• Music streaming market healthy for consumers despite artist complaints, CMA finds

    In its final report on the sector, it found that consumers have benefited from digitisation and competition between music streaming services. Prices for consumers have fallen by more than 20 per cent in real terms between 2009 and 2021 – with many services also offering music streaming for free with ads. The study found approximately 39 million monthly active users access music streaming services in the UK, streaming 138 billion times a year. But the CMA has also heard concerns from artists and songwriters about how much they earn from streaming. With an increasing number of artists, tracks and streams, the money from streaming is shared more widely – with those that have the highest number of streams earning the most. Over 60 per cent of streams were of music recorded by the top 0…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Digital tools drive thermal management innovation for automotive specialist

    As the automotive industry transitions to becoming all-electric, a wave of large batteries will be needed to power and run such vehicles. But if you know anything about batteries, you know they have the tendency to heat up, which is not ideal when driving from one place to another. Therefore, it is imperative that there are other components within the car that help maintain the temperature of the battery. In fact, tucked away in a German town between Frankfurt and Stuttgart lies a facility opened by the fluid handling specialists TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) dedicated to developing systems to help manage this temperature rise, thus increasing the battery’s efficiency, safety and lifetime. The Rastatt E-Mobility Innovation Centre (e-MIC) is the first of five centres worldwide that will comprise…

  • Book review: ‘Escape from Model Land’ by Erica Thompson

    Over the past few years we’ve been inundated with political catchphrases masquerading as unbiased policy which claim to be neutral because they ‘follow the science’. The idea behind the slogan was that – as with all mantras – if repeated regularly enough, people will come to believe it. When the public realised that ‘follow the science’ was only there to elevate baffling and often contradictory politicking to scriptural incontrovertibility, the spin doctors beefed up the linguistic illusion of credibility by adding the word ‘model’. Chanting this, they anticipated, would lead the public to eventually think: ‘well, if there’s a model involved, it must be true.’ As Erica Thompson says in her brilliant ‘Escape from Model Land’ (Basic Books, £20, ISBN 9781529364873), the problem with models is…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Hands-on review: Lenco LS-410WA Bluetooth turntable with built-in speakers

    Vinyl's resurgence continues, with sales booming and turntables aplenty on which to play those LPs covering all bases. Wired turntables that are part of a bigger separates system; Bluetooth turnables that transmit vinyl playback over the air to connected speakers, or all-in-one, standalone Dansette-style turntables with built-in speakers. Lenco, the long-standing hi-fi company with Dutch/Swiss roots, and which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, has a number of turntable options in all these spaces. Its LS-410WA belt-driven Bluetooth turntable with four built-in speakers, reviewed here, is a hybrid turntable covering aspects of all the types described above, to more or less some degree. There are four speakers, arranged in a line array, projecting sound from behind the grille in…

  • Smart wireless bandages could help heal chronic wounds

    The medical device designed at Standford University has shown promise in speeding up tissue repair by monitoring the wound healing process and treating the wound simultaneously. The smart bandage is composed of wireless circuitry that uses temperature sensors to monitor the progression of wound healing. If the wound is less healed or an infection is detected, the sensors inform a central processing unit to apply more electrical stimulation across the wound bed to accelerate tissue closure and reduce infection. The researchers were able to track the sensor data in real time on a smartphone, all without the need for wires.  In a paper published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the team said their device promotes faster closure of wounds, increases new blood flow to injured tissue, and…

  • National Grid calls off emergency plan to prevent imminent blackouts

    Earlier today (Monday), National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) said it was considering activating the Demand Flexibility Service for the first time in order to prevent blackouts on the UK grid. Fears were stoked that energy supplies this evening and tomorrow evening would not be enough to satisfy demand, due to a combination of factors including insufficient nuclear power coming from a French interconnector and low ambient temperatures. “Even though wind is coming back for tomorrow evening’s peak, slow return of nukes in France plus lower temperatures may mean that there is a reduction in available imports across the interconnectors,” according to consultancy service EnergyAppSys. Ofgem approved the ESO’s calls to implement the Demand Flexibility Service earlier this month as…

