• Sponsored: Putting “energy efficiency first” into practice

    In September 2021, the European Commission published new guidance aimed at moving its “energy efficiency first” concept from principle into practice. An immediate possibility is to use variable speed drives (VSDs) to control industrial electric motors. In typical applications this can cut energy consumption by 25%. Furthermore, if the drives feature the latest ultra-low harmonic (ULH) technology they can improve power factor for further gains in energy efficiency. Things gets even better when drives are paired with one of the latest IE5 (ultra-premium efficiency rated) synchronous reluctance (SynRM) motors. Equipment using electric motors consumes around 45% of the world’s electricity, and accounts for about 70% of industry’s consumption, so the opportunity for positive change is huge. Far…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Green Homes Grant scheme a ‘slam dunk fail’, MPs say

    The scheme aimed to support jobs during the heights of the Covid-19 crisis in the UK while helping reduce carbon emissions associated with home heating, providing grants towards energy-efficiency upgrades. It was given a 12-week timescale for implementation, and was implemented despite the department for business, energy, and industrial strategy (BEIS)’s own Projects and Investment Committee rejecting its business case. The PAC concluded in its report that the scheme had an unrealistic timeline, “poor design”, and “troubled implementation”. The scheme upgraded 47,500 of the 600,000 homes originally envisaged and accounted for £314m of its £1.5bn budget, of which £50m was administration costs (more than £1,000 per home upgraded). By August 2021, 52 per cent of homeowners’ voucher applications…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Twitter is more resistant to fake news than other social media sites, study finds

    Social media platforms have become a major platform for propagating conspiracy theories, fake news and hoaxes in recent years. A researcher from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), who worked with 19 other universities, examined the role that social media plays in the dissemination of false information, and the relationship between how these platforms are used and their users’ belief in this type of misinformation. “The particular operating features and characteristics of Twitter, a social network that is more focused on news consumption, increase the social pressure on what is published on it, which could in turn perhaps reduce the circulation of unverified or alternative information compared to other social media, such as Facebook and YouTube, which have characteristics that favour…

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    E+T Magazine

  • AI helps to detect signs of anxiety

    The research conducted by a team at Simon Fraser University in Canada and the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi in Pakistan suggests that AI shows strong potential in future applications for addressing mental health and wellbeing. “In the two years since the onset of Covid-19, and one climate disaster after another, more and more people are experiencing anxiety,” said visiting professor and social psychologist Gulnaz Anjum. “Our research appears to show that AI could provide a highly reliable measurement for recognising the signs that someone is anxious.” Anjum and collaborators Nida Saddaf Khan and Sayeed Ghani from IBA Karachi collected an extensive range of data from adult participants for their Human Activity Recognition (HAR) study. Participants performed a series…

  • Biotech should not be used to bolster unethical farming practices, bioethicists say

    The council said that while biotech may be able to offer “marginal benefits” in cutting greenhouse gases and tackling other environmental impacts of livestock farming, it will not make a substantial difference in the absence of wider changes to food and farming systems, and probably a reduction in meat and dairy demand. At present, genome editing – which allows for precise engineering of the genetic makeup of organisms – remains at the research stage for livestock animals such as chickens, pigs, and cattle. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics listed potential benefits such as reducing disease in livestock populations, marking male chicks so they can be disposed of as eggs rather than killed as chicks, or producing hornless cattle that do not need to be “dehorned” for safety reasons. However…

  • ‘Centre for Sociodigital Futures’ to examine how tech shapes society

    Technology has always driven societal change, and digital technologies are transforming everyday life faster than ever before. Bold claims are being made about how autonomous vehicles, blockchain, embedded AI, and the “metaverse” will shape the future, with every tech giant and its CEO seeking to shape the conversation. The Centre for Sociodigital Futures will unite experts from around the world to investigate how these various claims about digital futures shape our lives today, and generate new approaches to build fairer, more sustainable societies. The centre is led by the University of Bristol and funded to the tune of £9.8m from UKRI’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), over five years. Professor Susan Halford, director of the ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures, said: “We…

