The Engineer articles from March 2003

The Engineer archives from March 2003

Don't shoot the innovator.
March 7, 2003... The exchange of ideas and information has always been the lifeblood of technical innovation. By contrast, in the 'knowledge economy' keeping a grip on what you know and using it to your own advantage is the foundation of commercial success. The...

Sounding off in the cinema.
March 7, 2003... MOVIEGOERS could soon be enjoying a more realistic cinema sound system. The Digital Sound Projector (DSP) from Dolby creates sound beams that can be focused and steered to produce audio effects, replacing multi-speaker surround systems with a...

Good.
March 7, 2003... PEDESTRIANS: During six days last year visitors to Tiananmen Square left around 600,000 bits of gum. The government has been chewing over the issue and has decided to spend [pounds sterling]75,000 to produce a lotion to dissolve it all. ...

Bad.
March 7, 2003... POACHERS: in the US are being nabbed by Robodeer, an animatronic deer with optional antlers. It alerts gamekeepers to illegal shooting. US hunters were found to be repeatedly shooting the fluffy machine and wondering why it wouldn't die. ...

Europe gets moonstruck.
March 7, 2003... EUROPE'S FIRST mission to the moon is due to be launched in July, according to operators Arianespace. The Smart 1 spacecraft, which is undergoing final testing, has been scheduled for launch around 15 July, assuming positive results from a...

Californian police pitch for graffiti sprayers.
March 7, 2003... SATELLITES AND super-sensitive sensors are providing Californian police with a new weapon in the fight against nuisance graffiti. TaggerTrap, designed by Escondido-based TrapTec, consists of detectors able to identify the unique ultrasonic...

UK plays the generation game with mobile phones.
March 7, 2003... THE UK's first major third-generation (3G) mobile network was officially opened for business this week, marking the first roll of the dice in one of the biggest ever commercial gambles on a new technology. Perhaps mindful of the [pounds...

Halt a drive on the wild side.
March 7, 2003... AN ACTIVE SAFETY system designed to prevent drivers straying dangerously out of their lane on motorways and dual carriageways has been developed by Volvo. The device consists of a camera, which measures distances from its centreline to the left...

Tap to lead fraudsters a dance.
March 7, 2003... THE WAY people tap their PIN number into a cash machine could be used to confirm their identity and help to combat fraud, according to researchers at Southampton University, The research team, led by Prof Neil White of the university's...

Checks essential on shuttles.
March 7, 2003... THE SPACE SHUTTLE should only make visits to the International Space Station in future and astronauts must be able to check the spacecraft for damage and repair heat tiles while in orbit, said investigators of the Columbia disaster this week....

Robot sub sets off on an ice mission.
March 7, 2003... A ROBOT submarine will venture into an unexplored pocket of the sea beneath the Antarctic ice shelf this month with a one in four chance of not returning. The autonomous underwater vehicle, called Autosub, will travel through the Amundsen Sea...

More booze, less [CO.sub.2].
March 7, 2003... A FERMENTING system being developed in the UK could increase alcohol production by up to 20 times and help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The technology, being developed at Manchester Metropolitan University, is claimed to be far more...

Sony DVD player takes a shine to blue light.
March 7, 2003... SONY HAS announced the commercial launch of the world's first DVD player to use blue-laser optical technology. The company said its Blu-Ray player/recorder will offer almost five times the storage capacity of conventional DVDs. Sony has...

'More nuclear power is necessary': unnamed DTI source reveals Energy White Paper fudged nuclear issue on purpose. (News).
March 7, 2003... A SOURCE at the Department of Trade and Industry has admitted that the recent Energy White Paper has purposely left the door open for the revival of nuclear power in the UK. While the government's focus on obtaining energy from renewable...

Running on air: Ford investigates new-style hybrid engine to improve fuel economy. (News).
March 7, 2003... HYBRID ENGINES that use compressed air to help power vehicles could dramatically improve fuel economy, particularly in built-up areas, according to research for Ford by the University of California. Researchers at the university...

