The Engineer articles from September 2003

The Engineer archives from September 2003

Language kills. (This Week: the Lotus Exige: keep it on the racetrack).
September 12, 2003... 'Makers of supercar killed my little girl,' claimed grieving mum. 'The speeding scum behind the wheel pulled the trigger, but who sold him a 160mph loaded gun?' It's not hard to imagine the above appearing in a tabloid near you soon, along...

Good week.(This Week)
September 12, 2003... * Campers: Oxford University says it has revolutionized tent design using 'a series of simple mechanical linkages' so it can de 'rapidly erected'. Assuming all the linkages are there... * Slimmers: Those obsessed with body fat can find out...

Bad week.(This Week)
September 12, 2003... * Thieves: A US thief was found by police because he stole a tracking device being used by a former prisoner on probation. He reported the theft and police followed the brick-sized gizmo's signals to the thief's apartment. * Perfume...

Mission impossible?(This Week)
September 12, 2003... THE INVESTIGATION into last week's failed launch of Qinetiq1--the giant balloon that was to be used in a world altitude record attempt--is still in progress, a company spokesman said this week. Speculation that the balloon-envelope twisted...

Insects provide double vision that gives UAVs clearer sight.(This Week)
September 12, 2003... AN UNMANNED aircraft that uses technology drawn from insects is to be tested by NASA this week for possible use as a space explorer. Researchers at the Australian National University found that the ocelli, or second set of eyes, in the...

Power cuts for mobiles in California.(This Week)
September 12, 2003... A TEAM from the University of California, San Diego has found a way of reducing the power consumption of 3G mobile phones by up to 50 per cent. Current 3G phones can reduce their signal amplitude when closer to a base station, but even...

Disaster Monitor lends a hand to aid agencies.(This Week)
September 12, 2003... A CLUSTER OF UK-built micro-satellites will soon provide reliable and Up-to-date information on natural and manmade disasters around the world. The Disaster Monitoring Constellation will be the first satellites dedicated to this purpose,...

NASA plays cautious in a bid to avoid another Columbia.(This Week)
September 12, 2003... THE NEXT space shuttle mission will be a test flight, NASA has announced. Astronauts will be inspecting the exterior of the craft and practising repair techniques to reduce the risk of another Columbia-type disaster. The original plan was...

These fingers are made for talking.(This Week)
September 12, 2003... TOKYO UNIVERSITY researchers have developed a virtual-reality tool that fits on to the fingernail to make smooth surfaces feel like anything from Braille to a piece of polystyrene. Dubbed Smartfinger, the device consists of a vibrating voice...

Teeny tactic to keep tabs on bad driving.(This Week)
September 12, 2003... CAR-OWNING parents in the US can now buy an event data recorder to monitor their teenage children's driving habits. When the driver exceeds the speed limit the RS-1000 'black box' recorder sounds a warning and records the incident on a computer...

A gem of a diamond.(This Week)
September 12, 2003... US MATERIALS technologists claim to have created laboratory-grown synthetic diamonds that are almost impossible to distinguish from the real thing. Apollo Diamond of Boston forms the gems by chemical vapour deposition. This creates diamond...

Boom time for US supersonic flight: as Concorde is about to be scrapped the US hopes to pick up where the European airliner left off.(News)
September 12, 2003... A MONTH BEFORE Concorde is to due to be scrapped the US has announced it is hoping to open a new chapter in supersonic flight, following the successful test of a new sonic-boom reduction technology. Concorde, the first supersonic passenger...

F1 meets the school run: supercar advances will pass down to mainstream cars.(News)
September 12, 2003... TECHNOLOGY FROM the Mercedes SLR McLaren supercar will help to improve the design of more mainstream models in the future, according to McLaren boss Ron Dennis. The supercar, unveiled at this week's Frankfurt Motor Show, was developed by...

Dispute scuppers C[O.sub.2] targets: as UK industry strives to meet Kyoto agreement the DTI halts sequestration plans.(News)
September 12, 2003... A SOLUTION to the UK's carbon dioxide pollution problem could be undermined by government departmental disagreement despite an industry push to put the technology in place by 2008. Last week the Defra minister for the environment, Elliot...

