Tom Shelley reports on a superior alternative to LCD
screens, originally revealed in Eureka in 2001, and now ready for
market
Organic electroluminescent diode elements based on complexes
of rare earth and other metals, have now reached the point where
they can be incorporated into the next generation of displays.
Production problems have largely been overcome, all colours are
available, including CRT blue, lifetimes are plenty long enough
for use in mobile phones and similar devices, and electrical
efficiencies are ten times those of LCDs.
Research groups around the world are engaged in a race to bring
the next generation of flat colour screens to market. Professor
Kathirgamanathan, and has his team at Elam-T, now based at the
London BIC in Enfield, are, however convinced that they are
winning it. Lifetimes of more than 5,000 hours with no change in
luminance are now being regularly achieved. This is partly thanks
to the purchase of a new £1 million Japanese machine that allows
test displays to be moved from chamber to chamber through the
production process, without exposing them to air or moisture at
any point.
All the colours of the rainbow are now available, including CRT
red and blue. Light intensities are mostly up to 4,000 cd/m2,
although one substance achieves 15,000 cd/m2, brighter than many
fluorescent light tubes.
Elam-T now has a set of materials suitable for passive matrix
displays, which includes the 15,000 cd/m2, and materials for
active matrix displays, with lower operating voltages but
consequently lower brightnesses. Materials are available for
vacuum or solution, ink jet printed, processing.
Looking to markets, 5,000 hours life is sufficient for the mobile
phone market, and Professor Kathir expects to see Elam-T's
materials in commercial products in about 18 months. An important
factor is the ability to take existing production equipment and
adapt it to working with the new technology. Large, flat screens
are thought not likely to be achievable using passive matrix
technology, which rules out most of the other organic light
emitting diode technologies currently being developed. LCDs are
continuing to be developed, and presently achieve lives of 50,000
hours, but are likely to continue to suffer from relatively low
electrical efficiencies, because of light absorbed by the
different dyes and polarisers. They are also not nearly as robust
as users would like. If either the screen or lamp is broken,
replacement is usually so expensive that the phone or laptop has
to be thrown away. It can therefore be safely assumed that light
emitting diode technology is going to replace LCDs before too
long, and the latter technology is therefore likely to be one
with the dinosaurs, even in large screens, before five years are
out.
Professor
Kathirgamanathan
Pointers
* All colours are available including CRT red, green and blue as
well as yellow
* Lifetimes are now in excess of 5,000 hours with no change in
luminosity
* Brightnesses are up to 15,000 cd/m2
Tom Shelley reports on the latest low cost technologies for remote observation and communications, from an organisation often featured in the magazine
Qinetiq, and its predecessor, DERA, continues to pioneer
remote techniques for surveillance and observation, advances in
communications and leading edge materials.
The plastic bodied tank, described in May 2000, showed state of
the art in composite construction, enhancing protection for its
crew while saving 30% in weight.
Now part privatised, its latest venture to the edge of space in a
large balloon, shows a way forward for global communications,
earth observation and advanced materials, not least in the
unmanned aerial vehicle that will accompany the balloon to take
pictures.
The project goal is to send a manned balloon up to 132,000 feet,
or 40km. In order to photograph it, Zephyr 3, a 12kg, 12m wing
span solar powered UAV will fly round and round it on the end of
a tether. Zephyr 3 is merely a lightened version of a long
standing project to develop a low cost UAV system capable of
continual data collection at high resolution at an altitude of
30km and provide remote sensing or communications over a 300km
swathe.
Project manager Christopher Kelleher told Eureka that his team
had already built and tested a half scale model of the balloon
accompanying version. The altitude attempting version has five
brushless DC motors driving propellers through gearboxes at 5,000
rpm. The motors, designed to power competition models for short
periods at 1.5 kW, are down rated to 200W each because of high
altitude cooling problems where air has only 0.1 per cent of its
density at sea level. For the same reason, the UAV will be flying
at 70 m/s at maximum altitude as opposed to 5.5 m/s at sea level.
