The Engineer
29 October 2007
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London calling
31 Oct 2007
John Wood, the new head of Imperial College London’s engineering faculty, aims to promote the profession as a creative pursuit by adding the wow factor.
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In praise of trams
30 Oct 2007
I cannot understand the antipathy towards trams of some of your correspondents (Letters passim). They are an efficient and modern solution to mass transport for urban areas, which is one of the biggest problems facing our overcrowded towns and cities. Ask the people of Croydon or Nottingham, to name but two places, about their tram systems and I suspect the response will be overwhelmingly ...
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Diet for change
30 Oct 2007
Attempts to use modern tech- nology to monitor the healthiness or otherwise of food are laudable but can only ever scratch the surface of the problem of obesity and poor diet.
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Let's not forget oil
30 Oct 2007
A recent report in the national press suggested that oil is steadily becoming a scarcer resource and access to it will be the major factor that will cause wars, riots and other political disturbances in the years ahead. While I have enjoyed reading TheEngineer's Year of Energy articles, I have not noticed an awful lot of coverage of the issue of oil reserves and the potential to extract more from the wells we know about and find those that we don't. I understand that subjects ...
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Prioritise NHS cash
30 Oct 2007
Almost every issue The Engineer carries news of another 'amazing development' of systems that promise to push back the boundaries of medical science. But when I turn on my television or tune in to the radio I see and hear not this but yet another report of people dropping like flies in dirty and germ-infested NHS hospital wards. It seems to me that some priorities are being missed somewhere and that instead of spending millions on hi-tech devices we should do two ...
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This week in… 1951
30 Oct 2007
The Princess, designed and built at the Saunders-Roe facility on the Isle of Wight, was the largest flying boat ever made. Designed to carry more than 105 passengers, the two-decked, 10-engined plane weighed 154 tonnes, had a wing span of 66.9m and stood 17m high.After a visit to the Saunders-Roe site, The Engineer reported with some excitement on the preparations for the aircraft's first flight trials.'At take-off the machine will develop 35,000 ebhp,' wrote the ...
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Turning point
30 Oct 2007
For manufacturers keen to lower their production costs, there are many benefits and advantages to taking the plunge and investing in mill/turn technology. Martin Oakham explains
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No hiding place
30 Oct 2007
A network of millimetre-wave radar sensors is being developed to protect potential terrorist targets such as airports and power stations.
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Wider view
30 Oct 2007
Ease of use and lower prices mean machine vision technology is broadening its appeal for application in new sectors. Julia Pierce reports
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Animal magic
30 Oct 2007
The technique used by bats to catch insects at night could be adapted to find tumours deep inside a person's body.Engineers at Strathclyde University hope this will be one of the outcomes of their research on new ultrasonic acoustic systems that could be used in applications from imaging through to materials characterisation.Currently, communication systems use sophisticated coding for transmission, detection and recognition of electronic ...
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Close the skills gap
30 Oct 2007
For the sake of diversity and success, it is time for engineering and technical companies to start concentrating their efforts on recruiting and retaining more women, argues Elizabeth Pollitzer
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Music to the ears
30 Oct 2007
Scientists hope to add a new dimension to music with technology that will transport digital home entertainment system users into the venue of performance.
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Hydrogen test for spy plane
30 Oct 2007
Boeing has successfully tested the hydrogen propulsion system of its High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned spy aircraft using an engine developed by Ford.During the test, the engine ran for nearly four days in a control chamber at Aurora Flight Sciences in Manassas, Virginia, and for three days in simulated conditions at 65,000ft.The propulsion system included a multi-stage turbo-charged ...
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In control
30 Oct 2007
Components of varied shape, size and weight can now be produced on a single assembly line, thanks to a new-style servopneumatic proportional gripper. Siobhan Wagner reports
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Heart of the matter
30 Oct 2007
IMEC’s Eindhoven-based research laboratory has developed a wireless electrocardiography (ECG) patch that can continually monitor heart rate.Consisting of a wireless sensor node on a flexible, polyimide substrate, and integrated into Lycra, the miniature ECG system (below) measures approximately 6cm x 2cm and can be attached to the body with three, standard, disposable snap gel electrodes.While the electrodes may be standard, ...
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Baked to perfection
30 Oct 2007
An infrared oven has proved the best and cheapest method of attaching spoilers to Jaguar's S-Type vehicles. Siobhan Wagner reports
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Light touch from Philips
30 Oct 2007
Windows that give hotel occupants total control over ambient light, and a room that gives mothers-to-be a less clinical look at their unborn child are among Philips' vision for the future
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New wave
30 Oct 2007
An original method of harnessing wave power using underwater devices claims significant advantages over surface-based systems. Stuart Nathan reports
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Beyond the boundary
29 Oct 2007
BP is using renewable energy, conversion technologies and carbon sequestration in its search for fresh energy sources, says Tony Meggs
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Frozen assets
29 Oct 2007
Before it can harvest the huge fuel reserves thought to lie beneath the Arctic ice, the oil and gas industry must first overcome a significant knowledge gap.
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Breathe easy
29 Oct 2007
Researchers have developed software for radiologists to capture more accurate images of moving organs, reducing the number of misdiagnoses and patient recalls.The project, from Oxford University's technology transfer company Isis Innovation, concentrated on creating software for abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems to acquire stable images of the liver, which moves when people breathe.'Typically in magnetic resonance ...
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Scatter for cover
29 Oct 2007
Airport luggage screeners may soon have a tool at their disposal that combines 3D imagery with the ability to highlight any dangerous substances being carried on to a flight.The tool, the world's first scatter-enhanced 3D X-ray scanner, is being developed by researchers from Cranfield and Nottingham Trent Universities. The Home Office scientific development branch and the US Department of Homeland Security ...
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Child minder
29 Oct 2007
Researchers have adapted technology that alerts drivers to obstructions while reversing to create a non-contact monitor that observes a baby's breathing.Resembling a typical baby monitor, the product, developed by University College Dublin spin-out Biancamed, contains motion sensors so it can detect an infant's breathing from up to 1.5m away. It can also record the sleeping pattern of a child and tell parents in real-time the ...
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Dry run to beat superbugs
29 Oct 2007
Researchers are investigating the effects of humidity on hospital 'superbugs' using one of the largest biological test chambers in the world.
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The auto industry is not the enemy
29 Oct 2007
Here at The Engineer we're not ones for the sort of Euro-shock story beloved of some of our colleagues — the 'ban on bent bananas' type of thing.Sometimes, however, you do have to wonder whether Brussels is actually located on another planet — and a very strange one at that — such is the peculiar behaviour of those who shape Europe's destiny from that pleasant city.In a bizarre rush of blood to its collective head, the European Parliament indicated last week that ...
