• Review: ‘Waste Age: What can design do?’ at the Design Museum

    Imagine a world where recycled packaging is transformed into high-end fashion, or discarded fishing nets become beautiful home furnishings. It sounds like a dream, right? In fact, designers have already shown that such creations are possible – these very objects can be seen for yourself at this exhibition. 'Waste Age' ingeniously encapsulates how design can help tackle the critical problem of waste. Visitors can expect to see a wide range of innovations from visionary designers all with a common goal, to help us rethink our relationship with everyday objects – from fashion to food, electronics to construction, and even packaging. Its curators were also being environmentally conscious throughout the design process of the show. The exhibition itself was put together with a more circular approach…

  • Toshiba shrinks quantum system to semiconductor size

    QKD addresses the demand for cryptography which will remain secure from attack by the supercomputers of tomorrow. In particular, a large-scale quantum computer will be able to efficiently solve the difficult mathematical problems that are the basis of the public key cryptography widely used today for secure communications and e-commerce. In contrast, the protocols used for quantum cryptography can be proven secure from first principles and will not be vulnerable to attack by a quantum computer, or indeed any computer in the future. According to Toshiba's long-term estimates - extrapolated from existing short to mid-term estimates by research firms - the QKD market is expected to grow to approximately $20bn worldwide by 2035. Large quantum-secured fibre networks are currently under construction…

  • South Korea test-launches first homemade rocket

    The rocket, KSLV-II NURI (often called simply 'Nuri'), reached its target altitude, but failed to deliver a dummy payload into orbit. It aimed to deliver the payload into orbit 600 to 800km above Earth’s surface. The rocket's three stages were powered by liquid-fuel boosters built by an affiliate of South Korea 's Hanwha conglomerate, with a cluster of four 75-tonne boosters in the first stage, another 75-tonne booster in the second, and a single 7-tonne rocket engine in the third and final stage. It is 47m in length. The launch had been delayed by an hour because engineers needed more time to examine the rocket’s valves. There had also been concerns that strong winds and other conditions would pose challenges for a successful launch. Streamed footage showed Nuri launching from Naro Space…

  • Global 5G roll-out could be hampered by chip shortage

    Telecom operators in Western Europe, North America, China and other advanced markets in Asia have continued to roll out 5G networks, overcoming difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, uncertainties about the role of Huawei, and an unstable economic climate. However, concerns about the supply of high-end devices towards the end of 2021, including the latest iPhone, poses a risk, albeit temporary, to broader adoption of 5G, the analysis found. A combination of factors including disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and rising demand have led to global chip shortages that have hampered the availability of some devices and made other more expensive. For example, the latest games consoles from Microsoft and Sony are still hard to find nearly a year after their release and automakers…

  • Chip shortages cause first Raspberry Pi price hike; automakers badly hit

    The 2GB Raspberry Pi 4 will be increased in price from $35 to $45, having previously been reduced from $45 to $35 when the 1GB model was discontinued. Stock is especially limited for the 2GB Raspberry Pi 4 and the miniature Raspberry Pi Zero. “As many of you know, global supply chains are in a state of flux as we (hopefully) emerge from the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said CEO Eben Upton. “In our own industry, semiconductors are in high demand and in short supply: the upsurge of demand for electronic products for home working and entertainment during the pandemic has descended into panic buying, as companies try to secure the components that they need to build their products. “At Raspberry Pi, we are not immune to this […] we’ll only end up making around seven million units in 2021…

  • Steel sector’s carbon impact could double without rapid green investment

    According to the University of Sussex Business School, multi-billion-pound investments in emission-limiting technology will be needed over the next five to ten years or its contribution to climate change could double. Iron and steel production is one of the largest industrial emitters of CO 2 and is responsible for 7 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The researchers warn this could rise to 12 per cent of the global carbon budget should the industry fail to promptly take up opportunities to upgrade existing facilities with net-zero capabilities. While many carbon-emitting sectors are transforming their operations to adhere to net-zero principles, steel has been lacking – steel manufactured entirely without fossil fuels was only manufactured for the first time  this summer. The…

