Why Robot?

I was reading this morning about Google's humanoid robot, Atlas, that can run on natural terrains without falling. Atlas is over 6ft tall and it seems that he has been scaring some folks! The latest iteration of Atlas can now run on battery power and be controlled wirelessly. So, this got me thinking! Robots are a good thing right? So why are humans so mean to them? You will no doubt have seen the report of HitchBOT being "killed" in Philadephia at the beginning of August. It was part of a social experiment to assess how humans relate to robots, and then, not longer after that there was a report in the news about some children in Japan who attacked a stray robot walking round a shopping mall. Most children simply stepped aside and didn't get in the way, however there were a number who deliberately…

Other Useful IET Links For Scotland

Local and Technical Networks Scotland South East IET South East Scotland Afternoon Meetings and Events (SESAME)  (Formerly 'Scotland South East Retired Members') Scotland South West Scotland North IET Scotland

Fuselab Go - Ediburgh International Science Festival

Edinburgh International Science Festival - Fuselab Go: Pioneer a new way of life Fuselab Go is a free, two-day event, applications for the second phase of the tour are open now. Who: All 15-18 year olds What: This is your opportunity to design, prototype and put your big ideas to the test in a series of workshops, talks and events over two days When and where: Aberdeen: 8/9 and 10/11 Sept; Dundee: 14/15 Sept; Glasgow: 17/18 and 23/24 Sept; Edinburgh: 28/29 Sept and 30 Sept/1 Oct Fuselab Go is your chance to bring products to life; from thinking up concepts for new products, to pitching ideas and prototyping innovations. Inspirational mentors and speakers from the design and technology industries will lend their expertise to the Fuselab Go experience, giving you the opportunity to draw lessons…

IET Rail Section Presents: Communication Backbone Networks for MRT Applications

IET YPS Presents: Benefits Of Professional Registration and a Visit to a Compact Fermentation Plant

Check out great photos from the event. Click on the photo below to view more.

Networking Night With Two Presentations On And

Networking Night with Two Presentations on <Data Protection Act> and <Space, The Final Frontier> Speakers: Mr Jolyon Caplin and Miss Smrithi Keerthivarman Venue: Orchard Hotel, Lavender Room (Nearest MRT Orchard) Date: Tuesday 25th August 2015 Time: 6.30 registrations for 7.00 start of training Free for All Members and Non-Members Registration Link: https://localevents.theiet.org/1ee025 Introduction IET (Singapore Network) is providing an opportunity for members – particularly those from the Young Professionals Section – to become acquainted with the general procedures required to comply with Singapore’s Data Protection Act. The evening shall commence with a basic training session by Mr Jolyon Caplin then those attending can relax and enjoy the Present-Around-The-World presentation by this…

IET Energy Section Presents: Data Center Power Systems Design Philosophy

Data Center Power Systems Design Philosophy Speaker : Er. Goh Siak Joo Date: 01 September 2015 Venue: Orchard Hotel, Lavender Road (Nearest MRT Orchard) Registration Link: https://localevents.theiet.org/8e85be Free for all Members and Non Members Synopsis In today’s computing world and with the increased acceptance of cloud computing, any failure in a Data Centre can cause major economic and financial losses. Therefore, it is critical to have a reliable electrical supply infrastructure for Data Centres. A recent breakdown of a financial institution due to the failure of the electrical supply system in the hosting data centre has caused much discussions on this subject. This technical talk will discuss the Data Centre Power Systems Design Philosophy covering the Telecommunications Industry Association…

TTP ToneJet Printing Technology

There will be a tour of the TTP ToneJet electrostatic printing technology facility on Wed 9 Sept at 1830 hrs. Refreshments will be provided and there will be a presentation following the tour. TTP are at Melbourn, SG8 6EE. This will be a joint IET/I Mech E event. Full details are at https://nearyou.imeche.org/near-you/UK/Eastern/Beds---Cambs-Area/event-detail?id=10958

Robot Ethics - Noel Sharkey Podcasts

Hopefully by now you will have had a chance to look at the report of our Robot Ethics event held at the Science Museum back in June - if you've missed it you can view it here In the planning stages for the event, we had approached Professor Noel Sharkey to be one of the presenters. Sadly, he was not able to join us on this occaision as he had a prior commitment, however he did graciously agree to record some podcasts for us. Noel is well known for his early work on many aspects of neural computing, machine learning and genetic algorithms. As well as writing many academic articles, he also writes for national newspapers and magazines and has created thrilling robotics museum exhibitions, mechanical art installations and has run robotics and AI contests for young people from 26 countries including…

Forthcoming Events

Lots of interesting events booked up starting from September. Why not join us and take the opportunity to network and build up your CPD points at the same time.

