• E&T Innovation Awards 2022 winners revealed

    Now in its 18th year, the E&T Innovation Awards - held in person again this year, last night (Thursday 10 November)  at the Hilton London Bankside - continue to highlight and celebrate the very best new innovations across the breadth of science, engineering and technology.  Leaving behind the memories of past hybrid events, the evening saw a spirit of enthusiasm and a commitment to work together to create, design and build innovative solutions to global problems, which will help make the world a better place. Hosted by Dr Shini Somara, an award-winning mechanical engineer and computational fluid dynamicist, TV producer and broadcaster, children’s book author and regular E&T columnist - the awards are the ultimate celebration of innovation in the engineering and technology sector.  For…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Japan to invest $500m in new advanced chip venture

    Japan is looking to re-establish itself as a lead maker of advanced semiconductors, with the creation of a new venture. The country's government has revealed it will invest u p to ¥70bn (£427m) in Rapidus, a new semiconductor company led by tech firms including Sony Group Corp and NEC Corp. The company is expected to begin manufacturing in the second half of the decade. “Semiconductors are going to be a critical component for the development of new leading-edge technologies such as AI, digital industries and in healthcare,” Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, said at a news briefing. The announcement comes in the midst of a global semiconductor shortage, and a trade conflict between China and the United States that has led US President Joe Biden to impose…

  • Spatial leading the way as audio enters new worlds

    Speaking at this year’s  Audio Collaborative conference , an annual event organised by data analytics company Futuresource Consulting,   presenters and panellists throughout the day discussed the key issues around the future of audio for both the industry and the consumer. Delivering the conference keynote speech, Carsten Olesen, president of Harman, said that “audio is critical for immersion and believability in virtual spaces”, noting that there were 76 million Fortnite viewers globally for an Ariana Grande virtual gig in 2021, with that figure only representing 20 per cent of active users. “It’s too big to ignore, from an industry perspective,” Olesen added. Virtual worlds such as Fortnite, Roblox and the Metaverse all need immersive audio to deliver an optimal experience. Music fans…

  • Back Story: Zainab Adigun, ‘Being underrepresented means I can spearhead change’

    Shini Somara:  What is the overall mission of the Association For Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK)? Zainab Adigun: AFBE-UK provides support and promotes higher achievements in Education and Engineering, particularly among students and professionals who are from ethnic minority backgrounds. It is estimated that by 2050, the proportion of UK citizens from ethnic minority communities will reach 20-30 per cent, yet only 9 per cent of UK engineers are from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds. 29.9 per cent of engineering graduates are from BME backgrounds, so at AFBE-UK we look to retain and increase the interest of under-represented groups into STEM and improve diversity and inclusion within the industry. We achieve this through a range of educational and mentoring programmes…

  • EU tightens rules to limit vehicle emissions including from brakes and tyres

    Road transport is currently the largest source of air pollution in cities, but the new Euro 7 standards, coupled with CO 2 emission standards, would “give the automotive supply chain a clear direction for reducing pollutant emissions, including using digital technologies”, the European Commission said. In 2035, all cars and vans sold in the EU will have zero CO 2 -emissions under proposals confirmed last month . But even in 2050, more than 20 per cent of cars and vans – and more than half of the heavier vehicles – driving on EU roads are expected to continue to emit pollutants from the tailpipe. The new proposal tackles emissions from tailpipes as well as from brakes and tyres, the latter two of which will continue to be relevant even for battery electric vehicles. It replaces previously…

  • Dear Evil Engineer: Just how big a structure could I build in space?

    Dear Evil Engineer, I have been unable to get climate change off my mind. Watching our leaders utterly fail to decarbonise with the urgency scientists warn us is necessary makes me more certain by the day that Earth’s ecosystems face collapse in my lifetime and billions of people will die. It got me thinking – what a once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity this presents! My fellow high-net-worth villains are building private bunkers and mouthing off about the need to terraform Mars as a back-up planet, but I have an alternative proposal. I’d like to build a habitable megastructure in space that people – that is, those willing to pay a very reasonable resettlement fee – can live inside indefinitely while Earth succumbs to climate change. Could you advise me approximately how large a structure…

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  • Is bitcoin's energy efficiency all we believe it to be?

