• Sponsored: Transforming existing hotels to net zero carbon

    This white paper, produced in collaboration with Arup, Gleeds and IHG, tackles the operational net-zero carbon challenge for existing hotels using a real-life case study to demonstrate the impact of each stage in the journey. It sets out a high-level framework, prioritising different interventions throughout the lifecycle with the goal of achieving net-zero carbon in an existing hotel by 2050 in order to meet new regulatory requirements. The study focuses on reducing operational energy to achieve net-zero carbon; also considered is the embodied carbon impact of interventions, and how that compares to building new. Key Learning Points: Reduce operational energy to achieve net-zero carbon Consider the embodied carbon impact of interventions Transform existing buildings to net zero,…

  • Autonomous underwater drones used to maintain offshore wind turbines

    With the amount of UK offshore infrastructure increasing due to the expansion of wind turbines and oil and gas facilities, the need for frequent inspection and maintenance is greater than ever. Conventionally, such tasks are performed by remotely operated vehicles (ROV), which are expensive and require support vessels and skilled crew. The new drone system, developed by researchers from Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt Universities, can perform much of the prior manual work autonomously. It has been tested out on three turbines owned by EDF at the Blyth wind farm off Northumberland. The system can generate data about the facilities including correct scale detailed 3D models that can be analysed to determine what maintenance work may be needed. While some personnel are still required for more…

  • Organic crystals might serve as smart engineering materials

    Organic crystals might be the key to meeting the energy conversion needs of advanced technologies.  While these dynamic materials were previously thought to be fragile, a team of researchers at the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Smart Materials Lab have discovered that some organic crystals are mechanically very robust, and able to serve as efficient and sustainable energy conversion materials for robotics and electronics. In the article published by the journal Nature Communications , the team led by NYUAD Professor of Chemistry Panče Naumov explains the process of developing a record-breaking material, which can change shape without losing its ordered structure. This new organic crystalline material can expand and contract over half of its length (51 per cent) repeatedly, over thousands of cycles…

  • High-street retailers paying 755 per cent more in rates than online rivals

    Last Friday (20 May), the UK government closed a consultation into the possible introduction of a tax on ecommerce as a potential measure to fund a reduction in business rates, the property tax that shops, pubs and restaurants are obliged to pay. Bosses at Sainsbury’s urged the government to launch the new online sales tax, accusing the current business rates system of “destroying high streets up and down the country”. However, retail rival Marks & Spencer said an additional tax on retailers would mean they will “cut their cloth accordingly.” New analysis by real-estate advisory firm Altus Group shows that for every £100 earned by large retailers in Great Britain, excluding non-store sales and fuel, £2.91 is owed to local councils in business rates. However, for large online-only retailers…

  • Underwater telecoms cable repurposed as earthquake sensor with new technique

    Today, seas and oceans remain mostly unmonitored with only a handful of permanent ocean-floor sensors existing globally. This is due to the difficulty in installing and maintaining them, which can be prohibitively expensive. But it leaves a huge gap in geophysical data, limiting understanding of the Earth’s structure and its dynamic behaviour – datasets that can be used to predict earthquakes and monitor the impact of climate change among other phenomena. A new method has been developed that can be used to convert these cables into an array of sensors. It has already been tested on a 5,860 km-long intercontinental submarine optical-fibre link between the UK and Canada. The cable, provided by EXA Infrastructure, is the largest dedicated digital infrastructure platform connecting Europe and…

  • Mathematical model can help paramedics treat injuries on-site

    Coventry University has developed a model to help paramedics save lives. A team of researchers has created a detailed database of pedestrian injuries which, used alongside a new mathematical model, can produce first-hand virtual CT scans from simple photographs of a patient’s injuries and the vehicle involved. The resulting data could provide paramedics with crucial and potentially life-saving assistance when treating pedestrians hurt in road accidents.  Virtual CT scans of the body can inform paramedics, in seconds, about the victim’s potential internal injuries, enabling the correct treatment at the scene. The information could also be sent to a hospital, speeding up triage and improving treatment on arrival at accident and emergency units.  “The mathematical model, with the help of…

