The Engineer articles from April 2003

The Engineer archives from April 2003

Sun is a good sign for UK motorways. (This Week).
April 4, 2003... THE UK'S motorway signs and lighting could soon be powered by solar energy, if a trial by the Highways Agency is successful. In continental Europe, countries are using solar panels placed along motorway noise barriers to generate energy for...

Wing damage 'did cause Columbia disaster'. (This Week).
April 4, 2003... THE DISCOVERY of Columbia's flight data recorder has bolstered claims that the Shuttle tragedy was caused by damage to the left wing. Information from 420 sensors across Columbia's wings, fuselage and tail revealed there were early problems...

Good & Bad Week. (This Week).
April 4, 2003... GOOD WEEK BOSTON DRIVERS: The US city will soon boast the world's most advanced traffic management system, bristling with state-of-the-art monitoring technology and connected by 2.6m ft of fibreoptic cable. But we bet one elderly motorist...

GM and Shell join forces to add fuel to the hydrogen revolution. (This Week).
April 4, 2003... GENERAL MOTORS and Shell are to provide fuel cell-powered vehicles and a hydrogen 'gas station' for people to test drive in Washington, US, in a bid to increase awareness of the technology among policymakers, regulators and the public. ...

Sounding off under the influence. (This Week).
April 4, 2003... HOME CINEMA and hi-fi speakers are to produce more realistic sounds -- with the help of Japanese rice wine. Timber has long been seen as an ideal material for making sound reproduction speaker diaphragms, but is fragile and difficult to...

Generics promises lighter bills. (This Week).
April 4, 2003... AN ELECTRONIC device from technology incubator Generics promises to slash the cost of household lighting bills by up to 75 per cent. Normal light fittings are powered by transformers in order to provide safe, low voltages to the switch. But...

One in the eye for glaucoma. (This Week).
April 4, 2003... SOFT CONTACT lenses containing nanoparticles that slowly release drugs into the eye could hold the key to treating diseases such as glaucoma, according to US researchers. Such problems are currently treated using eye drops, but around 95 per...

Making better sense of driving. (This Week).
April 4, 2003... MORE EFFECTIVE use of sensor systems to allow cars to respond to their environment, including changes to weather conditions, will be investigated at a new [pounds]70m research centre established by Warwick Manufacturing Group and Ford's Premier...

Truth is the new fiction. (This Week).
April 4, 2003... In George Orwell's dystopian future of 1964 the Thought Police monitor a population gripped by fear of terrorism and war. In the real 2003 it emerges that UK police are in discussions over the use of lie-detection technology in interview...

Facing up to deception: first police trials of lie-detection equipment to go ahead in the UK. (News Exclusive).
April 4, 2003... LIE-DETECTION technology could be used in UK police interview rooms for the first time this summer, The Engineer can reveal. While polygraph tests regularly feature in police investigations in the US, the police here have never used...

Polymer physios: Football League clubs adopt electrically conductive material to treat players' injuries. (News).
April 4, 2003... FOOTBALL CLUBS are using thermal polymer technology to apply heat treatment to the muscles of injured players. Teams including Nottingham Forest have adopted the UK-developed material, called Inditherm, as a physiotherapy aid. ...

Keeping an eye on pre-scan metal detection. (News).
April 4, 2003... THE NHS IS poised to test adapted mine detection technology as a way of checking for tiny pieces of metal in patients' eyes. A handheld device called MagPeye will be used to find microscopic metallic fragments in the eyes of patients about...

Ground control: GPS booster system could reduce collisions at European airports. (News).
April 4, 2003... EUROPE'S AIRPORTS are to be the first to benefit from a computerised crash-prevention technology that can determine the location, speed and direction of all ground traffic. The European Global Navigation Overlay System Terrestrial Regional...

Trial by UAV: NASA conducts tests to prove the safety and potential of unmanned aircraft. (News).
April 4, 2003... THE PROSPECT OF unmanned aircraft flying alongside piloted airliners in national airspace has moved a step closer with simulated trials this week. Unmanned aircraft could be used for disaster relief, communications and scientific study,...

Frozen assets: nano-materials could improve the efficiency of fridges. (News).
April 4, 2003... MECHANICAL refrigerators and air-conditioning units could be replaced by fast, ultra-reliable CEO-free systems with no moving parts, following the development of an electronic heat pump using nanometre scale materials. The prototype,...

Conservative policy: South African researchers devise theory that could lead to energy-saving materials for electricity cables. (News).
April 4, 2003... SUPERCONDUCTING materials capable of operating at up to 200[degrees]C could lead to huge energy saving in the transmission of electricity. Johan Prins, an honorary professor at the University of Pretoria and founder of superconducting and...