Buffet Preceeding The Lecture On 29 October

On Thursday 29 October there is to be a joint IET/RAeS/I Mech E lecture at CUED by Ian Greig and colleagues from the Mercedes Benz F1 team. At 1800hrs, preceeding the talk, there will be a buffet organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) which the F1 group will attend. The buffet will be provided by external caterers and in the room next to the lecture theatre. The cost of the buffet is £15. If you wish to attend the buffet, please send a cheque for £15 to Royal Aeronautical Society, c/o Mike Hawkins, 5 Martin Close, Godmanchester, Cambs PE29 2WA. The cheque should be made out to Royal Aeronautical Society. Please include your name, address and contact details. The lecture is at 1930 hrs and entry is free of charge although a booking will be needed - see this page.

DRDC Biological & Chemical Defence Presentation now postponed to 2016

Unfortunately the DRDC Technical Presentation scheduled for September 9th has been postponed until spring 2016 due to matters beyond the speakers control. A joint presentation by the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) and Cubic Defence will take place on the 9 September. Further details will be available on the CPGCE events link and at www.CPGCE.org shortly.

MotoE ready and raring to go again!

The 2015 season of the MotoE Electric Motorcycle Racing Series started with the first round on 1-2 August 2015 at the Nurburgring. Here is a pre-season write-up by Rupal Patel, promoter of the MotoE series. The images in this blog are by kind permission of MotoE.

Female Civil Engineer Competition

Building the Future, Shaping our World, is a global female engineering competition for 11-18 year olds to promote women in engineering. It is being run by Rachel Hayden a year 12 student from Jersey College for Girls, through the International Women's Academy (IWA). The competition is divided into two main sections. Jersey Section This can be entered by any female individuals or teams of up to 4 people, aged 11-18 who currently live in Jersey, Channel Islands. You will have to design a sporting venue for the derelict Fort Regent swimming pool site. The winning team will get to present their design to the States Assembly, receive four iPad Mini 3's and four tickets to the opening ceremony of the Natwest Jersey Island Games 2015 and be automatically entered into the global section. All entries…

Jessica Lee wins the 2015 IET NorCal PATW

Congratultions to Jessica who won this years NorCal PATW and will be heading to the Regional final in Trinidad later this year Jessica ]presented on how learning from biological structures we can improve various kinds of technology, in her case the pulling power of a robot cockroach! Valedictory Message from the Chairperson of the Norcal Network I am pleased to report the success of the PATW organized by the IET Norcal Network at the University of California, Berkeley. I thank Sonia, Allen and John for working unceasingly for the program. I also want to thank Dr. Hayden Taylor and Ms Synyee Chin for accepting the request to serve as judges. Norcal Network is very grateful to the University of California for their gracious help in letting us use the facility for the function. My special thanks…

Europe, Middle East and Africa PATW final - 31 July, Abu Dhabi

Well, it's that time of the year again when I get back to my desk, thoroughly exhausted, after attending our Present Around the World final! What can I say about this year's final in Abu Dhabi? It seems to get better every year, and with 15 fantastic competitors, the challenge to compete for a place in the final was huge! A massive congratulations to Faisal Al Refae from Kuwait who won the competition! Also a massive congratulations to Harriet Walsh from Ireland who was the runner up. The other countries represented included Bahrain, Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Germany, Czech Republic and Mauritius. The other 13 competitors should still feel extremely proud that they made it to the regional final and were able to present to an audience of peers…

Motorcycle that can surf on water

I wonder what the surfing purists will think of this video showing Robbie Maddison, an Australian MotoX rider who uses a specifically convered MotoX bike to ride the waves ? Although he seems to ride some reasonably sized waves in the video, I'm not sure how he'd cope with Jaws in Maui. If you're a keen MotoX rider, is this something you'd like to try or if you're a dyed in the wool surfer do you think motorcycles should stay out of the water?

