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First for technology & innovation | www.theengineer.co.uk AUGUST 2013

Eyes on the road

Head-up display forin-car infotainment

without thedistraction 32

Lessons learned

Terry Hill, formerArup chairman,

explains what HS1can teach us 34

The railthing

Our panel ofexperts answerreaders questions

on controversialHS2 project 28

For more news, jobs and products visit www.theengineer.co.uk

A mindof its ownAutonomouscars take driversout of the loop 24
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contents

AUGUST 2013 | the EnGineeR | 3

Your number one website for engineering news,views, jobs and products www.theengineer.co.uk

07

24

16

News07 Technology Space technology

could help detect sight loss

08 Technology Low-costdiagnostic device can returnresults in 30min

09 Technology Brainwavemonitoring could aid drivers

Features

24 Cover feature The process ofdeveloping self-driving cars is oneof evolution, not revolution

28 Q&A feature Our panel ofexperts answer your questions onthe engineering challenges ofbuilding HS2

32 Feature Innovations to tackle theproblem of driver distraction

Opinion

05 Comment If you cantconcentrate on driving, let yourcar drive itself

16 Mailbox Your letters to theeditor and views fromtheengineer.co.uk

18 Talking Point Is fracking ourbest hope for cheap energy, or adangerous fantasy?

10 Design Relieving stress in largeALM components

12 Business BMWs lease andrange-extending options forthe i3

14 Digest The Engineer crosswordand an early aeroplanist

34 Interview Former chairman ofArup, Terry Hill, on what we canlearn from the HS1 project

36 Electronics feature Flexiblebatteries for the new generationof gadgets

38 Sensors feature New

techniques and technologies forcontinuous monitoring ofmedical conditions

20 Iain Gray Making the UK acentre for automotive innovation

21 David Willetts Why the UK ischanging tack and investing inspace propulsion systems

22 Viewpoint The importance ofprotecting intellectual propertyin China


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comment


The only time Ive crashed my car was down to beingdistracted by the infotainment system; I took my eyesoff the road in what I thought was a safe, quiet area toselect a new album from my MP3 player, which wasplugged in and displayed its tracks on a LCD display onthe dashboard. Fortunately, I wasnt hurt and no-oneelse was involved, although theres a bollard near myparents house with some blue paint on it.

I can console myself with the thought that its easily

done. If even Michael Schumacher can fall foul of lapsesof attention while driving off-duty, then us lesser mortals are bound to slipup. But the problems getting worse and it seems that its mostly down todrivers demands.

Manufacturers of in-car infotainment systems say that theyre respondingto the perception that people want to be able to access all the functionalitytheyve got used to on their mobile phones all the time. They want to makecalls, they want to select music, they want to be able to access trafc and

weather updates, they even want to be able tocheck email, Twitter and Facebook. Moreover,they dont just want to do it, they actually doit: weve all seen people driving with mobilephones clamped to their ears, and horrorstories about accidents caused by texting-while-driving are becoming increasinglycommon.

So its hardly surprising that infotainment companies are trying to deviseways for drivers to access the functionality they crave without taking theirattention away from driving. As we detail in this issue, there are manytechniques and approaches to the problem, from touch-screens to head-updisplays and gesture control of in-car electronics.

Is this a solution? It may be, but possibly more radical answers areneeded. Our cover feature in this issue details the development ofautonomous cars. People dont like relinquishing control, but it might just bethe answer to the problem of distraction. You want to check Twitter? Youwant to talk on the phone? Fine. You do that. But if youre going to, let thecar do the driving. It doesnt have a mind to be distracted, and you and,

for that matter, everybody else on the road stand a better chance of stillbeing able to breathe once youve put the smartphone down.

