Month: October 2014

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E&T news weekly #24 – we choose our favourite engineering and technology news stories from the week

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Friday October 31 2014   Tereza Pultarova, online news reporter High-tech air-con to save Sistine Chapel art In 2010, curators at the Vatican Museums discovered the famous renaissance frescoes, including the iconic Creation of Adam painted on the chapel’s ceiling by the great master Michelangelo, were rapidly degrading. The 15th century chapel famously holding secretive conclaves where new popes are elected, simply wasn’t designed to handle millions of visitors every year – exhaling carbon dioxide, increasing humidity, sweating and bringing dust. There were two solutions – to close the chapel to the public or to employ cutting-edge engineering skills and … Continue reading E&T news weekly #24 – we choose our favourite engineering and technology news stories from the week

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@AeroMobil Flying car to debut at #Pioneers14 Vienna Festival for inventors – an annotated infographic

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Good news: mankind has officially achieved 50 per cent of its 1970s vision of the future, with the news that a flying car will be demonstrated at the Pioneers Festival in Vienna this week. The AeroMobil 3.0 “Flying Roadster” is a prototype flying car which combines the performance of a sports car with the qualities of an ultralight aircraft. It can be refueled at a regular filling station and take off from a 200-metre-long field. So, we have the flying cars: all we need now is food in pill form. Click on the graphic for an expanded view. Continue reading @AeroMobil Flying car to debut at #Pioneers14 Vienna Festival for inventors – an annotated infographic

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E&T news weekly #23 – we choose our favourite engineering and technology news stories from the week

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Friday October 24 2014   Vitali Vitaliev, features editor Second Chinese high-speed train maker to bid in California’s tender China’s fast progress in the high-speed railway sector is nothing short of astounding if we remember that it practically did not exist in the country, which now boasts the world’s longest high-speed rail network, only 10-15 years ago. I remember having a premonition of the big things to come when attending a SIFER international railway industry exhibition in Lille in 2011, where China’s section was by far the largest. If other countries were represented by a handful of engineers and PR … Continue reading E&T news weekly #23 – we choose our favourite engineering and technology news stories from the week

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#Apple HealthKit and Health app aims to spark fitness revolution – an annotated infographic

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Whether we like it or not, Apple wants to make us all healthier and more active. Counting our steps, counting our calories, digitally scoffing at our half-baked attempts at fitness – the new Health app is like a disapproving aunt watching over your shoulder, tutting at every anti-health transgression we make. Apple is making the HealthKit open to third-party health metrics, so any fitness device worn by the user can feed data in to the Health app. Whether its your smart earbuds, a smartwatch or smart fitness socks, you’d better be careful what you wear if all you feel like … Continue reading #Apple HealthKit and Health app aims to spark fitness revolution – an annotated infographic

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#Microsoft to enter the #wearable technology sphere with new smartwatch – an annotated infographic

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Ever-anxious to join in with what looks like a fun party to be at, Microsoft will shortly launch its own wearable device, according to Forbes. With the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung already making headlines and – more importantly – money out of the wearable technology sector, it was inevitable that Microsoft would chime in at some point with another me-too gadget of its own. Zune, anyone? According to the Forbes report, the device will be a smartwatch that will passively track a wearer’s heart rate and sync with different mobile platforms, including Apple iOS, Google Android and it’s … Continue reading #Microsoft to enter the #wearable technology sphere with new smartwatch – an annotated infographic

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Secretive U.S. Air Force space plane ready to return to Earth – an annotated infographic

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The U.S. Air Force’s robotic X-37B space plane is set to return to Earth after almost two years in orbit. The secret mission is believed to have been a test of new sensors and other next-generation satellite technologies. Click on the graphic for an expanded view. Continue reading Secretive U.S. Air Force space plane ready to return to Earth – an annotated infographic

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E&T news weekly #22 – we choose our favourite engineering and technology news stories from the week

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Friday October 17 2014   Aasha Bodhani, assistant technology features editor First Google Glass addict admitted for treatment It has been reported an American man has been diagnosed with having an addiction to Google Glass, having used the wearable technology for up to 18 hours a day as part of his job. The man experienced irritable and aggressive traits when stripped of the glasses, and would dream about seeing the world through the Glass’s small screen. He’s now reportedly under an ‘internet detox’ programme, including Google Glass and other electronic devices. Windows flaw used by hackers to spy on Nato … Continue reading E&T news weekly #22 – we choose our favourite engineering and technology news stories from the week

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New issue of E&T magazine available online now – the Antarctica issue, conservation vs fossil fuels

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The new issue of E&T magazine is available online now: the Antarctica issue. The Antarctic is the Earth’s last great wilderness, but can we keep it that way? As global warming melts that continental land ice, ironically the region becomes more attractive to companies interested in extracting fossil fuels and countries looking to extend and secure their territories sitting on or near valuable natural resources. Nations are also readying for take-off in a race to exploit the energy resources of another great uninhabited region, but this one is sustainable and it’s extraterrestrial. Solar power from space is an exciting prospect, … Continue reading New issue of E&T magazine available online now – the Antarctica issue, conservation vs fossil fuels

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How West African countries hit hard by #Ebola outbreak get medical aid by plane – an annotated infographic

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Only a handful of international carriers are still flying to the three West African countries hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak, keeping a vital air link open for medical aid workers. However, this has raised fears that the virus could spread further afield. Click on the graphic for an expanded view. Continue reading How West African countries hit hard by #Ebola outbreak get medical aid by plane – an annotated infographic

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E&T news weekly #21 – we choose our favourite engineering and technology news stories from the week

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Friday October 10 2014   Jonathan Wilson, online managing editor Turing’s codebreaking machine voted engineers’ favourite It’s been a momentous week for the mathematical legacy of Alan Turing. Not only did the biopic of his life, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kiera Knightley, debut at the London Film Festival, Turing’s World War Two codebreaking machine, nicknamed The Bombe, was also voted the engineers’ favourite artefact in a new survey to mark the 30th anniversary of the Engineering Heritage Awards. Police struggling with cybercrime says top policeman A worrying admission that the robbers are smarter than the cops these … Continue reading E&T news weekly #21 – we choose our favourite engineering and technology news stories from the week