- Health & medical
- Issue 77
An easier way to diagnose disease
A breathalyser that can save lives and money won the 2018 MacRobert Award. Breath Biopsy®, the chemical analysis of volatile compounds in exhaled breath, lies behind this innovative approach to medical diagnosis. The technology is being used to collect and analyse breath samples on a wider scale.
- Civil & structural
- Issue 77
Going underground underneath London’s Claridge’s hotel
Engineers are completing a new five-storey basement underneath London’s Claridge’s, with no interruption to the hotel overhead. This extraordinary achievement has been made possible by traditional mining techniques and state-of-the-art structural and geotechnical engineering.
Quick read
- Technology & robotics
- Issue 77
Speech recognition
Speech recognition is a machine or program’s ability to recognise spoken words and phrases and convert them into a machine-readable format. The software is now a common feature in several devices, including smartphones, computers and virtual assistants.
Quick read
- Energy
- Materials
- How I got here
- Issue 77
Q&A: Rahul Mandal
Dr Rahul Mandal is a Research Associate in the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at the University of Sheffield, and winner of The Great British Bake Off 2018.
Quick read
- Arts & culture
- Electricals & electronics
- Innovation Watch
- Issue 77
A new way to make music
A team of engineers has developed a range of instruments that is changing the way people make music. ROLI combines digital technologies and pressure-sensitive silicone so that users can generate sounds with the lightest touch.
- Issue 77
Collaboration is key for degree apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are often seen as a less prestigious route into engineering than university study and a degree. However, with the introduction of placements that include a bachelor’s or master’s qualification, this looks set to change. Richard Hamer, Education and Skills Director at BAE Systems, believes that closer partnership between key stakeholders presents a real opportunity to make degree apprenticeships a great success.
- Health & medical
- Profiles
- Issue 77
Developing the first integrated prosthetic leg
Professor Sir Saeed Zahedi OBE RDI FREng combined his interest in mechanical engineering and medicine when biomedical engineering only had a few research groups. He is now Chief Technology Officer and Technical Director of the Blatchford Group, running a team that developed the first integrated prosthetic leg.
- Software & computer science
- Issue 77
The evolution of Earth observation
Satellite images are used to monitor changes in Earth’s natural and built environments, with applications in areas as diverse as land use, natural disasters and climate change. This collected data is becoming more widely accessible, resulting in it being used by companies to solve problems on Earth.
- Civil & structural
- Sports & leisure
- Issue 77
The football pitch in three pieces
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is part of a regeneration project that has transformed the stadium and surrounding area. As well as being home to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, the stadium will host NFL games in the UK and it boasts the world’s first dividing sliding pitch.
- Design & manufacturing
- Energy
- Issue 77
Warm response to fluid dynamics
Technology that makes racing cars go faster is now saving energy in supermarkets and reducing the ‘frozen aisle’ effect often found near the chiller cabinets. An established engineering company and a startup business worked together to bring this new engineering to the market.