One of the longer terms aims of the UAV project is to develop
aerial vehicles that could stay aloft day and night. In order to
do this, Kelleher reckons the machines will need a system capable
of storing 450 kWh/kg, three times as much as can be managed by
the best lithium ion batteries made presently, and 15 times as
much as is possible with lead acid batteries. The most promising
option at present would appear to be reversible hydrogen oxygen
fuel cells.
NASA has been pursuing similar goals with its Helios UAV project
but Kelleher insists the Qinetic approach would allow coverage of
"More ground with smaller, cheaper systems." One of the
goals being pursued by NASA, Qinetiq and others is to come up
with an economic system of locally boosting mobile phone
bandwidth, particularly for major sporting events. Since the
balloon requires no energy to get up to altitude, Eureka asked
whether balloons might do the same job, and gathered that they
might. The Qinetiq record attempt balloon is made out of nothing
more exotic than thin polyethylene, similar in thickness to a
household freezer bag, although 1.2 million cubic metres in
volume in order to be able to lift two pilots and their Russian
made life support systems.
Qinetiq balloon altitude
attempt
Pointers
* UAV accompanying balloon will likewise have to be able to fly
at an altitude of 132,000 feet (40 km)
* UAV weight is 12kg, able to support a camera payload of just
over 2kg
* The slightly more robust Zephyr 5, designed for longer term
usage is designed for use at up to 30km and weighs 17kg. It is
hoped eventually to operate such platforms for a year at a time
Britain is still very heavily involved in the
development of ever more sophisticated computer based tools to
help the engineer. Tom Shelley reports
When it comes to writing innovative software to help the
engineer, the UK is second to none, even if successful ventures
often end up in American ownership.
A typical example is Parasolid, the crucial modelling kernel in
most high-end CAD systems. Developed by Shape Data, it came out
of research by Ian Baird, a graduate student at Cambridge, and
although now owned by EDS Unigraphics, still has a Cambridge
office.
More than a few UK software innovators have got careers off the
ground by crossing the Atlantic and working there. Another
Cambridge graduate, Dr David Hibbitt, began his career in
engineering with Associated Electrical Industries in Manchester,
working on the design of large steam turbines for electrical
power generation. In 1972, he completed a PhD thesis at Brown
University. The thesis involved computational mechanics based on
finite elements. On graduating, Hibbitt and his advisor
commercialised the software they had developed as the MARC code
for FEA. MARC Analysis Research Corporation hired Hibbitt and
made the software available. Hibbitt, Karlsson & Sorensen was
incorporated on February 1, 1978. The fledgling company operated
initially from Hibbitt's house. The company is now known as
Abaqus with a host of blue chip automotive customers engaged in
engine and power train design.
Some companies manage to work closely with large American
corporations without becoming absorbed. SEOS was founded in 1984
by Owen Wynn and Stephen Elmer, as Specialised Electro Optical
Services Ltd. Headquartered at Burgess Hill in Sussex, SEOS
pioneered the first Silicon Graphics (SGI) Reality Centre at
Reading in 1994. SEOS renamed itself SEOS Displays in 1988 but is
still very British, and has won two Queen's Awards. On June 9th
2003, the company announced that it had received an order from
SGI Federal to provide the US AFRL/VACD (the Control Simulation
and Assessment branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory Air
Vehicles Directorate) with two Infinity Cube systems, the latest
addition to the company's range of collimated displays.
The Infinity Cube is a modular configuration of Infinity Windows,
which provide a "near seamless" multi-channel,
collimated "dome" display in a compact space. In
addition to extremely large fields of view, the Infinity Cube
allows realistic depth perception and the use of standard
unmodified Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS) and
aircraft HUD's.
Also still UK owned and run at the present time is Digipac,
subject of our August 2002 cover story. Solving the problem of
studying the packing or flow behaviour of real world shaped
particles, it is now called Structure Vision. Directors Dr
Xiaodong Jia and Professor Richard Williams have commissioned a
market research study which indicated markets in the food,
packaging, pharmaceutical and chemical engineering sectors. It
can be used to predict product filling (order of filling,
premixing), product settlement (vibration and shaking) and the
simulation of cooking and flow. Further details will be available
soon on a web site, but in the mean time, interested parties
should get in touch with Dr Jia by email.
