Engineering news
Farnborough Airshow cancelled
Aerospace Manufacturing
The organisers of Farnborough Airshow announced its cancellation today (20 March) due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. An announcement said: “After very careful consideration, the unprecedented impact of the global coronavirus pandemic has forced this decision in the interests of the health and safety of our exhibitors, visitors, contractors and staff.” The organisers pledged to return “better than ever” in 2022.
Manufacturers asked to make ventilators
The Manufacturer
Manufacturers need to transform production lines to build desperately-needed ventilators, said health secretary Matt Hancock. Hospitals have roughly 5,000, but many more are needed to treat a predicted surge in the number of coronavirus patients.
Jaguar Land Rover suspending production
BBC
Jaguar Land Rover will suspend production at all its UK facilities until 20 April. The decision was announced today (20 March) to “safeguard business continuity” amid coronavirus disruption. Production will stop next week.
Coronavirus hits Tesla production
The Manufacturer
Tesla will also suspend production at two factories from Monday (23 March) amid rising concerns about the coronavirus. The temporary measures affects its main US car assembly hub in Fresno, California, and a solar panel and charger manufacturer in Buffalo, New York.
Action urged after ‘export slump’
Professional Engineering
The government must work with industry and take “whatever steps are necessary” to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus on manufacturing, an industry organisation has said, after a survey showed exports at their lowest level in three years. The manufacturing sector “ground to a standstill” at the end of 2019 as the stockpiles from a potential exit from the European Union in October wound down, Make UK said. The body’s Q1 Manufacturing Outlook survey, published with BDO LLP, found that output fell sharply on the back of weak orders and stockpiles dwindling.
'Unique' material could help fight antibiotic resistance
Professional Engineering
A new rubber-like material with a “unique” set of properties could be used as a replacement for human tissues, researchers have claimed. Known as ‘nano-rubber’, the material “has the potential to make a big difference to many people’s lives”, according to its creators at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. The structure of the nano-rubber allows its surface to be treated so that it becomes antibacterial in a natural, non-toxic way.
Autonomous vehicles will aid military resupply
The Engineer
The Ministry of Defence has ordered five autonomous ground vehicles for resupply missions. Horiba Mira will supply three all-terrain Viking 6x6-wheeled vehicles, each capable of carrying 750kg, while Qinetiq will supply two Titan unmanned vehicles, which can also be adapted for combat missions.
Team scans drones to counter terrorist attack risk
Professional Engineering
Radar data from drone scans has been publicly released to help counter the privacy and security threats from unmanned aircraft, with researchers hoping the information could form the basis of a future database. Based at Aalto University in Finland, UCLouvain in Belgium and New York University, the team gathered extensive radar measurement data, aiming to improve the detection and identification of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) amid concern about malicious use such as potential terrorist attacks.
Shape-shifting soft robot could work in the home – or Mars
Professional Engineering
A new kind of soft robot with a simple but effective method of changing shape and moving could be flexible yet sturdy enough for use in the home, its creators have claimed – and it could even find applications beyond Earth. The researchers at Stanford University in California borrowed features from traditional robotics to create the soft robot, which they say is safe to interact with yet able to move around and change shape.
Drone wins at dodgeball
New Atlas
Researchers at the University of Zurich put a new drone obstacle-avoidance system to the test by throwing dodgeballs at it – and the drone dodged them more than 90% of the time. The system uses ‘event cameras’ to detect changes in light intensity. It could help prevent dangerous crashes for autonomous drones.
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