Ditch the distractions

while at the wheel

If you want to checkTwitter, let the car dothe driving. It cant be

distracted

Join the debate at www.theengineer.co.ukor nd us on:

in our opinion

Stuart Nathan Features [email protected]

Hard hats

The issue is that themedia is hardly if everreporting aboutengineering and whatengineers do. In theabsence of this, hard hatsget my approval everytime.Alek Wantrowski

Engineers should be seenas thinkers, rather thandoers. That mightenhance their prole.Peter Bessey

Join the debate here

Design and tech teaching

Without teachers whohave recent experienceworking in industry it willnever work.Anonymous

Unless the schools areproperly equiped and use

qualied engineers toteach, pupils will leavewith the wrongimpression ofmanufacturingMick Jones

Engineering has alwaysbeen the poor relation inthe UKBrian WoodJoin the debate here

in your opinionComment & reaction fromtheengineer.co.uk

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Direct dial 020 7970 followed by extension listed Advertising fax 020 7970 4190 Editor Jon Excell (4437) [email protected] editor Stuart Nathan (4125) [email protected] News editor Jason Ford (4442) [email protected] Senior reporter Stephen Harris (4893) [email protected] Art editor Steven Lillywhite [email protected] Publisher Daniel Brill(4849) [email protected] Recruitment advertisement manager Mauro Marenghi (4187) [email protected] sales executive Dean Wylie (4160) [email protected] Senior sales executive Devraj Ray (4426) [email protected] Commercial director Sonal Patel (4487) [email protected] Business development manager Peter York (4942)

Production Emma Griffin (4434) [email protected]
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Find the latest news, jobs & products at www.theengineer.co.uk news: technology

BY STEPHEN HARRIS

Doctors could become betterat spotting early-stage sightloss thanks to new technologyadapted from cameras usedin astronomy.

UK scientists and engineershave developed a prototypedevice for detecting age-related macular degeneration(AMD), which usually isntdiagnosed until vision has

already begun to degrade.The technology, produced byCardiff University and the UKAstronomy Technology Centre(ATC), uses very sensitivecameras designed for deep-space telescopes to assesswhether the retina isfunctioning as it should andcould open up study of the eyeto nd new treatments.

This could revolutionise thedetection not just of maculardisease but of a whole range ofconditions, said researchleader Dr Tom Margrain from

Cardiffs School of Optometryand Vision Sciences.Margrain compared the

development to that offunctional MRI scanning, whichmeasures changing brainactivity. We can actually seein images whats happening ata functional level in the retina,so its quite a step forward.

There is no known treatmentfor AMD but spotting it earliercould allow patients to makelifestyle changes such asquitting smoking and alteringtheir diets to try and halt it.

Being able to study theprogress of the disease ingreater detail could also pavethe way for the developmentof treatment.

Its a circular argument,he said. One of the reasonstheres no treatment is theresno way of picking up ormonitoring it.

The device a retinaldensitometer works byilluminating the retina withlight of different wavelengthsand capturing the resultingimages over time. This reveals

the colour changes in the retinaas it adjusts to decreasing

objective measure that canmore accurately detect AMD.

The difculty in measuringdark adaptation in the pasthas been the need to limit the

amount of light that illuminatesthe eye but capture enoughreected light to create animage a problem that wassolved by using very sensitiveastronomy cameras.

Engineers at the UK ATC,part of the Science andTechnology Facilities Council(STFC), adapted the camera bycreating a control system tomanage the way it captured aseries of images illuminated bydifferent wavelengths of light.

One thing we realised earlyon was we needed very good

timing control, said Dr DaveMelotte, innovation manager atthe ATC. The signal from thecamera links through a series ofbespoke control boards to setthe measurement sequence off,so you take each frame with thelight of the right wavelength.

The engineers also had tomodel the way the light movedthrough the device into the eyeand back again to nd the bestconguration for capturing themaximum amount of light.

Aerospace

Drone helicoptersjoin to form multi-rotor UAV

Automotive

Bentleys rst SUVset to create 1,000UK jobs

Civil and structural

FCC wins contractto build Mersey

Gateway Bridge Electronics

Chip-compatiblepolymer could be keyto cheap photonics

Energy and environment

Scientists testsolution to nuclearplant explosions

Medical and healthcare

Tattoo sensor warnsextreme athletes ofexhaustion

Military and defence

Unmanned combataircraft makes rstlanding at sea

Rail and marine

Osborne pledgesfunding for UK

infrastructure Aerospace

Government invests60m in rocket enginedevelopment

Automotive

Model signals boostfor intelligenttransportation

For news and jobs visitus at theengineer.co.uk

read moreonlinetheengineer.co.uk

Space technology could

help identify sight lossDevice could be used to detect age-related macular degeneration

MEDICAL AND HEALTHCARE

amounts of light (darkadaptation), the speed of whichcan indicate early-stage AMD.