Pointers
* UK software innovators contribute much to functionality of CAD,
even though many such companies appear at first sight to be 100%
American
* Participation may be as employees, subsidiaries or proprietors
of US companies, or as long term collaborating partners
* New and completely independent UK CAD companies with
revolutionary concepts continue to emerge from time to time
http://www.seos.co.uk
http://www.structurevision.com
X.Jia@leeds.ac.uk
Tom Shelley gives a brief update on the UK's continued
efforts to protect the environment and to find alternative
sources of energy
When kicking off Eureka's Green campaign in January 2001, we
had no illusions that any of the goals of reducing waste, using
natural and biodegradable material feedstocks, or developing
renewable sources of energy was ever going to be easy.
Nonetheless, everything that has happened since suggests that
these goals still need to be achieved somehow. The DTI's latest
Energy White Paper projects that if matters continue as they are,
by 2020, 80% of the gas to supply Britain's power stations will
have to be imported, through long and vulnerable pipelines from
countries which are in many cases, distinctly unstable.
Articles were published about breakthroughs in wave power energy
in July 2001 and April 2003 (Offshore Wave Energy Ltd) and wind
power generation in November 2002. Developments in both
technologies are still very much ongoing and while the Danes
seemed to have scooped up much of the wind turbine business,
opportunities to establish engineering business based on wave
power are still very much open to the UK.
In looking for material feedstocks based on renewable biological
resources, the hemp processing technology developed by Biofibres
and revealed in January 2002 seems to have found its way into
high class wallpaper and wall tiles made by The Hemp Paper
Company based in Aberdeenshire. Nick Williamson, who developed
the moulded felt fibre products described in the same article now
works for MG Marga Design, which among other projects, is
pioneering the integration of photovoltaic cells into buildings.
A quick search on the web shows that research into ways of using
natural fibres in engineering products is considerable as is
development of biodegradable plastics derived from natural
sources. The latest to reach our attention is a joint project
between Professor Peter Belton at the University of East Anglia
and Professor John Taylor at the University of Pretoria to
develop polymer materials derived from material normally left
over from processing sorghum. According to Dr Gyebi Duodu, a
lecturer at the University of Pretoria, encountered at this
year's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, protein may be
extracted from soghum bran husks using ethanol, or other
naturally derived solvents. The protein may then be cast as film
and used for packaging. Dr Duodu said that conventional plastic
bags were banned in South Africa several months ago but soghum
derived bags would be acceptable and that the economics look
"promising".
Envirowise, the subject of the original article that kicked off
Eureka's green campaign boasts, "Every year Envirowise helps
UK businesses save a up to £1000 per employee". Companies
with fewer than 250 employees are entitled to free, confidential,
one day, on-site waste reviews where advisors can advise on
opportunities to become more efficient with available resources.
Pointers
* Companies can achieve savings of around £1,000 per employee by
improved waste management and the service to help them achieve
this is still free
* The need to find clean, alternative, sources of energy is
likely to become even greater in the near future
* Novel materials derived from natural sources are beginning to
find their way into consumer products. Research into using such
materials in engineering components continues
http://www.pilottaskforce.co.uk/files/workgroup/619.pdf
http://www.owel.co.uk
http://www.thehemppapercompany.com
http://www.mgmarga.com
Professor Peter Belton
http://www.envirowise.gov.uk
One of the most active areas of development is
electric motors and drives. Tom Shelley reviews the last three
years of British innovation in this market
The world increasingly runs on electricity, which is why
advances in efficiency and performance of electric motors,
actuators and drives occupy the minds of a large number of
engineers in the UK and throughout the world.
