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Fire warning for UK as heatwave builds in tinder-dry conditions

Temperatures are set to rise to the mid 30°Cs in parts of southern England as high pressure brings more hot, dry weather, following months of low rainfall which have left the country facing the spectre of drought. The conditions have left the countryside, as well as urban parks and gardens, extremely dry, raising the risk of more devastating wildfires, with rivers, groundwater and reservoirs at low levels. Two water companies have already announced hosepipe bans and others have warned they may need to follow suit, with apparently no immediate let-up in the dry, hot weather for southern parts of the country. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service is urging people not to light barbecues or bonfires, or let off fireworks or sky lanterns, after a large fire which damaged gardens, sheds and…

E+T Magazine in Climate Change
Re-introduced EU roaming charges could see consumers facing unexpected costs

The EU banned roaming fees in 2017 for all its member countries as part of an overhaul of Europe’s telecoms market that was designed to boost growth and innovation. However, soon after leaving the EU, most of the UK’s networks reintroduced roaming charges as they were no longer beholden to the established rules. In a new report, MoneySavingExpert.com found that, post-Brexit, mobile users had been left with weaker rights and many with higher costs. It found that mobile providers no longer need to warn users of roaming costs, provide a monthly cap on roaming fees, or offer protections against inadvertent roaming. In addition, the report showed that while three of the four major mobile networks now charge for roaming in the EU, different providers use different definitions of a ‘day’ of…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
Avanti West Coast slashes timetable due to ‘unofficial strike’

Avanti West Coast said it will run as few as four trains per hour from Sunday in an attempt to halt the short-notice cancellations which have plagued its operations in recent weeks. The rail firm normally operates up to seven per hour on the West Coast Main Line. Services between London Euston and Manchester appear to be the worst affected by the cut, with train frequencies reduced from three per hour to just one. The limited timetable will be in place “until further notice”, Avanti West Coast said. The company has also suspended ticket sales for travel from Sunday until September 11 while the new schedule is finalised to minimise the number of people disrupted. It expects tickets for the first week of that period to be back on sale by the end of this week. Tickets for the following weeks…

E+T Magazine in Railways
Could you live off the grid?

Thick mud, dark days and dodgy showers haven’t dented the allure of living off the grid for Rachael and her young family. Today’s soaring energy costs and wider price rises make the idea of self-sufficiency even more appealing for a growing number of ‘off-gridders’ – people who choose to live without connection to the national grid and other utilities, and without the bills. Rachael and her husband Fraser grow their own food, keep bees, and harvest solar energy to keep their home running. Her children – both under two – have 4.5 acres of woodland to play in, and feast on homegrown greengages, blackberries and sweet chestnuts. Two dogs add extra security to their fenced-in plot – if it’s gloomy in the winter, summer days on their wooded South Lincolnshire land are glorious. “A day of rain…

E+T Magazine in Power Conversion
3D-printing method for food could make insect protein mainstream

As the demand for protein-rich food grows, concerns have been raised about the increasing greenhouse gases, land and water consumption associated with its production – especially when it comes to animal rearing. Alternative sources of proteins from insects, plants and algae are much more sustainable while still being nutrient-rich food, although they remain off-putting to many people. “The appearance and taste of such alternative proteins can be disconcerting for many. This is where the versatility of 3D food printing (3DFP) rises to the challenge, as it can transform the way in which food is presented and overcome the inertia of consumer inhibitions,” explained Prof Chua Chee Kai, co-author from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). The new process can take commonly…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Scratches to car paint disappear with self-healing coating material

Excellent durability of automotive coatings is the most important issue in protecting a vehicle surface. In addition, protective coating materials should be colourless and transparent so that the original colour of the product can be seen. However, it is difficult to provide a self-healing function while satisfying all of these conditions. Materials with free molecular movement have high self-healing efficiency, but have low durability, whereas materials with high hardness and excellent durability have remarkably poor self-healing performance. A research team of Dr. Jin Chul Kim, Dr. Young il Park and Dr. Ji-Eun Jeong, from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), has developed a transparent coating material that satisfies all of the above conditions and has similar performance…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
View from Washington: Big Tech goes home

