Volumes & issues:
Volume 3, Issue 7
26 April 2008
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- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, page: 2 –2
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080713
- Type: Article
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- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, page: 4 –4
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080714
- Type: Article
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(9 pages) - Author(s): L. Collins
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 16 –17
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080715
- Type: Article
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The US semiconductor industry is waking up to the impact of its activities on the environment, writes Luke Collins. - Author(s): L. Wiegler
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 18 –21
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080716
- Type: Article
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Laurie Wiegler reports on the emerging brand of 'green hotels' in the USA, where eco-friendly engineering is becoming a big business. - Author(s): B. Ellis
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 22 –25
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080717
- Type: Article
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As far as recycling of household is concerned, Switzerland rightly the reputation of the world leader. Brian Ellis explains why. - Author(s): J. Rifkin
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 26 –27
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080718
- Type: Article
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In this exclusive essay for E&T, Jeremy Rifkin, one of the world's top authorities on climate change, talks about a new energy agenda for the 21st century and the next phase of European integration. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 28 –29
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080719
- Type: Article
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- Author(s): J. Gill and M. Langdon
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, page: 30 –30
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080720
- Type: Article
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One significant group of users is often ignored by engineering designers. - Author(s): J. Pollard
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, page: 31 –31
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080721
- Type: Article
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Justin Pollard pays tribute to a Roman doctor who regarded human bodies as 'soft machines'. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 32 –33
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080722
- Type: Article
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These two laptops aimed at the developing world were recently one happy blended family until Intel and Negroponte went their separate ways earlier this year. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 34 –35
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080700
- Type: Article
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In chip-design, people tend to talk of flows - based on the idea that development is a waterfall process that moves from specification through the design of register-transfer level (RTL) logic using hardware description languages to the physical layout and routing of gates. Finally, the design is analysed as a sea of interconnected transistors to gauge whether it will work and result in a high yield once devices have been made at the fab. Today, large chipmakers such as NXP Semiconductors are moving to fab-light strategies - where they outsource much of their production of system-on-chip (SoC) devices to foundries. So it looks as though the design flow looks to be the place where the chipmakers need to focus. - Author(s): C. Edwards
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 36 –38
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080701
- Type: Article
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If people queuing upto produce standards is any indication, system-level design has finally penetrated mainstream chip development. It is more than ten years since engineers at UK mainframe maker ICL tried to popularized the idea of modeling hardware at the level of abstractions rather than logic levels. Now the technique is being embraced around the world with a number of companies trying to kick-start standardization efforts around system level modeling. Modeling hardware using virtual platforms is becoming mainstream - so now attention is turning to the speed of simulation. - Author(s): M. Skrtic
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 39 –41
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080702
- Type: Article
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It's a tight project. You need to keep costs down and the timescale is demanding. So, do you reach for the familiar development tools and the 8bit processor? Or go instead for a 32bit processor, with powerful software and development tools? Until now, hardware cost in might have put a 32bit device out of reach, but with the launch of products based on the ARM Cortex-M3 family. 32bit processing has become more accessible, with sufficient memory to use with an operating system and a high-level language compiler. - Author(s): B. Foley
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 42 –44
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080703
- Type: Article
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At the Classical shipwreck between Chios and Oinoussai Islands, the team collected multibeam sonar data, high resolution digital images, and environmental/chemical data. The merged photomosaic and bathymetric plot show us that the site has 1.8 m of vertical relief. In other words, there is a mound of amphoras on this wreck that stands 1.8 m taller than the surrounding sea floor. That tells us that there is almost certainly more cargo under the top layer of amphoras. A long-term research partnership in place with the oceanographers and archaeologists in Greece with the main focus to find shipwrecks that date back to the origins of civilisation. There is this long, long period of human biological and intellectual evolution. Underwater technology can reveal the secrets of the ancient world. Images are collected by an AUV and are put together in a 2D photo mosaic and developing automated software that will process images instantly into a broad-area two-dimensional mosaic. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 46 –49