    Belief is a powerful drug. It’s easy to believe that computer technology and electronics will make the world more efficient and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, not least by reducing how much of that energy needs to be performed by physical things acting in a wasteful way. But this is the same set of core technologies that gave us bitcoin. In a demonstration of how perverse incentives can be in economics, bitcoin and the other blockchain protocols that evolved around it fell into an arms race that make just burning currency for heat look vaguely sensible.   The first miners just used the Intel processors in desktop PCs. But that quickly changed as the value of bitcoin and interest in mining for it increased. The protocol behind the cryptocurrency was designed to ratchet up the amount…

  • The bigger picture: Nasa's inflatable heat shield

    Nasa has r evealed an ‘inflatable heat shield’ that may change future space missions. ‘LOFTID’ (Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator) is set to be launched in November. Once in orbit, it will inflate, before descending back to Earth. Nasa hopes that a large inflatable aeroshell protected by a heat shield could slow down a spacecraft enough to survive atmospheric entry. If successful, the technology could eventually allow humans to land on Mars. Image credit: Nasa/Cover Images One challenge Nasa faces is delivering heavy payloads safely to destinations with an atmosphere, stating “current rigid aeroshells are constrained by a rocket’s shroud size. One answer is an inflatable aeroshell that can be deployed to a scale much larger than the shroud…

  • View from India: New 'garden terminal' unveiled at Bangalore airport

    The statue of Chieftain Nadaprabhu Kempegowda stands in a theme park near the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The statue, which is 108ft tall and has a sword weighing four tonnes, is known as the Statue of Prosperity, or Pragatiya Pratime. This is the first and tallest bronze statue of a founder of a city according to the World Book of Records. Prime Minister (PM) Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore Express, India’s first semi high-speed train, which will connect Bangalore-Mysore-Chennai. This is the first Vande Bharat service in south India, and the fifth across India. The train has an intelligent braking system for better acceleration and deceleration, and a GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system. The coaches have automatic doors and are designed…

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    E+T Magazine

  • UN satellite system to detect prolific methane emitters from space

    Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas providing more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide within the first 20 years of it reaching the atmosphere. It is currently estimated to contribute at least a quarter of today’s climate warming. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we must cut methane emissions at least 30 per cent by 2030 – the goal of the Global Methane Pledge – to keep the 1.5°C temperature limit within reach. The Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will allow it to corroborate emissions reported by companies and characterise changes over time. It will be part of the body’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) strategy. “As UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report showed before this climate summit…

  • Teardown: Apple AirPods Pro2

    Most of us love wireless earbuds – especially us dog walkers. No longer a tangle of lead and cable followed by a painful jerk at the lobe when your best friend catches sight of the dreaded ‘Squirrel’. Unfortunately, the planet doesn’t agree. Most earbuds end up in landfill and, though small, are being bought in such numbers and replaced so frequently that they are thus becoming an e-waste concern. E&T previously looked at Fairphone’s true wireless entry as part of our February issue this year. Even with the company’s commitment to repairability and recyclability, they earned a measly 1 out of 10 for repair from teardown experts iFixit. Apple recently released its flagship second generation AirPods Pro. They offer plenty of improvements in functionality, including spatial audio, a separate…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Gas ‘goldrush’ in wake of Ukraine conflict jeopardises climate goals

    With governments scrambling to shore up their domestic energy supplies, many have doubled down on fossil fuel extraction while delaying climate action plans. The 2022 update of the IEA’s ‘Net Zero by 2050’ road map shows that due to accelerating reductions in the cost of renewables and storage and other technologies, the total gas use globally by 2030 needs to be at least 30 per cent below 2021 levels - about 45 per cent faster than estimated a year ago. However, massive expansion of LNG plans could harm this goal, with the CAT analysis finding that the facilities currently under construction – coupled with future expansion plans – would significantly increase emissions beyond the maximum thresholds contained in the Paris Agreement. It is estimated that by 2030, oversupply could reach…