I(ET) Robot

Robot Ethics at the Science Museum If there’s one area of science that can be guaranteed to capture public imagination, it’s Robotics. The IET’s recent Robot Ethics lecture, hosted at London’s prestigious Science Museum, was no exception. As robotic devices become ever more commonplace in our lives, this event explored the ethical implications arising from increasing interaction between man and machine. Organised by the Robotics and Mechatronics TPN (Technical and Professional network) in partnership with the UK-RAS Network (Robotics and Autonomous System) this two-hour, three-speaker event filled the venue to capacity, packing in 120 attendees. Lead volunteer Mark Witkowski was delighted with the turnout: “Robotics lectures are always well attended but this one gave us a particularly interesting…

2015 PATW Americas Regional Final Hosted By Trinidad & Tobago

Click here to download the event booklet, with additional information (The 2015 PATW Americas Regional Finals in Trinidad & Tobago) After months of intense competitions, participation of Local Networks througout the Americas Region, all culminating with the winner and runner-up of the 2015 PATW Americas Regional Final. Dr. Kevin Murray awards the winner and runner-up with their certificates. (Robert Mayall will represent the Americas Region at the Global Finals in London) (Runner up, Travis Schoepp) (Competitors pose with members of the CC-A) Marriott's HSE representative conducts the safety briefing before the start the event, a key component in any event. (Vice Chair of the TT LN and the MC for the morning period, David Drakes, with the HSE representative) The competitors remain focused as…

IET at the TTCAA STEM Aviation Summer Camp

As part of engaging with young students in various STEM and STEAM activities, our local network was invited to the Trinidad & Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA) STEM Aviation Summer camp, on Thursday 23rd July 2015. Colin and I had a captive, but highly excited, audience of over 200 children between the ages of 11 and 14yrs and the task was to excite them about STEAM in avaition. (A quick photo of the first class before we begin the presentation) (Photo of the second group engaged in the IET's Engineering Our World video) Everyone was excited by the various engineered designes and ideas in aviation, as it demonstrated the benefit of each element of STEAM in developing an aviation industry and an aviation engineer for the next century. The key focus was to link each discipline of STEAM…

Robots in Agriculture

In May, one of our exec team members, Sam Wane, travelled to the Channel Islands to deliver several presentations on the subject of Robots in Agriculture. The mini tour was a huge success and Sam tells us more about it below: " On 20-22nd May I visited the Channel Islands to talk about agriculture and robotics. This was sponsored by the IET Robotics & Mechatronics TPN, and the Channel Islands Group of Professional Engineers , the representative body for the professional engineering institutions in the Channel Islands I landed in Guernsey and lectured to Elizabeth College school for boys (12-18) Then I was interviewed for a radio programme on BBC Radio Guernsey. My Guernsey interview 3hr12mins after Wham! I was also interviewed by the Guernsey Press newspaper but haven’t heard if I’m in. And…

Join The Control & Automation TPN Executive Team

Are you working or studying in Control & Automation? Are you passionate about supporting the community? Do you have 3-4 days per year that you can volunteer to attend committee meetings and organise activities? We’d love to hear from you! The IET Control & Automation Network is seeking professional engineers working in this field to join our Executive Team. We’re trying to make the Executive Committee representative of as wide a cross-section of the Control and Automation community as we can, so we’d especially like to hear from people working in areas where we don’t have enough representation just now. We’d like to hear from people involved in manufacturing, power generation and distribution, water…… We need some good representation from the ‘Automation’ part of C&A and we need some people…

Cyber In Bristol

With the world becoming ever more connected, crime is moving into the cyber domain and cyber security is becoming a concern for individuals, companies and nations. This season, the IET will be hosting a range cyber themed events in Bristol: Cyber Security for Critical Infrastructure (CSCI) . 21-24 Sep 2015, Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre. 4-day IET Professional Development course providing a comprehensive overview of the different stages of a cyber incident. 10th IET System Safety and Cyber Security Conference . 20-22 Oct 2015, Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel. Selected presentations from the conference will be available afterwards via IET.tv . Cyber Security for Smart Buildings . 23 Nov 2015. Free event. Could your new building get hacked or catch a virus? Hugh Boyes, IET Cyber Security lead…

Looking Back: Highlights From IBC 2009 - 3D TVs

With IBC 2015 fast approaching, we're taking a look back at IBC 2009. A sight for sore eyes . The big buzz at IBC in 2009 was 3D TV technology! E&T magazine spoke to David Wood, deputy director general, European Broadcasting Union about some concerns he had with the technology in relation to anecdotal tales of eye strain. 2009 saw the launch of the Best of IET and IBC publication that contains papers and articles on electronic media technology from IBC, presented with selected papers from the IET’s flagship publication Electronics Letters . Mark Waddell won the Best Conference paper award for Compatibility Challenges for Broadcast Networks and White Space Devices .