Bridge over rising water: world's first floating road to rise with the tide could hold solution for those in flood plains and low-lying areas.(News)
September 12, 2003... THE WORLD'S first road designed to float on water and adapt to flooding by rising and falling with the tide is to be opened in the Netherlands later this month. The 70m long construction can cope with floods of 30 cm above normal while...

Making waves: bugs in water, sewage and food could be killed more efficiently with microwave-powered system.(News)
September 12, 2003... ULTRAVIOLET lamps powered by microwaves could kill germs in water, sewage and food more cheaply and effectively than conventional systems, according to UK engineers developing the technology. Quay Technologies, based in Birkenhead,...

Customising anaesthetic to patient need.(News)
September 12, 2003... MEASURING the body's response to sound could ensure that patients receive the correct dose of anaesthetic during surgery, researchers at the University of Southampton have announced. At present, anaesthetists must judge the correct level of...

Clear road for diesel: diesel-fuelled vehicles can convert to hydrogen power for cleaner city driving.(News)
September 12, 2003... RESEARCHERS at the US government's Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois have developed a nozzle that will allow diesel fuel to be converted into hydrogen to power hybrid fuel cells in vehicles. The discovery means that diesel-fuelled...

Light infantry: US troops could soon be utilising solar power to run battlefield kit.(News)
September 12, 2003... US TROOPS could soon be using lightweight plastic solar panel based on nano-engineered particles to power their battlefield equipment. The US Army is funding prototypes of a power technology developed by Massachusetts-based Konarka, a...

Introducing the mobile phone with manners.(News)
September 12, 2003... A POLITE mobile phone that knows when its user is busy, and diverts calls to avoid disturbing them is being developed in the US. The technology, known as context aware, is viewed as the next stage of device intelligence. The device, called...

Setting sail on a solar mission: using sails could enable the European Space Agency to explore more far-flung planets.(News)
September 12, 2003... THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY is investigating the use of large solar sails to propel spacecraft on its future missions to the outer planets. The agency is working with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) to develop a 20m x 20m demonstrator solar...

LED ahead: two auto suppliers reveal new-style headlights at Frankfurt Motor Show.(News)
September 12, 2003... CAR HEADLAMPS will be transformed by light-emitting diode technology in the next three years, according to two major automotive suppliers. At this week's Frankfurt Motor Show Valeo and Hella revealed that they are developing white LED...

Raising roads and buildings from recycled ashes.(News)
September 12, 2003... AN 8m [pounds sterling] plant in Fife which will recycle over 500,000 tonnes of power station ash a year when it reaches full capacity will help operating company ScotAsh boost its green credentials. Working with ScottishPower and Lafarge...

Sarantel: digital golf 'caddie' is the first step on the road to the installation of GPS receivers into all new mobile phones.(Company Profile)
September 12, 2003... HELPING struggling golfers find the 14th green is a small but significant step on the road to world domination for miniature antenna specialist Sarantel. A handheld digital golf range finder that uses GPS satellite data to tell players how...

Cambridge and BT exact in technology promotion deal.(The Week)
September 12, 2003... Cambridge University has signed a development agreement With BT Exact, the telecoms giant's research and technology arm. The deal is the first to be brokered by Cambridge's corporate liaison office, an initiative designed to promote...

Evolution considers flotation for university spin-out subsidiary.(The Week)
September 12, 2003... Evolution Group, the investment bank that is a significant provider of funds for ventures in areas such as nanotechnology and advanced electronics, is considering a stock market, flotation for its fast-growing university spin-out subsidiary....

Meggitt's military turnover up as it leaves civilian sector standing.(The Week)
September 12, 2003... Turnover from military activities has overtaken those from civil aerospace at Meggitt, the Dorset-based engineering group. The company said military business now accounts for almost 40 per cent of sales compared to 33 per cent at the same stage...

IMI restructure pays off as company sees profits leap to 66m [pounds sterling].(The Week)
September 12, 2003... IMI, Which is re-structuring itself to focus on developing advanced technologies in areas such as fluid controls and retail merchandising, has seen its underlying profit leap sharply. IMI has spent several years offloading commodity activities...

