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Swarms of bug-sized bots could someday artificially pollinate crops

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are designing a robotic insect that could offer an efficient method for artificial pollination. In the future, these bug-sized robots could be unleashed to rapidly perform precise pollination and boost the yield of crops grown in multi-level warehouses. It is hoped the bots could match natural pollinators such as bees when it comes to endurance, speed and manoeuverability. Weighing less than a paperclip, the new bot has been designed for precise and agile flight while minimising the mechanical stress on its artificial wing flexures. The design also has room to accommodate tiny batteries or sensors. Kevin Chen, an associate professor at MIT’s department of electrical engineering and computer science, said: “With the improved…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Industry insight: How ACCU used technology to grow their business in a challenging market

Alastair Morris, Managing Director of engineering component specialist Accu, discusses the challenges that the engineering industry has faced this year and why he’s optimistic for the future. The impact of digitalisation Software and digitalisation are set to help the UK’s manufacturing and engineering sector to really get ahead of the game. Embracing new technologies isn’t just an option, it’s a necessity for staying competitive in today’s fast-paced manufacturing landscape. As suppliers of engineering components into manufacturing, we are well aware that 2024 has been a challenging year for industry. Rising material, transportation and energy costs continue to impact many markets and the companies that have grown in the engineering components sector are those which have worked hard…

E+T Magazine in Business Planning
Prototype fusion energy plant could be built in UK with £410m taxpayer investment

Ministers have pledged £410m to support the rapid development of fusion energy technology in the UK, with the hope that a prototype plant could be built by 2040. Fusion is a potential source of almost limitless clean energy that lacks many of the downsides associated with traditional nuclear fission, such as waste storage problems. It uses the same process that powers the sun by combining two forms of hydrogen and heating them at extreme temperatures. But despite its promise, the technology is still in the research phase and will not be part of the UK’s 2030 decarbonisation goals. The funds announced today will be available to the sector over the coming financial year and include support for the development of a prototype plant located at the decommissioned West Burton coal-fired power…

E+T Magazine in Nuclear Power
‘World’s largest’ solar power and battery storage gigascale project to be built in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company Masdar and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) have announced the launch of the “world’s largest” combined solar and battery energy storage system (BESS). Located in Abu Dhabi, the project will feature a 5.2GW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant and a 19 gigawatt-hour (GWh) BESS, delivering up to 1GW of baseload power daily. Masdar says this gigascale project reflects the UAE’s ambitions of being a global pioneer in renewable energy deployment. Sultan Al Jaber, minister of industry and advanced technology and chairman of Masdar, said: “In collaboration with EWEC and our partners, we will develop a renewable energy facility capable of providing clean energy round the clock. For the first time ever, this will transform renewable energy into a…

E+T Magazine in Power Conversion
E+T Podcast: Episode 9 | Is the AI bubble about to burst?

While Artificial Intelligence is on everyone's lips as the key to the development of just about everything, more practical issues are resulting in a re-evaluation of where the technology might take us. Public uptake and trepidation on the user side are added to by energy consumption, LLM limitations and profitability on the technology development side. All this and more is discussed in the latest E+T Off The Page podcast. Regulars Jack Loughran and Tanya Weaver are joined by guest Julie Wall, Professor of AI & Advanced Computing, University of West London.

E+T Magazine
Teardown: Meta Quest 3S

This diminutive device tracks vital health signs and physical activity, but does its environmental impact override the technological advance? With VR headsets still failing to take the world by storm, one may have thought that Meta would by now have given up on its attempt to make the technology the next big thing. But the Facebook-owning firm is still soldiering on, determined to make consumers actually care about VR. In the mid-to-late 2010s, VR was riding high, with the technology apparently on the brink of breaking through to a mass audience. But it never took off. Consumers enjoyed the novelty for a bit, but its litany of issues such as being disconnected from the world around you and motion sickness ultimately made the technology a more niche proposition. While VR may not have lived…

E+T Magazine in Computing
Pothole-related breakdowns jumped by a fifth in last three months of 2024, RAC data finds