  • Automation technology plays a crucial role in environmental sustainability

    As a result, ever more industrial companies are committing to ambitious decarbonisation and environmental sustainability strategies. Energy source decarbonisation through greater use of low carbon power sources and fuels will be fundamental, but all power generation, heavy industries and manufacturers will have a significant role to play. This will require increased carbon capture utilisation and storage, electrification, energy supply optimisation, energy storage, energy efficiency and optimisation, and improved waste management. Automation technology will be crucial to achieving these targets. Transitioning from a fossil fuels to a sustainable-based energy system and achieving decarbonisation targets is not straightforward and requires considerable investment. Although fossil fuels will…

  • Compulsory climate education in schools needed for UK to hit net-zero goals

    The Association of Colleges (AoC) said that less than 1 per cent of college students are currently on a course with broad coverage of climate education and that £1.5bn would be needed to transform classrooms and provide the equipment needed to train people for green jobs. The body has written a joint letter to Boris Johnson, the COP26 president, the business secretary and the education secretary arguing that the ambition for a green economy is at risk without the next generation, as well as adults who need to retrain, having access to the education and skills they need to equip them for green jobs.   The government announced its net-zero strategy on Tuesday with broad plans to decarbonise areas including transport, waste, energy, heat, and fuel alongside a widely criticised initiative to…

  • Machine learning decisions can be made both fair and accurate

    There is considerable alarm among academics and civil rights campaigners at the adoption of machine learning tools in areas such as law enforcement, healthcare delivery, and recruitment, given that AI replicates and amplifies existing inequalities. For instance, an ACLU study using Amazon’s facial recognition software to compare every member of the US Senate and House against a database of criminal mugshots disproportionately misidentified Black and Latino legislators as criminals. Adjustments are made to training data, labels, model training, scoring systems, and other aspects of machine learning in an effort to iron out these biases; there is a theoretical assumption that these adjustments render a system less accurate. A team of Carnegie Mellon researchers, who tested that assumption…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Easier charging is the key to boosting EV adoption

    Climate change is taking a greater toll on our planet more rapidly than many of us would have imagined, and we are all looking at ways we can help. This is one of the reasons the electric vehicle (EV) market has started to grow apace, and governments around the world are doing their bit too. The UK and EU governments are phasing out petrol and diesel vehicle sales from 2030, with hybrid models to stop being sold by 2035. This should create a perfect environment for drivers to leap into the EV future more quickly, but high vehicle costs, a lack of charging point infrastructure across the UK, and limited payment options are currently acting as a handbrake on sales. Despite this, the EV market is growing, with EVs, plug-in-hybrid (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles accounting for 10 per…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Europeans unwilling to accept lifestyle changes to tackle climate crisis, poll finds

    Conducted by the YouGov-Cambridge Centre for Public Opinion Research, the poll of seven Western European countries showed that up to 50 per cent of people were reluctant to give up eating meat and were opposed to bans on new petrol or diesel vehicles. The petrol ban attracted different results depending on the country; in Germany for example, 70 per cent of respondents said they were concerned about climate change, but 50 per cent opposed such a ban. In the UK, a similar 76 per cent of those polled said they were either very or fairly concerned about climate change, but only 27 per cent indicated opposition to a ban on new petrol or diesel vehicles. Meanwhile, participants were not enthusiastic about eating less meat despite the wide acceptance of its environmental benefits. All seven countries…

  • Fossil fuel plans ‘dangerously’ at odds with 1.5°C target

    The UNEP worked with research institutions on its latest Production Gap Report , which identified that planned production by fossil-fuel-producing countries is 110 per cent above the levels that would curb temperature rises to 1.5°C. The 1.5°C target – rather than the maximum of 2°C above pre-industrial levels stated originally in the Paris Agreement – is considered critical for saving island nations and averting other catastrophic climate change impacts. Scientists warn that the world is already experiencing worse extreme weather events at 1.2°C, and if temperatures rise above 1.5°C, the world faces significantly more heatwaves, rainstorms, droughts, lower crop yields, higher sea levels, greater reef destruction, and great economic losses. Despite increased climate pledges from governments…