Vislink wins 1m [pounds sterling] US security order as it aims for new business.(The Week)
September 12, 2003... Vislink, the SPecialist in microwave transmission systems for the broadCast and surveillance industries, said it hopes to develop new business from government and military agencies, where demand is currant y strong. It recently won a $2m (1.2...

Forget tilting trains--let's steam clean the UK's railway system: it's time we simply threw in the towel and admitted our network is on its deathbed. The way to good health is to go back to steam.(Comment)
September 12, 2003... THE UK'S RAIL network has lost the plot. We sit by its bed and hold its hand while cash is injected. We smile hopefully as a once-closed station blinks open again. We nod in feigned understanding when a specialist pops his head round the door...

Man must boldly go.(Talking Point)
September 12, 2003... Rob Coppinger's editorial 'Risk robots, not lives' (Leader, 29 August) makes many good points and acknowledges that space exploration is prestigious and expensive, but overlooks the fact that going into space is fun Even if one intends...

The case for UK coal gasification.(Letters)
September 12, 2003... In reply to your item 'Priced out of the market' (News, 29 August), in following the recommendations of the Energy white paper published in February, the government has pledged the UK to an energy mix containing a rapidly increasing content of...

Flexible friends.(Letters)
September 12, 2003... David Fowler's feature 'The Rise of the Robots' (Robotics, August 29) both made and missed some good points. It argued that the only real limitation on robots in industry is human interaction which was spot on. However, it later claimed...

M-way pedal power.(Letters)
September 12, 2003... The letters on motorways (Talking Point, 29 August) have veered off the main point which was how we can utilise them more effectively. I would like to see a feasibility study into cycle lanes on motorways. The designer's ingenuity might be...

Stop nit-picking.(Letters)
September 12, 2003... Two correspondents, Julius Marstrand end Richard Grey, accused me of using the wrong terminology when referring to motorway lanes (Letters, 29 August), but all of this nit-picking does not negate my original two points. The two-second gap is...

Time to act on energy.(Letters)
September 12, 2003... I agree entirely with Dr Nail Lowrie's comments concerning the need for innovation and action to develop adequate non-fossil sources of electrical power to meet our future needs (Letters, 29 August), While solar power, if useful, might not be...

Closing the floodgates: another flood barrier could be needed by 2050 to protect London from rising water levels. Hard questions about where it should go, how it will work and who will pay for it are already looming.(Thames Barrier 2)
September 12, 2003... THE CLOCK is ticking on one of the biggest engineering challenges facing the nation: protecting London and south-east England from catastrophic flooding. The Thames Barrier has done the job for almost 20 years, but government and engineers...

Space for change: as Boeing's director of space transportation Bill Rothschild is overseeing work on the US's next generation of space launch vehicles and is at the heart of a new culture emerging at NASA.(Interview: Bill Rothschild)
September 12, 2003... THESE ARE troubled times for NASA. The space agency finds itself under scrutiny as never before following the publication of the accident investigation report into the Columbia disaster. How the organisation works, how it runs the space shuttle...

Alarmingly secure: a fibreoptic-based security system can distinguish false alarms from true break-ins.(Design News)
September 12, 2003... A SECURITY SYSTEM that could dramatically reduce the number of false alarms caused by rogue gusts of wind and inquisitive squirrels has been developed as part of a European Commission initiative to stimulate the use of machine vision...

Initiatives in the pipeline.(Design News)
September 12, 2003... THE EC PROJECT that gave birth to Fenceguard--EUTIST IMV (European Take-up of Essential Information Society Technologies, Integrated Machine Vision)--has also fostered the development of a range of other machine vision innovations. *...

Cooling influence: technology developed by a US company could give CPU fans a run for their money.(Design News)
September 12, 2003... COOLING DEVICES could soon be available as an alternative to fans in laptop computers. They could even be placed in handheld electronic equipment too small for fans, such as mobile phones. Georgia Institute of Technology spin-out company...