On National Pothole Day, the RAC has revealed its latest breakdown stats as the government reaffirms its commitment to fixing up to seven million potholes across the country this year. In the UK, potholes seem to be a bottomless problem – so much so that in 2018 National Pothole Day (15 January) was established by Street Repairs to raise awareness around the safety risks. Today, 2025’s National Pothole Day, British automotive services company the RAC revealed that pothole-related breakdowns jumped by a fifth (17%) in the final three months of 2024 compared with the previous quarter. Defective road surfaces caused 4,709 drivers to contact the RAC (up 669 from the previous three months), and almost four in 10 breakdowns (39%) the RAC attended were a result of punctured tyres, predominantly…

E+T Magazine in Management of Technology
Sizewell C nuclear plant costs set to double as project faces scrutiny

The total cost of upcoming nuclear power plant Sizewell C is expected to be double the initial estimates, the Financial Times (FT) has reported. With the UK’s ageing fleet of eight nuclear power stations in need of replacement, and only Hinkley Point C currently undergoing construction, Sizewell C will play an important role in backing up renewable energy in the switch away from fossil fuels. EDF, the French state-owned energy firm overseeing the construction of both power plants, gave Sizewell C a budget of £20bn in its 2020 development consent submission, But the FT reports that people close to negotiations now estimate it will cost closer to £40bn in 2025 prices. The government had already proposed subsidising the construction of the project by £5.5bn as the project struggles to attract…

E+T Magazine in Nuclear Power
Renewables contribute 45% to UK energy mix as gas-fired power output falls to 20-year low

Demand from gas-fired generation dropped in 2024 as a result of near-record levels of renewable generation, according to a report from Montel Analytics. The report – GB electricity market summary – offers analysis and insights into Britain’s energy mix over 2024 by looking at the generation and contribution by fuel type. Renewables were the dominant contributor, accounting for 44.8% of the total. Gas-fired generation accounted for 27.5%, with nuclear (14.5%), imports (12.6%) and coal (0.6%) making up the rest. The main takeaway from the report is that output from gas-fired generation has reached its lowest level in at least 20 years. This reduced demand is the result of near-record levels of renewable generation and also significantly increased levels of electricity imports through the…

E+T Magazine in Renewable Energy
UK risks losing economic benefits of engineering biology boom, Lords committee warns

Urgent action in the engineering biology sector is needed or the “UK is at risk once again of seeing the economic benefits of science and technology developed here but exploited overseas”. The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee’s report, Don’t Fail to Scale: Seizing the Opportunities of Engineering Biology, calls for a radical overhaul of investment strategies, regulatory frameworks and talent pipelines. Engineering biology is a fast-developing and evolving field. While synthetic biology is the design and fabrication of biological components, systems and materials from biological elements, engineering biology is the process of taking those synthetic biology concepts and translating them into solutions. There are vast applications for engineering biology across many sectors…

E+T Magazine in Business Planning
Nuclear power meets its AI reckoning

Why nuclear could be the answer to energy-guzzling AI data centres. It sounds like the plot of a sci-fi film – a massive corporation looks to restart an ageing nuclear reactor in order to feed the massive power requirements of its new AI platform. But that’s exactly what Microsoft is trying to do on Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island, the very site of an infamous meltdown in 1979 that some credit with pushing back America’s nuclear power ambitions by decades. What many readers might not know is that while the plant’s second unit suffered a catastrophic meltdown – abruptly bringing its working life to an end – the first unit continued generating energy until 2019. Now Microsoft is negotiating with owner Constellation Energy to recommission the unit once more, with plans to restart the reactor…

E+T Magazine in Nuclear Power
Nasa exploring nuclear-powered propulsion as a way to shorten trips to Mars

Nasa is to consider deploying nuclear-powered electric propulsion as a way to speed up a future voyage to Mars. A round trip to the Red Planet is expected to take up to two years to complete, a long time for any astronaut even aside from concerns that exposure to chronic, low-dose radiation in space could cause neural and behavioural impairments over time. But Nasa is hoping to shorten this timeframe by exploring the potential of nuclear electric propulsion, which employs a nuclear reactor to generate electricity that ionises, or positively charges, and electrically accelerates gaseous propellants to provide thrust to a spacecraft. Researchers at Nasa’s Langley Research Center are working on a project dubbed Modular Assembled Radiators for Nuclear Electric Propulsion Vehicles, or MARVL…

E+T Magazine in Nuclear Power
Industry reacts to the government’s AI action plan to ramp up AI adoption across the UK

