• Arm’s quest for royalties has a sting in the tail

    There comes a time in every technology company’s evolution, assuming it grows old enough, where management turns round to its customers and declares: “Hey, that’s my money!” This is where Arm, or at least its parent Softbank, has now landed. Given that Arm already collects a royalty on each core used by its chipmaking customers, Softbank has apparently decided according a report by the Financial Times that its best course of action for collecting more money is to demand it from the customers of its customers. Twenty years is also roughly the birth-to-peak lifecycle of a processor architecture that has made it to the top. IBM’s System/360 mainframe looked triumphant in the mid-1980s, two decades after forging the early computer industry. No-one got fired for buying IBM in those days. Yet…

  • View from India: Collaboration is the key to a cleaner aerospace sector

    Green manufacturing is being adopted across industries on a global scale. In the aerospace and defence industry too, the accent is on green or decarbonisation. However, lowering the carbon footprint could mean that the entire ecosystem may need an overhaul. The raw material may need to be treated to be environment friendly. Generally, products and components are shipped and distributed across geographies. Maritime transport may have to be realigned or streamlined for achieving carbon neutrality. Perhaps every segment of the logistics chain and all that it takes to create an aircraft may have to be redefined. Emissions may be lowered by adopting newer technologies. Digital twins and additive manufacturing may help reconfigure product design. Probably clean clear skies may drive aerospace manufacturers…

  • Carterpillar-like soft robot showcases great mobility skills

    The caterpillar-like robot developed by the North Carolina researchers could offer a new approach to locomotion for soft robotics. The caterpillar-bot’s movement is driven by a novel pattern of silver nanowires that use heat to control the robot's bending, allowing users to steer its movements in either direction. “A caterpillar’s movement is controlled by local curvature of its body – its body curves differently when it pulls itself forward than it does when it pushes itself backward,” said Yong Zhu, a leader of the research.  The team drew inspiration from the caterpillar’s biomechanics. The robot uses its nanowire heaters to control a curvature similar to that of the animals, which allows it to copy the way it moves. The robot is made of two layers of polymer, which respond differently…

  • Wood-based material cleans up toxic water using only the Sun

    The material, which was developed by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, could also combat the widespread problem of toxic dye discharge from the textile industry. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are currently over two billion people living with limited or no access to clean water. The new material is based on cellulose nanocrystals which have an extremely high absorption capacity. “We have taken a unique holistic approach to these cellulose nanocrystals, examining their properties and potential applications. We have now created a biobased material, a form of cellulose powder with excellent purification properties that we can adapt and modify depending on the types of pollutants to be removed,” said Gunnar Westman. The researchers show…

  • France to trial AI surveillance technology at 2024 Olympic Games, despite concerns

    France has passed a controversial bill to trial AI-based surveillance cameras at the 2024 Olympic Games, despite the opposition of human rights activists.  The bill, focused on ensuring security at the Games, included an article which allowed the use of AI-powered camera systems to spot suspicious behaviour in real-time to detect " events likely to pose or reveal a risk" of "terrorist acts or serious breaches of security".  However, the bill has been opposed by politicians and activists. Last week, around 40 mostly left-leaning members of the European Parliament said the plan "creates a surveillance precedent never before seen in Europe", according to reports by Le Monde.  Even before the debates started, members of parliament had already filed 770 amendments to the bill, many aimed at…

  • 10,000 new electric vehicle chargers coming to Surrey by 2030

    Surrey County Council and charge point provider Connected Kerb will install around 10,000 chargers as part of efforts to ramp up EV infrastructure by 2030. At present, there is one charger per 9,000 residents in Surrey, but the rollout will see this figure dramatically increase. The project is expected to cost up to £60m and will see over 5,000 fast charging points installed by 2027, including over 500 rapid charging points across the county. The rollout in Surrey will consist of chargers produced by Connected Kerb including 7kW and 22kW 'Gecko' chargers, 'Chameleon' chargers for on-street and car parks and wall-mounted 'Limpet' and 'Scarab' chargers throughout housing developments. A recent 'Net Zero Review' published by the government highlighted the opportunity for local authorities…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Sponsored: 3D Printing Composites for Aerospace

