Engineering news
Dyson cancels electric car
BBC
Dyson has cancelled its project to release a new electric car, three years after launch. Founder Sir James Dyson said a “fantastic electric car” had been developed but it was not commercially viable. He said the firm is trying to find alternative roles for as many of the 523 team members as possible.
First British lunar rover
New Scientist
The first ever British Moon rovers will launch in 2021, reaching the surface aboard a larger lander. The small rovers from start-up SpaceBit will use four spider-like legs to walk or roll around, taking photos and collecting data. The rover was unveiled at New Scientist Live.
Porsche and Boeing’s 'premium' flying taxi
Professional Engineering
Boeing and Porsche are collaborating on a radical-looking concept for an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL). The new partners revealed the first image of the concept, showing an aircraft without propellers. Two exhausts at the back suggest it could use thrust-vectoring jet engines for lift-off, flight and landing.
Battery researchers win Nobel prize
The Guardian
Three researchers have received the Nobel prize in chemistry for their work developing lithium-ion batteries. The energy-storage devices (which underpin most of the advancements in this week’s top 10 list) first became commercially viable in 1985 thanks to Akira Yoshino, following work by John B Goodenough and M Stanley Whittingham.
Dry ice to keep your train running on time
Professional Engineering
Researchers from the University of Sheffield are developing a new efficient solution for removing slippery leaves from train lines. The method uses a stream of supersonic air to blast pellets of frozen industrial by-product carbon dioxide – dry ice – at the rail head, freezing leaves and making them brittle. The pellets then turn back into gas, increasing in volume and blasting leaves from the line.
MagniX propeller gets going
New Atlas
A revolutionary electric motor from MagniX has turned its propeller at full bore. The demonstration was a key step for the company, which aims to make electric flight commercially viable. It is collaborating with Eviation on the nine-seater Alice aircraft, as well as converting seaplanes for regional American routes.
Internal injection capsule
The Engineer
Researchers from MIT and Novo Nordisk have unveiled a capsule that can deliver medicine directly to the intestinal wall for quick release into the blood. The capsule breaks down when it reaches the small intestine, revealing dissolvable ‘microneedles’ containing the drugs.
Vans restore power
Power Engineering International
Vans with large onboard batteries will restore power to multiple homes at a time during power cuts. The Silent Power project from Northern Powergrid aims to quietly and cleanly provide electricity to people who could become vulnerable during an outage.
Self-driving system to limit crash injuries
Professional Engineering
A new decision-making and motion-planning technology could limit injuries and damage in “unavoidable” crashes involving self-driving cars. Professors of mechanical engineering and mechatronics at the University of Waterloo in Canada developed the system, which is mainly based on pre-defined mathematical calculations considering the severity of damage and crash injuries.
The walking drone
The Verge
The California Institute of Technology has unveiled the unusual Leonardo robot (LEgs ONboARD drOne), combining walking legs with drone propellers. The device can use its propellers to navigate difficult terrain, or manoeuvre itself in delicate ways that would be difficult for a conventional bipedal machine.
Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.