When the amount of lightentering the eye increases, a

chemical reaction turns thepurple pigment in the retinasphotoreceptors clear, limitingtheir signals to the brain. Whenthe amount of light decreases,the pigment is regenerated,increasing the eyes ability to

absorb light again. Studyingthe retinas response todecreasing levels of light canreveal the presence of AMD.

AMD affects the part of theretina where dark adaptationtakes place, known as themacular, and so measuring therate of pigment regenerationcan reveal the presence ofthe disease.

Existing technologies canalso measure dark adaptation,but these are either invasive orrely on the patients subjectiveview of the changing light. The

new technology, Margrainexplained, provides an

Click here to commenton this story

Spotting AMDearlier could allowpatients to makelifestyle changes

The technology uses very sensitive cameras designed for deep-spacetelescopes to assess whether the retina is functioning as it should
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8 | the EnGineeR | AUGUST 2013

Find the latest news, jobs & products at www.theengineer.co.uk

instrumentation and itsactually quite a large chipas well.

By contrast, Saw Dx is ashoebox-sized, single-stepdevice powered by arechargeable mobile-phonebattery that contains anactuation mechanism that

creates ultrasound. This,according to Reboud, is doneby applying a voltage througha piezoelectric material.

He said: These soundwaves are the samefrequencies as the ones used inmedical imaging for pregnancy,

for example, but they actuallytravel at the surface so they

are a bit like earthquakesMechanical deformations [aremade] at the surfaces.

What we do is put thedisposable piece, the low-costmicrochip, in contact with thatsurface, which carries the

wave so the waves actuallyrefract a bit like an opticalset-up or prism into thismicrochip and then continuepropagating in the microchip atthe surface where the sampleis going to be and so thesample gets actuated.

The clever bit is inusing what we call acousticholograms, continued Reboud.These are microstructures [photonic lattices] printed oretched on the surface of thedisposable chip that actuallydo the shaping of the waves.

When the wave attracts withthis to these structures

it can change shape and wecan control this shape bycontrolling the design ofthe structures as well asthe frequency of the wave.

So by simply switchingthe frequency, we can switchbetween different functionswithout requiring differentactuators. It means thefootprint of the chip becomes

a lot smaller.Reboud explained that aSaw DX prototype is capableof a whole assay but only forone pathogen.

This has impressedclinicians, who are pushing forSaw DX to detect three to vepathogens, and part of a recent20,000 ERA FoundationEntrepreneurs Award willbe put toward this, as wellas the development of amultiplex assay.

BY JASON FORD

A low-cost medical diagnosticdevice for conditions includingChlamydia and gonorrhoea ishoped to break the cycle ofinfection by returning resultsin 30 minutes.

The automated device,developed by Dr JulienReboud, a research fellow atGlasgow Universitys Divisionof Biomedical Engineering, canmake a diagnosis with a smallsample such a nger prick

of blood and can be utilisedby anyone without anyspecialist training.

The device dubbed SawDx requires a low-cost,disposable microchipcontaining a sample to beplaced into its reader, whichwould propagate ultrasonicwaves across the chip.

The ultrasound agitatesthe sample in a very specicway, depending what functionis needed, such as temperaturecycling of the sample oropening cells, to release

the DNA.In doing so, it removes theprocessing required in larger,laboratory-based diagnosticmachines that can have afootprint of up to 1m 2.

Such machines processa large number of samplessimultaneously but take anumber of hours to returnresults. Similarly, nding theDNA of a pathogen requires anumber of steps to identify,amplify and detect the anomaly.

According to Reboud, adegree of expertise is required

to use the machines anda number of companieshave tried to simplify andminiaturise the process withmicrouidic systems.

He said: The difculty withlab-on-chip [LOC] tryingto make all of these functionsinto a microchip isdifcult because most of theactuation requires differentmechanisms In one test,youve got three differentactuation mechanisms that areput together.

Usually, it means this LOC

is not LOC; its more like achip surrounded by lots of

Finding the DNA of a pathogenrequires many steps to identify,amplify and detect the anomaly


Speedy diagnosticsLow-cost device for conditions such as Chlamydia returns results in just 30 minutes

MEDICAL AND HEALTHCARE

The automateddiagnostic devicecan be utilised byanyone withoutspecialist training
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BY STEPHEN HARRIS

New technology for reading brainwaves whilemonitoring eye movement could lead to improvedsystems for preventing drivers from falling asleepat the wheel.