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080704
- Type: Article
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Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) technology for movement restoration is currently under research and continues to evolve. In the early 1980s, implanted FES appeared through well-known applications such as the cochlear implant, and, more recently deep brain stimulation. FES is the only way to restore motor function for some diseases, although should not be considered as a competitor of spinal cord regeneration as both approaches could become complementary. Such a complex system needs advanced control theory tools coupled with a deep under standing of the underlying neurophysiological processes. The possibility to interface the sensory motor system, both activating neural structure with implanted FES (neural prosthetics), and sensing through implanted neural signal recordings opens a wide application area for us. This includes restoring motor function, such as grasping for quadriplegic patients and standing and walking for paraplegic and hemiplegic patients. These applications can be used in a clinical environment to provide physiotherapists with a new efficient FES-based therapy. - Author(s): D. Lewis
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 50 –53
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080705
- Type: Article
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Nuclear power is the ulitimate polariser of the energy debate. Greens generally hate it. Most engineers love it. And successive British governments have blown hot and cold since the 1960s. What's different this time is that economists, financiers and energy security hawks are coming round to the case for a nuclear renaissance. The sea change that has occurred in just a few short years is nothing short of extraordinary. No question, concerns over energy security, the rising cost of fossil fuels and high-profile hand-wringing about climate change have put nuclear power firmly back on the agenda. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, page: 54 –54
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080706
- Type: Article
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One of the fastest growing region in Asia is India and it is projected to increase its power needs to about 20,000 MW per year. This article gives an overview on India's government efforts to encourage renewable energy production. (2 pages) - Author(s): P. Hunter
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 58 –61
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080707
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IT is at the heart of many advanced surgical procedures, and many techniques developed in high-end medical applications are circulating back into mainstream computing. These robotic and other minimally invasive techniques rely on new imaging capabilities to allow excisions and other tasks to be performed remotely, or, in the case of ultrasound or radiation ablation, to ensure that the beam is focused on the right spot. Equally important in the case of robotic surgery are algorithms that compensate for the loss of hands-on leger-demain on the part of surgeons; indeed, surgery has become one of the most challenging applications of robotics, stimulating research across the whole field. - Author(s): H. Taylor
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, page: 62 –62
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080723
- Type: Article
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- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, page: 62 –62
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080724
- Type: Article
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We talk to the man in charge of a large UK local authority's e-procurement environment. - Author(s): J. Hayes
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, page: 63 –63
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080725
- Type: Article
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Enterprises are coming under pressure to adopt a 'green' IT policy but are such worthy ideals always compatible with corporate agendas? James Hayes investigates. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 64 –67
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080708
- Type: Article
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Multinational firms have not yet farmed out all their research and development to China and India but they are taking a much more global approach to this high-value activity. - Author(s): S. Osagie
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, page: 68 –68
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080726
- Type: Article
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The time is ripe for global companies to consider Africa as a viable location for low-cost manufacturing, argues Sigi Osagie. - Author(s): A. Thomas ; P. Byard ; P. Henry
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 69 –71
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080709
- Type: Article
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Competition in the aerospace industry remains fierce, particularly when it comes to maintenance, repair and overhaul services (MRO). As a result, MRO activities are continually trying to find new and innovative ways to improve turnaround limes and reduce costs. One MRO specialist company, British Airways Avionic Engineering (BAAE), is taking on the problem by applying what it regards as a holistic 'lean sigma' philosophy to its operations. BAAE is a subsidiary of British Airways (BA) that is based n South Wales and specialises in repair and maintenance of electrical component, for the aviation industry. - Author(s): M. Williamson