UK firm aims to make hybrid cars more affordable. (News).
March 7, 2003... A BIPOLAR BATTERY being developed in the UK could make hybrid oars more affordable. Mansfield-based Atraverda is developing a prototype battery, based on a plate of conductive material, which weighs around half that of existing lead-acid...

Keeping track of offenders: enhanced satellite tagging system could be used to relieve pressure on UK prisons. (News).
March 7, 2003... THE EFFECTIVENESS of satellite navigation systems will be improved by up to 1,000 times, allowing signals to be picked up inside buildings, in a system that could soon be used by the government to track offenders. The new tagging...

Signalling a change: Lower signal strength, faster transmission pick-up. (News).
March 7, 2003... THE QINETIQ system is based on enhanced low-signal strength GPS technology, allowing receivers to pick up transmissions far quicker than existing systems, or to detect much weaker codes. Each GPS satellite transmits a 1023-bit Course...

Waving aside tyre incineration: A UK invention to reprocess tyres using microwaves looks set to be launched abroad first. (News).
March 7, 2003... MICROWAVE TECHNOLOGY that cleanly converts potentially toxic products such as car tyres into high-quality reusable waste has been developed by a UK company. However, Amat admitted that its system may never be used in this country. Despite...

Making light work of broadband: UK firm provides alternative to fibre-optics for high bandwidth data transmission in urban areas. (News).
March 7, 2003... OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY that delivers broadband Internet access via airborne light beams is to enter commercial use following final tests by its Cambridge developer. Quantumbeam has, since 1997, been researching Free Space Optics (FSO) as an...

Self-assembly memory: has conventional method had its chips? (News).
March 7, 2003... INCREASED computing power using nano-scale circuits came one step closer this week with the creation of a self-assembled single electron memory device. Self-assembly is a technology that could replace today's photolithographic production...

US rejoins fusion reactor project: after withdrawing from ITER in 1999 the US says it wants to play as large a role as possible. (News).
March 7, 2003... THE US GOVERNMENT has indicated that it wants to play as large a role as possible in the [pounds sterling]3bn International Thermonuclear Reactor (ITER) programme to build the world's first fusion reactor. The US rejoined the project last...

Touching news: synthetic skin gives robots a human sense of touch. (News).
March 7, 2003... US RESEARCHERS have created a synthetic skin that promises to give robots the human sense of touch. The skin, or sensor array, developed at the University of Illinois, is a polymer containing thin film metal resistors and is just 25 microns...

The latest score on mobiles: UMIST spin-off develops system offering live sports coverage to existing handsets. (News).
March 7, 2003... LIVE SPORTS ACTION pictures will be available over a mobile phone for the first time in the next few weeks, without the need to buy costly Third Generation handsets. Manchester-based Video Image Coding Specialists (VICS), a spin-off from...

Alloys get into power: steam turbine efficiency could be enhanced by using alloy parts able to withstand 750[degrees]C. (News).
March 7, 2003... POWER STATIONS using materials that mimic those of commercial jet engines hold the key to reduced emissions and better use of natural resources, claim cambridge university researchers. According to Professor of Physical Metallurgy Harry...

Hydrogen plant could take tidal energy by storm. (News).
March 7, 2003... A MORE EFFICIENT method of producing hydrogen by electrolysis could overcome a major barrier to using wave and wind power to fuel the national grid. If the UK is to move towards generating more electricity from renewable sources as...

Beaming in on DNA detection: police could be combating crime with extra-sensitive handheld device within two years. (News).
March 7, 2003... EXTREMELY SENSITIVE handheld devices capable of detecting tiny traces of drugs, DNA and explosives could be available for use by UK scenes of crime investigators within the next two years. Researchers at Strathclyde University are...

A new release...great balls of fragrance. (News).
March 7, 2003... ANTI-MOSQUITO shirts and tobacco smell-repelling furnishings could soon be on sale, following the launch of fabrics containing miniature, slow-release balls of fragrance. Sensory Perception Technology is the joint creation of Quest...