Researchers from Leicester University havedeveloped signal-processing algorithms tocompensate for the electrical activity created bythe eye muscles as they move, which can interferewith the brain signals captured throughelectroencephalograph (EEG) systems.

This means the subject doesnt need to keep hisor her eyes still for the EEG to work and the brainsignals and eye movement can be tracked at thesame time, opening up the possibility of adding anextra element to eye-tracking systems to make

them more reliable or improving future brain-computer interfaces. Eye monitoring on its owndoesnt work for everyone, said project leader DrMatias Ison. But if youre driving on a long, boringroad you can be starting at one point but yourmind can be wandering and about to fall asleep.This could be picked up by an EEG system and notan eye tracker.

Current EEG systems that require electrodes tobe placed on the scalp would be impractical foruse while driving. But Ison said the new systemwould enable the next stage of research into brainactivity that occurs when the eyes are moving. Inparticular, researchers will need to conductexperiments to collect data from the brain aboutwhat happens a subject makes different saccades

(fast eye movements), in order to improve thesystem further.The issue is that we need to have a certain

number of saccades of different types and sizes sowe can teach the algorithm what particular types

of [movement] look like, said Ison. We move oureyes about four times a second and in such a smallperiod of time we are acquiring information anddeciding where to move our eyes next. Given thelimited speed at which neurons can transmitinformation, this is a challenging task.

If the technology were to improve enough, itcould also be applied to computer interfaces,allowing gamers to move characters around morenaturally or enabling completely paralysed peopleto control a wheelchair by moving their eyes. Anearlier application could be in diagnosing dyslexiaby monitoring subjects in a more realistic waythan the current method of checking their brainactivity as they read a succession of single words.

The project was carried out in collaboration

with the University of Buenos Aires and funded bythe EPSRC.

APC advantage

An extra 1bn of investmentto help the UK build the cars ofthe future has beenannounced as part of thegovernments automotivestrategy. The government andindustry will each invest500m over the next 10 yearsin a new Advanced PropulsionCentre (APC) to help developthe technologies and supplychains needed to manufacturethe next generation oflow-carbon vehicles in the UK.

Small rm wins big

The UKs biggest nationalengineering prize has beenawarded to a small Cambridgecompany whose software isnow used by the worldslargest technology companies.RealVNC, co-founded byCambridge computingluminary Andy Hopper,received the Royal Academyof Engineerings top accolade,the MacRobert Award, for itssoftware that enables remoteaccess to any computeriseddevice with a screen fromanywhere in the world.

Worlds largest wind farmPlans for an offshore windfarm twice the size of theworlds current largest havereceived approval. The energysecretary has granted TritonKnoll Offshore Wind Farmpermission to construct a1,200MW facility with up to288 turbines off the EastAnglian coast. RWE npowerhas scheduled 2017 as theconstruction start date.

Industry investment

The European Commission,EU member states andEuropean industry will invest22bn over the next sevenyears in sectors that createhigh-quality jobs. Most of theinvestment will go to vepublic-private partnerships inmedicines, aeronautics,bio-based industries, fuel cellsand hydrogen, and electronics.These research partnershipsare expected to boost thecompetitiveness of EUindustry in sectors thatalready provide more than four

million jobs.


in brief More news daily attheengineer.co.uk

Algorithm could be applied in driver monitoring systems

ELECTRONICS

Researchers have a brainwave

Intelligent knife could improve hospital patient survival rates

MEDICAL

iKnife cuts cancer detection time

BY JASON FORD

Scientists at Imperial College

London have designed asurgical instrument thatdetects cancerous tissue inseconds.

The development, led byDr Zoltan Takats, has thepotential to improve patientsurvival rates and save moneyfor health authorities byreducing the need forsecondary operations.

The intelligent knife, oriKnife, has been adapted froma suite of chemical-prolingtechnologies built by WatersCorporation and is in use at

St Marys, Hammersmith andCharring Cross hospitals.

It is based on electrosurgicalknives that are commonly used

in operating theatres.Originally developed in the1920s, electrosurgical knivesuse an electrical current to heattissue, allowing surgeons tocut through it while minimisingblood loss. The heated tissuevaporises and gives off anaerosol that is normallyextracted from the operatingtheatre.