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 72 –73
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080710
- Type: Article
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The fight for frequency is crucial in the commercial space business, yet the satellite industry is currently undecided about which frequency band is best. Today, satellite usage of the spectrum lias spread beyond Ku-band, to K- and Ka-band, while developing and retaining important footholds in the lower bands, much of it shared with terrestrial operators. The current technical argument among satellite operators is the degree to which Ka-band should be adopted. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 74 –77
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080711
- Type: Article
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Licences broadly can either control the power transmitted or the interference caused. Controlling the transmitted power through a 'mask' that defined the maximum power levels across a range of frequencies is only a weak control in the interference caused to neighbours. This is because were the licence holder to change the density of deployment of their base stations, perhaps as a result of changing the use that they put the spectrum to, then the interference suffered by the neighbour would increase despite the licence holder remaining within their mask. Significant changes in deployment, for example from a UMTS frequency division duplex (FDD) system to a WiMax time division duplex (TDD) system could have a very severe impact on neighbours even though it might appear that the transmitted power had decreased. So transmit restrictions, or 'block edge masks (BEMs)' as they are coming to be known, are not the optimal way to control interference into neighbouring channels. Where such control of interference is important, a licence that specifies the maximum level of interference that could be caused, rather than the power that could be transmitted, is a superior way of licensing since it directly controls the problem. We call this form of licensing spectrum usage rights (SURs). SURs are generally better because they place only those restrictions on licence holders that are needed to protect neighbours, and no more. At the same time they provide certainty to neighbours as to the maximum levels of interference that they can expect, providing greater certainty for investors that the network they have paid to deploy will not suffer reduced capacity or need expensive re-engineering as a result of neighbours changing their usage. Determining the numbers to put into the licence terms requires an estimate of the likely transmit power, the likely base station density and some other factors such as I station antenna gain and height and the use of power control mechanisms. These can then be input to a propagation modelling tool which can be used to estimate the interference distribution and hence arrive at the SUR licence terms. The approach we follow is initially for Ofcom to make an estimate as to these parameters and then to consult on these. - Author(s): P. Cheverton
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 78 –81
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080712
- Type: Article
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Organisations wishing to deal with their truly global clients need a strategy that goes beyond the traditional servicing of international accounts. Global Account Management (GAM) is a technique that should be considered. While based on similar processes and tools, the challenges of Global Account Management go far beyond those of nationally based Key Account Management (KAM). Geography and time zones apart, there is the organisational and structural complexity of GAM. The supplier's nationally based organisations are likely to be built the way they are for very good reason: meeting local needs, not global ones. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, p. 82 –83
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080727
- Type: Article
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In chip-design, people tend to talk of flows - based on the idea that development is a waterfall process that moves from specification through the design of register-transfer level (RTL) logic using hardware description languages to the physical layout and routing of gates. Finally, the design is analysed as a sea of interconnected transistors to gauge whether it will work and result in a high yield once devices have been made at the fab. Today, large chipmakers such as NXP Semiconductors are moving to fab-light strategies - where they outsource much of their production of system-on-chip (SoC) devices to foundries. So it looks as though the design flow looks to be the place where the chipmakers need to focus. - Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, page: 85 –85
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080728
- Type: Article
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Dates for your diary. - Author(s): M. Chu
- Source: Engineering & Technology, Volume 3, Issue 7, page: 96 –96
- DOI: 10.1049/et:20080729
- Type: Article
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Michael Chu describes a little known Mexican dish that tastes better than it looks.
Editorial
News
Analysis: The greening of Silicon Valley
A big green apple
Not wasting waste
The third industrial revolution
Letters to the Editor
If you ask me
The eccentric engineer
Gadget speak
Flow motion [NXP Semiconductors]
Model workers
Trading up [electronics 32bit]
Exploring the origins of man
Medicine's great strides
Nuclear power - is the white paper enough?
India's renewable future [renewable energy]
Beyond the cutting edge [robotic surgery]
Viewpoint
Sixty-second interview: Peter Lawton
Analysis: Greyer shade of green
Research at a distance [manufacturing R&D]
African promise
Self-maintenance works for repair firm [aerospace industry]
Band of gold - frequency band
Licensed to do anything [spectrum usage rights licensing]
No accounting for difference [global account management]
Sun, sea and seminars
Events
Cooking for engineers
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