• Ford announces 3,800 job cuts including major UK losses

    The carmaker said 2,800 engineering roles will be axed by 2025 and around 1,000 jobs in its administrative, marketing, sales and distribution teams will also be scrapped. The job losses include 1,300 that will be lost in the UK. The news comes as a blow to unions who said in late January the worst-case scenario was 2,500 job cuts in Europe in product development and a further 700 in administration. Ford the new strategy is an attempt to make the firm “leaner” as it transitions to offer an all-electric fleet in Europe by 2035. Production of Ford’s first European-built electric passenger vehicle is set to start later this year. “We are completely reinventing the Ford brand in Europe. Unapologetically American, outstanding design and connected services that will differentiate Ford and delight…

  • BAE Systems partners with Home Office to help protect UK border

    The three-year contract, worth £38m, will enable Border Force and related agencies to manage, in real time, the vast amounts of data relating to the 300 million passenger journeys and 385 million tonnes of freight that enter the UK every year.   The amount of information held across the Home Office, wider government and industry is increasing rapidly, and understanding these large datasets quickly is critical for identifying risks to national security. Through the development of advanced risk analytics services with the Home Office, also known as ‘Cerberus’, BAE Systems Digital Intelligence is aiming to enable the Border Force and related agencies to streamline and augment the process of real-time threat detection and intervention.   The capabilities should also enable the government…

  • Robot creates physical paintings without human input

    Robohood Inc, an art and tech start-up specialising in artificial intelligence and robotics, says it has created the world’s first AI-robotic technology that enables users to create physical paintings from an idea to canvas without human involvement. The technology uses stable diffusion, a deep-learning, text-to-image model primarily used to generate detailed images guided by a text prompt. And Robohood combined this novel neural network with its software that renders and brush-paints them with robotic manipulators. Image credit: Robohood The system, called the Robotic Art Studio, uses a variety of painting techniques by calculating each brush stroke and delicately mixing colours straight on to various surfaces. The results are “fine art pieces that possess a unique…

  • UK patient fitted with pen lid-size sensor to detect heart failure

    The sensor has been designed by doctors at the University Hospital Southampton (UHS), in Hampshire. The device was implanted during a simple 45-minute procedure, using a small catheter which is placed in a vein at the top of the leg. With this innovative method, the doctors hope to enable more rapid interventions, helping keep people well for longer and easing financial pressures on the NHS.  “The procedure is part of a cutting-edge international research study which intends to prove this new way of monitoring and treating heart failure patients is safe and effective," said a UHS spokeswoman. “The unique technology is a sensor about the size of a pen lid which is designed to monitor the amount of fluid in the body – elevated levels can give an indication of worsening heart failure.…

  • UK ‘ready’ to snub £88.6bn Horizon research programme over Brexit row

    Michelle Donelan said she is prepared to snub the European Union’s €100bn (£88.6bn) flagship research programme and create an alliance with the US, Japan and Switzerland to replace it . Writing in The Telegraph, Donelan acknowledged that the science sector was eager to know about the UK’s association with the EU programme, Horizon. However, she stressed the government is "more than ready to go it alone” if the negotiations should fail.  Donelan was recently appointed to her role, following p rime minister Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet reshuffle last week, which resulted in the creation of a dedicated department for science, innovation and technology.  The UK government has previously accused the European Commission of refusing to engage in talks over UK membership of Horizon.  “If we cannot…

  • US and China clash over taking down of ‘spy balloons’

    The US and China have clashed over flying objects suspected to have been used as intelligence tools to spy on rival nations.  Earlier today (Monday 13 February), China's Foreign Ministry accused the US of “illegally” flying 10 high-altitude balloons into its airspace over the last year.  At a news conference today, Chinese ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin claimed it is “common for US balloons to illegally enter other countries’ airspace.” The US has rejected this accusation and described the claim as an attempt at damage control, after US President Joe Biden gave the order to shoot down a Chinese balloon flying over US airspace on 4 February. The White House declared that the balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals as part of a huge, military-linked aerial surveillance…

