The Engineer
May 2001 Online
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ABB signs 10-year agreement
31 May 2001
ABB and the Dow Chemical Company have signed a 10-year, global strategic agreement to infuse Dow's plants with a new generation of ABB Industrial IT technologies to link operations and enhance productivity.
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Expanded measurement options
31 May 2001
National Instruments has announced LabView Real-Time 6i software, which engineers can use to create custom applications in LabView 6i then download them on to an embedded hardware device.
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Kewill acquires ERP vendor
30 May 2001
Kewill Systems has acquired the assets of Alliance Manufacturing Software, a provider of MRP software, for $0.8 million.
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EDS to purchase SDRC
29 May 2001
EDS has announced an agreement to purchase Structural Dynamics Research Corporation (SDRC) for approximately $950 million in cash, or $25.00 a share.
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Australian scramjet passes latest test
25 May 2001
The $1.25 million University of Queensland Hyshot scramjet project has passed its latest test by successfully blowing its nose.
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Extra memory for digital cable analyser
25 May 2001
Inlec UK is now offering the DSP 4100, a new member of Fluke Network's family of Digital Cable Analysers.
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Microsoft and Lockheed Martin form IT alliance
25 May 2001
Lockheed Martin and Microsoft have formed a strategic alliance to collaboratively pursue new business opportunities in the US federal information technology market.
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Positioners overcome traditional problems
25 May 2001
Now available from Foxboro is the POSYS series of positioners, said to overcome traditional problems associated with positioning technology used in process plants.
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Setting traps for arsenic
25 May 2001
Sandia National Laboratories researchers have used supercomputers to design new chemicals with arsenic-trapping properties.
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The best light show on earth
25 May 2001
The first mission to attempt to impact the nucleus of a comet has completed its preliminary design phase and has been approved by NASA to begin full-scale development.
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Universal transducer display
25 May 2001
Sensors UK has launched the MTP-7600 portable digital indicator, designed for use with all commonly used transducers for the measurement and display of most physical parameters.
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When a hurricane strikes
25 May 2001
A team of North Carolina State University researchers are testing new designs for 'breakaway walls' that could reduce damage to homes and buildings when a hurricane strikes.
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Putting electrons in a spin
24 May 2001
Physicists from the University of Arkansas claim to have achieved the highest efficiency ever in transferring polarised electrons into a semiconductor surface.
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Immersed in design
23 May 2001
Computer scientists at the University of North Carolina (UNC) are helping architects and engineers to create extremely detailed virtual structures that designers can 'walk through'.
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Living up to expectation
23 May 2001
Dan Roberts, a consultant with Cambashi, questions whether ERP has lived up to its promise of being the only business application system a manufacturing company needed...
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Medical communities set online standards
23 May 2001
Johns Hopkins University has joined with leading professional medical societies to create the MedBiquitous Consortium; a group dedicated to creating technology standards and software for education and collaboration in online medical communities.
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NASA has soil moisture covered
23 May 2001
NASA plans to launch a satellite that will be able to accurately measure moisture content over most of the Earth's surface.
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Raytheon awarded US$62.3 million contract
23 May 2001
Raytheon has today received a US$62.3 million contract from Boeing for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of 15 Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) pods and spares.
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Recycling hi-tech goods
23 May 2001
Hewlett-Packard has announced a service that allows consumers and businesses to recycle unwanted computers and equipment from any manufacturer without adding to landfill sites.
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SAP acquires IDS
23 May 2001
E-business software provider SAP is to acquire all Infinite Data Structures' trade relationship management software.
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Acoustic meshing times slashed
22 May 2001
LMS International has announced a partnership with Detroit Engineered Products to create a new software module that will accelerate the acoustic modelling process. A modelling process that took a couple of weeks should be reduced to a couple of hours, according to the company.
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Old masters in 3D
22 May 2001
Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed geometrical techniques for reconstructing Virtual Reality worlds from single and multiple perspective images.
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A better bit of butter
21 May 2001
A gantry robot at the Sudwestbutter creamery in Karlsruhe, Germany handles butter de-palletising tasks at the creamery, eliminating the need for arduous physical labour and improving throughput.
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Automation software for sail construction
21 May 2001
A sailmaker that needed flexibility on its production floor turned to Wonderware to help ensure its custom built sails are built to the right specification.