Deep sea driver: electric thruster designed to improve efficiency of underwater vehicles could also power tidal generators. (News).
March 7, 2003... A THRUSTER that is designed to improve the efficiency and control of unmanned underwater vehicles could also be used as a tidal power generator, according to its UK developers. The electric thruster, which has been developed by researchers...

Ricardo: despite the global economic climate the UK automotive consultant is still in demand and looking to a bright future. (Company Profile).
March 7, 2003... RICARDO is one of those firms that gives the lie to the claim that the UK automotive sector has no homegrown success stories. The Shoreham, West Sussex-based engineering consultant has worked with almost ail of the world's leading car...

Cautious optimism from Psion after slashing 2002 losses to [pounds sterling]30m. (The Week).
March 7, 2003... UK based wireless electronics specialist Psion this week cautiously signalled better times ahead after several years of upheaval. The Company said it expected to turn in a modestly improving performance in 2003 after slashing its pre tax...

Rolls-Royce sees profits halve and reveals [pounds sterling]lbn pension fund black hole. (The Week).
March 7, 2003... The slump in the global aviation industry was this week writ lange on the profits of Rolls-Royce which tell by almost half last year. The UK aero engineering giant made [pounds sterling]255m in 2002 compared to [pounds sterling]475m a year...

Spin-off problems hit Generics had as losses reach [pounds sterling]20m. (The Week).
March 7, 2003... Technology development group Generics admitted its financial performance last year was disappointing after seeing losses widen sharply to [pounds sterling]20m. The Cambridge group which identifies and invests in new technologies has been hit...

Tomkins upbeat over short-term savings, despite performance drop. (The Week).
March 7, 2003... Engineering group Tomkins has offered an upbeat view of its prospects, claiming an emphasis on introducing lean manufacturing processes is beginning to pay off. The group said the initiatives are delivering short term savings while it expects...

Major cost-reduction helps Cookson increase profitability. (The Week).
March 7, 2003... Electronics and materials engineer Cookson said all its divisions increased profitability last year following a major cost reduction programme. Cookson said trading at its electronics division had stablised but was still cautious about...

Keeping tags on offenders is no crime: electronic tagging of released prisoners is not the dawning of a Big Brother state. It's technology put to good use. (Comment).
March 7, 2003... IT'S EITHER a great leap forward in the rehabilitation of offenders into society, or it's the first step on a slippery slope into a Big Brother state. Even worse, it's a licence to let thugs back into the community to harass and intimidate...

A nasty little secret: few are prepared to admit it but UK companies are increasingly worried about the threat of industrial espionage. And surprisingly British law offers little protection against the pirating of R&D material. (Industrial Espionage).
March 7, 2003... INDUSTRIAL ESPIONAGE is a dirty little secret in the UK, and an investigation by The Engineer suggests it is on the increase. In this paranoid climate, fuelled by fears of international terrorism and war, many technology specialists are...

The research connection. (Profile: Keith Madelin).
March 7, 2003... As head of Rail Research UK, Keith Madelin faces the challenge of getting the rail industry to harness the academic research that could boost efficiency. But given the network's seemingly intractable problems, can he deliver? KEITH MADELIN...

Letters.
March 7, 2003... [H.sub.2] No Many thanks for an editorial debunking the drivel-ridden hydrogen fuel debate (Fuelling a myth, 21 February). This old chestnut has been going on far too long, and what you say is right. Even if an infrastructure for moving...

Sound Design. (Books).
March 7, 2003... David Attwood Mitchell Beazley, [pounds sterling]20 ***** An alternative version of 20th Century history that is not all dictators, royalty and global disaster concerns the impact of technological innovation on society. David...

The Space Shuttle Decision 1965-1972. (Books).
March 7, 2003... History of the Space Shuttle Vol 1 TA Heppenheimer, Smithsonian Institution Press, [pounds sterling]12.97 ***** The first of two volumes, this book examines the history and political decisions that shaped the Shuttle's eventual...