Volume control: nano-size metal particles could be used in fuel cells as a more efficient hydrogen storage system. (News).
April 4, 2003... DEVICES CAPABLE of storing hydrogen more safely for use in automotive fuel cells are being developed using nanometre-sized metal particles created at the UK's first specialist production centre. The centre, established by Qinetiq Nanomaterials,...

Biological weapons sensor detects anthrax in two minutes. (News).
April 4, 2003... A SAFER AND faster way of detecting biological weapons agents has been devised by UK researchers with support from the government's defence research agency. The optical sensor, developed at UMIST with the help of the Defence Science and...

Rail damp course: A vibration-absorber system could reduce noise levels on train tracks. (News).
April 4, 2003... A DAMPING device that reduces vibration in railway tracks could allow the expansion of inner city train services without adverse impact on nearby residents, according to its inventors. Plans to reduce the number of cars in the UK's cities,...

Boning up in A&E: life-saving fluids could be administered 10 times faster via bone marrow. (News).
April 4, 2003... A PORTABLE UNIT the size of a glue gun will allow medics to connect seriously injured patients to a life-saving drip over 10 times faster than traditional systems. When a person is wounded in an accident or on the battlefield they go into...

Reflective polymer makes light work for doctors. (News).
April 4, 2003... RESEARCHERS AT the University of California have developed a biodegradable polymer implant capable of reflecting light that will allow doctors to monitor the healing of stitched wounds or the delivery of drugs. Porous silicon is a...

Water bug: underwater sensor system could protect nuclear power stations from terrorist attack. (News).
April 4, 2003... A SENSOR NETWORK that uses ultrasonic pulses to relay information through water could be used to protect nuclear power stations from terrorist attack, according to its US developers. The sensor system, being developed at Penn State...

Roke Manor Research: switching from commercial communications to defence work has helped Siemens' UK R&D lab to stay profitable. (Company Profile).
April 4, 2003... IN THE 19th century manor house from which it takes its name, Roke Manor Research develops some very 21st century technologies. Roke Manor is a UK research laboratory of Siemens, employing about 500 of the 57,000 specialists who work for...

Torotrak signs deal to put IVT gearboxes into Japanese tractors. (The Week).
April 4, 2003... A major Japanese tractor manufacturer has signed a licensing deal with Torotrak the UK engineering company which is developing a new transmission system. Iseki will work with Torotrak to develop a tractor gearbox based on the Lancashire...

Delay to Transense SAW sensor technology cash adds to woes. (The Week).
April 4, 2003... Transense which is developing Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensors for a variety of automotive applications unveiled a [pounds sterling]300,000 increase in losses and confirmed that it would take longer than expected to begin earning cash from...

IQE looks to diversification as global downturn halves its sales. (The Week).
April 4, 2003... IQE the Cardiff-based supplier of specialist technology to the semiconductor industry saw its sales almost halve last year due to the dramatic global downturn in its target market. IQE turned over [pounds sterling]28m in 2002 compared to...

Digital radios spell success for imagination as it looks to break-even. (The Week).
April 4, 2003... Communications processing specialist Imagination Technologies has seen the cash begin to roll in from its highly successful range of digital radios. Digital receivers incorporating Herts-based Imagination's processing technology have been...

Deltex tells shareholders it wants cardiac probe to be in hospitals soon. (The Week).
April 4, 2003... Mecial technology group Deltex hopes its heart monitoring systems will enter widespread use in hospitals within the next 1B months. The company told its shareholders that its cardiac probe which monitors cardiac blood flow via a doppler...

Let the scaremongering tales bite the dust: fanciful stories about nanotechnology are getting in the way of sense. Fiona Harvey says give research into this grey matter a chance. (Comment).
April 4, 2003... THE MAN from Russia reached into his inside coat pocket and slowly drew out a little glass tube. At the bottom there was a small quantity of fine grey ash. Carefully he removed the stopper and shook some out on to the table. He picked up a...

Letters.
April 4, 2003... The wrong type I think John McKown may have a problem with his 'invention' (Patent column, 21 March). I remember a device that was designed for portable fast text input using one hand, which had five buttons arranged where your fingers...

The truth will out: lie detection could soon become a lot more sophisticated than a few bobbies quizzing suspects in an interview room. Rob Coppinger reports on potential new technologies. (Lie Detection).
April 4, 2003... THE YEAR is 2010, and an immigration officer at New York's JFK Airport questions passengers newly arrived from London. 'What is your business in the United States? How long do you plan to stay?' But the officer is no longer relying on...