Is the party over? Probably not, but it is cooling down. Technology has driven real growth for decades. It has stood apart from the risks in financialisation – simply shuffling dollars, euros, and pounds around to fund the designer goods market (well, apart from Patagonia). Innovation has fuelled new products and services, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, and boosting GDP. It has remodelled how we live. Even tech’s titans are suffering, with companies as big as Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Meta said to be freezing or slowing hiring – or in some cases, laying off staff. With consumers facing inflation and wider worries across all industries, advertisers are rethinking their spending, which is especially unwelcome news for the likes of Google and Facebook. The threat of an impending…

E+T Magazine in Semiconductor Technology
View from India: India to develop domestic carbon market to fight climate change

The Bill, recently cleared by the Union Cabinet, is expected to facilitate the state electricity regulatory commissions to go ahead with tariff revisions on a timely basis. By way of explanation, amendments to the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 have been tabled at the Lok Sabha recently. Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament; with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States. The Energy Conservation Act, 2001 was enacted for efficient use of energy and its conservation and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Act has enabled the establishment and incorporation of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and has conferred certain powers upon the Central Government, the State…

E+T Magazine
Wearables more cost-effective than ECGs for AF screening, study finds

The study from a team at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the US reported that the use of contemporary wrist-worn wearables was also associated with a reduction in stroke incidence and could help to detect less frequent AF episodes through its ability to monitor for potentially irregular heart rhythm on a near-continuous basis. “The proliferation of wrist-worn devices for AF detection provides a convenient option for population-wide screening, though it’s not known if their use will lead to increased costs and problems related to follow-up testing and false positives,” said Jagpreet Chhatwal, director of the MGH Institute for Technology Assessment. “We, therefore, simulated a virtual trial comparing clinical and cost outcomes under different AF screening strategies, and showed that…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Dear Evil Engineer: Could I launch satellites, and a new career, with the help of a space cannon?

Dear Evil Engineer, Having spent 15 years working my way into the petty ranks of the millionaires with my dodgy data analytics company, I am keen to move on to the next stage in my career. I aspire to become a fashionable oligarch making a splash in the commercial space sector, which is where all the other oligarchs seem to be having the most fun. I’m interested in providing an alternative to commercial rocket launch services: to launch satellites into orbit using a cannon large enough to double up as an execution device. Is this a promising path to a lucrative Nasa contract and invitation to the Met Gala? Yours, An entrepreneurial villain Dear villain, If you can offer a convincing alternative to rocket launches for propelling satellites into orbit and beyond, you may well have…

E+T Magazine
Interview: Bhavina Bharkhada, Head of Policy and Campaigns, Make UK

“Despite manufacturers today facing quite unprecedented economic challenges, most businesses have moved decarbonisation to the top of their company’s agenda. The fact that 80 per cent are saying that this is a priority within their business, demonstrates the need to lead in this.” Head of Policy and Campaigns at Make UK, Bhavina Bharkhada, further explains that half of the companies she refers to are already implementing their decarbonisation plan. These are just two of the top-line findings to come out of Make UK’s most recent research survey document, ‘Decarbonising Manufacturing: Challenges and Opportunities’. Published in partnership with Siemens, the new white paper provides a snapshot of how British manufacturers are moving towards net zero and decarbonising their businesses as the…

E+T Magazine in Sustainable Development
South Korea launches lunar orbiter as domestic space programme heats up

The orbiter, named Danuri – 'enjoy the Moon' in Korean – was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida atop a SpaceX rocket (pictured above in another launch). It will enter the Moon’s orbit in December. Korea’s vice science minister Oh Tae-seog said that initial analysis suggested that Danuri was “operating normally” after the launch. The 678kg orbiter was created by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), and has six payloads including Korean-made equipment. One piece of equipment will investigate the lunar surface to identify potential landing sites for future missions, while another will evaluate disruption-tolerant, network-based space communications, and will be an early foray into a wireless internet environment that can link satellites or exploration spacecraft. “This…

E+T Magazine in Space
Mass tree-planting programme launched as part of efforts to tackle climate change