Lost Subs. (Books).
March 7, 2003... Spencer Dunmore Perseus Press, [pounds sterling]24.99 ***** Pictures of seaweed-strewn wrecks lying in the murky depths would not usually set the pulse racing. After all, one rusting hulk can look much like another. However,...

The falkirk wheel--a rotating boatlift. (Lecture).
March 7, 2003... A talk organised by the Institution of Structural Engineers about the construction of the world's first rotating boatlift (pictured]. 20 March. Contact 020 7235 4535 www.istructe.org.uk

The life of Galileo. (Theatre).
March 7, 2003... Swansea Grand Theatre. Galileo's discoveries about the solar system were considered heretical in his time and brought him to the attention of the Inquistion. Bertoldt Brecht's play examines Galileo's conflict with official ideology. 11-13...

The Classic Motor Show. (Exhibition).
March 7, 2003... Alexandra Palace, London. 15-16 March. Contact 0870 3656 542, www.londonclassicshow.co.uk

The Wrexham science festival. (Festival).
March 7, 2003... A week of events to encourage public understanding of science and promote nnovation. Includes the Visions of Science photographic exhibition. 24-30 March. Contact 01978 262896, www.wrexhamsf.com

Ultimate Formula One. (TV).
March 7, 2003... Documentary looking at the history, design and technology of Formula One cars, including interviews with Frank Williams and commentator Murray Walker. Channel 5, 9 March, 8pm.

Brain teaser. (Problem Page).
March 7, 2003... There are several hundred houses in a road, numbered conventionally: 1, 3, 5 etc and 2, 4, 6 etc. The sum of all the even numbers is twice the sum of all the odd numbers. What is the highest odd number and the highest even number? ...

You could win a family trip to Thinktank. (Problem Page).
March 7, 2003... Next issue's Brain Teaser carries the prize of a family ticket (admitting up to four) to Thinktank, the hi-tech museum of science and discovery in Birmingham. Thinktank's 10 interactive galleries on four floors illustrate how science and...

Textual healing. (Patent of the Week).
March 7, 2003... Who would have guessed text messaging could be a serious health risk? But the British Chiropractic Association recently stated that texting could cause repetitive strain and lead to injuries later in life' and the Repetitive Strain Injury...

Let fledgling technology fly.
March 21, 2003... The fledgling, fragile nanotechnology sector has not quite got the hounds of global protest at its door. But the pack is baying in the distance and heading this way. As The Engineer reveals this week, the same critics that brought the...

Osprey changes into civvies. (This Week).
March 21, 2003... THE CIVILIAN VERSION of the US military's V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft made its maiden voyage this month. The BA609 hovered at an altitude of 15m, moved forward and backward, made left and right turns and four take-offs and landings over...

A sucker for cow's milk. (This Week).
March 21, 2003... A ROBOTIC milking machine modelled on the workings of an elephant's trunk can raise dairy yields by milking cows when they choose, its designers say. The device, designed by Scottish company IceRobotics, allows the animals to be milked just...

ET radio earth. (This Week).
March 21, 2003... ASTRONOMERS searching for signs of life from other galaxies are to concentrate their efforts on 150 radio signals picked up from space in the past four years. Since it was set up the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has surveyed...

Blowing the terrorists' cover. (This Week).
March 21, 2003... TRIALS OF an explosives detection portal and 3D X-ray machine designed to catch terrorists carrying weapons have begun at Heathrow Airport. The security devices, which are being tested at Heathrow's busy Terminal One, will be introduced to...

Laser turns mine reader. (This Week).
March 21, 2003... THE GERMAN army is to develop a device that uses a powerful laser beam to help mine disposal experts distinguish between landmines and buried scrap metal. The technology, developed at Clausthal Technical University in Germany, is mounted...

Bend it like Appleton. (This Week).
March 21, 2003... WORKERS HAVE begun construction of the Diamond synchrotron at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, the largest science facility built in the UK for decades. The [pounds sterling]500m doughnut-shaped construction is the size of a...

