The Engineer articles from March 2005

The Engineer archives from March 2005

Beginning a healthy new era?
March 11, 2005... Medical technology is a perfect example of an area where, given half a chance, the UK really could lead the world. As discussed in this week's Focus (page 18) the government finally seems to be waking up to the potential of the UK's...

Fuel cells get sporty.
March 11, 2005... Debut of the first sports tourer to operate on hydrogen Mercedes-Benz unveiled its next-generation fuel cell vehicle at the Geneva motor show this month; the 'B-Cell'. Mercedes' parent DaimlerChrysler said the new B-class 'F-Cell' is the...

Rise and shine for Japan's first Maglev.
March 11, 2005... Japan's first Maglev train service opened to the public this week. Launched on Sunday, Linimo will transport visitors to and from the 2005 World Expo, which runs from 25 March to late September in the Nagoya Eastern Hills in central...

Bayer's amazing non-colour dreamcoat.
March 11, 2005... A self-healing coating for cars has been developed by materials researchers at Bayer in Germany. While it will not remove dents, the coating is designed to get rid of fine scratches caused by over-zealous hand-washing. The scratch...

Pledge of #30m to engineering and physical science skills.
March 11, 2005... The government is to invest #150m in energy research over the next few years as part of its science spending plans announced this week. Funding for nano-technology research will also rise to #200m, while universities and institutes will...

Tarmac throws in the sponge on flooded roads.
March 11, 2005... Tarmac has developed a pavement that acts like a sponge, soaking up rainwater to prevent flash flooding. The absorbent surfacing material, called Aquifa, holds, purifies and recycles water from downpours, removing impurities before they enter...

Gearing up for a Mars landing.
March 11, 2005... Manned spacecraft could be on their way to Mars by 2017 if space agencies used existing nuclear propulsion systems, it has been claimed. Nikolay Ponomarev-Stepnoi of the Kurchatov Institute said Russian- designed nuclear engines and propulsion...

Daylight robbery.
March 11, 2005... Oxford University breakthrough could produce unlimited supplies of hydrogen using natural light TWO TEAMS of researchers at Oxford University have brought the hydrogen revolution a step closer. One has found a way to generate a...

Fuel for thought.
March 11, 2005... Project pulls together different strands of fuel cell R&D UK industry and academics are to collaborate on a #2.1m research project to investigate potential barriers to the introduction of fuel cells for vehicles and power generation. ...

Banking on tidal power.
March 11, 2005... Cornish firm develops 200MW hydroelectric generator An offshore tidal power generator consisting of banks of turbines could produce up to 200MW of power, according to its developers. The technology could have an efficiency of 70-80 per...

Material witness.
March 11, 2005... Two UK police forces trial thermal ID marking for pursuit cars Two UK police forces are running trials of a vehicle marking material that will allow them to distinguish between pursuit cars and offenders during chases at night and in bad...

Spin doctor.
March 11, 2005... Future medical implants could benefit from the study of spider silk Machines that replicate the spinning action of spiders to produce man made spider-like silks five times stronger than steel and twice as elastic as nylon could be used to...

Out-smarting diabetes with glucose sensors.
March 11, 2005... Hologram-based glucose sensors that diabetics can wear as contact lenses are being developed by UK researchers. The technology is based on interactive holograms that can be engineered to change wavelength, image, brightness or position in...

Taking a different line.
March 11, 2005... Ultrasonic rail crack detector for passenger trains would mean more inspections Network Rail and London Underground are supporting a project to build an ultrasonic device for inspecting cracks in rails, which could be fitted to...

Engine aims for car emissions reduction - at a stroke.
March 11, 2005... Ricardo is to develop a prototype engine capable of switching between two-stroke and four-stroke operation to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. The company, which previously carried out a feasibility study to investigate the...

Crowd control.
March 11, 2005... Military-funded collaboration to study nature for single-handed control of UAV swarms A major US research collaboration will investigate how wolf packs and shoals of fish could teach engineers to control swarms of unmanned vehicles. ...

A touch of glass for nanosatellites.
March 11, 2005... Glass nanosatellites could cut the high-costs and lengthy production times normally associated with the spacecraft, claim researchers. A team at the Aerospace Corporation in California have built a demonstrator - 100 times smaller than...

Sensing the danger.
March 11, 2005... Helmet-mounted displays and body sensors could help save firefighters' lives Wearable computers could prevent deaths among firefighters by helping them to navigate in smoke and assess danger levels. Helmet-mounted displays and...

Reducing the scale of drag.
March 11, 2005... A coating for the hulls of ships that mimics sharks' scales could prevent fouling by algae and barnacles without causing pollution, its developers claim. When organisms attach themselves to ships, drag increases, reducing fuel efficiency....