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Bridging the enterprise
21 May 2001
Tony Prylowski has applied his 20 years' software experience to develop object oriented databases, which help find a way across the enterprise gap that exists between shop floor control and management systems.
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Fluke to acquire Hart Scientific
21 May 2001
Fluke Corporation, part of the Danaher family of companies, has announced that Danaher intends to acquire Lifschultz Industries, including Hart Scientific.
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Tudor relic gets 21st century conservation
21 May 2001
The preservation of the hull and artefacts from the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flag-ship, would not be possible without building control technology and a remote monitoring systems.
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Unmanned planes fly without fear
21 May 2001
Researchers from the University of Colorado are conducting flight tests and gathering scientific data with small, unmanned planes that operate in conditions unsuitable for manned aircraft.
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Waiting for post?
21 May 2001
E-manufacturing is clearly the way forward for manufacturing industry. However, these are early days and so far not many companies are enjoying the benefits of the industrial IT revolution.
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Who needs e-manufacturing?
21 May 2001
There are many definitions of e-manufacturing, but one thing is certain - it must involve an integrated manufacturing solution.
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Argonne engineers set new record
18 May 2001
Engineers at Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source have set a world's record for the most energetic beam of light using a fully operational mirrorless free-electron laser.
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Imperial make Khonsar connection
18 May 2001
Imperial College Innovations limited has developed and patented a device that improves the structural stability of buildings.
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Sniffing out hydrogen in space
18 May 2001
Scientists from Intelligent Optical Systems and Boeing have successfully demonstrated the world's first fibre optic hydrogen leak detection system.
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Micro-thruster fires on sub-orbital test
17 May 2001
A micro-thruster array measuring one-quarter the size of a US cent has successfully demonstrated its functionality in a live fire test aboard a Scorpius sub-orbital rocket.
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NASA software enables pinpoint flutter testing
17 May 2001
Engineers at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Centre have successfully demonstrated a software data analysis tool that is designed to increase the efficiency of flight flutter testing.
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Safer ceramic insulator could replace asbestos
17 May 2001
Israeli researchers have begun pilot-scale production of a new high-temperature thermal ceramic insulator that may become a safe substitute for asbestos and other harmful ceramic fibres. The new material is a ceramic foam that contains 94% to 96% air by volume, but can resist temperatures above 1700° C.
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Eye, eye, what's all this then?
16 May 2001
Welch Allyn's new PanOptic Ophthalmoscope features patented optical technology that gives health care professionals a wider, more panoramic view of the retina - or fundus - of the eye.
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Pilots keep control
16 May 2001
Engineers at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Centre have received a patent on an emergency fuel control system using only one engine and fuel transfer.
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SOS sensor detects hidden leaks
16 May 2001
Argonne National Laboratory has developed a leak detection technology, known as the speed of sound or 'SOS' detector, which employs an ultrasonic pulse train to measure the concentration of trace gasses.
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Three major labs enter research agreement
16 May 2001
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Motorola Labs and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have entered into a research agreement to pursue new materials for semiconductors.
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New computer takes quantum leap
15 May 2001
Researchers at the University of Rochester have built a simple computer that combines the computing power of quantum mechanics with the ease of manipulating light.
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Nothing lazy about this, then
15 May 2001
La-Z-Boy is to deploy Camstar Systems' InSite collaborative execution system in ten plants of its Residential Furniture Division.
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RAMiTS take to the field
15 May 2001
A researcher from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has created a point-and-shoot portable instrument designed to protect people and the environment.
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Cable & Wireless acquire Digital Island
14 May 2001
Cable and Wireless announced today that it has agreed to purchase Digital Island Inc in a deal worth a potential $340 million.
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Clearer tunes from the Internet
14 May 2001
Researchers at the University of Washington have exploited subtleties in human sound recognition to create fine-grain scalable audio encoding. The technology could be used to make listening to music on the Internet as clear as listening to music on the radio.
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Getting to the root of criminal investigation
14 May 2001
Researchers from Michigan State University believe a device used to clean delicate roots for plant research could unearth valuable forensic evidence in criminal investigations.
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Aerojet awarded $10.4 million contract
11 May 2001
Aerojet has been awarded a $10.4 million contract to design and develop a non-toxic peroxide Advanced Reusable Rocket Engine (ARRE) for the US Air Force's Space Manoeuvre Vehicle (SMV).