This motor's made for walking: Swedish company borrows from Mother Nature to develop world's smallest piezoelectric linear motor.(Design News)
September 12, 2003... A SMALL Swedish company has utilised piezoelectricity to drive what it claims is the world's smallest, most precise linear motor that works on an entirely new principle borrowed from nature. Machined from a single, solid piece, the...

Plastic makes further inroads: Audi to introduce world's first polymer oil module housing as 'under-bonnet' applications continues.(Design News)
September 12, 2003... THE WORLD'S first all-plastic oil module housing is about to go into series production on Audi's new A3 2-litre FSI engine claimed the German car company. The innovation recently received an Automotive Division Award from the Society of...

Signalling a new era: 3D ceramic structure paves way for smaller, more efficient antenna.(Design News)
September 12, 2003... ERA TECHNOLOGY has begun a major R&D programme to develop and demonstrate an innovative ceramic antenna that could be used in a range of products, from cruise missiles to PDAs and mobile phones. It is expected to combine the efficiency and...

Tags keep tabs on food.(Japanese Breakthroughs)
September 12, 2003... Japan's farm ministry plans to use integrated circuit shipping tags to improve the distribution and freshness of perishable foods such as meat and farm produce. The data recording and recognition system is designed to cut distribution costs,...

Taking the sting out of surgery.(Japanese Breakthroughs)
September 12, 2003... When a mosquito inserts its sting--just 80 micrometers thick and made of a flexible substance called chitin--into humans it pushes aside cells without damaging them. Surgical needles using the sting's properties have been jointly developed by...

Diagnosing dozy drivers.(Japanese Breakthroughs)
September 12, 2003... Following a shock report that the driver of a bullet train had fallen asleep at 270 kpm with 800 passengers aboard Japan's transport ministry is considering the introduction of a system that assesses fatigue levels by analysing speech patterns....

Mitsubishi the rainmaker.(Japanese Breakthroughs)
September 12, 2003... Saudi Arabia's and Red Sea coast may one day enjoy rainfall and a verdant landscape to match if Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has its way. The company is discussing the possibility of creating a 50 sq km oasis with the Saudi government. ...

Rendered easy: derived from movie special-effects technology, ImageStudio, Alias's latest rendering tool, is so simple to operate that even non-experts can produce good-quality promotional material.(Software)
September 12, 2003... ALIAS WAVEFRONT has given itself a facelift. As well as simplifying its name to Alias, the 20-year veteran of the computer visualisation market has announced its first new product for two years. It has also introduced updates to its digital...

Water works: water-based hydraulic systems, prohibitively expensive since the invention of their oil-based relatives, are now becoming an affordable solution in a range of applications.(Fluid Power)
September 12, 2003... MENTION HYDRAULICS, and most people think of heavy-duty off-powered pistons. But it doesn't take a professor of etymology to realise that the technology's first successful medium was water, and until Jenney's invention of the hydraulic off...

Reinventing the motor: linear motor technology has been around for decades, but the price put paid to its widespread use. Now motor control expert Baldor has come up with a redesign that halves the cost.(Linear Motion)
September 12, 2003... PROGRESS USUALLY comes at a price. Though a new technology's benefits may be patently obvious, it is often harder to justify the costs. Early adopters, frequently in the US, Germany and Japan, take the initiative and the risks, make the...

Brain teaser.(Problem Page)
September 12, 2003... You are to measure any weight in 1g increments from 1 to 40. You are allowed just four weights (each a whole number of grammes) and a balance scale. What are the four weights? Solution next issue. Sent in by Ken Pressley, British Sugar,...

See Design Museum's celebration of Citroen.(Problem Page)
September 12, 2003... As Citroen's head of design from the 1930s to the 1960s. Flaminio Bertoni styled such classics as the Traction Avant, 2CV aria DS19. When Flaminio drove to France--Flaminio Bertoni's Designs for Citroen, at London's Design Museum until 12...

In the heat of the light.(tech need challenge)
September 12, 2003... A substance or dye which when exposed to a few microseconds of extreme heat and would change from light to dark to show s strong visual contrast between heated and non-heated areas is being sought, If you have such a substance this European...

