The Engineer articles from December 2004

The Engineer archives from December 2004

Computer vision needs an engineering focus.
December 10, 2004... You could be forgiven for thinking that the era of ubiquitous computing is already upon us. They are on your desk, on your lap, in your pocket, all over your workplace and quite possibly on the end of the phone when you ring up to settle...

Ice bound.
December 10, 2004... The British Antarctic Survey announces finalists for Halley VI The UK's new base in the harshest environment on earth will be along the lines of one of the designs shown here. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has unveiled a shortlist of...

Around the world in 80 hours.
December 10, 2004... The Virgin Global Flyer will next month make its attempt to fly non- stop around the world without refuelling, it has been announced. Piloted by Steve Fossett and designed by Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites - who was responsible for the...

As safe as C5s.
December 10, 2004... The Citroen C5 scored the highest number of points ever awarded by Euro NCAP in the organisation's latest round of crash tests, with 36 from a possible 37 points. The C5 has seven airbags, including a steering column airbag to protect the...

Nine fatalities at rail level crossings in one month.
December 10, 2004... Safety at level crossings was once again called into question this week when a train hit a van at a farm in Lincolnshire, killing two people. The van was hit by a Central Trains diesel at an unmanned farm crossing at Helpringham Fen near...

HyFly hits Mach 6.5 in wind tunnel flight tests.
December 10, 2004... The US military's HyFly hypersonic engine has successfully completed simulated flight tests at Mach 6.5. The joint DARPA and Office of Naval Research (ONR) project aims to build a missile with a maximum sustainable cruise speed in excess of...

Award for Engineer writer.
December 10, 2004... The Engineer has been recognised by the Guild of Motoring Writers for its coverage of the automotive industry. Journalist David Fowler was presented with the AA Trophy at the Guild's annual awards ceremony for a series of articles in The...

Big-screen debut.
December 10, 2004... Large, wedge-shaped monitor and projector set to cut cost of home cinema While cheap DVD players enable most of us to enjoy digital-quality films, the high cost of large, flat television screens has kept the complete home-cinema experience...

A laser show in your pocket.
December 10, 2004... Projectors the size of a cigarette packet are in development Pocket-sized projectors that could be used for everything from impromptu slideshows to downloading and watching the latest blockbuster on your living room wall may knock the iPod...

Helping hands.
December 10, 2004... Robotics aid stroke patients A robotic system to help patients recover more quickly after a stroke is being developed with funding from the Department of Health. The system, which is fitted to the patient's arm, uses sensors to detect...

Flying eyes.
December 10, 2004... BAE Systems will connect UAVs with ground robots in Australian Outback A fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles will co-operate with a ground robot on surveillance tasks in the Australian Outback, in trials to be held next year by BAE...

Hot properties.
December 10, 2004... Piezoelectric materials hold key to controlling fuel flows at high temperatures NASA is backing a project to discover new high-temperature piezoelectric materials that could be used to control fuel flow in gas turbines, or act as sensors...

A short hop to Mars.
December 10, 2004... A Mars rover that could hop around the planet's surface harvesting atmospheric gas for propulsion has been awarded funding by NASA. The Mars Gas Hopper, designed by Robert Zubrin of Pioneer Astronautics, will use an electric pump to...

A wave of drug busts.
December 10, 2004... Researchers pioneer device using THz radiation to sniff out narcotics Scottish researchers are developing a hand-held Terahertz device to identify illegal drugs concealed within clothing, plastics, and potentially inside the human body....

Finger on the button of anti-chemical warfare.
December 10, 2004... A tiny UK-designed sensor which can detect an almost limitless range of airborne chemicals could provide a low-cost alternative to existing military technology. Owlstone, the Cambridge University spin-out company responsible for the...

Kiteplanes power up.
December 10, 2004... Dutch team develops kite-powered generator driven by high-altitude winds Flying a kite in the park has inspired an innovative concept to generate electricity from powerful winds miles above the earth. Delft University team leader Prof...

Full steam ahead for biomass project.
December 10, 2004... AN EU-funded research project has created technology allowing small- scale combined heat and power plants to run on biomass fuels. The technology is based on a screw-type steam engine - displacement rotary engines with a closed working...

FOCUS: Hidden agenda.
December 10, 2004... Some believe we will soon be surrounded by invisible, all-seeing computer networks, but many engineers doubt whether such a vision is technically possible yet, reports Richard Fisher The computer as we know it is dead. The monitor and...

Medical advance for Smiths.
December 10, 2004... UK group buys US company to become big player in medical devices market Smiths Group claims to have moved into the 'medical devices big league' after paying almost #500m for a leading US healthcare technology company. The UK...

Fuel-cell bike scoots into production.
December 10, 2004... Parker Hannifin backs launch of first fuel-cell powered scooter The launch of the world's first fuel cell-powered motor-scooter has moved a step closer after a major engineering group took a stake in the company behind the project. ...

Electric shock.
December 10, 2004... The amount of the UK's railways that is electrified is well behind the rest of Europe. Rod Smith believes we need to get current One hundred and fifty-seven years since this prediction was made, and more than 100 years after the first...

BOOK REVIEW: The Engineer of 2020.
December 10, 2004... THE ENGINEER OF 2020 The National Academies Press The Engineer of 2020 is the product of an initiative by the US National Academy of Engineering to look 15 years into the future of technology and those who work with it. The book...

TALKING POINT - Letter: MoD madness.
December 10, 2004... In answer to your observations on the state of our aerospace industry `We're good, but not by right' (Comment, 19 November) I have been in the industry since I was 17. Having worked within a large aerospace company, it is no surprise...