Takats has adapted theelectrosurgical knife so that itextracts the aerosol and feedsit via a tube to a massspectrometer in the operating

theatre, which lets the surgeonknow via a display if the tissue

being operated on containscancerous cells.

Surgeons currently removetumours with a margin ofhealthy tissue but it is oftendifcult to tell by sight whichtissue is cancerous. Accordingto Imperial College, one in vebreast cancer patients whohave surgery require a secondoperation to fully remove thecancer. In cases of uncertainty,the removed tissue is sent to alab for examination while thepatient remains under generalanaesthetic.

Current EEG systems require electrodes to be placedon the scalp impractical for use while driving


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10/42

news: design


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Stress free ghtersProcess eliminates stresses in printed parts

New legislation has potential to cause chaos

LEGISLATION

IP law must notstie designers

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

With BAEs new technique,a layer of material is laiddown, melted into shapeusing a laser and left to coolbefore being cold workedusing the ultrasonic impacttreatment (UIT). The nextlayer is then deposited,heated and the processrepeats.

Jagjit Sidu, ATCs technicalleader for additivemanufacturing said thecombination of cold workingand heat treatment becomespart of the deposition

process.UIT is typically used totreat welded areas in metallicstructures in the rail and oiland gas industries to increasetheir fatigue life.

An ultrasonic transducercauses the tool head tovibrate at a very controllablerate and impart powerfulcompression forces while onlyplacing a small load on thetool itself, allowing it to behandheld or tted to a robot.

The BAE team, which alsoincluded Stephen Morgan,

developed a feedback systemthat uses load cells in thebase plate, onto which thestructure is printed, tomeasure the strains as theyform and adjust the UIT tocorrect them in real time.

The company hasdemonstrated the techniqueby producing 3D printedstructures up to 1m in lengthand has applied for patents onthe UIT process and thefeedback system.

BY STEPHEN HARRIS

Aircraft wings built with 3Dprinters could be a step closerthanks to a techniquedeveloped by BAE Systems.

The company hasdeveloped a process toprevent large metallicstructures made usingadditive manufacturing fromdistorting or building upinternal stress duringprinting.

The technique involves anestablished way of makingmetal parts stronger by

rapidly and repeatedlystriking them using anultrasonic tool as each layer ofthe component is laid downby the 3D prin ter.

Aircraft manufacturers arealready using 3D printing to

produce hinges. Scaling upthe process to large andcomplex metallic parts couldenable the creation of morecomplex shapes such ashollow, lighter wings andmake production of a smallnumber of these componentsmore cost effective.

But increasing the size of3D printed parts raises thechance that the internalstresses that build up as thematerial cools will lead toproblems, said Andy Wescott,a senior research scientist at

BAEs Advanced TechnologyCentre (ATC).

agree that current legislationadequately protects againstinfringements and warn thatthat the wording of the bill hasthe potential to create numerousinfringement claims.

Whitehead said, If thegovernment is determined totighten up the legalconsequencesthen it needs tobe done in a way that does notclog-up the legal system withhundreds of cases against

designers and retailers whohave followed fashion trends buthave not deliberately copiedregistered designs. Nor must itstie innovation because of fearof prosecution for presumedcopying. It is for these reasonsthat the language of theIntellectual Property Bill needsamending.

The governments IntellectualProperty Ofce says theproposed law is focused onwrongful business behaviourand not inadvertantinfringement of a design.

BY JASON FORD

Experts have warned that thewording of the proposedIntellectual Property Bill shouldchange to prevent unnecessarylitigation and protect the rightsof designers.

The bill passed through theHouse of Lords on Tuesday July30, 2013 with an amendment toimprove defences for defendantswho could face 10 year jail termsif found guilty of infringing

registered designs.The proposed amendmentincludes a clause allowing thoseaccused of infringement todefend their themselves on thegrounds that they reasonablybelieved that they had not doneso. Patent attorneys Withers &Rogers said this will extendprotection to defendants whobelieve that their own design issufciently different to escapeinfringement.

The draft legislation isexpected to be debated in theHouse of Commons later this

year. Tony Whitehead, IETpolicy director and Roger Burt,president of the CharteredInstitute of Patent Attorneys

A new method of creating an extremely strong bond betweenlightweight aluminium and ultra-high-strength steel could help carmanufacturers optimise vehicle design.