Protection for cookware.(tech need challenge)
September 12, 2003... This need is for a technology that can protect metal cookware silverware, or china with inlays or metal banding so that it can safely undergo automatic dishwashing. Another benefit might be to protect the washer's internal metal parts. The...

Small waste heat boiler.(tech need challenge)
September 12, 2003... Running off the hot exhaust air of a high-temperature fuel cell, the waste heat boiler requested would run a small, compact home generator and increase the efficiency of installations. Specifically, the need seeks a boiler that can produce...

Cold comfort form.(Patent Of The Week)
September 12, 2003... This device is essentially a cold bath, writes Julia Brown. But James Magovern of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has filed it as e 'method and apparatus for burning calories'. Weight loss, he writes, is achieved by sitting in cold water and...

Helping the US help us.(This Week)
September 26, 2003... THE US GOVERNMENTS Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has developed technologies that have shaped our world and there is no sign of that changing. Its stealth fighters and bombers clinched the arms war against the Soviet Union...

More than a vein hope.(This Week)
September 26, 2003... A PROTOTYPE of the first bio-nano motor is under development at Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey. Researchers from the mechanical, biomedical and biochemical engineering departments hope to create a device that can travel in the...

Multinational firm NEC.(This Week)
September 26, 2003... Announced this week that it had developed the technology necessary to build stable carbon nanotube transistors. As these will be able to achieve up to 20 times the transconductance (amplification of current) of conventional silicon transistors,...

Superchips get a little closer.(This Week)
September 26, 2003... SUN MICROSYSTEMS says it has found a way to dramatically increase the speed at which semiconductors communicate. The technique, called proximity communication, uses the principle that governs the operation of a capacitor. Data can be...

Galileo gets a boost with Chinese cash.(This Week)
September 26, 2003... CHINA is to invest 160 [pounds sterling]m in the Galileo satellite tracking system that provides an alternative to the US GPS network. The sum is roughly one fifth of the cost of building the network of 30 satellites. The agreement to...

Sofa from merely a comfy seat.(This Week)
September 26, 2003... THE LATEST development in computerised domestic goods is the intelligent sofa. Researchers at Trinity College, Dublin have implanted programmable sensors that can determine who is sitting down based on their weight. Charmingly, the sofa then...

Good week.
September 26, 2003... IRRITATING MUSIC: Singles sales continue to drop but the use of pop for mobile phone ringtones is set to save the day. The pop industry sees mobiles that can play music as its saviour. Alas, those of us stuck on the train with teenagers are...

Bad week.
September 26, 2003... THE FAST SET: Concorde had to make an emergency landing at Cardiff due to engine surge. Passengers were switched to a distinctly subsonic coach to complete their journey to London. IT WORKERS: Are you suffering from NEDS--new economy...

All-weather pitch for buildings.(This Week)
September 26, 2003... A EUROPE-WIDE team has come up with a way to reinforce crumbling historic buildings with minimal disruption using carbon fibre strips. Comrehab, a project from the R&D support network Eureka, has found that high-resistance synthetic fibres...

Bright idea for the office.(This Week)
September 26, 2003... INVISIBLE VENETIAN blinds containing tiny solar panels could protect the office workers of the future from glare while fuelling their heating and cooling systems, researchers from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York State claim....

Ford steps on the gas: US automotive giant works towards a hydrogen-powered car pilot scheme in the UK.(News)
September 26, 2003... FORD HELD TALKS with the government this week in the hope of establishing a pilot scheme for hydrogen fuel cell cars in the UK. The test, involving five vehicles over a three-year period, would mirror those due to take place in Germany, Canada...

International plan in prospect: summit will set course for hydrogen economy.(News)
September 26, 2003... THE UK GOVERNMENT will attend a summit in November expected to create an international organisation to accelerate moves towards the hydrogen economy. This month the government received an invitation to attend the event, announced by US...

The driving experience: test-driving the Ford Focus FCV Hybrid.(News)
September 26, 2003... 'WE WANT THIS car to be transparent, said Phil Chizek as we looked at the Focus FCV Hybrid sitting on the tarmac outside Ford's technical centre in Dunton. What he meant, of course, was exactly me opposite. But for the big sticker on the...