FOCUS: A healthier prognosis?
March 11, 2005... The government has announced plans to work with the medical technology industry to improve provision of NHS equipment, but will they deliver results? Andrew Lee reports As an ageing, wealthier and more demanding population grows to...

BAE in stateside coup.
March 11, 2005... UK firm announces acquisition of US military equipment supplier UDI BAE Systems this week confirmed its place at the top table of the US defence spending feeding frenzy when it announced the planned takeover of UDI, manufacturer of the...

IMI gains ground.
March 11, 2005... Engineering group IMI continued its progress in its chosen hi-tech markets, driven by a strong performance from its fluid power operations. Dominated by its Norgren division, fluid power boosted its operating profits by almost 50 per cent to...

All shipshape at Raymarine.
March 11, 2005... Cruising technology boosts electronics specialist's sales Raymarine, the UK marine electronics specialist, claimed its future is shipshape thanks to demand from leisure sailors for increasingly sophisticated systems ranging from...

CDT joins forces with Add-Vision to produce low-cost displays.
March 11, 2005... Cambridge Display Technology (CDT), a UK pioneer in light-emitting polymer systems, has linked with US company Add-Vision to develop low- cost display screens for mass production. California-based Add-Vision uses techniques based on screen...

Army to use Thales imaging system.
March 11, 2005... Thales UK has signed a deal with the MoD to provide advanced thermal imaging technology to the army's fighting vehicles. Defence chiefs have approved Thales's Battle Group Thermal Imaging System (BGTI) for use in more than 600 Warrior and...

Biofuels green fuel plant on track for July completion.
March 11, 2005... Biofuels Corporation, the company building Europe's biggest biodiesel plant on Teesside, said it is on course to have the new facility operational in July. Biofuels plans to produce alternative diesel from vegetable oils, meeting what it...

Senior forecasts a healthy 2005 despite losses last year.
March 11, 2005... Engineering group Senior swung into the red last year but said its underlying position remained healthy. The firm said the high cost of raw materials and weak US dollar contributed to a #5.2m pre-tax loss in 2004. However, Senior said new...

Boeing chief executive dismissed.
March 11, 2005... Boeing was on the back foot again this week when it sacked chief executive Harry Stonecipher after an investigation into a 'personal relationship' with a female colleague. The board said it asked for and received Stonecipher's resignation...

VIEWPOINT: Sizing up the challenge.
March 11, 2005... The public's nanotechnology knowledge is scant, so a new group has set out to demystify it. Alec Reader and Mark Gilligan explain Key players in the many industries associated with nanotechnology came together last week to launch the...

BOOK REVIEW: CLEAN ENERGY.
March 11, 2005... CLEAN ENERGY #89.95 Royal Society of Chemistry Clean Energy presents a broad survey of the energy problems that will face society over the coming decades and their potential solutions. The book emphasises the importance of...

Letter: Reverse this trend.(Letter to the Editor)
March 11, 2005... Once again I am infuriated at stories of UK companies selling out to foreign competitors. On this occasion it is the ongoing story of Rover, which is by all accounts about to sell the controlling share of this UK company to China (Comment,...

Letter - TALKING POINT: Back ESA's work.
March 11, 2005... It was said to read that the Bush administration has decided it has other priorities more important than to maintain the Hubble telescope (The Big Picture, 11 February). This must be the most celebrated telescope among international...

Letter: Offer in the wind.(Letter to the Editor)
March 11, 2005... I am a retired mechanical engineer and over the past 20 years or so I have been building a wind turbine. The machine is more than 90 per cent complete, but owing to my age and lack of resources it is unlikely to be finished. So I am...

SOLAR POWER FROM SPACE: Sun seekers.
March 11, 2005... Advances in space exploration technology could herald the answer to the global energy crisis and the search for emission-free sources to replace fossil fuels. Helen Knight and Jon Excell report IN July a team of engineers from Europe and...

'SAILING' TOWARDS AN ENERGY SOLUTION?
March 11, 2005... With space exploration technology expected to be one of the driving factors in the development of space solar power, next month's planned launch of Cosmos-1, the world's first solar-sail powered spacecraft, will be watched with interest by...

INTERVIEW - PROF GEORGE SMITH: Probing mind.
March 11, 2005... As head of Oxford University's materials science department and pioneering firm Oxford nanoScience, Prof George Smith has the ear of academia, industry and government alike. Richard Fisher reports The government is clamping down on...