The new method from Brigham Young University (BYU) may helpvehicle manufacturers in achieving the 54.5mpg average the USEnvironmental Protection Agency is mandating for US eets by 2025.

The technique - friction bit joining - uses a small, consumable bitto create a solid-state joint between metals. The method wasinvented by Prof Michael Miles and retired BYU professor KentKohkonen, in collaboration with Orem, Utah-based companyMegaStir Technologies and Oak Ridge National Lab.

Its all about making vehicles lighter and our process can help tocombine steels and light metals in the same vehicle frame, whichgives engineers more exibility in designing an optimal structure,Miles said.

The latest development in the process successfully bondslightweight aluminium with cast iron by inserting a thin layer of steelbetween the two metals, which facilitates the bonding process. JF

Metal bonding process could lighten cars

AUTOMOTIVE

Joined up thinking

BAE Systems has applied for a patent on its new processes


Click here to comment on this storyClick here to commenton this story

3D printedstructures up to 1min length have beenfabricated already
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news: business


All aboard the e-trainTransport secretary PatrickMcLoughlin has conrmed a1.2bn order for trains thatwill operate on the East CoastMain Line. The 30 nine-carelectric trains will bemanufactured by Hitachi RailEurope at its new factory inNewton Aycliffe, CountyDurham, as part of thegovernments 5.8bn IntercityExpress Programme. Hitachibelieves the deal will reinforceUK train manufacturing

export capability. Bentley jobs boostAround 1,000 jobs are to becreated in the UK followingBentleys decision to developits rst sports utility vehicle atits base in Crewe. The luxurycar-maker, which employs4,000 staff in Cheshire, plansto invest more than 800mduring the next three years inits headquarters and in thedevelopment of new models.

Structural study

Frazer-Nash has secured acontract with Culham Centrefor Fusion Energy to provide athermal and structuralanalysis package in support ofITERs planned nuclear fusionreactor. The consultancy willundertake a structuralanalysis study on ICRHantenna components, whichare comprised of complex,internally water-cooled,stainless steel and titaniumcomponents. The antenna ispart of a large systemdelivering RF power to the

plasma within the reactor.Airline orderBoeing and Turkish Airlineshave announced an order forve 777-300ER aircraft valuedat $1.6bn at list prices. TheTurkish ag-carrier hasexercised options on ve777-300ERs that were rstannounced in December 2012as part of a previous rm orderfor 15 777-300ERs. TurkishAirlines now has 20 777-300ERs on order from Boeing.Turkish Airlines eet

currently includes 12

in brief More businessnews daily attheengineer.co.uk/policy-and-business

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Lease is moreBMW offers i3 range-extending options and hire arrangements

BY STEPHEN HARRIS

BMW has launched an attemptto win over drivers worriedabout electric vehicles (EV)limited range with its rstproduction-ready battery-powered car.

The BMW i3 includes severaloptions also beingtried by competitors

including leasing models anda range-extending petrol motor that allow drivers to try outthe cars electric capabilitieswithout spending tens ofthousands of pounds in order torely entirely on battery power.

The move comes as EVsales remain relatively lowand manufacturers look forways to push the cars into themainstream, despite theinsistence of companies suchas BMW that a moreenvironmentally sustainablebusiness model is vital for the

future of long-term protability.One of the key barriers topublic acceptance of EVs isrange anxiety, despite researchsuggesting 95 per cent of tripsare less than 30 miles, wellwithin the range of most EVs.

The i3 was designed fromscratch with an electricpowertrain in mind, featuringa low centre of gravity due tothe low, central placing of thebattery, and a lightweightcarbon-bre-reinforced plastic(CFRP) body to cancel out theextra mass this adds.

But the vehicles statedrange of 8199 miles

(130160km) in everydayconditions is still comparablewith those of other modelsalready on the market, whichhave so far only sold severalthousand units in the UK.

To counter the anxiety issue,BMW is making the i3 availablewith a petrol-driven motor thatdoubles the cars range

compared with battery poweralone, and offering three-yearleases and options to borrowother vehicles for longerjourneys.

Although the company hasnot released sales or

production targets for the car,BMW spokesperson KrystynaKozlowska said: We areenvisaging that in the rstinstance the range extenderwill be a slightly higherproportion [of sales] thanelectric only. But I think overtime that might change aspeople come to understandhow they use their vehicle.