The tech and engineering industry has reacted – mostly positively – to the announcement of the UK’s AI action plan, although many have drawn attention to the challenges and risks associated with the initiative. Yesterday (13 January) the UK government unveiled details of a wide-ranging AI opportunities action plan to boost the country’s role in developing and deploying AI. The aim is to use AI tools to boost economic growth and deliver public services more efficiently. Peter Kyle, science, innovation and technology secretary, said: “This government is determined that the UK is not left behind in the global race for AI, that’s why the actions we commit to will ensure that the benefits are spread throughout the UK so all citizens will reap the rewards of the bet we make today.” Industry…

E+T Magazine in Artificial Intelligence
Drones must be prevented from delivering contraband to prisons – chief inspector

“Urgent action” is needed to stop drones being used to bring drugs and weapons into prisons, chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor has warned. Recent inspections of HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin revealed major concerns regarding the safety and security of the sites including “thriving” economies of drugs, mobile phones and weapons. Mandatory drug tests revealed that 39% of prisoners in Manchester had tested positive, whereas 50% of inmates at Long Lartin who responded to a survey said it was easy to get drugs and alcohol. The report found that drones could carry payloads of up to 1.3kg of contraband into prisons, often under cover of night. At Long Lartin, drones regularly delivered contraband to gangs in black plastic bags, while in Manchester the prison had failed to replace…

E+T Magazine in Aerospace
Boeing production in 2024 expected to be less than half of rival Airbus

Airbus delivered 766 commercial aircraft in 2024, while analysts expect rival Boeing to have delivered half that amount. Earlier this month, Airbus announced 2024 production statistics for its commercial aircraft business. Across the year it delivered 766 aircraft to 86 customers. The year also saw 878 gross new orders registered, putting its 2024 year-end backlog at 8,658 aircraft. Christian Scherer, CEO commercial aircraft at Airbus, said, “Given the complex and fast-changing environment we continue to operate in, we consider 2024 a good year.” In contrast, its rival Boeing is expected to have delivered far fewer aircraft. Indeed, according to Flight Plan, which publishes research, analysis and forecasts on the aerospace and defence market, the company is expected to report that it…

E+T Magazine in Aerospace
China-based WeRide to start a driverless shuttle service at Zurich Airport

China-based autonomous driving start-up WeRide is to follow a dedicated route transporting employees to various areas of Zurich Airport starting in early 2025. The commercial autonomous shuttle service has announced its self-driving shuttle bus – Robobus – will be deployed at the airport. This pilot project is a collaboration between Flughafen Zürich AG and Swiss Transit Lab (STL), a competence network for developing and testing intelligent mobility solutions in Switzerland. Following a tender process, WeRide was selected as the technology provider for the robotaxi pilot project. The WeRide Robobus pilot project will operate as a supplementary transport service to the existing airside shuttle for employees working at the airport. Transporting nine passengers at a time, the Robobus will…

E+T Magazine in Automotive Engineering
IET comment: Why the UK must lead the green gigafactory revolution

John Patsavellas, senior lecturer in manufacturing management at Cranfield University and a member of the IET’s Sustainability and Net Zero Policy Centre. The UK stands at the threshold of a green industrial revolution, which involves world-class gigafactories that power the future of electric mobility. From Spitfires to satellites, we have built a world-class manufacturing legacy. Why shouldn’t the UK also be home to world-leading electric vehicle battery production? With operational expertise honed over decades and a deep-seated industrial heritage, the UK has everything needed to excel in battery production. But ambition alone won’t build a gigafactory; it requires billions in capital, strategic partnership and bold action. Gigafactories are no small venture. Each one costs £2bn-4bn…

E+T Magazine in Management of Technology
Keir Starmer reveals action plan to ‘mainline AI into the veins of this enterprising nation’

The UK’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has unveiled details of the government’s AI opportunities action plan, with initiatives to boost economic growth and deliver public services more efficiently. AI will be deployed to diagnose breast cancer more quickly, speed up planning consultations in the built environment, help teachers with admin tasks and improve roads through AI-driven pothole-spotting cameras. The AI action plan is backed by three major tech companies – Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl – which have committed to invest £14bn in building AI infrastructure, including data centres. The government says this will help create 13,250 jobs across the UK. Starmer said: “Our plan will make Britain the world leader. It will give the industry the foundation it needs and will turbocharge…