  • National Grid and Scottish Power fined £158m over delays to subsea cable project

    The two-year delay made it difficult at times for renewable energy generators in Scotland to export clean electricity to England and Wales, Ofgem said. Both National Grid and SPT have been jointly blamed for the late delivery of the Western Link Project and the £158m fine will be used to lower household bills. £15m will be paid into Ofgem’s Redress Fund which is operated on its behalf by the Energy Saving Trust and allows companies to pay a sum of money to appropriate charities, trusts, organisations or consumers as a result of breaches of licence conditions. The remainder of fine will be returned via reduced system charges that are ultimately paid for by consumers as part of their overall electricity bills. Western Link is a transmission project worth around £1.2bn, providing a major…

  • Eight worst wildfire weather years on record happened in last decade

    The world’s eight most extreme wildfire weather years have occurred in the last decade, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Alberta, Canada. The study suggests that extreme fire weather is being driven by a decrease in atmospheric humidity coupled with rising temperatures. “Extreme conditions drive the world’s fire activity,” said Michael Flannigan, a former University of Alberta wildfire expert, who conducted the research with study lead Piyush Jain, a research scientist with Natural Resources Canada, and Sean Coogan, a postdoctoral fellow at the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences. Flannigan continued: “For example, in Canada, just three per cent of fires are responsible for 97 per cent of the area burned.” For the study, the team examined…

  • Simple quantum computer uses commercially available components

    Quantum computers are complex to build, difficult to scale up and harder yet to operate and maintain, requiring temperatures near absolute zero. These challenges have led researchers to explore the possibility of building photonic quantum computers: room-temperature quantum computers that use particles of light to carry information. While scientists have successfully created individual quantum logic gates for photons, it is challenging to construct larger numbers of gates with reliable connections; this is necessary to perform useful calculations. The Stanford University team’s design uses a laser to manipulate a single atom that, in turn, can modify the state of the photons via quantum teleportation. The atom can be 'reset' and reused for many quantum gates, eliminating the need for many…

  • Microrobots made of crystals able to propel themselves through water

    The tiny devices, which mimic the abilities of some living organisms, were created with a form of a microcrystal that utilises self-continuous reciprocating motion for propulsion. Historically, there have been two major challenges to achieving this kind of movement. The first is to make a molecular robot that can reciprocally deform; the second is converting this deformation into propulsion of the molecular robot. The research team built on their previous study that had solved the first challenge: the creation of molecular robots that can reciprocally deform. However, tiny objects cannot typically convert their reciprocal motion into progressive motion. The scientists managed to achieve self-propulsion of the molecular robot in an experimental system where motion was confined to two dimensions…

  • Rapid and highly accurate test detects viruses such as Covid-19

    The UCF researchers developed a device that detects viruses in the body as fast as - and more accurately than - the current commonly used rapid detection tests. The optical sensor uses nanotechnology to accurately identify viruses from blood samples in seconds. The researchers say the device can tell with 95 per cent accuracy if someone has a virus, a significant improvement over existing rapid tests, which experts have warned can suffer from low accuracy. Testing for viruses is important for early treatment and to help stop their spread. The researchers tested the device using samples of Dengue virus, a mosquito transmitted pathogen that causes Dengue fever and is a threat to people in the tropics. However, the technology can also easily be adapted to detect other viruses, such as Covid…

  • Optimising truss structures could lower construction’s carbon footprint

    Buildings are a major contributor to global warming, not just in terms of their ongoing operation but also in the materials used in their construction. Truss structures — the criss-cross arrays of diagonal struts used throughout modern construction, in everything from antenna towers to support beams for large buildings — are typically made of steel or wood, or a combination of both. Little quantitative research has been done on how to select the right materials to minimise the contribution to global warming of these structures. The 'embodied carbon' in a construction material includes the fuel used in the material’s production (for mining and smelting steel, for example, or for felling and processing trees) and in transporting the materials to a site. It also includes the equipment used for…