The leasing model is alreadybeing trialled by Nissan withits all-electric Leaf and wastested by BMW when it ran aninternational study of EV usage

with its Mini E, which has yetto enter mass production.

Research that weve donehas shown that people tend toprefer to lease this type ofvehicle, said Kozlowska.There is some element of theunknown with it and so leasingrates have been popular.

UK electric car sales areincreasing and at a rapid pace(although from relatively low

numbers), according to theSociety of Motor Manufacturersand Traders (SMMT). In 2011we saw just over 1,000 carsregistered, said SMMTspokesperson JonathanVisscher. By 2012 that hadmore than doubled. This yearwere already past the 1,500mark half-way through the year 85 per cent up on where wewere a year before.

Visscher said several factorswere driving the increase insales, including falling prices the cost of buying a Leaf has

dropped from 25,000(including the 5,000government grant for EVs) to15,000 for a basic model.

A big part of that will be thedevelopment of the model,renement of the technologyand the new model is beingbuilt in the UK, he said. Wereseeing more vehicles comeonto the market and as a resultmore competition, betterprices, and different ways ofowning them.

The BMW i3 electric car has theoption of a petrol motor

Price dropsare helping to drivethe increase in UKelectric car sales

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F i r s t f o r t e c h n o l o g y & i n n o v a t i o n | w w w .t h e e n g i n e e r .c o .u k

M A Y 2 0 1 3

Q u i c k l e a r n e r S u p e r c a r e n g i n e e r

N e i l P a t t e r s o n t a l k s

a b o u t h i s n e w r o l e a s

a n e d u c a t o r 3 0 C a r e e r s f e a t u r e

E x c i t i n g e n g i n e e r i n g

o p p o r t u n i t i e s i n t h e

o f f s h o r e r e n e w a b l e s

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H i g h b e a m E x p e r t s a n s w e r

y o u r q u e s t i o n s

o n d i r e c t e d e n e r g y w e a p o n

t e c h n o l o g y 2 6

F o r m o r e n e w s , j o b s a n d p r o d u c t s v i s i t w w w . t h e e n g i n e e r . c o . u k

M a n m a d e B i o l o g y a n d e n g i n e e r i n g c o m b i n e t o c r e a t e

t h e c y b o r g a n

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When completed, go to www.theengineer.co.ukto ll in your answers and the rst correct answerreceived will win a 20 Amazon voucher

One skill that all The Engineer reporters must quickly develop

is an ability to understand the unique language of eachengineering sector: a distinctive and often impenetrable patoisof buzzwords, acronyms and confusing terminology that canrender the most basic concepts incomprehensible.

But it has not always been this way. The Engineer archivefrequently shines a light on these sectors before theyd had achance to evolve their own vernacular. At the dawn of theautomotive industry, before cars were cars, reporters marvelledat the horseless carriage. The bicycle was and perhaps stillshould be the velocipede and, as a The Engineer articlefrom the very beginning of the aviation sector reminds us,pilots were aeroplanists.

The article in question from 23 July 1909 was reportingon the recent attempt by French aviation pioneer, HubertLatham, to make the rst cross-channel aircraft crossing.

Latham attempted his crossing in a monoplane dubbedAntoinette IV that had been designed by French inventor LeonLevavasseur. The aircraft was equipped with a 50-horsepower,

eight-cylinder petrolmotor featuring a novelcooling system that usedthe radiator as part ofthe aircrafts structure.

Sangatte, the Frenchterminus of theabandoned ChannelTunnel, was chosen asthe starting point, theaeroplanist intending to

land at Dover, wroteThe Engineer . At aquarter to seven, havingmade all the necessarypreparations, Mr Lathamascended in hismachine, and after

executing a wide circle round Sangatte, headed for Dover.After travelling around eight miles, the article reports that

the machine was seen to be gradually descending in a longstraight line to the surface of the water where it eventuallylanded and was rescued by a torpedo boat that was followingLathams progress.

Although ultimately unsuccessful, The Engineer wrote thatsufcient was done to demonstrate the possibility of successand the suitability of Mr Lathams type of machine for thisparticular purpose. Whats more, Latham did at least earn thedistinction of becoming the rst person to land a plane on abody of water.