One of the more extraordinary ideas to be reported in Eureka was
Simon Powell's PBT 2D, folded strip, piezeoelectric actuator
motor, the subject of our March 2002 cover story. Simon Powell
writes, "I am currently in Japan sorting out suppliers for
the ceramics and a range of new actuators, including the 2D
device. Things have gone a bit mad right now, so we have had to
delay the motor's introduction whilst we launch the world's first
electronic cooker/boiler valve (due out November), the world's
first piezo operated door lock (due out January) and the world's
first firearm interlock to prevent unauthorised use of handguns
(mid 2004). The 2D actuator has found application in the door
lock. The first version has a single actuator, but by using the
2D we get a lock that cannot be vibrated open by hammer drills
etc., because the unlocking motion is a function of both
actuators."
Even more extraordinary, however, is Roger Shawyer's reactionless
Emdrive, reported in December 2002, which uses a relativistic
effect to produce thrust in a spacecraft without need for
propellant. We hesitated about running the story, since at first
sight it seemed to defy the laws of physics, but then decided
that it doesn't. While it is not quite ready for space, or even
more importantly, to lift vehicles above the ground so they need
neither wheels, wings nor rotors, we are pleased to report that
it still looks promising. Shawyer writes: "The Smart
feasibility study was successfully completed and a full technical
report produced. This was independently reviewed and issued to
the DTI. They are currently considering a proposal for the
development phase. The theoretical analysis has been completed
and now includes a treatment of the mechanism of kinetic energy
transfer. A paper has been submitted for publication. Further
analysis of the experimental data has concluded that the pulsed
thrust measurements can only be due to momentum transfer from the
EM wave and therefore confirm that the experimental thruster is
working according to theory.
"An extrapolation of the theory has been carried out for
high thrust engines and the concept appears feasible. Initial
design work on a lift engine has been undertaken. Some exciting
commercial developments are in progress which will support a
major development programme, whilst hopefully retaining the key
work within the UK. "
Slightly more down to earth, we would be wrong to ignore two sets
of developments that have figured prominently in our pages. The
continuing developments in the very successful Control
Techniques' Unidrive, subject of a Eureka cover story in March
1997 and the Brook Hansen 'W' series motors, world leaders in
efficient motor technology with all the benefits that go with it.
Pointers
* The folded strip 2D actuator motor has found application in a
high security door lock that cannot be vibrated open
* The reactionless Emdrive looks as if it really is going to take
off
* UK advances in AC motor and drive efficiencies are proving to
be of great economic benefit to customers
Simon Powell
RJShawyer@aol.com
Fluid power developments continue to build on British
innovation, despite the relative maturity of the technology,
writes Tom Shelley
The UK, which built its industrial revolution on steam,
continues to come up with radical developments in fluid power.
This reflects the fundamental nature of the technology, and
continued room for efficiency improvements, despite the massive
variety of excellent products offered on fast delivery by the
likes of Bosch Rexroth, Festo and SMC.
The microprocessor controlled hydraulic/pneumatic prosthetic knee
joint described by Dr Saeed Zahedi of PDD in our December 2001
edition was launched in 2002. Chas Blatchford describes it as,
"The most advanced innovation in hydraulic knee control for
over thirty years." PDD has since gone from strength to
strength. In May 2003, the company received the Red Dot Special
Prize for Intelligent Design for the Olympia Soundbug and the Red
Dot Design Award for the Pogle Evolution. The Soundbug turns any
hard surface into an effective soundboard for music or voice and
the Pogle Evolution is said to be the world's most advanced
digital film post-production controller.
The bi-stable, very fast switching valves developed by Wladyslaw
Wygnanski and his colleagues at Cambridge-based Camcon Technology
continue to make progress. Since the basic design concepts were
described in some detail in our February 2002 edition, Camcon won
a £45,000 DTI Smart Award in April 2003 to undertake a study
into the feasibility of introducing high frequency modulation
into the incoming fuel stream in gas and liquid-fueled turbines.
The idea is to run turbines in lean burn mode, but use advanced
control to suppress incipient instability perturbations before
they grow sufficiently to damage the flame chambers. In May, the
company announced that a pair of the company's binary actuators
had completed more than 11.5 billion operations in laboratory
tests. Each actuator had been performing 526 changeovers per
second.