  • The eccentric engineer: Iceland’s journey to the centre of the Earth

    When the first Viking settlers of Iceland arrived over 1,100 years ago they found a land in some ways very familiar, but also rather odd. The icy mountains, fjords and glaciers were all reminders of their Scandinavian home, but some parts of the country were surprisingly warm. As they sailed towards what would one day become their capital, they noticed steam rising from the ground and named the place ‘Smoky Bay’ – or Reykjavík in Old Norse. They didn’t know then that this ‘smoke’ would one day make this the most energy self-sufficient country on Earth. Initially the geysers, hot springs and regular volcanic eruptions weren’t exactly welcomed by the settlers, whose hay crops were often ruined by the sudden emergence of hot springs on their land, but that didn’t prevent them finding a way to…

  • Hands-on gadget review: Miele Boost CX1

    German high-end electrical brand Miele has long made highly respected vacuum cleaners but it only boarded the bagless bandwagon six years ago with the Blizzard CX1. We tested it when it launched. It was high-tech but heavier than its bagged predecessors, thanks to its mono-cyclone tech and 1200W power. This new bagless model is Miele’s smallest-ever vacuum cleaner. Again it’s corded, but with a 1m shorter power cable (6.5m), resulting in a slightly shorter operating radius of 10m from a power socket. This is still long enough for any non-palatial home. The 890W motor produces a vortex with air speeds of up to 80kph. The smaller capacity of the dust container (it’s halved from 2 litres to 1 litre) is more of a pain: you’ll need to empty it twice as often. Specs had to be shaved because the…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • UK faces energy generation crisis from 2028; Hinkley Point C delayed again

    In 2020, nuclear power accounted for 16 per cent of UK electricity generation, but the timetable for the closure of the EDF-owned facilities by 2028 will result in a significant reduction in the UK’s generating capacity. While the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (DBEIS) has acknowledged there will be a gap in generating capacity, it said it was “not concerned with there being a shortage owing to its confidence that electricity capacity could be bought from other sources ahead of time.” Nevertheless, the PAC recommends that DBEIS and EDF should “double-check whether it would be technically feasible, safe and cost-effective to extend the lives of any of the remaining operating stations”. The Committee, which is formed from a cross-party group of MPs, also said that…

  • US pledges £2.9bn to advance carbon removal initiatives

    Carbon removal initiatives are intended to reverse the effects of climate change. The nascent technology's capability to remove carbon dioxide has been hailed by the Biden administration as being vital to ensure that the country meets the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. In pursuit of this commitment, the US Energy Department has launched a $3.5bn (£2.9bn) programme to fund four large-scale carbon removal projects.  The pledge is part of the 202 1 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and it will oversee the creation of four regional direct air capture hubs to spur the widespread deployment of the technology and carbon dioxide transport and storage infrastructure. “The UN's latest climate report made clear that removing legacy carbon pollution from the air through direct air capture…

  • Agricultural sector at risk of cyber attacks, study warns

    Since the industrial revolution, technological development has been linked to an improvement of agricultural techniques, resulting in an increase in the global food supply. Now, the idea of farms being run by robots and smart machinery is closer than ever. However, that progress could be hampered by the actions of hackers. A new risk analysis done by the University of Cambridge, published in Nature Machine Intelligence , warns that the future use of artificial intelligence in agriculture comes with substantial potential risks for farms, farmers and food security that are at present poorly understood and underappreciated. “The idea of intelligent machines running farms is not science fiction,” said Dr Asaf Tzachor, a researcher behind the study, “but so far no one seems to have asked the…

  • Maverick v machine: are AI drones ready to replace real-life pilots?

