Engineering eye - June 2016

News, rumours and gossip from the world of engineering

Ben Russell, a curator at the Science Museum in London, has begun a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to rebuild Eric, the UK’s first robot. Built in 1928, the moving, talking robot wowed a global audience. Sadly, Eric mysteriously disappeared – perhaps the celebrity lifestyle became too much for him to bear. Russell and robotics expert Giles Walker now aim to rebuild Eric on the basis of original archive materials. If the fundraising is successful, Eric 2.0 will be on display in the museum from October for a month, before he embarks on a global tour next year.

Irish businessman David McGowan has paid £16,000 for a 30-year-old Boeing 767 passenger jet. Rather than return the plane to the skies, McGowan intends to transform the jet into a guest house for his ‘glamping’ site in County Sligo, near Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. He also plans on transforming buses, taxis and a train into quirky accommodation. Whoever thought falling asleep on public transport would be considered glamorous?

IMechE member Bob Johnson recently attempted to win the Guinness world record for the fastest marathon run in a two-person costume. Johnson and a friend entered this year’s London race dressed as a canoe. Sadly, the attempt was not plain sailing. Not only did the pair fail to meet the initial qualification time of five hours, but they got overtaken by a horse-and-rider act. But Johnson is not perturbed, and will try again in 2017. In 2015, he ran dressed as an ostrich, and set a world record for “fastest marathon race run as a three-dimensional bird”.

• If you have any rumours or gossip, email pe@caspianmedia.com