• EU to introduce new laws banning products linked with deforestation

    It said that as one of the major consumers of these commodities, the rules could help to prevent “a significant share” of global deforestation and forest degradation which are associated with increasing greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss. When the new rules enter into force, all relevant companies will have to conduct strict due diligence to sell in EU markets. Palm oil, cattle, soy, coffee, cocoa, timber and rubber as well as derived products (such as beef, furniture, or chocolate) will all be included under the due diligence rules. The products were chosen following an impact assessment identifying them as the main driver of deforestation due to agricultural expansion.  Once in place, operators and traders will have to prove that the products are both deforestation-free…

  • Hands-on review: Proscenic 850T robot vacuum cleaner

    As with most new and disruptive technology, the price of entry always starts out high, but eventually falls to the mass-market level. Since the Roomba first revolutionised the robotic home appliance market, the idea of having a robot vacuum cleaner roaming one's house has gradually become less of an expensive and curious luxury. The concept is more accessible than ever now, with me-too vac-a-likeys popping up with clockwork regularity – and the prices tumbling accordingly. The Proscenic 850T self-charging robot vacuum cleaner (and mop!) is one example from an increasingly crowded field. We've had this model on test for a couple of months and it has converted us to the easy-living charms of automated home assistance vac-bots – of which there are now many. A little browse on Amazon (other…

  • Telehaptic device transmits tactile sensations in real time

    Through tactile collection sensors and tactile reproduction actuators, the device allows people to feel textures virtually without touching objects in reality. The telehaptic device works by being attached to the fingertip like a sticker and leverages the unique vibration pattern of touch and texture. By having this close contact with the skin, it is able to provide a more vivid tactile experience and bridge the immersion hindrance of other similar devices.  The technology, developed by ETRI engineers, is expected to add a sense of immersion to the metaverse. "Through the light and flexible on-skin tactile reproduction device that can be attached to the skin, we have taken a step forward in preparing a foundation environment for developing highly immersive virtual/augmented reality content…

  • Government to remove mandatory housebuilding targets

    In a letter to MPs on Monday, communities secretary Michael Gove said the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill would be amended to abolish mandatory housebuilding targets. In a letter to lawmakers, the housing minister, Gove, said new legislation aimed at boosting housing and infrastructure would make clear that the promise to build 300,000 homes every year by the mid-2020s was only a “starting point” and would be “advisory”. “We have an urgent need in this country to build more homes so that everyone – whether they aspire to home ownership or not – can have a high-quality, affordable place to live. But our planning system is not working as it should," Gove said in a statement.  “If we are to deliver the new homes this country needs, new development must have the support of local communities…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Artificial noises to be added to e-scooters to improve safety

    The sounds have been developed by researchers at the University of Salford in partnership with the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB). Three potential sounds have been identified so far which are designed to increase awareness of the vehicles in a bid to cut potential accidents. The proposed sounds can be heard here , here and here .  Figures from NHS Ambulance Trusts across England, Wales and Northern Ireland showed that that e-scooter accidents rocketed by around 82 per cent from 2020 to 2021. This followed the introduction of e-scooter rental services in London on a trial basis from the middle of 2020. These trials have been extended repeatedly and are now expected to run until at least Autumn 2023. Wearing a virtual-reality headset, research participants will be…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Hands-on gadget review: Google Pixel Watch

    Product appeal can be won and lost within seconds and, even before the packaging reluctantly gave up its contents (one of those incredibly tight fitting slide in boxes), E&T was impressed the looks of the debutant Google Pixel Watch. It’s a bold move from Google when the fashion seems to be trending towards large-faced thin watches, to produce something that unkindly could be described as small and fat. Rather more kindly, E&T felt it had immediate visual and tactile appeal. Its looks and feel were more reminiscent of a pebble of jet, smoothed over millennia in the bed of a babbling mountain stream. It's not taken millennia exactly, but for fans of Google Pixel phones who have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the watch, the launch this autumn might have felt protracted. Original plans…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Apple launches self-repair service in the UK