  • UK at risk of facing energy shortages, report says

    The UK could face a potential shortage of electricity if it simply focuses on building new wind and solar power while not also limiting the amount of energy it will need.  A report published by energy company Danfoss has recommended ¡nvestment in renewable energies as a way to address the looming energy crisis and the large costs of heating UK homes.  The company's investigation showed that, for  every pound spent on energy efficiency – such as insulation in homes – two pounds can be saved by investing in renewable power generation, including wind farms. “The UK, and all countries throughout Europe, should be working to curb the growing demand for energy," Kjell Stroem, Danfoss's Northern Europe president has said.  “Even with huge build-outs of renewables we simply will not have enough…

  • Sponsored: Modelling high temperature superconducting magnets for nuclear fusion

    Losses of high-temperature superconductors induced during transient states require numerical models to dimension the necessary cooling system as well as to predict the safe operating conditions for the magnets. However, modelling large-scale HTS applications is complex due to the high aspect ratio of the conductors as well as the nonlinear property introduced by superconductivity. COMSOL Multiphysics has a wide range of functionality that makes it easy to handle such challenges. To see the software's capabilities in action and learn more about modelling high-temperature superconducting magnets for fusion applications, register for this free webinar, happening on 17 November. Register for this webinar to learn about: The basics of nuclear fusion, focusing on the challenges of designing…

  • Unabated plastic production poses serious climate change hazard, finds study

    The research from NGO Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) and Eunomia Research & Consulting found that a business-as-usual approach to plastic production would result in a trajectory of warming towards 3.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The IPCC’s 2021 Sixth Assessment Report estimated that there is a 67 per cent chance of global warming staying within 1.5°C of pre-industrial levels if cumulative global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions stay below 400 GtCO 2 e. But if the significant growth in all global plastic production witnessed historically continues at an annual growth rate of 4 per cent, it will reach 1.6 Gt annually by 2050. With no change from current practices, the report estimates that total annual GHG emissions in 2050 will reach 7 Gt CO 2 e, with cumulative emissions reaching 129 Gt CO 2…

  • Smart motorway target reached 14 months late

    Vehicles stranded on smart motorways without a hard shoulder had to wait an average of nine minutes and 49 seconds before being attended to by traffic officers, National Highways figures seen by the PA news agency have revealed. The government agency responsible for overseeing English motorways committed to reducing its average response time from 17 minutes in 2020 to 10 minutes by July 2021. However, the goal was only accomplished over a year later.  The response time relates to stretches of all-lane running (ALR) smart motorways where emergency areas are more than a mile apart. National Highways said it is reaching stranded drivers more quickly after buying extra patrol vehicles, recruiting additional traffic officers and introducing  satellite “outstations” and “park-up points” around…

  • Full power behind AI’s green ambitions

    It’s bonanza time in the land of computing, especially if you have bet large on artificial intelligence (AI). Opening his company’s autumn technology conference, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang claimed: “Computing is advancing at incredible speeds. The engine propelling this rocket is accelerated computing, and its fuel is AI.” Huang has good reason to be optimistic about the future of AI-driven computing. A decade ago, researchers at the Swiss research institute IDSIA took the deep-learning concepts developed by a small group led by Geoffrey Hinton, professor of computer science at the University of Toronto, and found they could use the parallel computing units sitting inside graphics processing units (GPUs) originally developed to run 3D games to speed up the processing. After training the deep…

  • Cargo mission reaches ISS despite solar array mishap

    The SS Sally Ride Cygnus spacecraft, developed by Northrop Grumman, was launched with an Antares rocket on Monday from Wallops Island, Virginia. But the cargo delivery to crew aboard the ISS faced issues after one of its two solar arrays did not deploy as planned. Despite the mishap, Northrop Grumman worked with Nasa to ensure Cygnus completed its primary mission of delivering approximately 3,700kg of supplies, equipment and experiments for the astronauts aboard the station. Amongst the delivery were brackets needed for a spacewalk next week to expand the station’s power, as well as apples, blueberries, cheese, peanut butter and ice cream for the station’s US, Russian and Japanese crew of seven. “During a rocket stage separation event, debris from an Antares acoustic blanket became…

