160 years of innovation theengineer.co.uk October 2018 | £3.70 Future fighter Tempest – unravelling the UK’s new strike aircraft project C2I 2018 The shortlisted finalists for The Engineer’s annual Collaborate to Innovate awards Station masters Driving change Car of the issue The engineering challenges Jaguar Land Rover’s Elizabeth Meet Nomad, the off-road of fitting out Crossrail’s Hill talks electrification, supercar from the firm new stations skills and innovation »32 behind the Ariel Atom »34 »37 »30 Ed - front cover_The Engineer - October 2018_The Engineer 1 02/10/2018 12:17 Over 100 years invested in the UK’s future. E-SCAN RADAR ENSURES INFORMATION SUPERIORITY FOR BATTLESPACE DOMINANCE PRAETORIAN DEFENSIVE AIDS SUB-SYSTEM (DASS) PROVIDES PROTECTION AGAINST AIR-TO-AIR AND SURFACE-TO-AIR THREAT LEONARDO DESIGNS AND BUILDS OVER 60% OF THE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON’S AVIONICS Leonardo has over 100 years of history at the leading edge of advanced design and manufacturing in the UK. Over 7,000 highly-skilled employees and a vast network of suppliers and partners design and develop industry-leading aircraft, electronics, space, defence and security systems for UK and export customers, worldwide. Inspired by the vision, curiosity and creativity of the great master inventor - Leonardo is designing the technology of tomorrow. leonardocompany.com Helicopters | Aeronautics | Electronics, Defence & Security Systems | Space TE_011018_Leonardo_FP.indd 1 27/09/2018 10:32 TE_011018_Leonardo_FP.indd 1 27/09/2018 10:34 editor comment thisissue ouropinion Volume 297 Issue No.7902 Established 1856 A storm on the way news 04 R obotics Humans use special gloves head of this summer’s Farnborough International Airshow we ran a to teach robots to be nimble somewhat timely poll on The Engineer’s website asking readers 06 A utomotive UK-built drivetrains for a whether they felt we might currently be seeing the last generation of new fleet of South American buses manned military aircraft. The response was fascinating, with just a third of those voting 8 C ivil/structural Doing the maths to expecting the next generation of aircraft to have a pilot and the rest enable the mega-bridges of the future expecting them to be either fully autonomous or remotely operated. 10 A utomotive Graphene-enhanced Industry, though, had its own ideas. And just days later used Farnborough to take the wraps off ‘Project Tempest’, a £2bn effort to body parts will help cut CO2 develop a new generation of fighter jet which, whilst bristling with all 14 M edical How AI will help urologists of the latest technology – including (potentially) directed energy diagnose cancer more effectively weapons and a payload of drones – will still have a human pilot sitting in the cockpit. Details so far are sketchy and it’s unlikely opinion Athat the eventual aircraft will look much like the “It’s unlikely 16 V iewpoint Heiko Wildner hastily put together mock-up that graced BAE 18 M ailbox Your letters to the editor Systems’ cavernous Farnborough display. But in the eventual this issue’s cover story we glean what we can 21 V iew from the Institute from the BAE engineers most closely involved in Prof Lord Robert Mair the project as well as a former RAF Air Marshal aircraft will look 32 I nterview JLR’s Elizabeth Hill who talks candidly about what we might expect from a true 21st-century combat aircraft. We much like the await with interest further details on a project features that promises to dominate UK defence hastily 22 C over story Technology storming engineering in the years to come. Elsewhere in this issue, we take a look at the ahead with the Tempest fighter jet put together final stages of a project that The Engineer has 30 Crossrail Focus moves from track to followed closely for almost a decade: the mock-up” new stations on the Elizabeth Line construction of London’s new Elizabeth Line, aka 34 C ar of the issue Ariel Nomad Crossrail. In light of the much-publicised recent overrun, the project has had to abandon its once 37 C 2I 2018 Shortlist revealed for this oft-repeated boast that it was on time and on budget, but it remains an incredible feat of year’s innovation awards engineering that we look forward to riding on when it opens at some point next year! 44 P review: electronica 2018 Finally, we profile those shortlisted for The Engineer’s 2018 Collaborate To Innovate awards (page 37). As in previous years, the sheer variety of projects on show is an inspiring