The areas will help the UK adapt to a warmer world, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said, as well as natural hazards such as wildfires and storms. The woodlands could also help to reduce ﬂood risk in vulnerable areas while providing sustainable UK-grown timber. England’s 13 Community Forests, including the Humber and Mersey Forests as well as partners including the Northern Forest and Great Northumberland Forest, are all set to benefit from the funding. Defra estimates that the planting announced today will see 600,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide absorbed by 2050, valued at nearly £100m, as well as create jobs in the forestry and environmental sectors. “As well as tackling the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, this significant funding will create…

E+T Magazine in Climate Change
View from Brussels: International Rescue, EU-style

Record temperatures and devastating wildfires have swept across Europe these past weeks, while Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to be felt far beyond the battlefields. Everyone is feeling the heat, either literally or figuratively, with few exceptions. It is often said that the European Union only grows in stature and geopolitical power during times of crises, because its constituent parts are normally unwilling to reform or dig deep into their pockets when the sun is shining. The coronavirus pandemic was a prime example of this. Before Covid-19 brought large swathes of the global economy to a standstill, the prospect of the 27 EU members borrowing billions of euros through joint debt was totally unthinkable. Now it is established practice. The executive branch of the bloc, the EU Commission…

E+T Magazine
Digital intervention could help reduce alcohol intake

The study by researchers at Linköping University has shown that a digital support tool on a smartphone can help individuals struggling to reduce their consumption to seek help online through these means. “At the beginning of the study, the participants said it was very important for them to reduce their alcohol consumption. But most said they didn’t know how to do it,” said Marcus Bendtsen, an associate professor at the university. The lead of the study added that those who took part in the study and got access to digital support felt more self-assured about how they could go about actually changing their behaviour. Bendtsen believes that there is too little discussion about concrete methods of creating long-lasting change, warning that messages and communicating the risks of various…

E+T Magazine in Computing
Summer STEM Challenge: Driving and sweeping under the carpet

STEM Challenge #57: The ‘Subrugmarine’ What invisible vehicle is driven by an engine on the roof? A hovercraft, with propellers on the roof, maybe? Nope, we’re talking about a vehicle driven by wheels on its roof. And it’s invisible! Give up? It’s a brand-new conundrum of a machine called the ‘subrugmarine’. You’ll need a fairly low-geared motor-gearbox unit for the driven wheels. A good speed to aim for to start with is 2-5cm/sec. Now we made the first subrugmarine with driven wheels underneath, like a normal car or truck. But it probably won’t work quite as well as putting the driven wheels on the roof. You’ll need a set of small floor wheels glued onto the chassis with the battery box, of course. The subrugmarine needs to be small, but in particular, the wheels should be small enough…

E+T Magazine in STEM Education and Skills
UK wastewater plants struggle with climate change and rising population

Wastewater facilities play a vital role producing clean water, removing nutrients, generating renewable energy, and extracting other valuable bio-based materials from wastewaters. While these systems have been engineered to withstand varying environmental factors to an extent, the study finds they are increasingly being put under extreme stress. Using instrument data from operational monitoring systems provided by Southern Water and Thames Water, it found dynamic stressors, including higher rainfall intensity and extended dry periods, could be linked to pollution events. The researchers said that the best way to avoid contamination, is to gain a better understanding of how events that stress the water network manifest, in order to give water companies an extended reaction time to events…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Bizarre Tech: Novabot, Wizard Smart Switch and Shock Clock 3

Novabot Look at that cute little garden fun guy. Novabot is apparently an “intelligent, automated robotic lawnmower and the innovative solution for the perfect lawn you have been waiting for”. Well, I haven’t really been waiting, but hey. Let’s get mowing! It’s developed by LF Intelligence, an AI-driven robotics start-up aimed at developing and promoting “affordable” autonomous lawn management robots. According to its makers, Novabot keeps the grass greener while you “kick back” and control it via the Nova app. I wouldn’t be kicking back, I’d be watching it doing its thing, all cute and AI-ing everywhere. “Cutting-edge” technology (excellent pun, LF Intelligence) means Novabot apparently mows in straight lines, trims borders in multiple zones, avoids objects with computer vision, and…