    The service was originally launched in the US earlier this year and works with the iPhone 12 and 13 range as well as Mac laptops with Apple silicon. Apple said self repair would also be coming to customers in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, a few weeks after the European Commission and Member State representatives agreed on new ecodesign requirements for phones and tablets. The requirements – which are designed to improve durability and the ease of repair – will apply to smartphones and tablets in a bid to reduce their environmental impact. Manufacturers will be obliged to give access to repair and maintenance information and spare parts to professional repairers and end-users for at least seven years after retiring a product from the market. The Self Service…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Wave data gets us ready for hurricanes

    News reports on this year’s Hurricane Ian make for grim reading. Headlines tell of residents returning to flattened homes, rising death tolls and colossal damage to infrastructure. With its impact centred mostly on Florida in the North Atlantic hurricane basin, the $50bn bill for the damage is so great that, according to CNN, it is likely to “put a dent” in US GDP growth. At least 137 people have died as a result of the weather incident that (by some media estimates) was made 10 per cent worse due to the effects of climate change. Despite Hurricane Ian’s impact and exposure on the news cycle, it ranks just 23 rd on the list of all-time worst hurricanes to hit the US. For all the carnage wreaked, it was in a lesser league to 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, which accounted for more than 1,800 lives…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Britain prepares to bring in crypto regulation

    The new regulations would include limits on foreign companies selling into the UK, provisions for how to deal with the collapse of companies and restrictions on the advertising of products, according to the Financial Times.  The proposed regulation would come shortly after the implosion of FTX, which served to raise awareness of the risks that come with crypto transactions and the need for regulatory oversight.  In April, Rishi Sunak in his then role as Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke of making the UK a post-Brexit “crypto hub,” announcing a plan for government oversight of stablecoins and said it would consult on regulating a wider set of cryptoasset activities. Sunak added that “effective regulation” would encourage “the businesses of tomorrow to invest, innovate and scale up on UK…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Future transport photo gallery: Air

    Powered by ultra-light batteries and solar panels, Lazarini Design Studio’s 150m-long Air-Yacht will float in the skies with the support of two huge blimps. Image credit: Cover Images Japanese technology firm AERWINS has recently demonstrated how its XTURISMO hybrid petrol-electric hoverbike can be ridden like a normal bike, but in the air. Image credit: Cover Images Spanish designer Oscar Viñals claims that breakthroughs in technology like cold fusion power would enable his Hyper Sting concept plane to cross the Atlantic in just 80 minutes. ...

  • EU telecoms and emergency service providers warn against risk of power cuts

    Europe's top telecoms operators and emergency service providers are urging Brussels to take action to shield mobile and fixed grids from power cuts, Reuters has reported.  The joint letter sent on Monday is the first formal step by the European Telecommunications Network Operators (ETNO) and the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) to pressure the European Union executive body to step in. ETNO represents former phone monopolies such as Germany's Deutsche Telekom, Spain's Telefonica and Telecom Italia, while EENA speaks for more than 1,500 emergency services representatives from over 80 countries. "Should telecommunications networks be subject to planned outages, citizens would risk not having access to communications services for the duration of the outage, including emergency…

  • Construction begins on world’s largest radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array

    After 30 years of planning and negotiations, the foundations of the SKA are now being laid across sprawling sites in Australia and Africa, with its headquarters to be established in the UK. The gigantic observatory is set to be completed in 2028, when it will begin collecting the radio signals emitted by celestial objects to shed light on some of the most enigmatic problems in astronomy, such as the nature of dark matter and how galaxies form. Astronomers and local communities have travelled to the remote sites in South Africa’s Northern Cape and Western Australia to celebrate the milestone with officials from the SKA Observatory (SKAO), the intergovernmental organisation in charge of the telescopes. “We’re basically setting the foundation of this instrument for the next 50 years,” said…