reminder of both the 46 Pr eview: Advanced Engineering 2018 UK’s breadth of expertise and the many ways in which engineers are helping to address some of 49 A rchive society’s most fundamental challenges. The ultimate winners of this year’s competition will be 50 D igest revealed in early November, and covered in detail in our November issue. Your number-one website for engineering news, views, jobs and products theengineer.co.uk Jon Excell Editor [email protected] UK subscriptions ISSN 0013-7758. Printed £75 pa UK/£117 pa by Precision Colour Centaur Media Plc, 79 Wells Street, London, W1T 3QN overseas. Order online Printing, Haldane, at www.theengineer. Halesfield 1, Telford, co.uk/subscribe or by TF7 4QQ. Visit www. telephone on +44 (0207) theengineer.co.uk for Direct dial 020 7970 followed by extension listed Advertising fax 020 7970 4190 Editor Jon Excell (4437) [email protected] Features editor 292 3705. 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For more information please email [email protected] NEWS 020 7970 4442 DISPLAY 020 7970 4487 RECRUITMENT 020 7970 4110 SUBSCRIPTIONS/CUSTOMER SERVICES HOTLINE 020 7292 3705 OCTOBER 2018 | THE ENGINEER 3 Ed - contents and comment_The Engineer - October 2018_The Engineer 3 02/10/2018 12:04 news technology ROBOTICS Readmoreonline human, and give them the ability to move the robot,” said Jamone. “In this Automotive Is government taking Taking robots to way they can transfer their intelligence – in terms of what industry Brexit warnings motions should be used to achieve seriously enough? the next stage certain manipulations – to the robot.” The robot will also be equipped Aerospace with artificial intelligence algorithms Airbus to develop concepts to allow it to learn from the for moon-orbiting space of evolution station demonstrations, and from its own sensory information, he said. Humans to pass on skills through The idea is that by using humans Internet of wings The rise and rise of gloves fitted with sensors HELEN KNIGHT REPORTS as demonstrators it will reduce the amount of time it takes for robots to aerospace 4.0 learn these manipulation skills by Civil & Structural Human demonstrators themselves, by providing them with Piano concerto: a view of a will ‘teach’ the robots ‘hints’ that should cut down on the master of the confluence new skills number of possible motions they need to try out. of engineering and The project, which includes architecture robotic hand developer Shadow Robot Company, AI specialist Defence DeepMind Technologies, and online CTiX computed tomography grocer Ocado, should ultimately scanner keeps liquids and allow robots to develop intrinsic laptops in luggage strategies for handling items such as food, said Jamone. Energy “We might teach the robot how to New report shows carbon pick a banana and an apple, for capture is key to Paris example, and then it will be able to climate targets generalise that knowledge to decide Medical he use of robots in allows them to use an analytical Sensor technology enables new type of compact fibre global model,” said Jamone. “Alternatively, “ You need a way for laser manufacturing has robots are used for simple tasks such the robot to learn grown dramatically as picking and placing an object from over the last decade. the same position to another known from tactile and Manufacturing However, despite position each time,” he said. What do the British visual feedback” public think about this rise, robots are Humans, in contrast, are adept at Dr Lorenzo Jamone, still typically limited to sectors such using their vision and sense of touch manufacturing? Tas the car industry, where they are to adapt their grip when confronted Queen Mary University Policy & Business used to carry out simple, repetitive with objects of a different shape or of London tasks with solid components in texture, or to perform different No-deal Brexit will make carefully controlled conditions. operations. how to pick up pears or avocado, business “untenable” for 1 Now a team of EPSRC-funded For robots to learn this skill from because it will have learnt some in 6 manufacturers claims researchers is hoping to teach robots humans, the researchers plan to use consistent aspects of the fruits’ news research to handle even delicate and irregular teleoperation technologies, allowing structure,” he said. objects, expanding their use within the users to move a robotic hand just The approach could ultimately Process sectors such as food and drink and by moving their own.