    Is there still a place in the skies for Maverick? That was the call sign for Lt Pete Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise in the ‘Top Gun’ movie, released over 35 years ago way back in 1986 – and now returning in the long-time-coming sequel out this month. In ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, Lt Mitchell has grown up and is now a test pilot avoiding the desk jobs that would ground him. But when he finds himself training new Top Gun graduates for a special assignment, he himself could end up on a mission that will demand the ‘ultimate sacrifice’, according to the pre-release publicity. And he’s again flying alongside Iceman, played by Val Kilmer. Sounds exciting, huh?       While this kind of danger makes for an exciting movie, it’s better avoided in real life. The military would prefer their expensive plane…

  • Carving out a new plastics economy

    The world’s plastic waste problem has reached a crescendo. The estimates are stark: over the next 20 years production is expected to double, creating the risk that, if nothing is done, the roughly 14 million tonnes leaking into the ocean each year will grow twofold. These stark statistics were surely at the forefront of the minds of the 173 country reps as they came together to pledge to develop a historic and legally binding global treaty addressing the full lifecycle of plastics. The resolution, agreed at the UN environment assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, in February, will see a plan hashed out over two years to end plastic pollution, including provisions for financial and technical support. “It’s impossible to overstate the importance of this treaty,” says Yoni Shiran, partner at SYSTEMIQ…

  • Transport for London proposes expanding ULEZ to entire city

    The zone was first introduced in April 2019 and charges non-compliant vehicles – mostly diesel cars that are more than six years old and petrol cars that are more than 15 years old – £12.50 for each day they are in the zone. TfL said that more than four in five vehicles in outer London, which would be affected by the expanded zone, already meet ULEZ standards. The newly proposed boundary would cover almost all (96 per cent) of Greater London and is designed to make sure there are opportunities for vehicles to turn around should they not wish to enter the Zone. Six months after the rules were originally introduced, roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution was shown to have fallen by 36 per cent when compared to February 2017. The ULEZ was already expanded significantly in October last…

  • Back Story: Kate Todd-Davis, ‘Digital solutions will be pivotal in progressing manufacturing’

    Shini Somara: What do you do? Kate Todd-Davis: I’m a manufacturing engineering degree apprentice, creating and updating processes for the manufacture of critical aerospace components. SS: What are the benefits of doing an apprenticeship? KT-D: Engineering as a profession has always been the right fit for me. Despite being a good student in school, I always had in the back of my mind that work experience was more important for my future career than anything else. Attending a Russell Group university was my Plan B. Before completing my A Levels, I did some work experience at a nuclear power station in Hartlepool. This two-month experience was organised through a mentoring scheme and confirmed to me that there was no point in going back to the intensely academic environment of university for…

  • Canada to ban Huawei and ZTE from 5G network

    Canada is following in the footsteps of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, as the country decides to exclude Huawei and ZTE from its 5G networks, claiming national security risks. The decision has been delayed for almost four years amid diplomatic tensions with China. The rest of the Five Eyes network – the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand – has already banned the equipment, claiming links between the company and the Chinese state. Countries including  Germany and Spain have also begun to take similar steps. Huawei has always maintained it is an independent company and rejected these allegations.  "We intend to exclude Huawei and ZTE from our 5G networks," said Canada's Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. "Providers who already have this equipment installed…

  • How structural engineers are playing their part in tackling the climate emergency

    The construction industry faces its own unique challenges when it comes to decarbonising. The nature of its work, and the materials that are at the core of its operations, means it needs to work harder than other industries to keep up with the green transition. According to Built Environment Declares - a global petition that serves as a public commitment to take positive action in response to climate breakdown and biodiversity collapse - the sector desperately needs a paradigm shift. It states: “If we’re to reduce and eventually reverse the environmental damage we’re causing, we will need to re-imagine our buildings, cities and infrastructures as indivisible components of a larger, constantly regenerating and self-sustaining system”. Structural engineers at COWI became signatories to the…

  • Hands-on review: Tronsmart Bang Party Bluetooth speaker

    The Bluetooth speaker market is, much like the Bluetooth headphone and earbuds market, a very overcrowded space. There are myriad options to choose from, from the well-established, mega-budget, big-brand names (JBL, Sony, Beoplay in the speaker space, for example) to a roiling sea of hundreds, if not thousands, of cheaply cheerful wannabe, me-too new Chinese brands. Tronsmart, for our money, has been quietly establishing a niche for itself somewhere between the two. Still far from being a household name, at least by doubling down on the twin pillars of quality products at a reasonable price, their hardware rarely disappoints. We previously tested, and also enjoyed (true to this day), Tronsmart's Studio 30W , a sleek and inconspicuous black belter of a portable speaker, ideal for home…

