Engineering news
During the constant weekly bombardment of news and information, even the most stunning breakthrough can slip by unnoticed apart from by a diligent few. Here's our third weekly round-up of the best engineering stories from around the web – this week is a tale of failures, breakthroughs and robot parkour.
'Ballistic descent' for astronauts after Soyuz rocket fails
BBC
A pair of space-bound astronauts made a dramatic escape as their Russian Soyuz rocket malfunctioned two minutes into its journey to the International Space Station. It was just the latest in a long run of incidents for Russia's space programme and the Soyuz, the BBC reported, including a pre-launch malfunction and the loss of satellites in orbit.
F-35 wings are clipped after crash
CNN
Another flagship aerospace vehicle suffered a major setback this week, as the Pentagon grounded all 245 of its $90m F-35 jets for inspection following last month's crash in South Carolina. The crash may have been caused by a faulty fuel tube. The UK Ministry of Defence followed suit with its own, much smaller fleet.
Hubble floats in a most peculiar way
New Atlas
In another high-profile fault, NASA suspended science operations on the Hubble Space Telescope as one of its gyroscopes failed. The breakdown "wasn't exactly a surprise" according to New Atlas, with NASA noticing signs that the gyroscope could wear out about a year ago. Luckily for our understanding of the universe, it is likely that the telescope will continue to scan a smaller section of sky using just one gyroscope.
Shrimp vision helps self-driving cars see through the fog
Professional Engineering
The mantis shrimp’s ability to target its prey in the bright, sunny shallows while swimming under rocks in the dark has inspired a new camera system that could prevent rare accidents in self-driving cars. Lead researcher Viktor Gruev and his team at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, were inspired to create a new camera after a driver was killed when his car crashed in autopilot mode. The system uses a high dynamic range and polarisation to spot vehicles and other hazards.
World's longest commercial flight touches down
BBC
For many people, the idea of being trapped on a plane for nearly 18 hours sounds like hell – not so for the eager passengers on the newly relaunched Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to New York, covering 15,344km in 17 hours and 52m. The airline used a new Airbus A350-900 ultra-long-range jet for the flight. The aircraft uses an adapted fuel system, a carbon fibre-reinforced plastic fuselage and extended winglets for more efficient flight.
3D-printed 'smart' devices monitor own use without electricity
Professional Engineering
3D-printed devices have tracked their own use and wirelessly shared the information without using batteries or electronics, in a potentially important breakthrough for biomedical devices. The printed devices use mechanical features to keep track of their use and a method called backscatter to share the information.
Call for Crossrail extension
Evening Standard
While a recent setback has delayed Crossrail services by an impressive nine months, politicians and business leaders have nonetheless already called for an extension to the new line. If their plan is successful, it could run from Abbey Wood in London to Ebbsfleet International in Kent.
Engineering to the rescue after climate warning?
The Guardian
Humanity received a stark warning this week, as the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said there is only 12 years to keep average global warming to a maximum of 1.5ºC. Could geoengineering save the day?
Brexit 'aid package' for car industry
The Engineer
March 2019 draws ever closer, but it is still not certain how the UK and its relationship with the EU will look after Brexit. The automotive industry is particularly concerned, so the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has launched a 'Brexit Readiness Programme'.
Robot parkour
The Telegraph
Muti-billion dollar projects failing, climate breakdown approaching and Brexit uncertainty seemingly never-ending – at least it looks like we should be able to escape the robots if they ever rise up against us... Ah.
Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.