Engineering news
Machine ‘replicates movement inside body’ to keep livers alive
Professional Engineering
Injured human livers have reportedly been repaired and kept alive inside a machine for a week, a huge increase on a previous maximum of roughly one day. Developed in Switzerland, the device could lead to an increase in available organs for transplantation and save the lives of patients with severe liver diseases. A researcher told Professional Engineering that one of the advances involved simulating the diaphragm moving the liver with a pneumatic system.
Nanotubes could revolutionise aircraft manufacture
Professional Engineering
Enormous ovens and pressure vessels used for aircraft manufacture could be replaced by microscopic technology, a potentially revolutionary change to the costly and time-consuming process. Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology produced aerospace-grade composites with the new technique, which could also speed up production of other large, high-performance composite structures like wind turbine blades.
’Sleeker’ Airlander 10 emerges
New Atlas
Hybrid Air Vehicles has released images and details of the production version of the Airlander 10, an airship that it hopes could enter the luxury tourism and surveillance markets, as well as disaster relief. The new model has a more aerodynamic hull and cabin, a bow thruster and retractable landing gear.
Huge boost for ‘generation two’ electric van
The Guardian
British electric van manufacturer Arrival received a huge boost thanks to an £85m investment. The money, from Hyundai and Kia, values the firm at £3bn. The company plans to use a ‘modular’ manufacturing approach to build its electric vans, which are aimed at urban delivery.
'Frankenstein' bricks use bacteria to reproduce after being halved
Professional Engineering
‘Frankenstein-style’ living bricks have reportedly ‘reproduced’ after being split in half, with one brick leading to eight more. The ‘reproduction’ was made possible by the ingredients in the bricks, created by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder. The team, led by engineer Wil Srubar, created a scaffold out of sand and hydrogel to which photosynthetic cyanobacteria were added.
New Rolls-Royce ‘hub’ aimed at reducing engine emissions
Aerospace Manufacturing
Rolls-Royce has opened a new facility aimed at reducing emissions from new jet engines. The ‘composite technology hub’ is aimed at reducing the weight of parts to cut fuel consumption.
Plant-powered sensor speaks to satellite in orbit
Professional Engineering
Energy harvested from a plant on Earth has powered a sensor and sent data to a satellite in orbit. The Internet of Things sensor combines energy-harvesting technology from Dutch start-up Plant-e with extremely power-efficient devices from Lacuna Space, based in Oxfordshire and the Netherlands. The technology uses submerged anodes and cathodes to harvest ‘carbon-negative’ electricity from living plants and bacteria.
Imaging system looks around the corner in real-time
Professional Engineering
Autonomous cars that can look around corners have come a step closer to reality after a new laser system provided real-time, high-resolution images. The new system developed at universities including Stanford in California can reportedly distinguish sub-millimetre details of a hidden object from 1m away – very close for something that could be used on a car. It is designed to combine with other imaging systems that produce low-resolution, ‘room-sized’ reconstructions.
Sea anemone gets upper hand over human-style robotic grip
Professional Engineering
A Chinese team replicated sea anemones’ ability to capture creatures of different shapes and sizes with a robotic gripping mechanism that has a ‘bionic torus’. The grasper captures and releases objects by crimping its skin. It could offer a simpler and more cost-effective alternative to human-style robotic hands.
First ‘living robots’ are all frog
E&T
Researchers at the University of Vermont and Tufts University in Massachusetts claim to have created “entirely new life-forms” by using frog cells to build robots. The “living, programmable organisms” include skin cells and heart muscle cells to move around through contracting and relaxing. In future, living robots could collect microplastics in the ocean or move around the body to reduce artery plaque.
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.