Engineering news
Engineering gives huge boost to lifetime earnings
Professional Engineering
An engineering degree increases average lifetime earnings by £140,000, a new study has revealed. The increase in earnings – compared to lifetime wages for people with no degree and a minimum of five A-C grade GCSEs – is also more than £32,000 above the average increase from having a degree, meaning an engineering degree boosts wages by much more than most.
British Airways grounds 747 fleet
BBC
British Airways is unlikely to ever fly a service with a Boeing 747 jet again, after it announced the immediate retirement of its fleet of 31 – about 10% of all its aircraft. The grounding, brought forward by the coronavirus pandemic’s huge impact on international travel, brings an end to 49 years of service.
Real-time monitoring the biggest IoT benefit
Professional Engineering
Real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance are two of the biggest benefits of the Internet of Things for engineers, a new Professional Engineering report has revealed. To find out more about what global engineers think about the IoT, download the special report, sponsored by Arm.
Wales could host first UK ‘gigaplant’
The Engineer
Britishvolt has reportedly agreed with the Welsh government to develop the UK’s first battery ‘gigaplant’. Plans for the facility in the Vale of Glamorgan include a 30GWh battery factory and a 200MW solar plant.
Robot scientist carries out research
The Engineer
A mobile robot scientist has carried out complex chemistry experiments and followed its own line of inquiry at Liverpool University. The machine, based on a Kuka ‘cobot’, can move around autonomously and decide what experiments to carry out.
Next-gen turbines well-suited for floating farms
Professional Engineering
Large next-generation wind turbines will only need “minor modifications” for installation on floating substructures, a new report has found. The report, from the Carbon Trust’s Floating Wind Joint Industry Project (JIP), includes a study by Danish engineering consultants Ramboll on turbine requirements and foundation scaling. Apart from turbine towers and controllers, the study found that only minor modifications would likely be needed for future turbines.
Cells ‘survive and thrive’ in printed material
Professional Engineering
Fully functioning 3D-printed organs have come a step closer after new methods and materials reportedly allowed printed cells to “survive and thrive”. Researchers led by Daniel Aili at Linköping University in Sweden developed a ‘bio-ink’ to print the tissue-mimicking material on 3D printers.
Researchers create cobalt-free lithium-ion batteries
E&T
Researchers at the University of Texas have developed lithium-ion batteries without cobalt. The new batteries could reduce cost and prevent supply associated with child labour.
Distributed propulsion 'may be the only means' for small electric flight progress
Professional Engineering
Distributed propulsion may be the only means for significant progress on small-scale electric flight, an expert has told Professional Engineering. “I think for smaller aeroplanes it is maybe the only means to really make a step in the order of 10% forward,” said Dr Martin Hepperle, researcher at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
Climbing robot wraps internet cables around power lines
E&T
A robot developed by engineers at Facebook can climb along power lines, wrapping fibre-optic cables around the wires as it goes. The device could enable cost-effective roll-out of high-speed internet.
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.