  • The measure of: Pearlsuite floating holiday home

    Designed for Italian mobility brand Jet Capsule, the Pearlsuite offers up to 22m2 of interior space with retractable roof and a walkable external deck. The concept targets beach resorts, providing them with the opportunity to expand their number of rooms in a matter of weeks, creating floating communities with zero carbon footprint, zero infrastructures, and at a very low implementation cost. Image credit: Lazzarini Design Studio The units will be built with the most modern nautical techniques based on an enforced main shell connected with a circular hull. Clients can also equip the suite with an electric engine and can therefore self-position themselves or cruise at 5 knots from point A to B, based on an advanced GPS positioning system and autopilot features. …

  • Renewables can re-power energy network in face of total failure, test shows

    Traditionally, large power stations are used to energise the higher voltage transmission network in the unlikely event of a partial or total shutdown of the electricity system, followed by a ‘top-down’ restoration of demand at lower voltages. The National Grid ESO conducted a trial in Galloway, south-west Scotland, which saw a hydro generator connected to the distribution network self-start, energise the local transmission and distribution network, and power up wind turbines on two wind farms within an isolated test network. While there has never been a need to restart the electricity system from scratch, the success of the trial creates a blueprint for incorporating distributed, green energy sources as a tool for firing up Britain’s electricity system. The three-year Ofgem-funded Distributed…

  • International law should rule cyberspace, Attorney General will say

    Cyberspace should be ruled by international law, according to the Attorney General.  Suelle Braverman is expected to use her appearance at the Chatham House foreign affairs think tank to set out the UK’s position on cyber security and international law. She will describe the importance of using international law to help inform decisions on what constitutes unlawful action in the digital space.  Braverman's speech will take place against the backdrop of the global response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the accusations of state-sanctioned cyber attacks related to the conflict. The Attorney General is expected to use this opportunity to highlight how a united international approach to the issue would help establish and shape a framework to respond adequately to these occurrences.  …

  • Oceanic acidity at highest level for at least 26,000 years, WMO report finds

    The 'State of the Global Climate' report found that four key climate change indicators – greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, ocean heat, and ocean acidification – all set new records in 2021. It said the worrying results pointed towards “harmful and long-lasting ramifications” for sustainable development and ecosystems. The ocean absorbs around 23 per cent of the annual emissions of anthropogenic CO2 to the atmosphere. This reacts with seawater and leads to ocean acidification, which threatens organisms and ecosystem services, as well as food security, tourism and coastal protection. As the pH of the ocean decreases, its capacity to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere also declines. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that “there is very high confidence that…

  • Robot samples environmental DNA to monitor ocean health

    Most of the ocean’s biodiversity is still unknown, with up to 2,000 new species being described every year. In order to obtain some more clues regarding the biological diversity in the world’s oceans, scientists have turned to robots. As they move around the ocean, aquatic species leave behind tiny parts of genetic material. A research team from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is using autonomous underwater robots to obtain these samples, known as environmental DNA (eDNA) and learn more about biodiversity changes in sensitive areas, the presence of rare or endangered species, and the spread of invasive species - all critical to understanding, promoting and maintaining a healthy ocean. “We know that eDNA is an incredibly powerful tool for studying ocean communities, but…

  • Deepfake-detection algorithms retrained to improve success rate

    Deepfakes are images and videos which combine mixed source material to produce a synthetic result. They are the latest in a long line of still image and video manipulation techniques and their ability to pass as convincing realities is outpacing the progress of tools to spot them effectively. The use of deepfakes can range from the trivial and amusing to the outright malicious and disturbing - including the erasure from official photographs of political figures now considered undesirable by a new regime, or the superimposition of celebrity faces into often highly explicit sexual imagery - so methods to better detect them are increasingly sought after, with the latest techniques often based on networks trained using pairs of original and synthesised images. The new method, devised by scientists…

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