High lights: UK universities contribute to terahertz laser communication project for US military satellites.(News)
September 26, 2003... A GROUP of UK universities is working on a terahertz laser to be used in secure satellite communications by the US military, it has been revealed. The group presented its latest work to its sponsor, the US military research agency DARPA,...

Feeling the cold: aircraft-protecting ice sensor claimed to be 20 times more sensitive than existing solutions.(News)
September 26, 2003... A UK-designed system for detecting ice build-up on aircraft wings, rotor blades and tail-fins is at least 20 times more sensitive--and considerably smaller--than any existing solutions, its creator has claimed. The fibre-optic sensor can...

Predictive fault-finding system will protect future space shuttles.(News)
September 26, 2003... AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE system designed to detect faults in space shuttle components, and allowing ground control engineers or the astronauts onboard to take immediate action, is being developed in the US with funding from NASA. ...

Reality TV: first step towards the ultra realistic 'immersive' television viewing experience.(News)
September 26, 2003... A PROTOTYPE digital video system producing images of such high quality that the human eye struggles to distinguish them from reality has been developed by Japanese engineers. The system, called ultra high definition video (UHDV), achieves...

Access all media: combined TV, phone, radio and web unit unveiled.(News)
September 26, 2003... A NEW DEVICE that is 'half-TV, half-phone' has been unveiled by a pan-European research consortium working on new mobile broadcasting technologies. The Cismundus project is developing a hybrid system able to exploit the best features of...

Match maker: engineering design tools could benefit TV productions.(News)
September 26, 2003... THE BBC IS researching the use of engineering design tools such as 3D modelling and augmented, reality (AR) visualisation as aids to broadcast production. BBC R&D, the corporation's technical development arm, believes the technologies...

Renewed disinterest: government spokesman sidelines renewables in UK drive to cut carbon emissions.(News)
September 26, 2003... IT HAS EMERGED that the UK government no longer plans to rely on renewable energy sources to ensure that it meets its target of a 60 per cent reduction in C[O.sub.2] emissions by 2050. Despite the government's much-heralded plans to...

Hybrid hovercraft/boat will operate in all conditions.(News)
September 26, 2003... IT SEEMS THAT the UK is fast becoming a centre for innovative amphibious vehicles. The Aquada sports car/speed boat hit the headlines last month racing round St Katharine Docks in London and now a hovercraft/rigid inflatable boat (RIB) concept...

Vacuum water cleaner: a solar-powered, vacuum-based water desalination technique could bring clean water to remote regions.(News)
September 26, 2003... AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT vacuum-based solar-powered desalination system developed by US researchers could help meet the growing need for fresh water in many parts of the world. Existing desalination systems such as solar evaporation stills,...

US plans to strike back against terror.(News)
September 26, 2003... CHEMICAL AND biological warfare counter-measure technologies will be discussed next week at the first conference organised by the new US government Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency. The agency was set up in March to...

Raytheon: US defence specialist signs up partners in its aim to win a NATO radar contract and take on Northrop Grumman.(Company Profile)
September 26, 2003... US DEFENCE giant Raytheon is on the hunt in Europe for industry partners to join its bid for a NATO radar contract worth more than 3bn [euro] (2bn [pounds sterling]). The company has come out fighting in an attempt to promote its proposal over...

Ricardo profits hold steady despite tough trading conditions.(The Week)
September 26, 2003... Automotive engineering consultancy Ricardo managed to hold profits steady despite suffering what it described as its toughest tracing conditions for a decade. Ricardo, which supplies engineering expertise to many of the world's major...

Bookham purchases US photonics and microwave specialist.(The Week)
September 26, 2003... Bookham Technology, the UK optical systems designer, has bought US photonics and microwave specialist New Focus in a bid to strengthen its customer base beyond the telecoms sector. The Oxfordshire company, which traditionally has been...

Torotrak says IVT in moving closer to commercialization.(The Week)
September 26, 2003... Torotrak, the Lancashire-based engineering firm developing a gearbox based on infinitely variable transmission (IVT) technology claimed new technical advances have bought commercialisation of the system closer. The company said one such...