  • Public slow chargers cost EV drivers the most to top up

    Slow charging is usually found in on-street locations such as lampposts, whereas fast chargers can be found in car parks where people intend to stay for several hours. Fast chargers also represent the most common type of chargepoint in the public network, outnumbering rapid and ultra-rapid devices by more than three to one. In the AA’s monthly AA EV Recharge Report, it found that domestic charging is the cheapest possible option for EV owners, even with the high prices currently faced by consumers on the government's capped levels. Domestic charging was found to be half the price of ultra-rapid options. The report takes the average prices of more than 6,000 publicly available charging units across the UK and analyses the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pricing across all chargepoint speeds available…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • ‘Time to get serious’ with net-zero homes, UK heating industry tells government

    Mike Foster, CEO of the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), has called for full-village trials of heat pumps to be set up to explore the possible heating options available for each home; the likely associated costs of reinforcing the electricity network, and how consumers view the change. In his call, Foster said it is “time to get serious on net zero homes” and explore all the options available in more detail. The gas networks are currently examining the option of hydrogen villages, exploring how homes can be converted from mains gas to hydrogen. Another option being considered by the government department that Shapps runs is to convert homes from mains gas to heat pumps. Examining how a whole village is converted would study the housing infrastructure; the possible heating options…

  • The future of micromobility: it’s not about the hardware

    With armies of gaudy, primary-coloured e-bikes and e-scooters, the micromobility industry is conquering our towns and cities. The first docked bike-sharing program was launched in Hangzhou, China, in 2008, and similar programs are operating in every region of the world today. Although the industry took a hit during Covid-19 (with giants like Lime and Bird laying off significant numbers of staff) it has since rebounded. McKinsey predicts it could be worth $300-500bn by the end of the decade. With the world arguably having passed ‘peak car’, micromobility – and especially powered micromobility – has the potential to become the dominant mode of transport in urban environments. There are many possible benefits: not only reduction of traffic congestion and air pollution, but also of greenhouse…

  • Flying cars and hyperloops?

    Despite the promises made by governments to transform the world of car travel, 2050 probably will not look that different from today at the global level and that goes for many other aspects of travel beyond just cars. One clear obstacle to change is that vehicles have a long useful life. Though commercial fleet owners tend to replace vehicles after five years to avoid rising repair costs, private owners will still buy them and keep them running for far longer. Total distance travelled is a better indicator of a car’s lifespan than its chronological age. Unless it’s destined to become a collector’s trophy, the chances are it will do more than 100,000 miles before being deemed too clapped-out to carry on. Although scrappage bounties do have an effect, in some countries the average age has steadily…

  • Decontaminating food spray uses viruses to eliminate bacteria

    Developed by researchers at McMaster University, the spray makes use of bacteriophages – harmless viruses that eat bacteria – which link together and form microscopic beads. Those beads can then be applied to food and other materials to rid them of harmful pathogens such as E. coli 0157. Each bead is about 20 microns, (one 50th of a millimetre) in diameter and is loaded with millions of phages. “When we spray it on food, we basically gather billions of mini-soldiers to protect our food from bacterial contamination,” said researcher Shadman Khan. “They link together like microscopic Lego pieces. This organised natural structure makes them much more durable and easier to package, store and use.” Before the introduction of penicillin in the 1940s, research into phage disinfectants and…

  • Racing towards a faster tomorrow

    “It’s a mistake to think of the future as some sort of exercise in logic, because it isn’t,” says Devin Liddell, principal futurist at the Seattle-based consultancy Teague. And while the organisation has been around for almost a century, advising the likes of Boeing, Intel and Toyota on what tomorrow looks like, Liddell also thinks that a key driver for future transport will be enhanced virtual experiences, rather than simply physically slogging it from A to B. We tend to think of the future through the lens of Moore’s Law, says Liddell, assuming that technology will only lead us toward faster or higher transport. But, he says, admitting that his conclusion is counter-intuitive, “it’s more likely that there’ll be people who opt for airship travel that actually isn’t Mach 5. It’s the same…