  • How origami inspires world-changing technology

    While styles of origami can be incredibly diverse, the art is rooted in mathematical principles that make it applicable to science and industry. The ability to fold two-dimensional structures into complex, yet compact three-dimensional shapes is especially valuable to space sciences and missions, where it pays to keep payloads small. Panel arrays on satellites must be folded down into compact forms in order to pack them into a relatively narrow rocket, and only unfurled to form large flat surfaces once the rocket has blasted into outer space. It’s thought that the first origami solar array was packed into a Japanese spacecraft that launched in 1995. This was accomplished using the Miura fold, which is a method of folding a flat surface into a smaller area and named after astrophysicist…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Interview: Chris Miller, author of ‘Chip War’

    These days the popular press likes to make the point that computer chips are the ‘new oil’. In fact, so does the jacket blurb for Chris Miller’s new book. And yet, for the author of ‘Chip War’, it’s not a particularly helpful comparison. Not because it’s overblown, but because it doesn’t address the central vulnerability of the humble integrated circuit in the 21st century. While Miller states that modern economies “can’t run without either”, governments need to be aware of the potential tensions created by the industry’s lack of geopolitical dispersion: “A far greater proportion of chips comes out of Taiwan than oil does out of Saudi Arabia.” Miller, who has just won the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year award, is the benefactor of a new trend in the way judges are thinking…

  • Government offers £12.4m funding package to help industry cut emissions

    The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the funding has supported the deployment of a range of new technologies, from heat pumps to hydrogen-ready equipment. Some 22 projects from businesses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland received a portion of the money in sectors including pharmaceuticals, steel, paper, and food and drink. The winning bids include sustainably harvesting food in Carmarthenshire, Wales, through a new air source heat pump system; capturing waste heat to dry, heat, crush and grind materials for roadmaking in South Yorkshire, and using revolutionary high-temperature heat pumps to reduce the energy needed to heat and cool cheese, reducing emissions in dairy farms across the Midlands. It is estimated that industry is currently responsible for producing…

  • The rapid rise of AI art

    Generative AI art has exploded onto the scene over the past few months through advanced online platforms like DALL-E2, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, which enable anyone with access to a smartphone or PC to create highly polished art by typing in simple text instructions. Sophisticated algorithms have learnt to mimic the specific styles, colours and brushstrokes of renowned artists, enabling users to instantaneously create their own unique versions of masterpieces by the likes of Van Gogh, Dali, Turner or Monet. The technology can bring outlandish and otherworldly creations to life in super-realistic detail. Type in ‘Cookie Monster climbing the Shard’ and you’ll see the children’s TV character incongruously scaling the tower. Type ‘Taylor Swift commanding a legion of the undead’ and a…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Cinematic depictions of AI scientists reaffirm gender disparities, study reveals

    A University of Cambridge study found that cinematic depictions of AI scientists “are so heavily skewed towards men” that a “cultural stereotype” has been established which may contribute to the shortage of women now working in AI development. The team from the University’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI) whittled down over 1,400 films to the 142 most influential cinematic works featuring artificial intelligence between 1920 and 2020, and identified 116 characters they classed as 'AI professionals'. Of these, 92 per cent of all AI scientists and engineers on screen were men, with representations of women consisting of a total of eight scientists and one CEO. This is higher than the percentage of men in the current AI workforce (78 per cent). Researchers argue that…

  • View from India: Metal birds dazzle skies at Aero India show

    The 14 th edition of Aero India - Asia’s largest aerospace expo - has begun amidst fanfare at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru. National and international aerospace and defence companies are exhibiting their best indigenous aircraft carriers that are sleek in design and aerodynamically superior. Indoor pavilions are sporting their scaled-down versions, while the actual ones are taking to the skies. Fighter jets roar in full throttle as they seemingly disappear into the air. The supersonic speed and velocity of the metal birds is mind-blowing. “Globally, 75 countries are using India’s defence capabilities. Our country’s arms exports have grown to $1.5bn during FY 2021-22. The Aero India show has broken past records. The participation of over 700 global and domestic exhibitors…