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BP Chemicals commissions Foundation fieldbus for new plant
11 May 2001
For its new 1,4-butanediol (BDO) plant in Lima, Ohio, BP Chemicals has used Emerson Process Management's PlantWeb field-based automation architecture with Foundation fieldbus. In the development of the system, BP distributed most process-control logic to field devices rather than centralising control in traditional computer control systems.
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Bright future for optical devices
11 May 2001
Physicists at the University of Toronto have created a blueprint for a photonic crystal that may pave the way for better, faster and perhaps unprecedented optical devices.
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DOJ clears GE/Honeywell merger
11 May 2001
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has given conditional clearance for GE to acquire Honeywell in a tax-free merger valued at $43 billion.
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Fred joins International Space Station
11 May 2001
Scientists at NASA have created Fred the Phantom Torso, a 95-pound, 3-foot high recreation of the human upper body that will spend the next four months on the International Space Station in order to monitor the effect of radiation of the body.
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Savi Technology and Acefusion merge
11 May 2001
Savi Technology, a developer of real-time logistics software and systems, has merged with AceFusion.com, a provider of web-based supply chain solutions.
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UDDI business registry goes live, HP signs on
11 May 2001
The Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) project has announced that its global business registry is fully operational.
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Virtual reality used to diffuse tense stand-off
11 May 2001
New virtual reality programs developed at the University of Southern California are being employed to teach US military personnel sound judgement and clear thinking in an emergency.
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EASi Engineering and TeraPort to develop ASP for stochastic analysis
10 May 2001
EASi Engineering and TeraPort have joined forces to establish what they believe is the first worldwide stochastic Application Service Provider (ASP) facility.
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How to stay afloat in battle
10 May 2001
Researchers at the University of Missouri-Rolla are working with the US Navy to make future warships safer, high-tech vessels able to sustain power and continue in battle after being hit by a missile.
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Device offers promise for faster optical communications
9 May 2001
Purdue University engineers have discovered that a device commonly used to untangle signals sent over fibre optic lines could be used to make the Internet faster and more powerful.
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FAA ruling may cost aerospace industry $165 million
9 May 2001
The US Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a rule that requires aeroplane manufacturers and operators to change how fuel tanks are designed, maintained and operated.
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Nitrogen performs under pressure
9 May 2001
Scientists at the Carnegie Institution of Washington have created a new form of nitrogen by subjecting ordinary nitrogen gas to pressures of up to 2.4 million times the atmospheric pressure at sea level.
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Rockwell introduces power management software
8 May 2001
Rockwell Software has introduced RSPower 32 Version 2.0 software to its Power and Energy Management Solutions.
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Rotary position at low cost
8 May 2001
BEI Duncan Electronics has introduced a non-contacting angular position sensor (NCAPS), developed to provide cost effective and high-resolution position sensing.
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Speedy camera-on-a-chip both captures and processes images
4 May 2001
Conventional digital cameras capture images with sensors and employ multiple chips to process, compress and store images. But Stanford researchers have developed an innovative camera that just uses a single chip.
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Accenture, PTC, Sun Microsystems join forces
3 May 2001
Accenture, PTC and Sun Microsystems, are working together to provide clients with a unified collaborative product commerce (CPC) solution.
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Ascential Software and SAP sign global reseller agreement
3 May 2001
Ascential Software and SAP AG have signed a worldwide reseller agreement through which SAP and SAP Portals, will resell Ascential DataStage as a data integration platform.
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Low cost control at plant floor level
2 May 2001
DeviceLogix is a smart component technology from Rockwell Automation that can be integrated into plant floor devices to provide low-cost control at the device level. It has been designed to improve overall control system responsiveness, fault tolerance and helps optimise the performance of central controllers.
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Major vulnerability in Microsoft Web server software uncovered
2 May 2001
eEye Digital Security has discovered a major security vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 2000 IIS 5.0 Web Server software.
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Lufthansa place $340 million order
1 May 2001
Bombardier Aerospace has reached agreement with Germany's Lufthansa for the sale of up to 45 CRJ200 regional jet aircraft in a deal worth an estimated US$340 million.
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SLAM-ER hits the target
1 May 2001
The US Navy has successfully launched a SLAM-ER missile on a test range at the US Naval Air Warfare Centre in California. The launch marked the first developmental flight test of the SLAM-ER's automatic target acquisition (ATA) capability.