DESIGN ENGINEERING: Wind of change.
March 11, 2005... To simulate on-site conditions for more cost-efficient wind farms, a Spanish project turned to software usually associated with the aerodynamic design of car bodies and boat hulls. Christopher Sell reports Wind power divides opinion...

DESIGN ENGINEERING - SEAPLANE TECHNOLOGY: Centaur has landed.
March 11, 2005... A UK seaplane contravenes traditional thinking by employing marine design and materials to produce a lighter, stronger aircraft which can operate on water and land. Christopher Sell reports In an age of progressive maritime technology,...

DESIGN ENGINEERING - SOFTWARE: Value for money.
March 11, 2005... To assist with the speedy design of customised components, software resellers are offering mainstream products which not only cost each part but also enable better customer service. Charles Clarke explains Value Added Resellers (VARs) have...

DESIGN ENGINEERING - DRIVES & CONTROLS: Driving forward.
March 11, 2005... The world of electrical variable speed drives is as broad and diverse in range and application as the technologies it embraces. Mark Venables explains A discussion on the future path of electrical variable speed drives used to be a...

COMMENT: Everything but deep disposal is a waste of time.
March 29, 2005... It is impossible not to be left feeling slightly dizzy when listening to engineers and scientists discussing the issue of what to do with the UK's stockpile of nuclear waste (see page 9). Not by the horribly dangerous nature of the waste...

Fleet street.
March 29, 2005... After the high-speed Maglev train, Japan's World Expo visitors hitch a lift in driverless buses Fleets of driverless buses that offer a glimpse of future urban public transport have made their debut in Japan Visitors to the World...

Meet Emiew, Hitachi's speedy, talking robot.
March 29, 2005... The world's fastest humanoid robot has been unveiled by Hitachi. At 1.3m tall, Emiew (Excellent mobility and interactive existence as workmate) can move at almost 4 mph due to the fact that it has wheels instead of feet. The robot...

Glowing with nanopride.
March 29, 2005... Researchers in the US have built a nanodevice that can split hydrogen from water using sunlight. The work at Sandia Laboratories, Albequerqe, echoes research at Oxford University previously reported in The Engineer (11 March), which uses...

NASA water purifier to aid disaster victims on Earth.
March 29, 2005... A water cleansing process to recycle astronauts' sweat, oxygen and urine into drinking water is to be used in countries with contaminated water supplies. US investment firm Crestridge and charity Concern for Kids plan to introduce at least...

ESA and India in Moonshot deal.
March 29, 2005... ESA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have agreed to co- operate on India's first moon mission - Chandrayaan-1. Europe will co- ordinate and support the provision of three instruments: an imaging x- ray spectrometer, an atom...

Dundee University to carry out space simulation research.
March 29, 2005... Dundee University has opened a Space Technology Centre that will carry out advanced research into planetary landing simulators, and develop support technology for space missions. The centre will develop new simulation tools and sensor models...

100 sites sign up to CERN.
March 29, 2005... The team behind the world's biggest grid computer has announced that over 100 separate sites have now signed up. In 2007 the grid will use collective computing power from 31 countries to process the floods of data generated by the Large...

Weigh to go.
March 29, 2005... Lotus develops lightweight composite family hatchback that could be mass produced Lotus Engineering is developing a composite family hatchback that will weigh around a third less than conventional cars, and could be mass produced. ...

Make haste on waste.
March 29, 2005... Nuclear waste forum urges action over UK's long-term radioactive stockpile Specialists in nuclear waste technology this week again called for a speedy decision on the UK's long-term strategy for storage of its stockpile of radioactive...

Avoiding a generation gap.
March 29, 2005... Electricity supply could descend into chaos in 30 years' time as vast numbers of small wind generators and solar cells come on to the grid. In response a #2.5m research consortium, including Rolls-Royce and Scottish Power, has announced a...

Piece work.
March 29, 2005... Gamma-ray baggage scanner to spot explosives by identifying their chemical components A team at Liverpool University is building a gamma-ray scanner for airports that creates clear images of hidden drugs and explosives by piecing together...

In concert.
March 29, 2005... 'Virtual antenna arrays' that share data transmission could massively increase mobile capacity Mobile phone signal capacity could escalate with better quality video and quicker file downloads if handsets in a local area work together,...

Sackfuls of shelter.
March 29, 2005... Aid workers and troops in war zones and areas devastated by natural disasters could soon be using portable shelters that are better insulated and more robust than tents, thanks to two students at London's Royal College of Art. The Concrete...

Spinning truths.
March 29, 2005... UK researchers plan space laboratory to ensure Earth observation satellites' data is correct A spacecraft that could service Earth observation satellites in orbit, ensuring their data is accurate, is being proposed by UK researchers. ...

