James Bond from Dr No to Skyfall – 50 years of gadgets, an annotated graphic #Skyfall

As the Royal Albert Hall red carpet prepares to unfurl itself and welcome the expensively soled shoes of the Skyfall stars – notably Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Judi Dench – we offer our own small contribution to James Bond mania with this look back at 50 years of gadgets.

Cars, guns and everyday objects given a snappy technological twist by Q branch – they’re all here. We’re pleased to see Oddjob’s hat getting a look in, but whither Jaws’ teeth? Gnawing through that cable car wire gave Roger Moore the fright of his life halfway up that mountain.

If you have a favourite Bond gadget not pictured here – whether wielded on behalf of good or evil – let us know. Blofeld’s cat doesn’t count, mind.

James Bond: 50 years of gadgets

Electric vehicles – research material and resources available from the IET Library #EVs

Did you know that the IET Library can be an invaluable resource for your research projects?

Invaluable research material is available on myriad engineering topics. For example, let’s take a look at what’s available on the subject of electric vehicles. Here’s what the library has available electronically to all its members through its IET Virtual Library.

The Virtual Library’s e-book collection, Knovel, alone has titles such as:

Propulsion Systems for Hybrid Vehicles by John M. Miller (Institution of Engineering and Technology); Battery Operated Devices and Systems – From Portable Electronics to Industrial Products by G.Pistoia (Elsevier); Electric Vehicle Technology Explained by James Larminie and John Lowry (John Wiley & Sons).

There are also thousands of full text articles on electric vehicles on the Virtual Library’s EBSCO databases. Here are a few examples:

Internal combustion engine control for series hybrid electric vehicles by parallel and distributed genetic programming/multiobjective genetic algorithms

(International Journal of Systems Science 2011)

Electric Vehicle Noise: Are They Too Quiet?

(Professional Safety 2011)

Application of ECQFD for enabling environmentally conscious design and sustainable development in an electric vehicle.

(Clean Technologies & Environmental Policy 2011)

Applying the Environmental Propensity Framework: A Segmented Approach to Hybrid Electric Vehicle Marketing Strategies.

(Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice 2010)

The Value of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles as Grid Resources.

(Energy Journal 2010)

For more information and help with specific research projects, contact the information professionals searchservice@theiet.org

T:  +44 (0)20 7344 8429

Renault Twizy electric car – an annotated graphic

Despite the miniscule numbers of electric cars currently on the planet’s roads (approximately 50,000 sold worldwide in 2011, a market share of 0.1%), the stone-cold fact is that they are indisputably a big part of the world’s automotive future.

Renault’s latest offering is the Twizy and is the star of today’s annotated graphic. Bonjour, Twizy! Twizey? Twizzy? Twizzee, said with an Inspector Clouseau-style French accent? Dunno. Have fun with it yourself!

Click on the graphic for an expanded view.

Renault Twizy electric car

Sinclair X-1 electric-hybrid cycle – an annotated graphic

Twenty five years after launching his revolutionary but commerically unsuccessful C5 electric pedal car, Sir Clive Sinclair is hoping this 21st century update – the X1 – will appeal to a new generation.

Click on the graphic for a larger view.

Sinclair X-1 electric-hybrid pedal cycle

Electric vehicles: charging ahead

Thinking of buying a new car? Had enough of petrol stations, with their overpriced chocolate, novelty air fresheners, hitherto unimaginable compilation CDs and comprehensive displays of pornography? Maybe an electric vehicle is the way forward. And not just for those of us wearying of the relentless forecourt visits, but for the whole planet. Step away from the oil, foolish human! There is a better way. Possibly.

Any colour you like, as long as it's banana yellow

There is naturally a wealth of debate fizzing around the issue of electric vehicles, so we’ve done the helpful thing and created a dedicated electric vehicles page, pulling together news and features from E&T magazine on this very topic. If you want to be suitably prepared should you ever find yourself buttonholed by Ed Begley Jr at a state dinner or celebrity pro-am golf tournament, we’ve got all the information you need to pass yourself off as a reliably informed expert.

As if this admirably altruistic exercise in knowledge dissemination weren’t enough, being suitably nimble and fleet of foot here at E&T Towers this page is not set in pixellated stone for perpetuity, no way no how. It will continue to expand beautifully in a self-sustaining evolutionary cycle as we cover this topic in the future, so watch that space.  This space, in fact: bit.ly/elec-vehicles