E+T Magazine
UK squandering potential as ‘science and tech superpower’, Lords say

The Science and Technology Committee said the next administration “must maintain the commitment to R&D funding” with a focus on science and technology in order to drive a high-tech, high-growth economy. In a new report, 'Science and technology superpower: more than a slogan?', the committee found that the UK’s science policy had been let down by short-termism and a proliferation of disparate strategies without an overarching vision. “There are a large number of government bodies with unclear remits and interactions, which means that it is often unclear who owns a specific policy. At the time of writing, there was no science minister, which further blurs lines of accountability,” the report said. The current target is to boost spending on R&D to 2.4 per cent of GDP (the 2017 average for…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Energy price cap to be updated quarterly to tackle market volatility

The regulator said the change would provide more stability in the energy markets and reduce the risk of further large-scale supplier failures, the likes of which cost energy customers roughly £164 each last year . Although Britain only imports a small amount of Russian gas, Russia’s actions have created extreme volatility in the global energy market leading to unprecedented highs in the cost of oil and gas and therefore electricity. The price cap, as set out in law in 2018, reflects what it costs to supply energy to our homes by setting a maximum suppliers can charge per unit of energy, and caps the level of profits an energy supplier can make to 1.9 per cent. As a result of the market conditions, the price cap will have to increase to reflect increased costs, Ofgem said ahead of plans…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
Government, defence and aerospace facing barriers to digital advantage, says BAE

Achieving a digital advantage is more important than ever, with such factors as climate change, the Covid-19 crisis and Brexit all accelerating digital strategies. This is one of the findings in a new report, published today, by BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, which has found that digital advantage is critical to protecting UK society and maintaining the public’s trust. The report – ' Unlocking Digital Advantage in High Trust Sectors ' – looked at the challenges faced by over 120 senior IT and business decision-makers within the UK’s aerospace, government and defence organisations when it comes to using technology to gain an advantage. For high-trust organisations, having a digital advantage is seen as mission critical to protecting UK society and maintaining the public’s trust in today…

E+T Magazine in Space
Money & Markets: We are at the crest of the inflation mountain

Engineers and technologists are not immune from the difficulties that inflation brings. Inflation is a hard-to-predict volatility and shaking is no good for anyone’s processes, let alone ones that rely on fine tuning, like JIT and Lean. To top that, most people in the West are simply too young to have practical experience of managing fast-escalating prices and all their consequences. How is this novel inflationary period going to unfold? To paraphrase, it’s easy to make predictions about the past. It remains quite easy to do that in writing because by the time many people read the prediction, the event and the prediction itself are in the past, and it then takes a lot of effort to tell the difference between a statement made before or after the event. However, I will stake – granted within…

E+T Magazine in Business Planning
Drive like you’re being filmed, dash cam experts warn

With many people now sending footage of motoring offences to the police every day, the chances of being reported for an offence captured on a dash cam are higher than ever. The warning comes from dash cam video analysis experts at the not-for-profit organisation Road Safety Support, which regularly examines video footage for police forces for use in legal proceedings. It is timed to coincide with National Dash Cam Day, launched last year by dash cam manufacturer Nextbase, which takes place on Friday 5 August 2022. Dash cam footage can be used to prosecute motorists for a range of offences, including speeding, dangerous or careless driving and driving while using a mobile phone. Dash cam footage has even been used as evidence in murder cases. Steve Callaghan, technical expert at Road Safety…

E+T Magazine in Road transport systems
UK-based specialist firm to deliver on-street EV chargers in NYC

The project is intended to demonstrate how public access to EV charging can drive up EV ownership amongst the 50 per cent of New York City (NYC) residents who park their cars on the street. It forms part of the DOT Studio - a collaboration between the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) and Newlab, focused on applying emerging technologies to advance planning, policy, operations and real-time management of transportation across New York City in line with the city’s Vision Zero and sustainability goals. The findings from the pilot will inform wider EV charging rollouts across New York City, helping to realise its goal of installing 10,000 kerbside chargers by 2030 and electrifying 20 per cent of municipal parking bays by 2025. Connected Kerb was selected for the project…

E+T Magazine

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