  • Nasa calls off ISS spacewalk due to space debris threat

    Astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron were due to scale the outside of the space station today in order to mend a faulty antenna. The faulty S-band radio communications antenna assembly, now more than 20 years old, was to be replaced with a new spare stowed outside the space station. However, Nasa issued a debris notification on Monday evening and the mission was called off. “Due to the lack of opportunity to properly assess the risk it could pose to the astronauts, teams have decided to delay the spacewalk until more information is available,” the agency said. “The space station schedule and operations are able to easily accommodate the delay of the spacewalk.” It was not made clear how close debris had come to the ISS, which orbits approximately 402km above the Earth. Debris…

  • Scientists build self-replicating living robots

    The robots are the brainchild of a collaborative team at the University of Vermont, Tufts University and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, the same team that built the first living robots: 'Xenobots' - assembled from frog cells – reported in 2020. According to the researchers, these computer-designed and hand-assembled organisms can swim out into their tiny dish, find single cells, gather hundreds of them together, and assemble 'baby' Xenobots inside their Pac-Man-shaped “mouth”. A few days later, these babies become new Xenobots that look and move just like themselves. And then these new Xenobots can go out, find cells, and build copies of themselves, and this process repeats. “With the right design – they will spontaneously self-replicate…

  • Firm foundations are vital for large-scale AI-enabled projects

    The clamour of anticipation around new applications for artificial intelligence is as fevered as ever. The problem for me is that expectations are not informed by a robust appreciation of the practical requirements for innovating with AI. As an adviser to businesses on bringing such innovation to market, my advice is simple: to scale rapidly, large-scale AI-enabled projects must be built on firm foundations to allow multidisciplinary development teams to thrive. Chief among the reasons is that, in engineering terms, developing AI is a complex, non-linear process. Frankly, you can expend a great deal of time and effort with very little progress to show for it. It is the antithesis of agile approaches that deliver incremental advances. Even if you do make solid progress, rapid acceleration…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Toyota ‘Human Support Robot’ completes first UK home trial

    Toyota’s Human Support Robot (HSR) can fetch objects, perform basic human interactions, open doors and entertain through song and dance. A HSR was provided for the home of Anthony Walsh, who had motor neurone disease (MND), through the company’s partnership with the MND Association. Walsh passed away shortly after the trial; his family have agreed to release details of the trial and a short film about the experience to raise awareness about MND and the MND Association. Walsh lived in Southgate, north London, with his wife and two young children. He received his diagnosis in May and quickly went from being an active football-playing father to a wheelchair user, due to the rapid onset of the incurable disease. Although it was difficult to move around his home, he disliked having to ask his…

  • Subjecting contaminated water to speaker system helps eliminate microplastics

    Microplastics are released into the environment by cosmetics, clothing and industrial processes, or from larger plastic products as they break down naturally. The pollutants eventually find their way into rivers and oceans, posing problems for marine life. Filtering and removing the small particles from water is a difficult task, but acoustic waves may provide a solution. Researchers at the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology in Surabaya, Indonesia, have developed a filtration prototype using two speakers to create acoustic waves. The force produced by the waves separates the microplastics from the water by creating pressure on a tube of inflowing water. As the tube splits into three channels, the microplastic particles are pressed toward the centre with the clean water flowing toward…

  • Investment in sustainable UK tech firms surges in 2021

    According to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), impact tech firms have seen a 127 per cent increase in investment in the UK since 2018 and together, they are now worth £50bn and employ over 35,000 people. The UK now has 12 “impact unicorns” which are companies in the space that are worth over £1bn. Of these, six of them are based outside of London, including Vertical Aerospace which is based in Bristol and is building zero-carbon, commercial flying taxis, ITM Power in Sheffield which designs and manufactures hydrogen energy systems and Ceres Power Holdings in Horsham which is creating low-cost next-generation fuel cell technology to enable companies to deliver clean energy at scale. Other companies include energy firms Ovo and Octopus (pictured) which are focused…