    Download free whitepaper 3D printing has been on the rise amongst aerospace manufacturers. Industry leaders are using additively manufactured composites to improve responsiveness to rapidly shifting supply chains, simplify regulatory compliance, and push the boundaries of innovation - for an ever-growing range of prototyping, tooling and end-use applications. Download our new eBook to learn how the aerospace industry uses AM, what the industry needs from 3D printing solutions, how today’s AM technologies address these needs, innovative applications and case studies, and more. Key Learning Outcomes: How additive manufacturing fits into the aerospace industry. How aerospace companies overcome compliance and regulatory hurdles when using additive manufacturing. What overlooked applications…

  • Planned expansion of human infrastructure threatens Key Biodiversity Areas

    The new assessment of the presence of infrastructure in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) raises concerns that more of the sites could contain power plants, mines and oil and gas infrastructure in the future. Maps of the KBAs were compared with datasets of different types of infrastructure in categories such as transport, dams and reservoirs and energy. Infrastructure is one of the greatest drivers of threats to biodiversity according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It can cause natural habitat destruction, pollution and increased disturbance by humans. Researchers from BirdLife International, WWF and the RSPB, in association with the University of Cambridge, have conducted an assessment of infrastructure in KBAs and found that it is widespread and likely to increase…

  • Energy-harvesting materials needed to power future IoT networks, experts say

    A group of over 100 scientists, led by  Professor Vincenzo Pecunia of Simon Fraser University in Canada, have worked together to analyse various types of energy-harvesting techniques and recommend the best strategy to convert waste energy into clean power.  The resulting paper outlines future research avenues that could allow society to fully harness the potential of energy-harvesting materials. “With the rising global energy demand and the challenges posed by climate change, it is more urgent than ever to generate green energy to preserve our planet and sustain human development,” Pecunia said.  “Energy-harvesting materials present a promising opportunity to generate clean electricity, ultimately enhancing the energy efficiency of our daily lives and supporting our efforts to combat…

  • Mobile needs global standards to ensure a greener, safer world

    Standardisation plays a vital role in ensuring that products developed for one market can be sold in others with no, or minimal, modification to the production process. Its impact is huge in the mobile communications sector, where it has helped the industry evolve to the extent that it touches everything from healthcare to commerce. Standardisation forms a collection of blueprints for the mobile industry and connected technologies such as IoT devices, encouraging competition by establishing a level playing field as well as helping the market as a whole to innovate in ways that meet consumers’ evolving needs. Let me share some thoughts on how mobile standardisation is likely to progress over the next three to five years, relating to innovation, security and climate. Greater competition…

  • Book review: ‘Distrust’ by Gary Smith

    “Science is under attack and scientists are losing credibility,” Gary Smith warns at the outset of ‘Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science’ (Oxford University Press, £25, ISBN 9780192868459). “There are three prongs to this assault on science: disinformation, data torturing, and data mining. Ironically, science’s hard-won reputation is being undermined by tools invented by scientists. Disinformation is spread by the internet that scientists created. Data torturing is driven by scientists’ insistence on empirical evidence. Data mining is fuelled by the big data and powerful computers that scientists created.” The diagnosis is convincing. Throughout ‘Distrust’, Smith explains clearly the phenomena that are eroding trust in science: fake news, confirmation bias, p-hacking…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Google launches early version of Bard chatbot to the public

    Bard is an AI tool hastily created by Google over the last few months to compete with ChatGPT, a free app that can generate text in response to a prompt, including articles, essays, jokes and even poetry. The popularity of ChatGPT has skyrocketed in recent months, leading Microsoft - which invested around $10bn in the app's developers, OpenAI, in January this year - to incorporate the technology into a new version of its search engine, Bing. Announcing the public release of its competing app in a blog post, Google VPs Sissie Hsiao and Eli Collins said the Bard chatbot can be used to “boost your productivity, accelerate your ideas and fuel your curiosity”. US and UK consumers can now join a waiting list for English-language access to Bard, a program that was previously open to approved…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Researchers could generate clean energy from photosynthesis