  • UK pledges £1bn to insulate middle-income homes

    The government's recently announced Eco+ scheme could see hundreds of thousands of homes across the country receive loft and cavity wall insulation , saving consumers around £310 a year, according to the energy secretary.  The £1bn scheme will run for three years from Spring 2023 and target households that do not currently get support to upgrade homes. Around 80 per cent of the funding will be made available for those households who are in some of the least energy-efficient homes in the country – that is, those with an EPC rating of D or below – and in the lower council tax bands. A fifth of the funding will also be targeted to those who are the most vulnerable, including those on means-tested benefits or in fuel poverty, the government said. In addition, approximately £18m will be spent…

  • Driver assistance systems in all cars would cut accidents by a quarter, research says

    The research also found that automatic emergency braking (AEB) is the most impactful technology, reducing three out of the four most frequent accident categories: intersection (by 28 per cent), rear-end (by 27.7 per cent) and pedestrian accidents (by 28.4 per cent). The research was funded by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) under their academic-industrial partnership programme. Based on publicly available road safety reports from the UK for 2019, the research team estimated that a full deployment of ADAS would reduce accident frequency in the UK by 23.8 per cent, representing an annual decrease of an estimated 18,925 accidents. Existing research shows that connected and automated vehicles (CAV) are expected to improve road safety substantially, including reducing accident…

  • £32m awarded to promising energy storage projects

    Such technologies are considered to be crucial if the UK is to scale up renewable energy facilities and reach net zero carbon by 2050. The variable nature of renewables like solar and wind power means that energy can be produced when it is not needed, such as during extended periods of high wind. New energy storage technologies can help to store that excess energy to be harnessed at times of peak usage. The money, which is provided by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, will be spread across five projects: StorTera will receive just over £5m to build a prototype demonstrator of its energy-dense single liquid flow battery (SLIQ) technology that is designed to boost grid flexibility. Sunamp will receive £9.25m for a project that will trial its advanced thermal…

  • US bans Huawei and ZTE equipment sales

    The United States has banned a pprovals of new telecommunications equipment from China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE, among other Chinese companies, due to national security concerns.  The rules were adopted by the US Federal Communications Commission unanimously and will also bar the sale or import of equipment made by Chinese surveillance equipment maker Dahua Technology Co, video surveillance firm Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd and telecoms firm Hytera Communications Corp Ltd. The news is the latest development of a long -running technological dispute between Washington and Beijing, as US firms demand more government support to reduce reliance on components produced in Chinese factories. “These new rules are an important part of our ongoing actions to protect the American…

  • Hands-on review: Zhiyun Fiveray FR100C Light Wand

    With both photography and videography becoming hugely popular - we've all got a good quality camera in our pockets now - people   have also come to expect a certain degree of professional quality from the images they both view and create. In tandem with this uprating of content - online, on social, on TV - and given the surge of interest in creating content, the tools to support creating your best work are also becoming more accessible, flexible and powerful.     If you're looking to take your camera work (whether your pictures are still or moving) to a higher level, something like a light stick is a good investment, as it gives you greater flexibility to control the lighting in any location, for better and more creative results.   Having taken to equipping its smartphone and camera gimbals…

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    E+T Magazine

  • British soldiers to get upgraded comms capability under £90m MoD radio order

    The new deal with L3 Harris Communications Systems for 1,300 new multi-mode radios (MMR) will provide both ground-to-ground and ground-to-air communications for deployed soldiers. Technical advances and upgrades will allow the radios to work across a range of security classifications, with the first ones being delivered to the British Army before the end of the year, ahead of further deliveries in 2023, the MoD said. The MoD is currently planning to spend £11.7bn over the next 10 years in order to update or replacing its digital systems to keep pace with potential adversaries. It hopes the money will enable seamless sharing and exploitation of data in military operations across land, air, sea, space and cyber. The contract will lead to the creation of 10 new jobs and the sustaining…