  • Whitehall changes need to be more than just a distraction

    Changes to the machinery of government can be seen as cumbersome and bureaucratic, but they can also realign the national focus. The UK has a long history of world-leading innovation and new ideas. The bigger challenge is how to move from generating the ideas to getting them out there in the commercial world. So, what does the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology need to do to meet that challenge? Its creation provides a welcome statement of intent that the UK is willing to back more ambitious innovation to bring wider benefits for individuals and society. Yet as The Economist recently put it: Britain is a great place to start a company, but a bad one to scale it up. To address that problem, the right national apparatus and mindset needs to be in place to scale innovation…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Letters to the editor: volume 18, issue 2

    UK business needs to look past qualifications When I left school in 1977, I walked out of the gates after my last exam and with no career advice went straight into an electrical apprenticeship, as that’s where most boys went then. A very small number went on to college and university. Most 16-year-olds haven’t a clue what they want in life – I have five children, so I have some knowledge about this. Three obtained degrees, one didn’t and he has done well with college qualifications. My youngest is following his dream in music. I so wish I’d had the opportunities he now has. It’s true having a degree can make you more employable. My daughter has given up teaching, sick of working 60+ hours a week, no free weekends, constant targets, stress, no life basically. Chained to an education system…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • The eccentric engineer: The forgotten great American inventor

    In 1856, just before the US Civil War, Granville T Woods, known in his later life as the ‘Black Edison’, was born to a part Native American mother and African American father. At age 10, poverty meant he was forced to leave school and take a machine shop apprenticeship. Here, however, is where Woods discovered his true calling, engineering. How he studied this novel subject is unclear, but he must have learned on the job and may have gone to night school. At 16, he began a series of jobs on the railway and in an iron works while studying electrical engineering in college. Six years later he was working on the British steamer ‘Ironsides’, where he was rapidly promoted to chief engineer. Woods had more sophisticated plans. In 1880, he moved back to his native Ohio and set up as an inventor…

  • AI discovers new cause of high blood pressure

    A team of scientists at St George’s, University of London, used artificial intelligence tools to analyse the blood vessels found at the back of the eye and their connection with heart diseases.  The team discovere d 119 areas in the genome (complete set of DNA) that help to determine the size and shape of these vessels and which could be used in routine eye checkups to help identify health problems.  In the past, scientists have shown that the shape and size of blood vessels on the retina are associated with health conditions including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. However, until now, little was known about how genetics play a role in determining the architectural characteristics of these blood vessels. The researchers found that an increase in ‘twisting…

  • Hands-on review: Miofive Dash Cam Dual

    We tested and reviewed the initial dash cam offering from Chinese-owned brand Miofive last year, the eponymous Miofive 4K . It's a very good system, with excellent clarity and quality to the captured front-facing footage thanks to its use of a 4K UHD Sony IMX 415 sensor and its 'Starvis Night Vision' technology. At the time, we noted that it was a shame that there wasn't also a front and rear two-camera version available, an idea which would undoubtedly appeal to a lot of drivers. From our lips to Miofive's ears. Here it is: the Miofive Dash Cam Dual . The same rectangular-body 4K UHD front-facing camera (capable of a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160px @30fps), complemented by the addition of a smaller, rounded-body 2K QHD rear-facing camera (capable of a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440px @30fps…

  • Book review: ‘Quantum in Pictures’

    The latest work by computer scientists Bob Coecke and Stefano Gogioso, ‘ Quantum in Pictures ’, aims to make the quantum world more accessible and inclusive. So, whether you’re a high school student or a science enthusiast, the authors are confident that anyone mastering the tools in the book will gain an understanding equivalent to that of a quantum mechanics graduate at university. But what if a complete novice in quantum computing, i.e., this reviewer, could gain a genuine understanding of the field by simply reading this book? Let’s test this out, shall we? Full disclosure from the get-go, I have absolutely no prior knowledge or expertise in quantum computing, therefore Coecke and Gogioso’s latest research and book is not only worthy of a review but also a lesson for someone who barely…

