The use of kites to capture wind energy and turn it into cost-effective ‘green’ electricity could be coming within reach, with EPSRC-funded research at Imperial College London playing an important role in making it possible. Linked to a wider Innovate UK-funded project, a team at Imperial’s Department of Aeronautics has put a kite-energy device through its…
Winter is Coming—New Sensors Could Cut Millions from Gritting Costs
‘Winter is Coming’, the motto of the House of Stark, from the hit TV series Game of Thrones, warns of the inevitable onset of bad weather and bad times, and implies the need to prepare. Researchers, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) at the University of Birmingham have clearly taken note. They…
Blast Behavior Research Could Save British Troops
New research that sheds unprecedented light on the behaviour of blasts produced by landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) could aid the development of enhanced protection for UK soldiers on military, peace-keeping and humanitarian missions. By focusing on explosives hidden in clay soils, the University of Sheffield project – funded by the Engineering and Physical…
New Laser-Based Aircraft Tracking System Aids Disaster Relief
A ground-breaking tracking system called HYPERION based on eye-safe lasers could enable aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and even orbiting satellites to transmit vital data to ground stations more securely, quickly and efficiently. The development of HYPERION has been pioneered by a joint team through Innovate UK’s HITEA programme: the University of Oxford with funding…
Bat-Flight Inspires Unique Design For Micro Air Vehicles
Researchers from the University of Southampton have designed innovative membrane wings inspired by bats, paving the way for a new breed of unmanned Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) that have improved aerodynamic properties, can fly over long distances and are more economical to run. The wings work like artificial muscles, changing shape in response to the…
New Computer Model to Aid Greener, Leaner Aircraft Design
A computer model that accurately predicts how composite materials behave when damaged will make it easier to design lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft. Innovative computer codes form the basis of a computer model that shows in unprecedented detail how an aircraft’s composite wing, for instance, would behave if it suffered small-scale damage, such as a bird…
Technology Reveals Aerodynamics of Birds Flying in a V-Formation
Researchers using custom-built GPS and accelerometer loggers, developed with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, (EPSRC), and attached to free-flying birds on migration, have gained ground-breaking insights into the mysteries of bird flight formation. The research, led by the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, proves for the first time that birds…