  • Wind turbine invented by 15-year-old provides power to Kenyan communities

    The turbine, designed by a then 15-year-old Scottish pupil, is to be used to help provide power to communities in Kenya.  The technology's goal is to improve energy access by making it affordable, reliable and low-carbon. The prototype can be assembled without any specialist training and is intended to be used to help areas recovering from natural disasters and in rural settlements far from grid connection. The device was first presented at COP26, after the idea was handpicked from 11,000 entries in a national competition run by the not-for-profit organisation Primary Engineer in 2019. One year later, the university team behind the project is working with other partners to bring the turbine to Kenya. The project is one of 64 sharing £26m of funding from the UK Government's Innovate UK…

  • Chinese cameras banned on ‘sensitive’ UK government sites

    The UK government is moving more forcefully against Chinese technology, as it bans the use of certain "visual surveillance systems" on "sensitive" government sites.  The ban applies to security cameras and other systems made by Chinese companies that are required to cooperate with Beijing’s security services. Officials have been told to ensure that these systems are not connected to departmental core networks and to consider immediately removing all existing equipment, without waiting for the scheduled updates. They have also been urged to consider whether the same “risk mitigation” should be extended to locations that are not designated “sensitive”. The UK’s reticence towards Chinese technology is framed within a long-running technological dispute between Washington and Beijing, in…

  • Online Safety Bill amendments to criminalise ‘deepfakes’ and ‘downblousing’

    Deepfakes are explicit images or videos which have been manipulated to look like someone without their consent while downblousing photos are those taken down a woman’s top without consent. The government will also bring forward a package of additional laws to tackle a range of abusive behaviour including the installation of equipment, such as hidden cameras, to take or record images of someone without their consent. In July 2022, the Law Commission recommended that the government changed the law to make the sharing of deepfake pornography without consent a criminal offence. The oft-delayed Online Safety Bill has been presented by the government as a ground-breaking law that will protect the privacy and safety of people online. The bill will also place a legal obligation on platforms…

  • SSE sells 25 per cent stake in transmission business in £1.5bn deal

    The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board is spending £1.5bn in the transaction that will help “unlock significant growth in both the transmission business and across the wider SSE Group”. SSE said the deal reflects the “significant growth potential” of its transmission business as it is one of Europe’s fastest growing. It added that the network has a central role in helping the UK meet net zero targets and shore up energy security. It is currently used to access renewable resources in the north of Scotland and transport that low-carbon power to areas with higher demand further south. SSE also expects the business to experience further growth following the publication of Ofgem’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment framework. This was a consultation launched by the regulator…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Road upgrades could go billions over budget

    A new NAO report has identified inflation and delays as the reasons behind National Highways' likely inability to adhere to the budgets set for dozens of road upgrade projects.   National Highways, which manages motorways and major roads in England, was given a total of £14.1bn by the Department for Transport (DfT) for 69 enhancement schemes in the second road investment strategy (RIS2). According to NAO, the government-owned company has completed less work and at a higher cost than anticipated.  The report warned it will cost an estimated £3.3bn more than planned to complete the projects due to take place between April 2020 and March 2025. It also stated that projects due to be in construction during the subsequent five years are likely to cost £6bn above previous expectations, although…

  • View from India: Initiatives to fast-track growth of Karnataka’s IT-BT industry

    The State of Karnataka, the IT hub of the country, is on a mission to promote faster and more inclusive growth across the IT and biotechnology (BT) sectors through investments and initiatives. Basavaraj S Bommai, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, has announced that six new cities will be set up in Karnataka to ensure that the know-how of technology and its services percolate into various parts of the state. The upcoming cities have been visualised as being well planned with high-tech facilities. Furthermore, newer cities could join the dots in terms of connectivity as well as open out new vistas for employment. This in itself can add to the growth of the IT-BT industry, besides encouraging newer start-ups. A move in this direction is the announcement of a dedicated Startup Park. This multi…

  • Water firms still making ‘potentially illegal’ sewage discharges, say campaigners