  • Nasa agrees to use Blue Origin rocket for Mars mission

    Nasa has revealed its plans to use Blue Origin's recently developed 'New Glenn' heavy-lift rocket to blast off its dual spacecraft for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (Escapade) Mars mission.  New Glenn is the rocket designed by Blue Origin to compete with SpaceX's Falcon Heavy . The rocket's first flight was originally scheduled for late 2021, but this was subsequently pushed back and is still yet to take place.  Despite the lack of mission experience, the rocket has been chosen to launch Nasa's spacecraft in late 2024 from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The twin Escapade spacecrafts will take around 11 months to reach their Mars orbit, where they will capture data from the planet's magnetosphere and its interactions with solar radiation. “Escapade…

  • Investors holding $1.5tn in assets call on European banks to cut fossil fuel funding

    Coordinated by ShareAction, the letters were written to banks including Barclays, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale. The investors, who include Candriam, La Française Asset Management and Brunel Pension Partnership, expressed concern that new oil and gas fields may jeopardise the global path to net zero. The investors also warned that these activities were holding back the renewable energy revolution in Europe, which they said was more important than ever as the continent battles with uncertain energy supplies in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The amount of financing these European banks provided to oil and gas expanders between 2016-2021 is as follows: Barclays – $46bn, BNP Paribas – $46bn, Crédit Agricole – $34bn, Societe Generale – $34bn, and…

  • Art or Engineering?

    As art has become more ideas-based and less about reproduction of the world around us, engineering’s role in it has grown in importance. Creating gravity-defying mobiles, rearranging the pieces of an exploded shed, building an inside-out sculpture of a house, and designing a fountain from tipping water hoppers, are all 20 th -century works of art whose success is underpinned by engineering. How much of what we call art or engineering is about context? Do the materials and technology we use matter? And can the passage of time change our views on what is or isn’t art? The American artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976, below) is best known for creating large mobiles from brightly coloured aluminium shapes of varying weights and densities, hung from extended series of thin metal rods. Earlier…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Ofcom investigating inflation-linked mid-contract price rises for broadband

    The regulator said it was “concerned” about the degree of uncertainty consumers face about future price rises specified in contracts on the basis of inflation. The unpredictability of inflation rates means it can be difficult to know, often months in advance, what an inflation-linked price rise will equate to in pounds and pence when consumers enter a contract. The review comes in the wake of record high inflation, with the cost of living increasing across the UK since early 2021. The annual rate of inflation reached 11.1 per cent in October 2022, a 41-year high, before easing to 10.7 per cent in November and 10.5 per cent in December 2022. High inflation affects the affordability of goods and services for households. In preliminary research, Ofcom found that around a third of mobile…

  • UK Ventilator Challenge revisited: what must we learn to address net zero?

    I recently had an inspiring chat over coffee with Dick Elsy CBE, chairman of AB Dynamics, whom I was privileged to support during VCUK, the 2020 UK Ventilator Challenge established in response to the Prime Minister’s urgent call for additional ventilators to cope with Covid. Happening around the same time as this conversation were the COP27 meeting and the Aerospace Technology Institute conference, the latter dominated by discussion of the aviation industry’s response to climate change. Prompted in part by all three of these things, I revisited the VCUK initiative with others from the team to discuss whether we can apply what we learned to add extra pace to current progress towards achieving net zero carbon emissions. Five points came through clearly and consistently on why VCUK was such…

  • Teardown: Amazon Astro consumer robot

    You cannot buy the Amazon Astro consumer robot in the UK, even if it is part of that technology giant’s vision for your home and has been on sale for a year. But Astro is a rapidly emerging beta product in the US and merits investigation. Sales are by invitation only and, should you get one, it’s $1,000 (£814) a cutie, rising eventually to $1,499. And it can be cute. Astro can smile, dance and now – thanks to a new hardware peripheral – chuck treats to your cat or dog while you’re out. Astro can check for open doors, intruders and appliances you forgot to turn off. If you leave it with an elderly or infirm family member, it can keep an eye on them. Despite the privacy concerns, there are many of us who would find that useful and comforting. To these ends, it can scan an entire floor, but…

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