Letter: Sorry, wrong track.(Letter to the Editor)
December 10, 2004... When I read in the national press about satellites tracking cars or criminals, I sigh and just put it down to lack of knowledge. But when I read in The Engineer about 'satellites capable of tracking your location' (Galileofeature, 5 November) I...

Letter: Raising the standards.(Letter to the Editor)
December 10, 2004... Am I alone in finding European EN standards almost impossible to understand? Not only are there too many, making it difficult to decide which ones are relevant, but also their text can sometimes be ambiguous and contradictory. ...

ESS: Heart of the matter.
December 10, 2004... The UK leads the way in neutron research, but if the government does not commit to bidding to build the world's highest-intensity spallation source we will lose our premier position. Julia Pierce reports If you were to draw up a list of...

INTERVIEW - ANDRES GALVEZ: Warp driver.
December 10, 2004... Andres Galvez heads ESA's Advanced Concepts Team, a group of young brains who translate concepts once banished to the world of sci-fi into active research. Richard Fisher reports from Amsterdam Teleportation, warp drives, space elevators...

DESIGN ENGINEERING: Pump action.
December 10, 2004... A variable flow oil pump designed by UK engineers is claimed to use significantly less power than conventional fixed flow pumps. Jon Excell reports An innovative pump designed by UK engineers could lead to major improvements in the...

DESIGN ENGINEERING: Stress management.
December 10, 2004... A clever new coating could help speed the design process by discovering flaws or problems before a part is mass-produced. Christopher Sell reports A new luminescent paint, developed by researchers at the University of Florida, could...

DESIGN ENGINEERING: Toy story.
December 10, 2004... Charles Clarke salutes the development of Cosmic blobs - a pioneering 3D design product for children Very rarely do you get the opportunity to describe 3D modelling software as a 'new design paradigm' or 'absolutely unique'; the...

DESIGN ENGINEERING: Sensing a change.
December 10, 2004... Enhanced sensor capabilities are at the heart of improvements in a wide range of different technologies. Mark Venables reports From Firewire to robot vision. From measuring extreme temperatures to networking hi-tech automotive systems,...

DESIGN ENGINEERING: Sealed with approval.
December 10, 2004... The selection of appropriate seals and gaskets has a major impact on service life, safety and operating costs. Paul Gay reports on recent advances in the field Despite the many tracts of UK and European legislation hitting the statute...

PRODUCT DESIGN: Making the case for design that works.
December 10, 2004... Welcome to The Engineer Product Design. This is a unique chance for the world of industrial product design to tell engineers why they should take it seriously. We speak to the Design Council, which promotes the value of good design to the UK...

PRODUCT DESIGN: Why design should matter.
December 10, 2004... The Design Council is campaigning hard in the manufacturing and technology sectors in a bid to get its message across. Richard Eisermann, design and innovation director, explains why good design makes business sense. Pictured are some of the...

PRODUCT DESIGN: Partners in innovation.
December 10, 2004... When Dione wanted to bring a new, hi-tech point of sale card payment device to market quickly, designers and engineers got together to make it happen With 'chip and pin' card payment becoming the norm, the Dione Xplorer is the type of...

PRODUCT DESIGN: The importance of being user-friendly.
December 10, 2004... Industrial product designers believe they can bring to the development process a strong understanding of how the user wants a product to look, feel and act Talk to an industrial product designer for more than two minutes and the words...

PRODUCT DESIGN: Promoting the feelgood factor.
December 10, 2004... Once, functionality was all that mattered in the development of healthcare equipment, but the need in the UK for patients to treat themselves at home will mean a bigger role for design The new emphasis on 'choice' in the provision of...

PRODUCT DESIGN: A change for the better.
December 10, 2004... As more surfacing, shape definition and manipulation tools are being incorporated into mainstream CAD products, the roles of the design engineer and the product designer are getting ever closer Industrial and product designers are not...

PRODUCT DESIGN: A study in design practicality.
December 10, 2004... Brunel is a blueprint for a meeting of minds, where a new breed of highly motivated, engineering-focused product designers produce prototypes that not only look good but also have to work. It's an outlook that will play a vital part in the UK's...

PRODUCT DESIGN: Brand has a bearing.
December 10, 2004... The bearings market is an unlikely setting for branding tactics usually applied to consumer products. But INA FAG wants to send a message about quality Mention brand values to many engineers and the shutters will immediately go down....

PRODUCT DESIGN: Designers' champion.
December 10, 2004... The DBA was founded to recognise, communicate and reward the integral role that good design plays in commercial success - and it works says chief executive Deborah Dawton The Design Business Association is the UK's most vocal champion of...

PRODUCT DESIGN: The value equation.
December 10, 2004... Conran & Partners' main activity is to create successful merchandise for manufacturers to produce simply, retailers to sell profitably and people to enjoy using says Sebastian Conran Today the customer is king and demands 'value for...

PRODUCT DESIGN: CONRAN & PARTNERS - COMPANY CV.
December 10, 2004... Sebastian Conran is creative director at Conran & Partners, the design studio which provides creative vision for Conran Group, including Conran shops and restaurants. After studying industrial design engineering at what is now Central St...

PRODUCT DESIGN: Controversial view.
December 10, 2004... Product development is being sacrificed by many companies, which are spending too much cash and time on manufacturing. Andy Toward and Mark Phillips offer their thoughts Companies are spending too much time and money on manufacturing...