E+T Magazine in Artificial Intelligence
Data centres face increasing risks from climate change, new report from techUK says

techUK has warned that data centres, now classed as critical national infrastructure, must increase resilience to climate change risks including heatwaves, flooding and power outages. In September 2024, the UK government announced that data centres would be designated critical national infrastructure (CNI). This means that data centres, due to the role they play in national economic prosperity, security and resilience, will be given protections to make them harder to compromise during outages, cyber attacks and adverse weather events. However, with climate change causing more frequent and extreme weather conditions, trade body techUK has published a new report, Future-Proofing Digital Infrastructure: Climate Resilience in the Data Centre Sector. The report explores the many climate risks…

E+T Magazine in Computing
How Britain is building its battery future

The UK has strategic ambitions to build several battery factories in the coming years. We find out how the sector is getting along. I am peering through the window of a chamber containing what looks like a gigantic roll of kitchen foil. Inside the room, workers in coveralls and face masks monitor screens. Any fibres, hairs or dust could damage the sensitive chemical processes they’re working on, so the space needs to be kept spotlessly clean, with several changes of filtered air each hour. This is the coating room on a production line at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), set inside a vast hangar on the outskirts of Coventry in the UK’s West Midlands. I’m being given a tour of the facility to see how batteries are made. Stretching 80 metres along one side of the hanger are…

E+T Magazine
Engineering the solution to the forever chemicals problem

A family of toxic, indestructible chemicals have contaminated the planet over the past 80 years, risking people’s health. Engineers are now racing to find ways to scrub those chemicals from our environment. They are estimated to be present in the blood of 99% of humans in the world but our bodies cannot get rid of them. Since their invention in the 1940s, they have spread worldwide and have been found in places as unexpected as the Antarctic ice sheet and the blood of Siberian seals. They are poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), also known as ‘forever chemicals’ due to their unbreakable chemical structure. However, engineers at London-based start-up Puraffinity think they are on the verge of being able to eliminate them from our drinking water. Puraffinity’s quest started with…

E+T Magazine in Waste Management
The race to make RFID tags cheaper than barcodes

The RFID dream is for everything to get a tag. But can we ever get to the point where they will be cheap enough to be more attractive than a barcode? On a damp, cold day in March 2024, the Princess Royal from the UK royal family arrived at the site of a former plastic pipe factory south of Durham in north-east England to cut the ribbon for its tech sector replacement. Pragmatic Semiconductor’s new facility represents the first 300mm chipmaking plant to be built in the UK. But it’s a very different proposition to the 300mm chips Intel, TSMC and other fabs are building: the Durham plant does not handle silicon wafers. Pragmatic wants to take advantage of the economies of scale that come with the way silicon production works – but using a technology that, in principle, is inherently cheaper…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Smartphone wildfire evacuation alert sent in error to nearly 10 million LA residents

A wildfire evacuation alert was mistakenly sent to the smartphone of every resident in Los Angeles County, a region with more than 9 million people. Wildfires are currently ripping across parts of Los Angeles. What started as a bush fire in Pacific Palisades – a neighbourhood east of Malibu – on Tuesday morning is now an out-of-control wildfire that continues to rage more than three days later. There have been 10 deaths confirmed, with the fire causing hundreds of buildings to burn down and entire neighbourhoods to be razed to the ground. Evacuation orders by the Los Angeles Fire Department have been issued to nearly 180,000 residents across the county for safety reasons. A further 200,000 are under evacuation warning. With anxiety levels among LA residents at an all-time high, on Thursday…

E+T Magazine in Telecommunications
Trump II – This Time It’s Personal

What happens in the US affects the world, so Donald Trump’s election victory has implications for everyone, including in the tech sector. Most of Silicon Valley’s leadership is still trying to digest the implications of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, although the mood there seems to have been more open to that result than might have been predicted. The three California election counties that cover the Valley all saw roughly 5% swings to Trump in the vote and a decline in core registered Democratic Party turnout for Kamala Harris. That was broadly consistent with what happened across the US. If there is confusion, much of it comes down to Trump’s initial steps as president-elect. He does not formally take office until January 20. Some policies are being taken as given. A much…

E+T Magazine in Artificial Intelligence

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