    In a report, it said the Victorian system is failing to live up to modern expectations, with passengers experiencing slow services and inadequate stations. It believes urgent upgrades should be made, backed up by sufficient investment from central Government. In particular, a full strategic case for the upgrade and electrification of the North Wales main line should be prepared. Electrification of the railways is expected to play a key role in the UK Government’s transport decarbonisation agenda, which was announced today. In March, MPs called for 30-year rolling programme of electrification across the UK as a matter of priority. The Committee said the decision to cancel the electrification of the Great Western main line from Cardiff to Swansea was “short-sighted” and urged the UK Government…

  • Future flight: air travel after a pandemic

    Remember airports? Or boarding passes and safety demonstrations? How about   luggage conveyor belts, security checks or even sunny beaches? It’s been at least a year and a half since most of us took a flight anywhere. Instead, we’ve been visiting virtual exhibitions, attending online conferences or making video calls. Organisers have got better at doing them and we’ve learnt to get along with them out of necessity, but they don’t always beat actually being there. And you can’t actually get sand between your toes or really experience another culture without immersing yourself in the real thing. We may not miss business travel too much, but we sure miss those foreign holidays. Lockdowns, closed borders and quarantines have hit the   airline business   hard over the last 18 months. How has…

  • Engineering places: Sydney Opera House

    The iconic white sails seen from Sydney Harbour are a mesmerising sight to many who visit the ‘Land Down Under’. The sculptural elegance of the Sydney Opera House, which fuses ancient and modern influence, made it one of the most recognisable buildings of the 20th century, and it still stands at the harbour in all its architectural glory. Built to “help mould a better and more enlightened community”, in the words of New South Wales (NSW) Labour Party Premier Joseph Cahill in 1954, the Sydney Opera House has hosted many of the world’s greatest artists and performers, and has been a meeting place for matters of local and international significance since opening in 1973. How was this magnificent structure made? In 1952, Cahill announced the government’s intention of putting Sydney on the world…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • The bigger picture: smart bus shelter

    A smart bus shelter that filters polluted city air, removes airborne allergens and kills viruses, bacteria and fungi within seconds has been on display at Central and Western District Promenade, Hong Kong. CAPS 2.0, designed by Charis NG in collaboration with Sino Inno Lab and Arup, works by drawing in polluted air, creating an invisible shield-​like air curtain from the underside of the canopy, while concurrently generating air currents to clean up the air. Image credit: . Polluted air is internally purified with its dual-protection technology, Plascide proprietary air sanitiser and multi-HEPA filters, which removes suspended particles and eliminates coronaviruses. The shelter will now move to a Kowloon shopping mall, with students from a local university analysing…

  • Book review: ‘Phosphate Rocks: A Death in Ten Objects’ by Fiona Erskine

    For those who believe there’s not enough fiction out there written by engineers for engineers, the emergence a few years ago of E&T’s favourite novelist Fiona Erskine was something of a breath of fresh air. Her two ‘Chemical Detective’ novels, released in rapid succession, introduced a new folk heroine to our world in the form of the irresistible Jaq Silver, whose international crime-busting antics drew on every molecule of her encyclopaedically nerdish knowledge of chemistry, as well as something of a Lara Croft-ish approach to all things cloak-and-dagger. While aficionados of Erskine’s work hotly await the third instalment of her Jaq Silver series, they will possibly be frustrated that her latest offering –  ‘Phosphate Rocks: A Death in Ten Objects’ (Sandstone Press, £8.99, ISBN 9781913207526…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Shock treatment: can the pandemic turn the NHS digital?

    Last year, we all experienced the overnight transformation of our lives and the way we work wrought by the pandemic. Every organisation felt the pressure, though none more so than the National Health Service. Not just because it was Britain’s frontline fighting force against Covid-19, but because it had to perform its new and urgent mission while still maintaining the great majority of non-Covid healthcare services. All while it was potentially deadly for a doctor and a patient to be in the same room together. It also turned out that this challenging mission had an unintended consequence: it forced a health service that has long been sclerotic in its approach to new technology to change how it works. “Things that would have taken a long time suddenly got adopted within the space of weeks…

  • Green transport plan targets net-zero domestic aviation by 2040

    The government describes the decarbonisation plan as a “world-leading greenprint” for cutting emissions from road, rail, marine, and air transport through a “credible pathway” for the transport sector to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. One of the major announcements is the planned phase-out of the sale of new diesel and petrol heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) by 2040, subject to a consultation. The consultation proposes a 2035 deadline to end sales of vehicles from 3.5 to 26 tonnes and 2040 – at the latest – for vehicles over 26 tonnes. The government said in a statement that the production of zero-emission road vehicles alone could support tens of thousands of jobs worth up to £9.7bn gross value added in 2050 while also improving air quality and reducing time wasted in traffic…

  • How Venice intends to keep the Adriatic Sea at bay

    The natural phenomenon of acqua alta (‘high water’) happens several times a year in Venice when high tides from the Adriatic Sea combine with winds and long waves to flood the city. In 2019, Venice experienced the worst acqua alta since 1966, with 1.87m-high tides flooding two-thirds of the city. The number of high tides over 1.4m has been increasing, with 14 in the last 20 years. In 1984, a scheme to protect the historic city’s inhabitants and buildings was designed, consisting of barriers at the mouths of each of the three inlets to the Venice Lagoon. The MOSE (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico, or Experimental Electromechanical Module) is a network of barriers located at the Malamocco, Chioggia and Lido harbours. Each barrier is a series of metal gates, which are raised when the high…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Risk of violence to railway workers over Government’s ‘chaotic’ face mask rules

    While the Government is scrapping the mask mandate in public indoor areas in England from next week, Mayor Sadiq Khan is making an exception to this rule in London. Further adding to the confusion, the Transport Secretary has offered his support for the decision saying the move is “very much in line” with what ministers want to happen despite the broad lifting of restrictions next Monday. He told Sky News: “Whilst we are going from this being a legal requirement to guidelines, we do expect individual carriers to make sure they are putting in place whatever is appropriate for their network.” Khan said he was “not prepared” to put Tube, tram and bus users in the capital “at risk” by removing the rules on face coverings after so-called “freedom day”. Under the terms of use, enforcement…

  • Novel material to be made into mosquito-bite-proof clothing

    They started to develop the materials using a computational model to describe the biting behaviour of Aedes aegypti: the infamous mosquito that carries viruses responsible for diseases like Zika, Dengue fever, and yellow fever. To develop the model, the researchers investigated the dimensions of the head, antenna and mouth of the insect, and the mechanics of its bite. They used the model to predict textile materials that may be able to prevent bites, depending on their thickness and pore size. They put the model’s predictions to the test in experiments with live, disease-free mosquitoes. A blood reservoir was surrounded with plastic materials made according to parameters produced from the model; the researchers then counted how many mosquitoes became engorged with blood. One material…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

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