Author: European Springs

The researchers are planning to employ a rather interesting new tactic, in a bid to inspire the next generation of engineers; they will investigate whether human space flight missions increase the interest of school age children, in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Joint Initiative

The project, which is being funded by the UK Space Agency and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), will run for three years and is set to start this January.

It will see a team of science education researchers from the University of York  join forces with a number of leading space scientists and primarily focus on the British astronaut Tim Peake’s, planned mission to the International Space Station, which will be launched in November this year.

According to the team behind the study, there's anecdotal evidence to suggest that space travel has the ability to increase the interest of young people in fields such as science and engineering. Tim Peake’s upcoming space mission provides an ideal opportunity to test this hypothesis.

Collating Views

The study aims to collect the views of students from a total of 60 schools (both primary and secondary). Additionally, perspectives will also be gained from space scientists as to what areas of the industry they think are most likely to inspire students.

It's hoped that in addition to encouraging more students to take an interest in STEM subjects, the project will also help us to find out more, about what exactly inspires people to participate in, and develop a lifelong passion for, STEM subjects in the first place.

It'll be exciting to see what the outcome of creative initiatives such as this, designed to increase participation in the engineering field, will be.

Here at European Springs we’re proud supporters of the engineering industry and the issue of the impending engineering skills crisis is something we’re passionate about solving. After all, we’re suppliers of an array of high-quality spring products, including torsion springs, which are used for a wide range of engineering applications.    

For more information about our range of products and services, please don't hesitate to contact us today, by giving us a call on +44 (0) 208 663 1800, to speak to a member of our friendly team.

European Springs

The future of engineering is looking bright as we look forward to new developments and the evolution of already existing technology. One of the most exciting areas of engineering is the developing world of robotics. We are finding more and more ways that robots can improve our knowledge of the universe, and one of the latest robots to do this is known as SeaBed.

SeaBed is being used by scientists to analyse a 500,000m² sized area of ice in the Antarctic. It does this by using upward facing sonar as it is submerged underneath the ice. It then produces high resolution maps of the Antarctic sea ice.

In the past, scientists would have had to drill numerous holes into the ice to assess the thickness. This meant that there was only a certain depth to which they were able to drill. It also involved treacherous conditions as these scientists endured the low temperatures and howling winds.
The scientists behind the ice mapping have discovered that while the sea ice in the Arctic has decreased in surface area by 40% in the last 40 years, the ice in the Antarctic is actually thicker than anticipated. They were able to achieve 3D images of ice that would have been impossible for them to create in the past, but have now been made possible through the use of robotics. They discovered that there was an average thickness of 1.4m to 5.5m, but that number went all the way up to as much as 17m in some places.

Dr Guy Williams from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) hailed the new developments and spoke of the future implications of the technology.

“This is a big step forward in our knowledge but we'll need to have longer missions in larger areas,” he said. “What we ultimately want is a team of autonomous robots that self deploy all across the Antarctic, like the spokes in a wheel.”

Undoubtedly, the team will continue to discover more and more about the unknown areas of our earth as they develop the technology they use.

Here at European Springs, we're dedicated to providing all areas of industry with quality products. As leading spring suppliers, we have a wide range of springs that are applicable to many areas of engineering. If you would like more information about any of our products, don't hesitate to contact us today on 0208 663 1800 to speak to a member of our team.

European Springs

Imagine owning a robot that could prepare all you meals for you and was capable of learning to do so, by merely watching a YouTube video. Whilst this might sound like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, thanks to a new breakthrough from scientists at the University of Maryland, this scenario is now one step closer to reality.

According to an article from Science Daily, researchers have developed a new self-teaching robot capable of learning complex tasks, just by watching YouTube videos!

This revolutionary advancement was the work of a collaborative project between researchers from the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) and the National Information Communications Technology Research Centre of Excellence in Australia (NICTA).

More specifically, the robot is able to learn complex grasping and tool manipulation movements, needed for cooking, by watching cooking videos on YouTube. Amazingly, these robots are also able to 'think' for themselves, to determine the best combination of movements required to complete a given task, as efficiently as possible.

This is not the first time researchers have tried to develop robots capable of copying movements. What's unique about these robots, however, is that they are able to decide for themselves how to combine certain actions in order to achieve a given goal and aren't simply copying a predetermined set of movements.

