The Engineer articles from June 2009

The Engineer archives from June 2009

COMMENT: Enough alphabet soup, thanks.
June 15, 2009... RIP, DIUS. Bye bye BERR. The demise of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform won't have anyone in tears (except the person responsible for ordering...

NEWS: Mars extracts.
June 15, 2009... A process developed to study Mars could improve access to Earth's oil A chemical process initially developed to study the biological environment on Mars could be used on Earth to help extract oil from tar sands. The method, developed...

NEWS: Fall proof.
June 15, 2009... New technology may make a European Moon mission a more realistic possibility European ambitions to launch missions to the Moon or Mars could take a step closer thanks to a project that will test lander technology on earth by dropping it...

NEWS: Mine's eye.
June 15, 2009... The resolution of sideways-on sonar images can now be enhanced using a more cost-effective system A UK company has developed real-time sonar-imaging technology that uses a computer graphics card to greatly improve the image quality for...

NEWS: Microwave measurement.
June 15, 2009... Microwave cavity sensor tests fluids in situ without having to remove a sample A device that uses microwaves to measure impurities in liquids could be used to detect contaminants in blood, moisture in aircraft fuel and let drivers know...

NEWS: Altitude compensation.
June 15, 2009... PLEXTEK has launched a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV engine that it claims weighs around 30 per cent less than existing solutions while providing the same amount of power. Using techniques developed by the high-performance...

NEWS: Blink of an eye.
June 15, 2009... An autonomous device can track the movements of a person's eye using an infrared light Swedish Engineers have developed a device claimed to be a first for embedded eye-tracking technology on a single chip. Stockholm-based Tobii...

NEWS: Body double.
June 15, 2009... A PROJECT that aims to develop photorealistic modelling of living brain tissue could soon provide medical students with an accurate alternative to cadaveric dissection - the use of dead bodies. Over the next four months, researchers at...

NEWS: Electromagnetic effects.
June 15, 2009... Feature Selective Validation is being used to predict electromagnetic interference in the automotive industry A method for determining the validity of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) models is helping make electrically equipped cars...

NEWS: Determining diabetes.
June 15, 2009... A WEARABLE PATCH that can constantly regulate diabetes is being developed by researchers in Spain. The team from the University of Seville explained that the patch would use micro needles 200 microns long to extract interstitial liquid...

VEWIPOINT: Staying on track.
June 15, 2009... An over-restricted motorsport sector may be detrimental to engineering innovation argue Rick Delbridge and Francesca Mariotti The success of Jenson Button and his Brawn team in this year's Formula 1 (F1) championship has been all but...

LETTER: Novel stimulus.(Letter to the editor)
June 15, 2009... Rather than being 'Not down or out' (Letters, 1 June), it is perhaps 'up and over'. By this, I refer to the stimulus that restricted funding presents to those engineers solving engineering problems in all sectors. This means that what are...

LETTER: Rail restoration.(Letter to the editor)
June 15, 2009... It was good to read the article on tram trains (Light relief, 1 May), which extolled the virtues of our formerly comprehensive rail and tram systems. We have indeed lost out as buses have failed as an alternative and we are all aware of...

LETTER: Cool heat.(Letter to the editor)
June 15, 2009... In answer to Dave Draper's question (Letters, 1 June). The absorption refrigeration system is unsuitable for cars because the power-to-weight ratio is too low. To produce the same amount of cooling as a compression refrigeration...

LETTER: Greenhouse effect.(Letter to the editor)
June 15, 2009... I write regarding carbon capture from power plants. There is a perfect use for the warm, moist, CO2-laden output of power plants - pump it into vast glasshouses that are growing our fruit and vegetables. The tomatoes in my greenhouse...

LETTER: Lessons learned.(Letter to the editor)
June 15, 2009... In response to the 'Humming bid' article (Opinion, The Engineer Online, 3 June). The woes suffered by the British car industry are well known by now, and the decline through overproduction of poor-quality products is inevitable. This has...

LETTER: False economy.(Letter to the editor)
June 15, 2009... Our online leader article 'Lost generation' highlighted a report from the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) that warns that the credit crunch is beginning to hit aircraft manufacturers and their suppliers. R&D departments and...

OFFSHORE MINING: Dig deep.
June 15, 2009... Tapping the rich veins of mineral deposits that can be found beneath the seabed requires the application of new systems and technologies. Jon Excell reports To most of us, it's a murky netherworld of strange rock formations,...