The latest idea to emerge from Camcon is a rolling swing valve. A
2ms electrical pulse to an electromagnet disrupts the magnetic
field from permanent magnets so that the spring armature rolls
from one stable position to another. Reaction time is less than
3ms, less than 1J of energy is required for the changeover, and
no current is required to maintain either of the two stable
positions. The roller is able to crush small solid particles and
the valve is suitable for unfiltered fluids.
The Pursuit Dynamics steam ejector pump described in our December
2002 edition also continues to make progress. John Heathcote, the
company CEO writes, "We announced at the end of January that
we have two units undergoing evaluation with Sonico, a joint
venture company between WS Atkins and an Anglia Water Group
subsidiary, Purac. We commenced formal marketing of our PDX
System last month and have been overwhelmed by enquiries from a
large number of companies. As a result of this, we are taking on
more personnel to deal with the licensing and business
development aspects of our business."
Steam lives! as does the rest of the £900 million per year UK
fluid power business.
Pointers
* Fluid power development in the UK are alive and well
* Valves can switch more than 500 times per second using less
power
* New developments include those based on steam, the foundation
of the UK's original industrial revolution
http://www.blatchford.co.uk
Camcon Technology
http://www.pursuitdynamics.com
Tom Shelley reports on the explosion in electrically
and electronically active materials, and where this looks to be
taking us
According to high tech venture capital guru Dr Hermann Hauser,
speaking at the recent Venturefest event in Oxford, British
developments in polymer-based electronics and displays have the
potential to put the UK ahead in a revolution that he believes
will be at least as big as silicon.
Not for nothing did Professor Richard Friend, the founder of
Plastic Logic, the subject of Eureka's August 2003 cover story,
receive a knighthood on this years Queen's birthday honours list.
ElekSen, another totally home-grown enterprise specialising in
Fabric Keyboards and other electronic interfaces, the subject of
Eureka's February 2000 cover story, has now reached the point of
producing commercial products. ElekSen's Tim Pearce writes:
"Our first commercial product launch was with Logitech,
licensing them a combination soft keyboard/case for Palm branded
PDA's. More recently we have launched through Orange an accessory
keyboard, or what we call a "SoftTexter" for the Orange
SPV smartphone. We have other such soft texters in the pipeline
too, together with projects evolving in the automotive and
healthcare sectors."
Cranch Lamble at Plastic Logic writes: "On the commercial
side of things, the second closing of our first fundraising
occurred in November and building work on our new labs and clean
rooms began in January 2003 and will be completed shortly. On the
technical side of things, we have focused on developing our
technology for use in display applications. We have used our
inkjet printed plastic electronics technology to produce active
matrix backplanes for liquid crystal displays in collaboration
with Gyricon, a Xerox spin-off. We've now produced the world's
first Electronic Paper display with a printed plastic electronic
active matrix backplane. On the non-display side of things, we've
produced ring oscillators, various logic gates and are printing
metal for interconnect lines. Our focus over the next six to
twelve months will be to scale the displays and processes to
target first products while also developing the technology
further for other display applications and more general
electronic/logic applications."
Also in Cambridge, Cambridge Display Technologies continues to go
from strength to strength with its light emitting polymers, as
does competitor Elam-T, whose latest developments are described
on page XX.
In a different sphere of Smart materials, those inspired by
nature and the subject of Eureka's April 2002 cover story,
Professor George Jeronimidis at Reading University continues to
lead research investigations. A conference on latest developments
in 'Biomimetics' is scheduled for Friday, September 26that
Reading. Paper titles include: "What we can learn from the
structure and properties of seashells" by Dr. Stephen
Eichorn at UMIST, "Development of a vibration driven
endoscopic device" by Professor Picasso from the University
of Cagliari and "Flexible reflectors in animals", by
Victoria Welch from Oxford University.
http://www.plasticlogic.com
http://www.eleksen.com
Cambridge Display Technology
University of Reading
Centre for Biomimetics
Pointers
* Keyboards made using electrically responsive fabrics have now
reached the market place
* Inkjet printable electronic circuitry continues to attract
investment and looks increasingly attractive commercially as do
light emitting polymer displays
* Smart materials inspired by nature continue to be researched
For more technical developments see www.eurekamagazine.co.uk