Currently, robots are used to perform a variety of complex tasks, however in order to do so they must be programmed by human technicians. Self-learning robots would be capable of gathering the information they need to perform a task by watching others, in the same way that humans learn.

Such self-learning robots could have a variety of exciting uses and applications. For example, they could be used to perform dangerous tasks such as defusing bombs, or even mundane chores and tasks of daily life, leaving us humans free to pursue other more exciting ventures.

Reports such as these highlight the huge advancements being made in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence. However, although there have been growing fears of late over the possibility of thinking machines, most recently expressed by Prof. Stephen Hawking, the nightmarish vision of  a world dominated machines remains a very distant prospect.

Here at European Springs we're leading spring manufacturers. Our high-quality spring products are utilised for a wide range of engineering applications, including in the field of robotics. For more information about our range of products and services please don't hesitate to contact us today, by giving us a call on +44 (0) 208 663 1800.

European Springs

This year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, saw some of the world’s leading car manufactures introduce their autonomous concept cars, which could be ready for release as early as 2017!

For example, Mercedes Benz showcased their futuristic concept car, the F 015, which can be operated both manually and autonomously. The seats of the car can also be rotated to allow face to face conversations when the vehicle is in driverless mode.

Not to be outdone, Audi also introduced its own driverless vehicle at the event, the Audi RS piloted driving concept car, which uses a combination of laser scanners, video cameras, and radar sensors to navigate.

According to a recent report from The Engineer, NASA are also jumping on the bandwagon and recently announced their intention to join forces with Nissan to work on the development of an array of autonomous vehicle technologies. These could have applications both here on earth and in space.

However, one company in particular, which has been ahead of the pack from the very beginning, is Google. Not content with dominating the internet, Google is planning on revolutionising the automotive industry too. They unveiled their own prototype driverless car back in May of last year and since this time have been working hard to refine their designs and bring their ideas into reality.

Google's autonomous vehicle does not feature any of the conventional controls we have come to expect from our cars, or even a steering wheel; instead the driver simply tells the car where they want to go and can set off on their journey with the mere press of a button. These vehicles have already gone into production in Detroit and if recent reports are to be believed, Google expect these vehicles to go on sale within the next 5 years.

It will be exciting to see what the future will hold for the automotive industry and where this growing trend towards the automation of vehicles will ultimately lead.

Here at European Springs, we are a leading spring manufacturers and are suppliers of a range of high quality spring products, including tension springs to a variety of key sectors, such as the automotive industry. For more information about our range of products and services please do not hesitate to contact us, to speak to a member of our expert team.

European Springs

The close of one year is always a great time to take stock of the last 12 months, and it’s fair to say that we’ve very happy with how 2014 progressed, so thanks to all of our customers for playing your part in this success! We’ve hit some pretty special highs this year. For example, who’d have thought that we’d have been able to provide components for the ‘Wind Cloud’ sculpture at the Tatton Park RHS Flower Show? What’s more, who’d have thought that the ‘Wind Garden’ that housed this creation would be honoured with the Best Elements Garden award? Not us, but rest assured that, despite the surprise, we were delighted. A really outstanding moment for us, no doubt about it.

On a more ‘mundane’ front, we’ve continued to soldier on with the day-to-day routines that are common to professional spring manufacturers, and we’re proud to say that we continue to lead the way when it comes to the quality of our springs and pressings. In the New Year, you can count on us working hard to maintain that crown, so whether your demand for springs comes in bulk, or needs just a few finely crafted bespoke components to ensure success, we’re confident that we’ll be the best option to meet your needs. It goes without saying that we’ll be looking to improve our service wherever possible too, so watch this space!

You can also be sure that we’ll carry on sharing all of our business news with you using our blog, and we’ll bring you all the latest talking points as normal too. It’s been another good year for engineering feats, and several individuals have already been acclaimed on the New Year Honours lists, but most of the UK will continue to look forward to 2015 in terms of how the ‘engineering crisis’ is being tackled. It’s a worry, but with so much attention now focused upon attracting new talent into engineering, we feel sure that there’ll be some sign of a breakthrough in the not too distant future.

Once again, we wish you and your business a very happy and healthy New Year, and we look forward to welcoming you back – or perhaps greeting you for the very first time – in 2015.

European Springs