INSIGHT: Re-inventing the ride.
June 15, 2009... Advanced engineering and lightweight materials have helped give the saddle its first major redesign in 200 years. Berenice Baker reports Its design has remained unchanged for over 200 years, accounted for generations of bow-legged cowboys,...

VIRTUAL TECHNOLOGY: Games without frontiers.
June 15, 2009... Artificial-intelligence researchers are developing the technology behind computer games for applications in other sectors. Jon Excell reports While the glassy-eyed adolescent may remain the gaming industry's most iconic consumer, there...

INTERVIEW: Digital doctor.(Interview)
June 15, 2009... A pioneer in electronic healthcare technology, Prof Chris Toumazou started out developing low-power chips for mobile phones. Stuart Nathan reports Using machines for maths has become a routine operation. It is a fair bet that all readers...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING: Weld leading.
June 15, 2009... ESAB's flagship facility is claimed to break new ground in welding by trialling new technologies and processes. Berenice Baker reports When the radiation-proof doors roll down on the hybrid laser facility in ESAB's Process Centre and...

ROBOTICS: Safety sensor.
June 15, 2009... SMEs would be able to safely use industrial robots alongside human employees if development of a new force sensor is successful. Berenice Baker reports A low-cost force sensor for industrial robots would allow smaller companies to use them...

TEST AND MEASUREMENT: By a whisker.
June 15, 2009... A new method helps to assess the ability of conformal coatings to inhibit the growth of tin whiskers, the microscopic hair-like extensions that grow on the surface of electronic components Before the introduction of the Restriction of...

PROCESS CONTROL: Bitter-sweet result.
June 15, 2009... Pernod Ricard is using a distributed control system to more fully automate bitters production, reducing errors and increasing output Of all the ingredients on a cocktail-mixer's shelf, bitters are perhaps the least known and appreciated....

COURSES: Cross cultures.
June 15, 2009... Knowledge Transfer Partnerships aim to harness the skills in academia to help businesses become more innovative Bridging the gap between the nation's universities and the businesses that could benefit from their expertise and skills is...

COMMENT: System check.
June 29, 2009... The old rhyme that ends 'and all for want of a horseshoe nail' is a cautionary tale of how failing to keep an eye on the details can set off a chain of consequences that ends in catastrophe. It sprang to mind when reading a report by the...

NEWS: Star gazer.
June 29, 2009... A faint-light camera is to be installed on a telescope to minimise blurring effects Celestial images from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) array are set to be given a boost, claim the developers of OCam: the world's fastest high-precision...

NEWS: Brake expectations.
June 29, 2009... Engineers have high hopes for new safety systems Engineers in Germany have unveiled an innovative driver assistance system that automatically stops vehicles from spinning out of control in the event of a collision. According to Dr...

NEWS: Geared up.
June 29, 2009... Engineers from Ricardo and Weifang Shengrui in China are working together on the design of an eight-speed automatic transmission for front-wheel-drive cars. Weifang Shengrui plans to manufacture the transmission and sell it in China from...

NEWS: Informed decisions.
June 29, 2009... Research team receives funding to investigate renewable energy to help achieve government targets Cardiff University has been selected to lead a five-year investigation into sustainable energy supply, one of five themes being addressed...

NEWS: Alternative armour.
June 29, 2009... A TEXTILE-BASED protection system designed to replace bar and slat armour could provide the UK military with a new level of defence against rocket-propelled grenade attacks. Resembling a mattress, the lightweight Tarian system is currently...

NEWS: Nano scales.
June 29, 2009... Technique for weighing single atoms could shed light on chemical processes European researchers have built a device that uses carbon nanotubes to measure the mass of the smallest atoms, and could in future be used to weigh protons and...

NEWS: Hailing the Taxibot.
June 29, 2009... AIRBUS IS TESTING a robotic tractor that could save the aviation industry billions of pounds a year by removing the need to turn on an aircraft's engines during taxiing. Designed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the 'Taxibot' is an...

NEWS: Stack up.
June 29, 2009... Weaknesses in fuel cells are no barrier to extended operation A new design for fuel cells could make them fault tolerant and resilient to adverse environmental and internal influences. A team from Imperial College London is developing...