  • Royal Mint to recover precious metals from e-waste

    Each year, more than 50 million tonnes of e-waste is produced; it is the world’s fastest growing waste stream and set to increase to 75 million tonnes by 2030 unless there is an intervention. Less than 20 per cent of e-waste is recycled , rendering it a significant environmental challenge. This category of waste contains materials like lead, cadmium and other heavy metals, which can be harmful to the environment and the communities ( disproportionately in the Global South ) charged with handling it. However, e-waste also contains gold, silver, copper, palladium and other valuable metals conservatively valued at $57bn (£41bn) by the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor report. These resources tend to be discarded rather than collected for treatment and reuse. The Royal Mint is partnering with Excir…

  • £10m upgrade to UK’s recreational aircraft needed to unlock drone economy

    Drones are already being used in several trials for making deliveries such as transporting Covid-19 medical supplies and Royal Mail post to remote UK islands. The 'Digitise the Skies' report suggests that the government would need to fund around £10m worth of upgrades to make the UK’s recreational aircraft electronically visible to drones in order to overcome safety issues. The report also calculates that doing so would “unlock” the UK’s drone economy, which could be worth £42bn by 2030, a separate report by PwC has claimed. Currently, drones and commercial manned aircraft are made visible to each other and to novel traffic control systems by small onboard electronic devices that communicate their location to minimise the risk of collision. The UK’s 20,000 recreational aircraft - which…

  • Bizarre Tech: Engineering baby book, MOWO, Winston’s watches

    Engineering baby book The quest for world domination starts at infancy So, computers are made up of on and off signals, and this book claims to show some ways that computers combine on/off signals to do interesting things. It’s a simple board book, which is apparently designed to keep your baby engaged while they learn about the ‘stuff’ computers are made from. The maker of the book also recommends it to people who “skipped CE150” – whatever that is. Maybe I need the book? According to Chase Roberts, the gadget’s creator, ‘Computer Engineering for Babies’ (I’m sure he could condense the title a little, right? Perhaps an acronym? CEB?) has two buttons and an LED. The book explores basic computer logic gates, including NOT, OR, AND, XOR and a Latch. It uses light sensors to detect which…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • After All: Four voices in a campervan (to say nothing of the bark)

    There were not three, but four of us, in that relationship. To say nothing of the dog... All four (or five) of us were stuck inside the moving Toyota Alphard (aka Alphie) converted campervan. No wonder the atmosphere inside it was often volatile. “You are over the speed limit!” George would crackle in his rough ear-grating voice. “Oh, George, here you go again!” my wife would exclaim. “Don’t you see that we are actually standing in a queue?” “Yes, George, why don’t you shut up once and for all?” I would echo from the driver’s seat. “At the roundabout in 800 metres, take the third exit and turn right,” Liz would butt in. She spoke with a posh accent, which made her sound permanently annoyed... Heading for Dumfries, I was driving Alphie through the Scottish Borders, which H V Morton…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Microplastics found in Arctic fish eaten by beluga whales

    The study, conducted by researchers at Simon Fraser University, investigated five different species of Arctic fish known to be eaten by beluga whales. Of the fish studied, 21 per cent were found to have microplastic particles in their gastrointestinal tracts. Coupled with the findings of the team’s previous work, which looked at the amount of microplastic found in beluga stomachs, the researchers estimate that the whales ingest upwards of 145,000 particles of microplastics a year. Rhiannon Moore, the lead author of the study, said that while the potential health impacts on belugas are unknown, the findings underscore how pervasive plastics are in these regions. “When we first investigated seven different beluga stomachs and found microplastics in all of them, I was quite surprised,” Moore…

  • Facebook poised to announce major rebrand with focus on the ‘metaverse’

    An unnamed Facebook source told technology site The Verge that CEO Mark Zuckerberg is most likely to announce a name change at the company’s annual conference, Connect, on 28 October, or possibly even sooner. The rebrand would place Facebook’s various products and projects - including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus, along with other ventures such as the smart glasses recently developed with Ray Ban - under the control of one umbrella company, thus making its most significant and signature product, the Facebook social network, merely one aspect of the new parent brand. Google underwent a similar restructuring in 2015 when it created the holding company Alphabet, a top-down body that was responsible for both the firm’s search engine business - i.e. Google - as well as its other…

