Volumes & issues:
Volume 15, Issue 9
1 October 2020
-
- Author(s): D. Ross
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 4 –4
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0920
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
4
(1)
How many times can you find your own face online? You might be surprised by the answer. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 5 –5
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0921
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
5
(1)
The UK government has launched a consultation that could pave the way for self-driving cars to be introduced on roads as early as next year (2021). - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 6 –7
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0922
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
6
–7
(2)
News from around the world. - Author(s): S. Morgan
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 8 –8
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0923
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
8
(1)
US-EU relations are tense amid a presidential election campaign and ongoing pandemic. Where do the two sides stand on digital, energy and tech issues? - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 9 –9
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0924
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
9
(1)
The UK government has launched a consultation that could pave the way for self-driving cars to be introduced on roads as early as next year (2021). - Author(s): P. Dempsey
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 10 –10
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0925
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
10
(1)
Despite all the good Rishi Sunak has done, his efforts need to show more thought and transparency. - Author(s): B. Heubl
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 12 –12
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0926
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
12
(1)
E&T tested whether detection of toxic content on social media can be automated. The results suggest technology still has a long way to go. - Author(s): C. Chambers
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 13 –13
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0927
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
13
(1)
The global economy is in shock thanks to coronavirus lockdowns, and governments are implementing innovations that could serve as potential rescue packages. Huge changes are coming, and that brings opportunity to those positioned to take advantage. - Author(s): H. Lamb
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 14 –15
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0928
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
14
–15
(2)
Wolfgang Ketterle is an expert in the weird world of ultracold atoms. E&T spoke to him about the phenomena and technologies only possible near absolute zero, and his fears for a fractured, anti-scientific world. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 16 –17
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0929
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
16
–17
(2)
A Californian start-up called Mojo Vision claims to have developed the world's first true smart contact lens, which puts a screen against your eye to display information. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 18 –20
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0930
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
18
–20
(3)
Send your letters to The Editor, E&T, Michael Faraday House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, Herts SG1 2AY, UK, or to [email protected]. We reserve the right to edit letters and to use submissions in any other format. - Author(s): K. Paul
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 21 –21
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0931
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
21
(1)
Could assumptions about colleagues' race, gender, age and other characteristics be harming your business without you even realising? - Author(s): B. Heubl
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 22 –25
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0900
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
22
–25
(4)
The article considers the reverse engineering of an online facial recognition system and how it revealed that the trend towards facial-recognition-supported online search could expose users to unexpected privacy risks. - Author(s): L. Williams
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 26 –28
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0901
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
26
–28
(3)
Like the rest of the world, the higher education sector was severely disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. How have universities responded to the lockdown, and how might it affect the way engineering is taught in future? - Author(s): N. Smith
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 30 –35
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0902
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
30
–35
(6)
As the IET starts its 150 year anniversary celebrations - a build-up that will conclude next year - we look at the events and technologies that made 1871 a landmark year for engineering. - Author(s): J. Pollard
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 36 –37
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0903
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
36
–37
(2)
The great thing about engineering is that you can do it anywhere - on Mars, in Swindon, even in the bath. Arguably, the whole world is engineered. Yet every profession has its great sites, whose stories bring out the very best in us and so continue the tradition. Nowhere is this truer than in the series of underground bunkers straddling the Swiss-French border that are home to the European nuclear physics research centre CERN. - Author(s): B. Heubl
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 38 –41
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0904
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
38
–41
(4)
Millions of solar PV panels could fail or degrade prematurely and may even be at risk of fires. But no one knows exactly where they are or how big the problem is. Rectifying the faults could cost billions. E&T investigates. - Author(s): J. O'Malley