Test to stop bacteria bugging food. (This Week).
March 21, 2003... A UNIVERSITY of Ulster researcher has developed a DNA fingerprinting technique that can detect biological contamination in food and drinking water in just 15 minutes. Existing methods of detecting bugs such as cryptosporidium or clostridium...

This Week.
March 21, 2003... Good PERSONAL COMPUTERS: Enthusiasts received a great bargain when the Amazon UK website accidentally sold pocket personal computers worth [pounds sterling]192 and [pounds sterling]500 for just [pounds sterling]7 and [pounds...

Giving chemical warfare a mist. (This Week).
March 21, 2003... AN ELECTROSTATIC spray capable of decontaminating 90 people an hour could save lives after a chemical or biological terrorist attack on a city or armed forces base. A mobile walk-through booth, being developed at the University of Georgia,...

Racing university challenge. (This Week).
March 21, 2003... A BRITISH racing car, designed and built by the University of Birmingham, will enter an international race this May. Held in Detroit, the competition will bring together teams from universities around the world. The Birmingham team was asked to...

Jockeying for GPS position. (This Week).
March 21, 2003... RACING enthusiasts will receive improved analysis of their horses' performance, following development of a radio tracking system to be introduced at major racecourses by the end of 2003. The GPS-based system from Generics and TurfTrax can...

A Silicon. (This Week).
March 21, 2003... A SILICON chip implant has been designed in the US to help the brain's hippocampus region to 'encode' experiences for long-term memory storage. The aim is to help people who have suffered brain damage regain the ability to store new memories....

Micro-gravity 'not a priority': lack of funds will halt important technology research. (News).
March 21, 2003... IMPORTANT UK micro-gravity research is likely to come to an end through lack of government funding, even though a DTI review will back further work in the field. Micro-gravity research, which examines the properties of materials and...

Bad vibrations: Holographic technology could detect metal fatigue in cars--and pave the way for a rattle-free drive. (News).
March 21, 2003... CARS AND AIRCRAFT could be made safer and quieter using a holographic analysis technique to detect metal fatigue, developed in a BMW-led European research project. Metal fatigue, caused by vibrations in the body panels, can lead car and...

The PC that's good for your PMT. (News).
March 21, 2003... RESEARCHERS AT Brunel University are developing a computer that will be able to sense the emotions of its user and offer them appropriate support. The system will use sensing equipment to detect changes in the user's pulse rate and breathing to...

Dynamic breakthrough: BAE Systems funds university's research into plasma to control unmanned aircraft. (News).
March 21, 2003... UNMANNED AIRCRAFT could be controlled using plasma and electro-magnetic pulses, with UK research being funded by BAE Systems. The research, being undertaken at Swansea University, is looking into the use of ionised gas and electro-magnetic...

Shape of things to come: while NASA funding aims to revolutionise aerodynamics and provide fuel efficiency. (News).
March 21, 2003... NASA IS TO FUND the development of shape-changing aircraft wings through a 10-year project that will investigate the use of nanomaterials and biological technologies. The radical aeronautical project aims to change aircraft control and...

US report identifies range of technologies to improve UAVs. (News).
March 21, 2003... THE US is to develop a new generation of unmanned aerial vehicles capable of flying for months on end to carry out a range of military and security operations. The US Department of Defence 'roadmap' for UAV development, unveiled this week,...

Turning the tide: offshore oscillating turbine adjusts to fluctuating wave conditions. (News).
March 21, 2003... WAVE-POWER technology able to adapt to a wide variety of tidal conditions could be supplying power to south-west England within two years. Following several years of laboratory and prototype trials, Orecon--a spin-out company of the...

Charge of the lighter brigade: materials breakthrough enables lithium batteries to be smaller but with double the power. (News).
March 21, 2003... BATTERIES USED in electric cars, laptops and mobile phones could double their capacity, thanks to the development of a next-generator rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Researchers at the US Department of Energy's Sandia Nationa...

