Skip to main content
Issues

Issue 71

June 2017

Download PDF version
A crowd of people watching the Airlander coming into land.
  • Aerospace
  • Issue 71

An aircraft like no other

The Airlander made headlines when it embarked on its first test flight in August 2016 as the world’s largest aircraft. Chris Daniels at Hybrid Air Vehicles Limited, and David Burns, Airlander’s Chief Test Pilot, talk about the engineering that helped it reach this stage and plans for the craft’s future.

Male software engineer.
  • Electricals & electronics
  • How does that work?
  • Issue 71

Radio spectrum

Radio spectrum is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum, a continuous range of wavelengths, that is widely used in modern technology. Particularly used in telecommunication, interest in the radio waves is expected to increase as 5G is rolled out and mobile communication is used more and more.

Quick read

Dr Sabesan Sithamparanathan standing with the Sir George Macfarlane medal, at the Royal Academy of Engineering awards ceremony.
  • Electricals & electronics
  • How I got here
  • Issue 71

Q&A: Dr Sabesan Sithamparanathan

Dr Sabesan Sithamparanathan is Co-founder and CEO of PervasID. His company provides radio-frequency identification (RFID) readers for low-cost, long-distance sensing of passive RFID tags, for use in tracking in retail, security and healthcare.

Vertical farming system.
  • Food & agriculture
  • Innovation Watch
  • Issue 71

Farming straight up

Hydroponics, growing plants without soil in nutrient-enriched water, is a technique that has been used in some form for centuries. As the global population grows and food security is threatened, its faster growth and larger yields have become increasingly important.

A male robotics engineer with agricultural robots in a field of crops.
  • Technology & robotics
  • Opinion
  • Issue 71

Robotics and AI – driving the UK’s industrial strategy

Professor Guang-Zhong Yang CBE FREng, Director and Co-founder of The Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery and UK-RAS Network Chair, sets out how investment in robotics and artificial intelligence could transform the UK’s industry, economy and workplaces.

Professor Neville Jackson FREng.
  • Mechanical
  • Profiles
  • Issue 71

Thinking about the revolutions

An interest in engines first drew Professor Neville Jackson FREng into engineering and, over the years, his work has covered almost everything related to transport. As Chief Technology Officer at Ricardo. he considers the future of car manufacturers and modern mobility engineering.

The production of The Tempest with special effects and actors on stage.
  • Arts & culture
  • Issue 71

The technology behind ‘The Tempest'

William Shakespeare’s The Tempest is a fantastical play that features illusion and otherworldly beings. Discover how cutting-edge technology, such as motion capture and sensors, has brought the magic and spectacle to life on stage.

The Queensferry Crossing bridge.
  • Civil & structural
  • Issue 71

World record-breaking bridge

The Queensferry Crossing, Britain’s first major new bridge for a generation, is the world’s longest three-towered cable-stayed bridge, Britain’s tallest bridge, and Scotland’s largest construction project this century. The three engineers most closely involved in the project speak about its construction.