  • Nissan to spend £13bn on new EVs and improved battery production

    At a news conference in Japan, Nissan executives explained that the automaker is pressing ahead to “democratise” EVs by producing a wide and attractive electric offering in the next decade. This strategy is known as “Nissan Ambition 2030”. Gupta said Nissan would spend ¥2tn (£13.2bn) on EVs over the next five years. It has set an EV sales target of 75 per cent of European sales by fiscal year 2026 and 40 per cent of sales in the US by 2030. It also aims for half of its overall output to be electric by the end of the decade. Max-Out, Surf-Out, Hang-Out Be it beach parties or at-home-like experiences with friends and family, these #Nissan concept EVs combine superlative stability and comfort with a spirit of living life to the fullest. Which one would suit you? ️: https://t.co/r2xbhB8TAe…

  • Cutting-edge advances celebrated at 2021 E&T Innovation Awards

    Now in its seventeenth year, the E&T Innovation Awards gives recognition to people, projects and organisations that are revolutionising our world through excellence in engineering and technology. This year’s awards, hosted by television presenter Fran Scott at Savoy Place in London, included a range of new categories, such as ‘Future Mobility’ and ‘Trust and Truth’, to reflect the societal challenges that rely on engineers and technologists for their solution. Dr Esther Ngumbi, an assistant professor of entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, won the top prize (E&T Difference Maker of the Year) for her inspiring work as a researcher, author, public servant, entrepreneur, and educator. Born in a rural farming community along the Kenyan Coast, Ngumbi studied hard at school…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Sainsbury’s launches checkout-free store in Central London

    Amazon started experimenting with the concept in 2016 when it opened its first “Amazon Go” branch in Seattle which used what has been dubbed “Just Walk Out” technology. It relies on an accompanying app, which has to be used to enter the store, that tracks whether products are removed from, or returned to, the shelves. Amazon used the same types of technologies found in self-driving cars, such as computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning to make the concept work. Last year, it announced it would open up its technology platform to other retailers who wanted to trial the technology. Sainsbury’s will now put it to use in a convenience store at Holborn Circus. Customers will need to scan a QR code when entering using their SmartShop app, which is linked to a credit or debit card.…

  • View from India: Research can generate intellectual value

    The computational wave of Covid has spurred the convergence of technology and science at an unprecedented pace. The outcome, which is a portfolio of vaccines and anti-viral drugs, along with online and app-based applications, illustrates the interconnection between basic science and technology. Scale and inclusivity are the hallmarks of the vaccine drive that began in January 2021. “India has administered more than 117 crore [1.17 billion] Covid vaccines under the world’s largest vaccine drive so far,” the Government of India tweeted. This could well be an example of technology facilitating mass manufacturing. The future could be about new drugs to combat infections and decode forms of virus. All this has boosted the intrinsic value of pharma companies. We need to take it to the next level…

  • Autonomous shuttle service kicks off in Oxfordshire

    The new service is being trialled by Darwin Innovation Group, using a shuttle created by Navya. The company previously provided shuttles for trials in an urban setting in Switzerland. The autonomous shuttle service operates at Harwell Science Campus during weekdays, morning to evening. It travels two routes, one along Fermi Avenue and one along Eighth Avenue, with the ESA building being the central stop for both routes. There is no cost to ride the shuttle, which is currently available to campus pass-holders and registered guests of pass-holders. The shuttle – which is battery powered – uses lidar to help navigate safely in its surroundings, in addition to cameras and ultrasound sensors. The shuttle also features a satellite antenna for positioning. While there is no steering wheel, the…

  • Scrapped Scotland-NI bridge ‘would cost £335bn’

    The Prime Minister previously enthused about the possibility of a fixed transport connection between Scotland and Northern Ireland , arguing that it would boost connectivity. The feasibility study, commissioned by Johnson and led by Network Rail chair Sir Peter Hendy, concluded that the project would cost billions of pounds, present serious technical challenges, and take a generation to build. A bridge would cost an estimated £335bn while a tunnel would cost £209bn, the report said. Either structure would be the longest of their kind ever built. The cost “would be impossible to justify”, Sir Peter concluded, stating “the benefits could not possibly outweigh the costs”. The structure would take nearly 30 years to complete planning, design, parliamentary and legal processes, and construction…

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    E+T Magazine

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