    Its 2022 Water Quality Report uncovers “potential illegal” sewage discharges alongside more than 700 cases of illness that are attributed to the releases. The report used rainfall data to investigate potentially illegal “dry spills” – sewage outflows are typically only permitted in unusually heavy rainfall when infrastructure is unable to cope. Southern Water was responsible for four times as many dry spills as the next worst offender, South West Water, SAS said. The analysis also shows that some water companies offloaded untreated sewage into waterways even when there hasn’t been any rain. This summer, SAS claimed that there were 5,504 incidences of raw sewage being dumped into bathing waters over a period collectively lasting for longer than 15,000 hours. The untreated sewage contaminated…

  • EU nations agree to back £38.6bn chip production project

    European Union nations have supported the European Commission's proposal to boost the domestic production of semiconductors amid a global shortage.  The deal was backed by EU ambassadors, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. This is the latest move in the saga of the  European Chips Act , unveiled earlier this year, which aims to bolster European competitiveness and resilience in semiconductors, with a target of doubling the current market share of the EU to about 20 per cent of global semiconductor production by 2030. Currently, Europe manufactures 8 per cent of the global share of semiconductors.  The agreement would expand the scope of the chip plants considered “first-of-a-kind” and which qualify for state aid, but stops short of allowing all automotive chips to qualify…

  • Book review: ‘There Are No Facts’

    We are in the painful process of understanding our post-truth world: a world, shaped by algorithms and online interaction, which was taking shape long before 2016. Scholars like Shoshana Zuboff, with her theory of surveillance capitalism, have already made great strides in examining this world through the lens of social sciences. In ‘There Are No Facts: Attentive Algorithms, Extractive Data Practices, and the Quantification of Everyday Life’   (The MIT Press, £22.50, ISBN 9780262047470), Mark Shephard, associate professor of architecture and media study at the University of Buffalo, State University of New York, draws from contemporary thinkers like Zuboff and Joy Buolamwini, as well as the likes of Hannah Arendt, Bruno Latour, Friedrich Nietzsche and Michel Foucault, to present a theory…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • UK launches £1.5m AI green innovation programme

    The AI for Decarbonisation Programme is part of the government’s broader £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which aims to provide funding for low-carbon technologies to help bring them to market quicker.   The BEIS claimed the programme will not only help the UK achieve its net-zero goals, but also help bring down energy costs and increase the AI technology’s market growth in the country. The programme is made up of two separate streams for grant funding, which will be launched in phases. The first, worth up to £500,000, will be used to co-fund a virtual centre of excellence on AI innovation and decarbonisation through to March 2025. The second is worth up to £1m and is designed to fund projects that will accelerate the development of AI technologies that enable decarbonisation. "The…

  • Construction ahead of schedule for UK’s first vertical rocket launch site

    Work on the £43m SaxaVord spaceport began earlier this year on the Lamba Ness peninsula in Unst, an island off the coast of Scotland. Three launchpads will ultimately be built at the spaceport, allowing for the launch of small satellites into either polar or Sun-synchronous low-Earth orbits. Current efforts are focused on constructing two of the three approved launchpads, named Fredo and Elizabeth, with the third, Calum, to be built in phase two. SaxaVord Spaceport chief executive Frank Strang said that progress on the site had been “phenomenal” despite the project’s constraints and challenges it has faced. “It is a testament to the huge efforts of our spaceport team, main contractor DITT and sub-contractors such as Unst Plant, a local company created specifically to work on our project…

  • Sponsored: What goes around, comes around

    Synchronous condensers have been around for many years. In the 50s and 60s, they were commonly used to provide almost all grid stability in the UK, but fell out of favour towards the end of the 20th century with the rise in power electronics. However, in recent decades, and particularly as more renewables come online, synchronous condensers have roared back into fashion as an “enabler of renewables”. A synchronous condenser is a large rotating machine, however its shaft is not attached to any driven or driving equipment, and so it is neither a motor nor generator. It produces or absorbs reactive power for voltage control on the grid. As well as being widely used by grid operators, synchronous condensers can also serve a useful purpose in providing stability and continuity of power for larger…

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