Engineering news
A preview event for Tomorrow’s Engineers Week has been held in London to promote the week which takes place on 7-11 November.
The event was held in advance of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week, which aims to encourage school students to get involved in Stem subjects and develop engineering solutions. It allows students an opportunity to showcase their projects, giving politicians and the business community the chance to meet young engineers.
Paul Jackson, chief executive of EngineeringUK, which organised the event, said: “The UK needs more engineers and to achieve this vital aim, we must excite young people about the range of great careers that Stem subjects can lead to.”
One of the projects included Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, developed by Parmiter’s School in Watford. The RFID tag registration system is aimed at increasing the safety of students and ensuring improved attendance accuracy by recording when students attend class. The technology operates by using a coil of wire that collects radio waves from the reader. The energy gathered from this process is then used to power the tag that sends a ‘ghost wave’, or a hexadecimal code, back.
Loughborough Grammar School developed a smart floor called Tectonic Tiles that will aid the way disabled people control appliances around their homes more easily. The pressure-sensitive floor tiles allows users with manual dexterity impairments to control actions such as opening a window or turning on a lamp by applying pressure with a foot or wheelchair.
Loughborough High School designed a ‘Steer Clear’ steering wheel with bio sensors to prevent accidents, especially with inebriated drivers. The sensors included pressure, sound and an ethanol detector to detect alcohol in the atmosphere. This prevents the car from starting if any is detected. The students plan to develop a prototype with more sensors and a breath detector in the dash that is connected to bluetooth. The teacher in charge of the project emphasised the importance of collaboration with universities for access to a wider range of resources.
BAE Systems were on site to promote their apprenticeship programmes and demonstrated their virtual reality technology that they plan to implement into submarines to explore interiors to assist maintenance, and eventually incorporate into other sectors for training purposes.
Winners of The Big Bang Fair 2015, sisters Kia and Sky Ballantyne, were present with their product Crikey Bikey, a harness that children wear while learning to ride a cycle, with an adult supporting the child by holding the harness handle. The sisters went on to appear on Dragon’s Den, the youngest ever entrepreneurs to do so. They have since commercialised the product.
BAE's virtual reality system