NEWS: Ready for launch.
June 29, 2009... The world's first hybrid lithium battery system for launch-flight applications has been developed by Saft as part of a European effort to improve power supply systems in space. In a collaborative project with the Russian Institute of Space...

NEWS: Acid test.
June 29, 2009... Medical device will use temperature sensitivity to help diagnose oesophageal disorders The technology used to cool central processing units (CPUs) in computers could be used to quickly diagnose patients with acid-related disorders in the...

VIEWPOINT: Make our voice heard.
June 29, 2009... Now is the time for engineering's philosophy of continuous improvement to come to the fore, says Brian Holliday THE ECONOMIC downturn, while clearly putting pressure on industrial control and manufacturing businesses, also presents an...

LETTER: F1 rules.(Letter to the editor)
June 29, 2009... Your article 'Staying on track' (Viewpoint, 15 June) argued that tighter restrictions in motorsport will make the industry less innovative. I wonder why this would be? Surely working under tightly controlled conditions would make the...

LETTER: Hot rocks.(Letter to the editor)
June 29, 2009... Nuclear power has recently been back in the spotlight as a solution to our power-generation needs with minimal greenhouse gas emissions. The downside to nuclear power is, of course, the waste issue, which has to be safely stored for many...

LETTER: Missed train.(Letter to the editor)
June 29, 2009... Simon Martin (Letters, 15 June) says the lessons of the past of the British car industry should have been learned and we should have a British manufacturer of mass-market vehicles again. He is right that this would need long-term strategies...

LETTER: Race for power.(Letter to the editor)
June 29, 2009... Our online leader 'Race against time' drew attention to the off-track power struggle that has developed in Formula 1 and asked for readers' views on the potential consequences for engineering in the UK. Here is a selection of your comments....

LETTER: Women tinker.(Letter to the editor)
June 29, 2009... Our online leader 'Opening up' reported on the launch of the Riversimple hydrogen-powered city car. The car will have a distributed manufacturing base making the car for each city where it will be used, with 'local' improvements and...

ELECTRICITY SUPPLY: The wired west.
June 29, 2009... Could technology that is under trial in the US point the way for the deployment of smart grids in the UK? Stuart Nathan reports Electricity is, literally, part of the landscape. The skeletal forms of pylons carrying high-voltage lines,...

INSIGHT: Waste of space.
June 29, 2009... The problem of having to transport vast quantities of water and oxygen into space could be solved by a system that recycles an astronaut's waste. Jon Excell reports A EUROPEAN-DEVELOPED processing plant designed for recycling human waste...

3D BROADCASTING: New dimension.
June 29, 2009... 3D technology could be ready to make the leap from the cinema to the living room if the business issues around 3D TV are addressed. Berenice Baker reports A decade ago, no one could have predicted that a new generation of 3D film...

INTERVIEW: Track record.(Interview)
June 29, 2009... Millbrook's Andrew Eastlake explains why the iconic testing ground is a favourite with everyone from film-makers to London bus designers. Stuart Nathan reports James Bond steers his snarling Aston Martin Vantage around the bends of...

DESIGN ENGINEERING: Back in the frame.
June 29, 2009... The use of aluminium alloys in aircraft is growing thanks to a new, lighter composition and the ease with which they are recycled. Berenice Baker reports TECHNICAL innovation and environmental factors are boosting the credentials of...

CONDITION MONITORING: Flood gate.
June 29, 2009... Tests being carried out at a remote pumping station aim to remove the need for manual checks on flood-prevention systems. Berenice Baker reports CONDITION monitoring systems based on piezo-electric crystal technology are being tested by...

CNC MACHINING: Sleek preview.
June 29, 2009... Software that aims to provide a true representation of a machining process based on CNC codes could improve manufacturing techniques. Berenice Baker reports NOVEL SIMULATION software may help manufacturers design efficient new production...

MACHINE VISION: Vision to succeed.
June 29, 2009... Nigel Platt, marketing manager for ABB's UK robotics business, explains how developments in vision-guided robotic (VGR) technology could help manufacturers improve their profitability The UK's manufacturing sector is facing probably its...

METAWWORKING/TOOLING: Tools for the trade.
June 29, 2009... INVESTING in state-of-the-art production systems is a daunting prospect, both in terms of the costs involved and the operational difficulties of bringing new technology online and up to speed. The results, however, can often be rapid and...