  • AI taught to predict bankruptcy risk for businesses

    The method makes it possible to fully utilise information on a company’s financial state and to make more accurate predictions than are possible with traditional statistical approaches. The ability to accurately assess the financial risks of dealing with a business is vital to both the economy and society. This is particularly true when forecasting bankruptcy, which can result in significant financial losses and hurt the national economy. The causes of business bankruptcy have long been of interest to research economists. Their work includes empirical and theoretical studies into the processes that lead to business failure in order to identify problems at an early stage. Data on companies’ economic performance indicators is also used to develop new forecasting methods. Currently, bankruptcy…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • View from Washington: For Zuck's sake, read the room

    According to one of her biographers, the writer Dorothy Parker would greet a ring at the door by declaring, “What fresh hell can this be?” Right now, writing about Facebook elicits much the same feeling. You sit down to author some, you hope, coherent thoughts on the company and... Ding-dong: Instagram damages the self-esteem of young women. Ding-dong: Backbone/DNS snafu leaves continents cut off for six hours. Ding-dong: Whistleblower claims Facebook is “tearing societies apart” and putting profit before people. Ding-dong: Mark Zuckerberg launches counterbid for Newcastle United. OK, I made one of those up, but you get my drift. And we’re not done yet. A report in The Verge says the troubled social media giant is to unveil a change-of-name, likely to be a new umbrella brand for all its…

  • Electronic fibre spun into clothing to teach breathing techniques

    Developed by researchers in the US and Sweden, the fabrics could be used in garments that help train singers or athletes to better control their breathing, or those that help patients recovering from disease or surgery to recover their breathing patterns. The multi-layered “OmniFibers” contain a fluid channel in the centre, which can be activated by a fluidic system. This system controls their geometry by pressurising and releasing a fluid medium, such as compressed air or water, into the channel, allowing the fibre to act as an artificial muscle. They also contain stretchable sensors that can detect and measure the degree of stretching. The resulting composite fibres are thin and flexible enough to be sewn, woven, or knitted using standard commercial machines, the researchers said. The…

  • UK’s ‘leading’ net-zero strategy published

    The 368-page strategy document (Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener) lays out government policy in areas including transport, waste, energy, heat, and fuel. “The UK leads the world in the race to net zero,” Johnson writes in the document’s foreword. “The likes of China and Russia are following our lead with their own net-zero targets, as prices tumble and green tech becomes the global norm.” He says that the transition will be fair (by making carbon-free alternatives cheaper) and will not compromise economic growth or quality of life. “This strategy shows how we can build back greener, without so much as a hair shirt in sight. In 2050, we will still be driving cars, flying planes, and heating our homes, but our cars will be electric gliding silently around our cities, our planes will…

  • Plans to provide £5,000 grants for low-carbon boiler upgrades are ‘inadequate’

    The £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme is part of more than £3.9bn of new funding being announced today by the Government for decarbonising heat and buildings. It wants to incentivise people to install low-carbon heating systems by providing subsidies to make the technology more affordable. But the current plan only has enough funds to adequately help 30,000 homes upgrade their heating systems when the target is to install 600,000 heat pumps annually in order to reduce the UK’s household carbon emissions. Greenpeace UK’s head of climate, Kate Blagojevic, said: “While £5000 grants and a 2035 boiler phase-out date are a decent start, they aren’t ambitious enough to adequately tackle emissions from homes or support low income households to switch. “What’s also missing from these reports is any…

  • Novel theorem demonstrates scalability for quantum AI

    There is considerable interest in running convolutional neural networks on quantum computers, thanks to their potential ability to run quantum simulations far more effectively than classical computers can. However, the fundamental solvability problem of 'barren plateaus' has so far limited the application of these neural nets for large data sets. “The way you construct a quantum neural network can lead to a barren plateau, or not,” explained Dr Marco Cerezo, quantum computing expert at Los Alamos and co-author of the study. “We proved the absence of barren plateaus for a special type of quantum neural network. Our work provides trainability guarantees for this architecture, meaning that one can generically train its parameters.” Quantum convolutional neural networks are inspired by the…

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