  • Electronic tattoos could help measure stress

    Electronic tattoo (e-tattoo) technology could be the key to tracking a natural body response which makes the palms of someone's hands wet when they are excited or nervous, and helping people that suffer from mental health conditions.  Although this bodily response - called electrodermal activity - has been known for a long time, devices used to track it have traditionally been bulky, unreliable and highly visible, which perpetuates social stigma.  Instead, the team at the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University have created a graphene-based e-tattoo for electrodermal activity (EDA sensing) that is nearly invisible. The new device  attaches to the palm of the hand and connects to a smartwatch.  "It's so unobstructive that people sometimes forget they had them on, and it…

  • The bigger picture: Lavoie Series 1 e-scooter

    Lavoie, a micro-mobility subsidiary of McLaren Applied, has launched its Series 1 electric scooter featuring technology developed for McLaren’s Formula 1 cars. The new e-scooter features the start-up’s patented one-touch Flowfold system, which helps fold the front and rear wheel hinges and collapses the stem of the scooter with just a single press of a button: this is inspired by the suspension system found on racing vehicles at the pinnacle of motorsport. The feature also helps achieve the greatest possible reduction in size while maintaining a large and stable deck when in use. Image credit: McLaren Applied Complementing the system’s foldability is the fact that Series 1 is made of automotive-standard magnesium, ensuring a total weight of just 16.5kg. The designers…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Nearly half of British manufacturers hit by cyber-attack in the last year

    Make UK found that over a quarter of respondents to its survey reported substantial financial loss as the result of an attack, with losses ranging from £50,000 to £250,000. Businesses' exposure to cyber-security risks is increasing, with nearly 95 per cent saying cyber-security measures are necessary for their company, while two-thirds said the importance of cyber security has increased in the last 12 months. Nevertheless, the survey found that the majority (54 per cent) of respondents decided not to take any further cyber-security action, despite the adoption of new technologies to boost production. Cyber-security risks for any large firm range from simple employee error through to complex targeted attacks.  The top three cyber-security vulnerabilities were identified as maintaining…

  • Winners of the 2022 Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards revealed

    Every year, the IET celebrates the achievements of women working in modern engineering, with a view to changing the perception that engineering is predominantly a career for men by banishing outdated engineering stereotypes of hard hats and dirty overalls. At the moment, only 16 per cent of engineers are women, according to Engineering UK.  As well as highlighting the talent of women engineers, the awards seek to find role models who can help address the UK science and engineering skills crisis by promoting engineering careers to more girls and women. Let's meet the winners! IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year: Ama Frimpong Ama Frimpong (33) is head of product development at 52 North Health. Ama manages the company’s engineering teams in the development of NeutroCheck. This tool…

  • Letters to the editor: volume 17, issue 12

    Distinguish between power and energy In our vital attempts to reach net zero in electricity production there is an ongoing conceptual battle between power and energy. Talking solely in energy terms conceals many important issues with intermittent renewables. Politicians, through ignorance, use the terms interchangeably although they have clear and distinct meanings even in everyday language: the power of a weightlifter, the energy of a long-distance runner, the power of an elderly dictator, the energy of young children. The technical meaning is no different and I would expect engineers to highlight that they are very different quantities. E&T’s report that the Hornsea 2 windfarm off the Yorkshire coast is now fully operational (November 2022) says that a single rotation of each turbine blade…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Arctic fibre-optic cable secures first investment

    The first subsea cable to be laid on the Arctic seabed has secured its first investor, according to Far North Fiber, the joint venture between Cinia, US-based Far North Digital (FND) and Japan's Arteria Networks that is behind the project.  The Far North Fiber consortium said it plans a 14,000km open network with a 12-fibre-pair cable system and terminal stations in Japan, Ireland and Norway or Finland, as well as a regeneration station in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, for local add/drop. The cable, which will run from the Nordic countries to Japan via Greenland, Canada and Alaska, is expected to cut delays in data transmission between Frankfurt and Tokyo by around 30 per cent.  "The Far North Fiber project is an epoch-making project to build the last remaining submarine cable route connecting…

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