X-rays could mark the fingerprint spot.
March 29, 2005... Dusting crime scenes for fingerprints can sometimes erase or alter forensic evidence according to US researchers. But a new technique based on X-rays, developed by a team at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, led by...

Going with the flow.
March 29, 2005... US researchers build fuel cell with no membrane that could offer more cost-efficient power US ENGINEERS have built a fuel cell with no membrane that mimics the flow of toothpaste being squeezed from a tube. The device could prove more...

Seaworthy power.
March 29, 2005... Turbines using existing designs could be placed inside large-bore underwater pipes to produce a reliable, clean and cost-effective source of tidal power, a Dorset engineer claims. Don Cutler, founder of the Weymouth-based engineering firm...

FOCUS: Keeping our trains on track.
March 29, 2005... The UK rail industry is considering the options for alternative power technologies as it prepares to come under the environmental spotlight. Helen Knight reports The railways have long enjoyed the image of a green mode of transport,...

Smiths Group flying high.
March 29, 2005... Recovery in commercial aviation activities helps boost engineering giant's results A focus on fast-growing engineering and technology sectors helped Smiths Group to another strong set of financial figures. Boosted by a recovery in its...

US market puts brakes on GM profits.
March 29, 2005... General Motors, the world's biggest automotive company, issued a profits warning to investors as it felt the heat of unprecedented competition in its US heartland. GM said it now expects to post a loss in the first quarter of 2005 after...

VIEWPOINT: Keying in the code to success.
March 29, 2005... As the UK follows Japan into the Location Based Services market, collaboration is crucial if we are to succeed, says Francis Tuffy If every Japanese mobile phone subscriber moved to the UK, our population would more than double. Even in...

BOOK REVIEW: ELECTRIC UNIVERSE.
March 29, 2005... ELECTRIC UNIVERSE David Bodanis Little, Brown #14.99 Bodanis's book deals with the phenomenon of electricity, and its discovery and manipulation by some of the most famous minds in scientific history. Split into five parts,...

Letter: Making waves.(Letter to the Editor)
March 29, 2005... Thank you for raising the subject of ocean-going vessels and large waves ('Rogue elements', Feature, 25 February). However, like so much other 'environment-related' material, this is principally a case of data that has existed for years,...

Letter - TALKING POINT: Unhealthy outlook.
March 29, 2005... It is not really surprising that the NHS is preparing to invest more in medical technology. As The Engineer (Focus and Comment, 11 March) and others have pointed out for some time, this is one of the only routes to meeting the massive...

Letter: Space for all skills.(Letter to the Editor)
March 29, 2005... I agree with Keith Attwood (Letters, 11 March) on the importance of continued space research, both as a good thing in its own right and as a way of promoting science and technology to a new generation. Space is one of the areas in which...

LARGE HADRON COLLIDER: Global smash hit.
March 29, 2005... The Engineer was given early access to the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, before its scheduled launch in 2007. Richard Fisher reports on an unprecedented international engineering effort Echoes drift up from the huge white cavern far below...

INTERVIEW - PROF JULIAN VINCENT: Copy cat.
March 29, 2005... The physics is the same in biology and engineering, says biomimetics expert Prof Julian Vincent - and his aim is to 'bridge the gap' between them. Jon Excell reports For almost four billion years the process of evolution has steadily...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING: Tough act.
March 29, 2005... Fraunhofer Institute modifies conventional injection moulding technique to enable the cost-efficient production of tough metal components. Christopher Sell reports German Researchers have modified conventional injection moulding...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING - MEMS POWER: Good vibrations.
March 29, 2005... UK company develops a wireless MEMs device that harvests kinetic energy from natural movement in the environment and converts it into usable electrical energy. Christopher Sell reports In an age of ever more pervasive electronics, the...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING: AUSTRALIA MOVES TOWARDS KINETIC POWER.
March 29, 2005... The work by Innos and Perpetuum represents a significant step to producing high-precision, small-scale kinetic wireless devices, but the concept of harvesting low-level vibrations to produce energy is not entirely new. Perhaps the...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING - PROCESS MANAGEMENT: Controlling interest.
March 29, 2005... The trend for integrated safety systems would appear to signal the demise of more traditional process management. But until certification issues are resolved nothing can be taken for granted. Paul Gay explains Process automation suppliers...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING - COMPOSITE MATERIALS: Sharp attack.
March 29, 2005... The use of composites has been steadily growing as the demand for strength and lightness increases, but what are the problems faced and what is the most efficient way to cut them? Martin Oakham reports Most engineers will be aware of the...