Man of the MATCH: as head of the new MATCH centre set up to improve transition of healthcare technology from concept to patient, Prof Terry Young has a tough job. If anyone is to invigorate the NHS. (Profile).
April 4, 2003... GETTING WORLD-CLASS technologies into the NHS has long been both a Holy Grail and a major headache for UK politicians. So far adoption of technologies, from improved prosthetic limbs to surgical devices, has been slow, mired in bureaucracy and...

Smash hit: diagnostic crusher tests crashworthiness of vehicle body materials. (Design News).
April 4, 2003... NOVEL TEST equipment is being used by US researchers at Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory to provide previously unavailable data on the crashworthiness of new car materials. The servo-hydraulic machine, called TMAC (Test Machine for...

Tech need challenge.
April 4, 2003... Tough linear actuators This company is looking for compact linear actuators capable of operating in harsh, high-temperature environments. The devices can be direct drive or operate through motion converters such as ball-screws or...

Taking design littorally: A UK-designed catamaran for the US Navy will be used close to the shore. (Design News).
April 4, 2003... THE X-CRAFT, an experimental high-speed aluminium catamaran conceived by Southampton-based boat designer Nigel Gee and Associates is about to undergo construction in the US. The boat will be built by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of...

The promising properties of flip-chips. (Design News).
April 4, 2003... PIONEERING research at the University of Greenwich could provide industry with the microsystems assembly technology to allow cheaper mass production of the next generation of intelligent electronic products. A team from the university's...

Aircraft gets lift from tuna fins. (Design News).
April 4, 2003... A CONCEPT AIRCRAFT design inspired by the aerodynamics and cornering ability of a tuna fish is being developed by a team of Swiss engineers. The team, which has been collaborating with researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de...

Letter from Japan.
April 4, 2003... OLED displays makes market debut on camera SK Display Corporation, a joint venture involving Sanyo Electric Company and Kodak, has announced that it is to begin commercial shipments of the world's first active type full-color organic light...

Fast-track formula: rapid prototyping from 3D Systems is accelerating progress in motorsport. (Design News).
April 4, 2003... OFTEN MISREPRESENTED and misunderstood, rapid prototyping (RP) is finally coming of age as an industrial process. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the field of motorsport, where advances in prototyping technology have proved particularly...

Muscling in on manufacturing: A pneumatic actuator that exploits 100-year-old research is making a mark in industrial applications. (Design News).
April 4, 2003... FESTO'S FLUIDIC MUSCLE, an unusual pneumatic actuator based on 100-year-old prosthetic research is finally making its mark in industrial applications. Many attempts have been made to commercialise pneumatic muscle' technology. In the 1980s...

Purchasing managers' index. (Design News).
April 4, 2003... 48.6 AFTER a slight upward revision to January's data, February's CIPS/Reuters Purchasing Managers' index fell to a level of 48.6, down from 48.7 in January. Not only did this signal the third successive monthly contraction across the UK...

Motion slickness: linear motors, which are indispensable in the electronics industry, are fast gaining a foothold in machine tools. (Linear Motion).
April 4, 2003... THE USE of linear motors in machine tools is not a new concept. Over the past few decades, tempted by the prospect of high speed, low maintenance and extreme accuracy, machine tool builders have gone to great lengths to incorporate linear...

This CAD software concept is a design of the times: the first major release of Unigraphics NX software to come from the merger of UG and SDRC offers many intelligent features, plus new interface technology. (Mechanical Components).
April 4, 2003... CAD USERS around the world will be relieved to hear that the latest release from the UG/SDRC merger will not leave them stranded in unfamiliar territory. With the introduction of Unigraphics NX, considerable time and effort has gone into...

Monte Carlo variety performance: the transfer of feature-based tolerances from a CAD system to a Monte Carlo simulator was the key to what is believed to be the first variation analysis of an automotive differential. (Power Transmission).
April 4, 2003... A GROUNDBREAKING use of tolerance analysis has allowed a US axle company to reduce the cost of developing automotive differentials. The project also enabled designers to build improvements into the product's performance at the early stages. ...

Brain Teaser. (Promblem Page).
April 4, 2003... A moneylender calls to collect a debt from an old man with a beautiful daughter. The man does not have the money. The moneylender proposes a deal. The driveway is covered with black and white pebbles. The moneylender will put one white and one...

Ion dry. (Patent of the Week).
April 4, 2003... Brushing can cause hair, especially if dry or frizzy, to rise from the head like seaweed on a spring tide. This is caused by a build-up of static electricity, for which Messrs Kitamura and Saida of Matsushita Electric have a solution with their...

Which year was it? (Problem Page).
April 4, 2003... A high-power sleeve-valve petrol engine or aircraft was developed by UK engineer Roy Fedden Synthetic petrol was produced by German chemists Franz Fisher and H Tropsch Masking tape was invented by American Richard Drew of 3M A...