    Photosynthesis – the process by which plants, algae and some bacteria convert sunlight into energy – could serve as a new source of clean energy, according to new research.  The team of physicists, chemists and biologists at the University of Cambridge was able to study photosynthesis in live cells at an ultrafast timescale: a millionth of a millionth of a second. Using ultrafast spectroscopic techniques to study the movement of energy, the researchers found the chemicals that can extract electrons from the molecular structures responsible for photosynthesis do so at the initial stages, rather than much later, as was previously thought. This "rewiring" of photosynthesis could improve ways in which it deals with excess energy, and create new and more efficient ways of using its power,…

  • ‘Vampiric’ overconsumption of water could lead to global crisis, UN warns

    The world is "blindly travelling a dangerous path" of "vampiric overconsumption and overdevelopment", which could lead to a global water crisis, a new United Nations report has found. By 2050, the number of people lacking access to safe drinking water in cities around the world is expected to double, with billions of people facing water shortages in the coming decades due to climate change, population growth and shifting agricultural practices, the organisation said.  Published by the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ), the report has been published on World Water Day and ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference,  the first major UN water summit since 1977. The report warned that water scarcity is "becoming endemic" because of overconsumption and pollution. Moreover…

  • Water firms sacrificing environment for bumper profits, Lords say

    The Industry and Regulators Committee (IRC) has been investigating the regulation of the water industry by Ofwat, including  the investment and approach needed to prevent storm overflow overuse and the steps that must be taken to secure future water supply. It blamed “insufficient government strategy” and inadequate co-ordination resulting in a failure to “treat water with the care and importance it deserves”. In particular, it was found that Ofwat had not ensured that companies were investing sufficiently in water infrastructure in an effort to keep bills low at the expense of badly needed investment. In 2021, a review conducted by the Environment Agency found that firms in the sector had hit their lowest ever level with regards to environmental protection while most companies’ performance…

  • Vast majority of car owners don’t want MOT rules eased

    Around 67 per cent of respondents to a poll commissioned by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) opposed extending the time before new cars, motorbikes and vans need their first MOT, due to safety concerns. A Department for Transport (DfT) consultation on its proposal for new vehicles to require an MOT after four years rather than three closes at 11.45pm today, Wednesday 22 March. More than 300,000 vehicles a year fail their first MOT. The MOT test checks a number of essential parts on a vehicle, such as lights, seatbelts, tyres and brakes to ensure they meet legal standards. DfT figures show that 26 people were killed in crashes on Britain’s roads in 2021 when vehicle defects were a contributory factor. Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of respondents to the SMMT…

  • AI-powered drones could help save lives on the battlefield

    Project ATRACT - aka 'A Trustworthy Robotic Autonomous system to support Casualty Triage' - aims to utilise novel technologies to help increase soldiers' survival chances after the battle. The researchers aim to develop new sensors, AI systems and an ethical framework to create a fully autonomous system powered by drones that can aid first responders in making critical decisions in the “platinum ten minutes” after a trauma.  The project is being developed as a response to modern forms of warfare and technological advances, including new and cheap shoulder-mounted rocket launchers that make traditional evacuation by helicopter impossible. “In the Vietnam War, American evacuation helicopters transformed soldier survivability with the emergence of the ‘Golden Hour,’ using superior air power…

  • Daylight-saving time found to cut energy usage in office buildings

    While DST opponents often argue that the time change impacts our health, for instance through sleep disturbances, proponents make the case that electricity can be saved because of longer days, which means that less artificial light is needed. “That was the original intention behind the introduction of daylight saving. From our point of view, however, it makes sense to look not only at the impact on electricity savings in lighting, but on the overall energy consumption of a building,” explained Sven Eggimann from Swiss research organisation Empa. During DST, employees start their work an hour earlier in summer due to the time change, and thus leave the office earlier in the afternoon. Since most of the cooling happens later in the afternoon, this can save energy. The assumption behind…