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 42 –44
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0905
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
42
–44
(3)
The article details how Disney World uses monitoring data to improve customer experience in its parks. The use of “Magic Band”, an RFID bracelet that gives customers improved access around the park, is also used to monitor people's movement. In a different system, ordinary Wi-Fi routers can track signals from customers' personal phones. By analysing such data, park operators can generate demographic insights that aid park management in the short term, with active queue management strategies and increased profitability or in the long term with better understanding of customers' preferences. - Author(s): C. Hayes
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 46 –48
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0906
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
46
–48
(3)
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is encouraging consumers to recycle old electronic devices. Each mobile phone contains at least 30 naturally occurring elements and a recent survey found that 51 per cent of UK households have at least one unused electronic device and 45 per cent have up to five, with 82 per cent having no plans to recycle or sell on their devices. Reusing and recycling helps, but extracting rare earth minerals from electronic devices for recycling can be difficult. As generations grow up with technology, the quantity of devices left discarded is expected to accelerate. The same survey found that 52 per cent of 16to 24-year-olds have 10 or more devices, whereas only 39 per cent of 35to 44-year-olds and 30 per cent of 55to 75-year-olds have this amount. Robert Parker, CEO of the RSC, says governments, manufacturers and retailers should make reuse and recycling easier. Dutch company Fairphone designs and manufactures smartphones that are designed to be repaired. The latest is the Fairphone 3, which is made up of seven modules. If anything breaks, or the battery degrades and stops charging, instead of replacing the entire phone, only a module needs to be replaced. Fairphone cites research that says maintaining the phone can save at least 30 per cent of CO2 emissions. It is based on a Qualcomm 632 processor and has a 12MP rear camera, an 8MP front camera and 64GB memory, which can be expanded to more than 256GB with a MicroSD. It is sold with sustainable and reusable packaging. - Author(s): M. White
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 50 –51
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0907
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
50
–51
(2)
The article describes how pop-up networks can be formed without the need for traditionally built communication infrastructure, exploring instead communication enabled drones. It takes a look into the technology crisis management use-cases, deploying multiple UAVs forming a 5G or LTE networks, and potential military uses, improving long-range communication using software defined radio, tactical radio systems, tactical data links. It finalises by briefly discussing the technological potential risks and future research topics. - Author(s): L. Murray
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 52 –55
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0908
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
52
–55
(4)
Shipwrecks discovered in the Mediterranean have given scientists a tantalising glimpse into life along one of the world's most important trade routes, with underwater technology lending a helping hand. Advances in underwater technology are enabling a golden age of exploration and discovery in the deep ocean worldwide. The `Enigma Shipwrecks Project' (ESP) in the eastern Mediterranean is no exception, uncovering no fewer than 12 shipwrecks sleeping under silty mud 2 km below the surface in international waters off the coast of Lebanon. The paper describes some of the technologies involved in the exploration of the seafloor. - Author(s): M. Farish
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 56 –57
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0909
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
56
–57
(2)
This article discusses the use of low-code software development across two manufacturing companies. It is used to develop systems for a variety of manufacturing tasks including monitoring, checking, recording, reporting and inventory management. The positive experiences of using this method are highlighted through various comments from their directors with benefits including: IT specialist need reduction, compressed development timescales, ERP (enterprise resource planning) integration, time-to-effort savings, time-to-value advantages, final device flexibility, mobile and web development and smart factory innovation. It `puts the development of software directly into the hands of in-house continuous improvement teams'. The dangers are also touched on with regards to business-to-supplier communications using the possibly closed developed software. However these appear to be mainly alleviated if international standards for data models and integration are followed. - Author(s): L. Williams
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 58 –61
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0910
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
58
–61
(4)
As I get older, there seem to be more and more stairs to struggle up and down,” sighs Barbara Rushton, 78, of north London. “I try to regard them as an exercise challenge, but they make getting about increasingly exhausting. Rushton is far from alone in finding that the urban environment has become more inhospitable as she has aged. Time and again, studies with older citizens reveal similar kinds of frustrations. Sometimes these are problems with obvious solutions - there not being enough benches, for instance, or uneven paving. Other times, they are more profound issues, such as a sense of isolation caused (in part) by the way that towns and cities are laid out. According to charity HelpAge International, there are more than 500 million people aged 65 or over living in cities worldwide. In many ways, this is a huge success story - testament to improved public health and lifestyles. However, it is also an enormous demographic challenge - the World Health Organization reckons the 60+ demographic will double globally by 2050. Yet, at present, most cities continue to be designed for the needs of the young and working people. With urban populations all over the world inevitably getting older in the coming decades, how should cities prepare? - Author(s): B. Heubl