  • Sales of second-hand EVs reach record high

    Some 16,775 used pure battery electric cars were bought in the UK between July and September, as the market reached a record high, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), has said. The data increased electric vehicles' (EVs) market share from 3.3 per cent to 4 per cent, reflecting the rising trend in new EV sales . In comparison to 2021, sales of used hybrid electrics were up 2.5 per cent, but demand for plug-in hybrids fell by 5.8 per cent. EVs now represent 14 per cent of the new car market, compared with 11.6 per cent at the end of 2021, the figures show.  “Electric vehicles are becoming the hottest ticket in town," said Alex Buttle, co-founder of used car marketplace Motorway.co.uk. “As more drivers make the leap, demand for used EVs will continue to soar.” In contrast…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • After All: Only libraries may know the answers

    “The aggressor confiscates all books printed in the Ukrainian language from the catalogues of libraries and schools. The destruction of about 100 libraries has already been confirmed, 221 were damaged”, said the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, 12 August 2022. A recurrent flashback to my Ukrainian childhood: I am sitting on a sledge, dragged by my tireless granddad Misha. He walks with a slight limp, the result of a leg wound during the 1918-21 Civil War and because of this – to my sheer delight – the sledge makes little zigzags in the snow. I am seven years old. In my hands, clad in varezhki (woollen mittens), I am holding a couple of dog-eared books by James Fenimore Cooper. We are going to the library in Inzhenerna (Engineers) Street. At seven, I am already a voracious…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • The measure of: U-Boat Worx’s Nautilus superyacht

    The idea of a superyacht that pampers guests with luxury both atop and below the waterline is one that has long been a fantasy for demanding billionaires. But with the Nautilus, U-Boat Worx is determined to bring the concept to reality. Capable of functioning as both an on-water vessel and a submersible, Nautilus has a depth rating of over 200m. The diesel-electric craft has a surface cruise speed of nine knots and an underwater speed of four knots and can stay underwater for up to four days at a time, according to the company. Image credit: Cover Images When functioning as a yacht, Nautilus has a range of relaxation and recreational features including a sizeable sundeck equipped with a freshwater pool, a bar and a dining table where guests can enjoy meals from…

  • View from India: Bountiful measures unfold for farming community

    The government has recently launched One Nation One Fertiliser (ONOF) scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Pariyojana (PMBJP). ONOF is a fertiliser subsidy scheme towards benchmarking fertiliser-urea companies. Under this scheme, all fertilisers, urea and soil nutrients will be standardised and marketed under the single brand of Bharat. This uniformity could be a move towards lowering high freight subsidy, as well as cross movement of fertilisers. Coming to the product retail, all fertiliser-urea bags will feature the Bharat logo and PMBJP as well as details about the fertiliser-urea company.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also launched 600 PM Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PM-KSKs). The country is home to more than 330,000 fertiliser retail shops. The government has indicated that these…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • ‘Vacuum-cleaner’ could collect rare metals from the deep sea floor

    ‘Blue Harvesting’ - a collaboration between five European countries - has designed a way to collect rare metals from the bottom of the ocean.  The sea floor boasts one of the world’s largest untapped collections of rare-earth elements, including  copper, manganese, nickel and cobalt — materials crucial for accelerating the energy transition. In order to meet this rising demand for rare earth minerals, a team of scientists has developed Apollo 2, which they described as a "vacuum cleaner" d riven by water pressure and powered entirely by electricity. The device is able to collect raw materials without causing the clouds of fine sediment which are often harmful to marine life. Apollo 2 being lowered into the sea / Delft University of Technology Image credit: Technische…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Letters special: Your thoughts on our wiring inspection revelations

    During the course of my research for ‘Exposed: The National Wiring Scandal Putting Lives at Risk’ , I spoke to electricians and industry experts who described how some contractors carrying out safety inspections are incorrectly passing unsafe properties and mis-selling unnecessary upgrades. I also heard about so-called ‘drive-by inspections’, where contractors fill out paperwork without entering the properties at all, undercutting legitimate businesses. Many readers wrote in to say they had experienced similarly poor practices. Mal Ronan, a retired principal electrical inspector for the Health and Safety Executive, told us he had come across “a surprisingly high proportion of unacceptably poor inspection and test reports”. In most cases these were either incorrectly completed or incomplete…

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    E+T Magazine

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