A team of researchers, which includes the University of Southampton, have developed new technology which could prompt a significant change for a spacecraft or satellite. Metamaterial optical solar reflectors (meta-OSRs) are the first-surface coatings on the outside of a spacecraft, designed to effectively radiate infrared heat away from it while reflecting most of the optical…
Royal Navy Uses Pilotless Aircraft to Navigate Through Ice
A tiny pilotless aircraft, built by the University of Southampton, has launched from the Royal Navy’s ice patrol ship HMS Protector for the first time to assist with navigating through the Antarctic. The 3D-printed aircraft, along with a quadcopter, scouted the way for the survey ship so she could find her way through the thick…
Astronomers See Black Hole Raging Red
Violent red flashes, lasting just fractions of a second, have been observed during one of the brightest black hole outbursts in recent years. In June 2015, a black hole called V404 Cygni underwent dramatic brightening for about two weeks, as it devoured material that it had stripped off an orbiting companion star. V404 Cygni, which…
Eternal 5D Storage Could Record History of Humankind
Scientists at the University of Southampton have made a major step forward in the development of digital data storage that is capable of surviving for billions of years. Using nanostructured glass, scientists from the University’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) have developed the recording and retrieval processes of five dimensional (5D) digital data by femtosecond laser…
3D Printed Aircraft Launched Off Navy Ship
A 3D printed aircraft has successfully launched off the front of a Royal Navy warship and landed safely on a Dorset beach. HMS Mersey provided the perfect platform for the University of Southampton to test out their SULSA unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Weighing 3kg and measuring 1.5m the airframe was created on a 3D printer…
Breakthrough Technique Offers the Prospect of Silicon Detectors for Telecommunications
A team of researchers led by the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) has demonstrated a breakthrough technique that offers the first tantalizing possibility of silicon detectors for telecommunications. For decades silicon has been the workhorse of the microelectronics revolution and, owing to its excellent optical properties in the near- and mid-infrared range, is now promising to…
Bringing Sustainable Electricity to Rural African Communities
The University of Southampton is leading an international project to provide sustainable electricity supplies to rural communities in Africa. The aim of the project is to establish and implement replicable, off-grid electricity generation, based on a solar photovoltaic (PV) storage system, which promotes development in sub-Saharan Africa. The five-year “Replication of Rural Decentralised off-grid Electricity…
Electrical Signals Dictate Optical Properties
Researchers at the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) have created an artificial material, a metamaterial, with optical properties that can be controlled by electric signals. Photonic metamaterials are artificial materials created by precise and extremely fine structuring of conventional media using nanotechnology. They offer numerous new applications from cloaking to radically improved solar…