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 62 –65
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0911
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
62
–65
(4)
Tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia are running high. The reason? The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). After nine years of construction, Africa's largest hydroelectric project is moving into the fill phase, but there is disagreement about how much Nile water Ethiopia should let through in the future. The GERD has sparked multiple protests. Since the start of its construction in 2011, it faced opposition from the downstream nations of Egypt and Sudan. The tragic 2018 death of GERD's head of engineering, Simegnew Bekele, whose body was found in his parked car, remains controversial to this day. Rumours say he was killed. The official story is it was suicide. ACLED, an organisation that collects conflict data, recorded protests linked to the alleged murder in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. In February, there are records that residents from Sudan's Blue Nile state demonstrated over fears about the effect of the GERD on water levels in their area. One side argues GERD will be a curse for downstream countries. The other claims it Engineering & Technology October 2020 www.EandTmagazine.com will be a boon and game-changer for growth and property. So who is right? E&T finds that both sides - downstream Egypt at the end of the Nile as well as Ethiopia, the builder of the dam - have attempted to influence the debate and sway public opinion. By doing so, they have confused citizens, impairing their judgment when measuring up pros and cons of the GERD project. This may have made it harder to resolve disagreement between the nations involved. - Author(s): C. Carter
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 66 –67
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0912
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
66
–67
(2)
The diverse bunch of engineers and scientists at Shojinmeat have developed cheap methods for extracting live cells, creating cell-culture medium, and making lab equipment. Although members have grown fish, oyster and mouse meat, chicken remains the focus right now, and getting hold of live cells is vital. “One person incubates fertilised chicken eggs for about 8-12 days, then extracts the cells and freezes them, and either mails them to members or hands them out at a meeting,” he says. The live cells are then placed in a culture medium, which provides the cells with nutrients while growing in a petri dish or bioreactor. It mimics the support systems inside animals. Shojinmeat's medium is made from ingredients that are widely available and a fraction of the cost of laboratory-grade medium. Recipes thus far have included isotonic sports drink, egg yolk, vitamin tablets and bodybuilding powder (amino acids). Home-made equipment includes microscopes, centrifuges built from fans and towel warmers for incubators. Lowering the cost of the process and making it easy enough for most people to carry out is fundamental to the community's aims. So all of the learnings are published in online `how-to' guides, free for anyone to edit. “We are simplifying all of the methods, and the youngest person who cultured cells was actually 10 years old,” Hanyu adds. - Author(s): T. Pultarova
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 68 –71
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0913
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
68
–71
(4)
The paper discusses the threat to the Earth from an asteroid impact. The possibilities of detecting these asteroids are first mentioned and then the paper looks at two spacecraft missions to visit an asteroid: the NASA spacecraft DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) and the ESA spacecraft Hera will visit the binary asteroid Didymos and Dimorphos. - Author(s): P. Anand
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 72 –73
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0914
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
72
–73
(2)
Discover how the University of Bristol's latest innovation can help turn all sorts of 3D surfaces into touchscreens. Heavily inspired by graffiti spray art, a team of researchers at the University of Bristol have developed a special spray coat that allows the creation of interactive displays on 3D objects. Eclipsing the appeal of traditional square and rectangular casings, the new technology, called ProtoSpray, makes it possible to `spray' touch-sensitive screens onto objects as complex and irregular as a Möbius strip. - Author(s): S. Griffiths
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 74 –77
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0915
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
74
–77
(4)
More than half the population of Africa cannot access the Internet, but this is changing thanks to mobile networks and ambitious new engineering projects. While the number of broadband connections in Africa crossed the 400 million mark in 2018, mobile broadband coverage in Africa is still at 70 per cent of the population. The article takes a look at possible technological solutions to better connect the continent. Advances in satellite electric propulsion has greatly improved the fuel efficiency of high speed Internet communication satellites, while the private sector plans for a subsea communication cable construction to connect the continent to Europe, or alternatively, using high altitude platform stations, polyethylene balloons and unnamed aircrafts to enable LTE communication. - Author(s): N. Smith
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 78 –81
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0932
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
78
–81
(4)
Nobel laureate and director of the Francis Crick Institute, geneticist Sir Paul Nurse discusses his pioneering work in cell research and why the UK simply wasn't ready for coronavirus, despite "being able to predict it". - Author(s): C. Quin
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 82 –83
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0933
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
82
–83
(2)