  • View from India: ITU presence heralds mobile advances

    A confluence of factors have probably made India an ideal destination for the ITU office. With affordable smartphones and data, the country has more than a hundred crore mobile connections, making India the world’s most-connected democracy. The country’s digital inclusion brings a few aspects to mind. India has transferred more than 28 lakh crore rupees to the bank accounts of its citizens via Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs). Modi has said that more than 800 crore digital payments are made every month in India through UPI (Unified Payment Interface). Over seven crore e-authentications take place in India every day and over 220 crore vaccine doses were administered using the Co-Win platform in India. “Telecom technology for India is not a mode of power, but a mission to empower,” said Modi…

  • Antarctica has lost over 3000 billion tonnes of ice since 1996

    University of Leeds scientists have found that West Antarctica lost 3,331 billion tonnes of ice between 1996 and 2021, contributing over nine millimetres to global sea levels.   Changes in ocean temperature and currents are thought to have been the most important factors driving the loss of ice.   In order to estimate the calculated the amount of ice lost in the region, the researchers calculated the 'mass balance' of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, using climate models that show how air currents move around the world. The region hosts 20 major glaciers and is considered the fastest-changing Antarctic region. The researchers calculated the balance between the mass of snow and ice gain due to snowfall and mass lost through calving, where icebergs form at the end of a glacier and drift out…

  • Young people consider fewer children as climate change concern mounts

    Carried out by YouGov on behalf of the Woodland Trust, the poll found that 33 per cent of 16-24-year-olds admitted to being “scared” by the prospect of a changing climate, with 28 per cent saying they felt “overwhelmed”. Almost one-in-four (24 per cent) said that fears over the climate crisis mean they are willing to consider having fewer children than they would otherwise like. Woodland Trust chief executive Dr Darren Moorcroft said that, with access to woodland declining and tree cover in the UK one of the lowest in Europe, the results were “alarming”. “Young people are experiencing an epidemic of climate anxiety and are increasingly worried about the health of the planet,” he said. “This new data shows that climate change is jeopardising more than just the environment, with people…

  • Derby chosen as location for Great British Railways HQ

    The official home of GBR will be located in Derby, the government has announced. The Midlands city has been chosen from a shortlist of six that also included Birmingham, Crewe, Doncaster, Newcastle and York. The new public body will own the rail infrastructure, procure passenger services and set most fares and timetables, the government has said.  "Derby will become the heart of Great Britain's rail industry, bringing together track and train, as well as revenue and cost," said transport secretary Mark Harper.  "This means we will finally treat the railway as the whole system it should be rather than a web of disparate interests that it's become." The city was chosen through a " rigorous assessment process", as well as a public vote. Derby's application was said to have demonstrated …

  • Government borrowing soars amid rising energy bills

    The UK government borrowed £16.7bn in February, reaching the highest level for the month since records began in 1993, according to  the Office for National Statistics (ONS).  The figure marked a year-on-year increase of £9.7bn.  The rise in public borrowing was said to be caused by spending on energy support schemes that aimed to help households and businesses cope with soaring energy bills. The cost of these schemes has totalled an estimated £34bn s ince they were first introduced in October.   Nonetheless, the ONS has stressed that the interest paid on government debt was £6.9bn in February - £1.3bn less than a year earlier - due to changes in inflation rates. “Borrowing is still high because we’re determined to support households and businesses with rising prices and are spending…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Decarbonise public buildings ‘five times faster’ to meet net-zero targets, report says

    The 'Public Building Energy Efficiency' report, conducted by network service providers Neos Networks, examined the actual energy usage and efficiency of over 450,000 public buildings in England and Wales. It analysed their display energy certificates (DECs) and ‘operational ratings’ (annual CO 2 emission kg per m 2 ), and highlighted the areas requiring immediate action and major investment in retrofitting public building stock. The report projects that nine out of ten (91 per cent) public buildings will need upgrading in the next seven years if they are to meet stated net-zero targets. CO 2 emissions from public buildings need to be reduced five times faster than they’re currently falling to meet the target of ‘75 per cent reduction in CO 2 emissions by 2037’. The report's analysis of…

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