Describing the technical challenges of ying overseas there are, more or less always, over any large stretch ofwater vertical currents of air which must naturally render thecondition of the problem of ight somewhat more complicatedthan in their absence. As for the cause of the accident, Lathamput it down to the effect of salt in the air on the carburettor.

Latham made a second unsuccessful attempt a few dayslater, but had by then been pipped to the post by Louis Bleriot,who made the rst successful crossing of the Channel just daysafter Lathams initial attempt.

this month in 1909Before the buzzwords The Engineer reports onaeroplanist Lathams Channel crossing attempt

news: digest

prize crossword

ACROSS1 Extremely steep (6)4 Provided treatment (5,3)10 Increase or decrease an

alternating current orvoltage (9)

11 Goods or money obtainedillegally (5)

12 Bind anew (5)13 A data transmission rate (9)14 Not designed to give an

illusion of depth (3-11)18 Map makers (13)19 A piece of equipment used to

effect an end (9)21 Become ground down or

deteriorate (5)23 Made tapering (5)24 Stiffened garment hanging

from the waist (9)25 Cardinal compass point that is

at 90 degrees (8)26 Condensed but memorable

sayings (6)

DOWN1 Line of latitude north of the

south pole (9,6)2 Undergo a chemical

change (5)3 Located the rear of an

object (9)5 The act of governing (14)6 Length of pipe with a sharp

bend in it (5)

7 Flow regulator on asluice (9)

8 Something recurring atregular intervals (6)

9 Construct hastily (6,8)15 People who live at a

particular place (9)16 Burdened psychologically

or mentally (9)17 Dangerous reproof

material (8)20 Give qualities or abilities

to (5)22 Gasket used to seal a joint

against high pressure (1,4)


A world ofhorseless carriages,velocipedes andaeroplanists

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For more news, views and information visit www.theengineer.co.uk

the hot topic

Portrayal of engineering: feeling hard done-by?

Class act?The need for school design andtechnology workshops to bewell-equipped triggered some

comment and reminiscences. Our school metalwork shopin the late 1980s was equippedwith a brazing hearth, weldingequipment, milling machines,lathes and a good stock ofmetal. Were we allowedanywhere near this kit? Hardly.Our teacher was moreconcerned about us designingon paper than building in 3D!Anonymous

Unless the schools areproperly equiped and use

qualied engineers to teachthe pupils they will leave with

the wrong impression ofManufacturing. We need toensure its in their blood andkeep them interested

throughout the entire trainingprocess.Mick Jones

Without teachers who haverecent experience working inindustry it will never work.Most teachers have very littleunderstanding of the realengineering world, those thatdo need encouraging andrewarding as they probablyhold our destiny in their hands.Im a professional engineermarried to a secondary schoolteacher. Many of my wifes

colleagues have no idea howindustry works and see little

reason for it to exist.Anonynmous

In my school the Careers

Master was the only memberof staff who had absolutely noexperience of anything outsideteaching the classics or beinga novice monk! If you wantedto study ancient Greek he wasyour man; Engineering?Whats that! I had aninteresting conversation withmy Son a few weeks ago onmore or less this subject. Mytheses was that we never hada proper revolution in thiscountry, we never rid ourselvesof the pointless uselessaristocracy so that, when so

many of our successfulengineering pioneers handed

the family fortune to their heirsthey chose to ape the useless.My Sons opinion was thatThe Germans produce

Engineers, the French produceMathematicians and theEnglish produce Clergy. Thereason is that, because wehave an Established Church,so much of our educationsystem was dominated by theclergy, in one form or another.So, I say to the guillotine withall toffs and priests. (OnlyJoking, honest).Anonynmous

I am now fully retired but afew years ago I spent 3 yearspart time with a local

engineering business makingwearing parts for suger beet

Our editorial and poll about theSainburys Management Fellowshipcalling for an end to the portrayal ofengineers as wearing hard-hats triggereda debate on how modern engineeringshould best be illustrated.

This is a difcult one. How do you portraitan engineer accurately? Taking a picture ofengineers sitting in front of their screens ina big ofce could easily be confused with acall centre. I am not alone in thinking(many of my colleagues agree) that thehard hat image is not the issue at all. Theissue is that the media is hardly if everreporting about engineering and what

engineers do. In the absence of this, hardhats get my app

the engineer uk

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