Energy experts back the engineer over 'hydrogen fuel hoax'. (News).
March 21, 2003... SENIOR ENERGY experts have echoed calls in The Engineer (21 February) to abandon hopes that hydrogen will be the fuel of the future. Researchers at MIT's Laboratory for Energy said the gas would be unnecessarily expensive and could produce more...

Crews control: in the wake of the Columbia disaster ESA's new ISS supply vessel could signal a return to three-man flights. (News).
March 21, 2003... EUROPE'S new supply vessel for the International space Station could mean a return to a three-man crew if the Space Shuttle fleet is grounded in the long term. The European Space Agency's automated transfer vehicle (ATV), to be launched in...

Thermal imaging camera takes low-cost look at blockages. (News).
March 21, 2003... A LOW-COST thermal imaging camera that can be used with a standard PDA could help car maintenance crews and plumbers find faults and blockages. Most existing thermal imaging cameras cost around [pounds]10,000, limiting their use to...

Electronic nose sniffs out TB: UK researchers develop breathalyser device that promises to speed up detection of killer disease. (News).
March 21, 2003... A LOW-COST breathalyser that can diagnose tuberculosis in around an hour, dramatically speeding up treatment of the disease, is being developed in the UK with World Health Organisation funding. Researchers at Cranfield University have...

More waste, more haste: researchers develop system to speed decomposition of landfill rubbish. (News).
March 21, 2003... WASTE SITES could prolong their usefulness while reducing pollution using technology to monitor landfill, according to researchers at the University of Florida. Although the amount of waste recycled each year is increasing, the majority of...

Seams mean green: UK firm turns to Germany to realise methane power plan. (News).
March 21, 2003... A UK COMPANY developing technology to turn methane from coal beds into a green power source claimed its efforts had been scuppered by the government's energy policies. Alkane Energy--which extracts methane from abandoned coal mines--has...

Beefing up BSE detection: sensor could enable routine screening of all beef for contamination in place of spot checks. (News).
March 21, 2003... RESEARCHERS AT the University of Arkansas have developed a fast and easy method for detecting potential BSE contamination in minced beef as it travels along a factory production line. The system will allow manufacturers to check all...

Sensor helps farmers solve cotton picking problem. (News).
March 21, 2003... COTTON FARMERS could reduce their use of chemicals and boost yield from their crops, thanks to a sensor system developed by researchers at Texas A&M University. Cotton crops must be carefully managed because even small changes in their...

Spirent: The communications test-system specialist has paid a heavy price for surviving the UK hi-tech industry slump. (Company Profile).
March 21, 2003... FIVE YEARS AGO, Spirent was a member of an exclusive club of UK companies that looked set to take the world by storm. The club's members were developing the technology underpinning high-speed communications networks, and so looked to be in the...

Joint venture with MoD helps Biotrace to 25 per cent profits rise. (The Week).
March 21, 2003... Biotrace to 25 per cent profits rise Biotrace, one of the UK's biggest suppliers of biological weapons detection systems, stormed ahead to a 25 per cent profits rise last year. The south Wales-based company said the current geopolitical...

Turbo Genset to turn power generation technology into reality. (The Week).
March 21, 2003... Turbo Genset, the UK company developing new power generation systems, claimed it now 'stands on the brink' of turning its technology into commercial reality after overcoming significant development hurdles last year. The company, which is...

Smiths sales and profits steady despite turmoil in aerospace sector. (The Week).
March 21, 2003... Smiths Group managed to turn in a solid financial performance against a background of turmoil in the global aerospace industry - one of its key markets. The engineering group, which also has significant medical and industrial operations,...

Bodycote cuts costs and merges operations to offset profits tumble. (The Week).
March 21, 2003... Materials technology group Bodycote saw its profits tumble last year as demand in almost all of its key markets fell away. The Cheshire-based company made [pounds sterling]38m before tax in 2002 compared to [pounds sterling]66m the previous...