In this week’s episode of the Engineering Update starring Editor Kasey Panetta (@kcpanetta), Digital Editor Jason Lomberg (@JasonECNMag), and WDD’s Editor-in-Chief, Janine E. Mooney (@JMooneyWDD):
Reducing in-flight airplane noise
Of the many dramatic liberties taken by Hollywood, one of the most egregious for me, as a frequent flier, is the idea that commercial flights are a tranquil experience. They’re stressful, uncomfortable, and loud. Very, very loud. Most airplanes use lightweight materials with a honeycomb-like structure to line the floor and ceiling of cabins, and while these materials are both strong and energy efficient, they’re notoriously bad at blocking low-frequency noise – like, I dunno, an aircraft engine.
Why astronomers want to put a kibosh on the iRobot lawn mower
iRobot, maker of the Roomba, the vacuum cleaning robot, is battling astronomers due to their newly proposed product, the robotic lawn mower. Now let’s be clear, iRobot isn’t the first to make or attempt to make a robotic lawn mower, but according to a recent FCC filing, they are the first to try using a wireless beacon system as opposed to an edge wire. Although edge wires work, digging up your yard to install them isn’t very ideal, so iRobot is taking another approach.
An all-girls engineering class
Women make up only 14 percent of engineers, and the lack of female engineers in the field has been a topic of much discussion and concern. Morristown High School in Morristown, New Jersey has been experiencing this problem firsthand. The school offers a number of engineering courses, including a Principles of Engineering class, as part of Project Lead the Way. Mariel Kolker, an experienced teacher and engineer, found the number of girls in her classes dwindling from 6 one year to two the next and finally, she taught a class with just one girl.
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)