High-tech upgrades to fitness, retro gaming, wine, listening . . . even the humble bin gets smarter. - Author(s): P. Dempsey
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 84 –85
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0934
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
84
–85
(2)
Designing around the next big thing in mobile gaming. - Author(s): N. Smith
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 86 –87
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0935
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
86
–87
(2)
Half a century has passed since Nasa's Apollo programme first put humans on the Moon. And we haven't been back since. But all that is set to change in the coming decades, says David Whitehouse in his new book 'Space 2069'. - Author(s): N. Smith ; H. Lamb ; S. Doyle
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 88 –89
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0936
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
88
–89
(2)
New titles address some reasons to be fearful in the 21st century and what we need to do about them. - Author(s): S. Somara
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 90 –90
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0937
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
90
(1)
TV presenter Dr Shini Somara starts a new series of interviews looking at interesting engineering careers by talking to Clare Elwell, professor of medical physics at University College London. - Author(s): J. Pollard
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 91 –91
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0938
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
91
(1)
This edition of Eccentric Engineer tells many stories of the thankless job of predicting the engineered future. Unfortunately, everyone gets it wrong from time to time. - Author(s): S. Doyle
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, p. 92 –93
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0939
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
92
–93
(2)
In July 2020, JCB's 19C-1E electric digger scooped one of the world's most prestigious prizes for engineering innovation - the UK's Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award. - Author(s): H. Lamb
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 94 –94
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0940
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
94
(1)
A villain is sick of their plans being compromised by hopeless henchmen. Could they be replaced with autonomous systems? - Author(s): R. Northfield
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 95 –95
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0941
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
95
(1)
Why, hello there! If, like me, this Covid-19 business is getting you down, how about you have a little read about the gadgets I found. Enjoy! - Author(s): D. Sandham
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 96 –96
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0942
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
96
(1)
Moving stacked blocks, tumble dryer moisture and farmers are the topics for this month's collection of puzzles. - Author(s): V. Vitaliev
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 9, page: 98 –98
- DOI: 10.1049/et.2020.0943
- Type: Article
- + Show details - Hide details
-
p.
98
(1)
With many European countries quarantined, our columnist marks the start of his semi-retirement by going on 'staycations' in a second-hand campervan - freshly imported from Japan.
Opinion - Editorial. Editor's Letter
News - Briefing: Transport - Self-driving cars could be legal on UK roads by early 2021
News - Briefing: World News
News - Comment. View from Brussels: Election - Transatlantic ties at a junction as the EU aims for self-suffciency
News - Briefing: Innovation - Facial-recognition system for remote ID verification wins Africa prize
News - Comment. View from Manchester: It's still the system, Rishi, and it does need repeating.
News - Briefing. The Graphic: AI cyber-bullying detection
News - Comment. Money & Markets. Economy - Governments are running a financial engineering experiment
Interview - Physics. Materials - Hot on the trail of the ultracold
News - Technology. The Bigger Picture: Smart Contact Lens
Opinion - Feedback. Your Letters
Opinion - First Person. Comment. Management - The benefits of taking time to tackle unconscious bias.
How to find anyone's face online [investigation]
Adapt and Overcome [Engineering Education]
1871 That was the Year that was... [History IET at 150]
Engineering places CERN [Engineering Research]
Spotlight on a solar scandal [Investigation]
Datadriven Disney Monitor your Every Move [Travel Privacy]
What happens when the raw materials run out? [Electronics Nature]
Communications in Crisis [5G Drones]
Deep-sea treasures unlocked [Marine Research]
High returns on low code. [low-code software development in manufacturing industries]
Cities for the aged [Making cities more age-friendly]
States stoke Nile dam tensions [Investigation]
Homebrew Meat Club [Citizen science brings a very different philosophy to technological innovation]
Predict, deflect, survive: how to avoid an asteroid apocalypse [Space Research]
How it works: spray adds new dimension to touchscreens [How it works 3D Touchscreens]
Over and out in Africa [Africa Internet]
Interview: Sir Paul Nurse
Reviews - Consumer Technology. Gadgets: FOURFIT Mini 2; Duolink SpeakerBuds; EKO Home Sensor Bins; VIC-20; Doogee X95; CellarDine ChillCore
Reviews - Consumer Technology. The Teardown - Razer Kishi controller
Reviews - Book Interview. Destination Red Planet (probably) and (maybe) beyond . . .
Book Reviews: Bunker, Covid-19, The Drone Age
Regulars - Columnist: Back Story. Career Path - Communication is the essential skill for solving problems.
Regulars - Columnist: The Eccentric Engineer. Forecasting - Perhaps we shouldn't be so hard on the futurists.
News - Briefing. The Measure of: 19C-1E electric excavator
Regulars - Columnist. Dear Evil Engineer: Question - Can I replace my useless henchmen with robot guards?
Technology - Blog. Bizarre Tech - Tiniest printer; Swearing dog collar; Smart crib
Regulars - Columnist. Thinking Cap [puzzles]
Regulars - Columnist. After All: Travel - Of Alphie, Tashi and some helpful engineers on campsites.
Most viewed content for this Journal
Article
content/journals/et
Journal
5
Most cited content for this Journal
We currently have no most cited data available for this content.