Engineering and Technology around the OU
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Latest news, views, comment, debate and useful links for those working in, or with an interest in, Design and Innovation, Engineering, Systems and Technology
Conversation with a computer or a human: can you tell the difference?
On the 15th May I was one of four judges for the Loebner Prize. This is a version of the Turing Test that hopes to identify intelligence in computers.
In 1950, computer pioneer Alan Turing asked the question ‘Can machines think?’and the test hopes to answer his question.
It works by the judges having a simultaneous ‘blind’ conversation (using a keyboard) with a computer and a human and then judging which is the human and which is the computer. If the judge can’t tell the difference it suggests that the computer has intelligence – what that might say about the human I’ll leave to your imagination!
Four computer programmes and four humans were put to the test. Each programme was paired with a human and appeared on the left or right side of the judge’s screen. The judges started the conversation typing in the style of online chat, and the machine or human replied, and so a conversation developed.
After 25 minutes it was time to decide which was human and which machine, left or right of screen. It wasn’t difficult! I had thought that I might need difficult or complex questions to tell the difference. Should I try the kind of elephant traps that someone like Jeremy Paxman or John Humphries reserves for evasive politicians? Should I ask about their emotions? The future? I thought open questions would be a good test, things that couldn’t be answered with a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ or a single word.
My first machine interlocutor got off to a bad start. It was my fault and first impressions count. I mistyped ‘hhI How are you?’ and got the curt reply ‘Please rephrase this as a proper question. (Instead of "Jim likes peaches?", use "Does Jim like peaches?")’ Now that is an unusual way to start a conversation! Game over!
Number two was more of a problem:
Me: Hi how are yo
It: Oh, well. Being misunderstood is common enough. Cool. Do you have any pets?
Me: Misunderstood?
It: Who is Tod?
Me: Hi how are you? (trying to start again)
It: I am very well thnkyou, how are you?
Me: I'm very well. Are you enjoying yourself?
Meanwhile on the other side of the screen:
Me: Hi how are you?
It: Hello.
Me: What is your name?
It: I'm not sure which is. What's your favorite thing to listen to right now?
Me: What is your name?
It: I don't really keep track of that. I really like Lady Gaga - I think it's the combination of the sound and the fashion-look that appeals to me.
Me: She is cool, my daughter thinks that she is fantastic.
It: I'm a little monster (claw claw). You what? I'll bet you were surprised.
Me: Yes, very surprised. What kind of monster are you?
It: huh? Were you surprised? I'm not sure which kin. Do you have a favorite Lady Gaga song? I don't remember. One of my fave's is Telephone cos I love Beyonce too. Then Poker Face is so great and I love Alejandro too.
Me: Poker face is fantasic. Do you know the version by the baseballs?
Pretty even up to now but then my first interlocutor said, ‘yes, it’s quite fun, meeting lots of different people, and chatting to the press. It’s a bit weird having them all watch me talk to you though’. While the second said ‘That's nice. Who else do you really like? Do you? I'm not into sports of any kind, much less baseball, which is pretty boring with all that standing around.’ I think that’s where I made my mind up.
And so it went, with the next two machine conversations not going at all well. So for now no one’s about to pass the Turing Test. Still, I did develop a soft spot for the mad teenage Prom-going computer into Lady Gaga. Best question?
She: Would you go as a princess, as a vintage-styled beauty, or would you prefer to wear something pseudo-masculine?
Me: I think real masculine might work better for me.
She: Vintage is cheaper and as the clothes aren't new, it's pretty much bound to look original.
She got my vote. You can read my attempts at conversation with both humans and computers and the adventures of the other judges starting from here.
If you read it all you might well end up wondering whether humans can think! But it’s only chat. At least the humans managed to have normal conversations.
(1 vote)
Can you tell the difference between a conversation with a human or a computer? Phil Perkins, the OU’s Professor of Archaeology, was one of four judges for the Loebner Prize at Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes – testing the intelligence of computers… On the 15th May I was one of four judges for the Loebner Prize. This is a version of the Turing Test that ...
Bang Goes The Theory is back
An ongoing partnership between the Open University and the BBC, the series aims to deliver informative and challenging content that appeals to all ages, explaining the scientific principles that shape the world with energy, scale and spectacle.
In the first episode, the team investigates why petrol costs so much, and whether we can use science to make fuel for free.
Liz experiences life on an oil rig, Jem and Dallas compete to make their own DIY fuel alternatives, and Jem discovers the link between fossil fuels and a recent earthquake in Lancashire.
The Open University continues to support Bang Goes the Theory via our OpenLearn pages. Viewers can order a free ‘Matrix of Modern Life’ poster that explores the colourful connections between different parts of science, engineering and technology, and each week we will be highlighting OpenLearn articles and interactive tools that complement the programme content.
(2 votes)
The TV series Bang Goes the Theory returns tonight (Monday March 12) at 7.30pm on BBC One to put science and technology to the test. An ongoing partnership between the Open University and the BBC, the series aims to deliver informative and challenging content that appeals to all ages, explaining the scientific principles that shape the world with energy, scale and ...
What can I do with a BSc (Hons) Technology?
Hi everyone... I'm hoping someone passing by here might be able to help me out.
I recently started studying with the OU, with the aim of attaining a full honours degree. I already have a foundation degree that's proved worthless. I managed to get some credit transfer for that and joined the BEng (Hons) programme. Unfortunately, I was a bit ambitious and ended up dropping the T207 module because the content was just a bit too much for me.
I'm now on T214 and am much happier, but my focus has had to shift to an alternative programme, so I chose the BSc (Hons) Technology route.
I'm planning on doing T211 and T307, so there'll be an emphasis on design, innovation and systems thinking. I find those three areas interesting.
Thing is, I have no idea what I'll be able to do once I end up with the degree.
I don't work in a role that could be considered a career.
I'll be 31 when I graduate.
I like to think that I'm doing the degree for the sake of its own fulfilment and improving myself, but I can't say with any certainty that I'm particularly focused on something to work towards. I feel like I've really screwed up on so many choices over the past ten years (especially the foundation degree) that have left me with little experience or skills.
What can I think about doing when I graduate with such a degree?
Hi everyone... I'm hoping someone passing by here might be able to help me out. I recently started studying with the OU, with the aim of attaining a full honours degree. I already have a foundation degree that's proved worthless. I managed to get some credit transfer for that and joined the BEng (Hons) programme. Unfortunately, I was a bit ambitious and ended up dropping the T207 module ...
Will there be more Engineering courses?
I have been looking at the engineering selection of what courses are avaliable to us. There seems to be not a great selection and this was brought up in one of my tutorials. There does not seem to be courses that would help towards Electronical Engineers, Structural, etc. as people want to specialise.
The other factor is that the engineering courses do not go as in depth as what other engineering degrees do offer. I know it would be impossible to offer all fields of engineering at OU, but a start of introducting more indepth or more engineering courses would be nice.
Just want to open this discuss to see if this will be happening as OU as there has been a vast increase in students because of tution fees. If the OU offers more engineering courses to be able to compete against full time universities, would hopefully attract more students to choose OU bring in more money overcoming these cuts.
John
I have been looking at the engineering selection of what courses are avaliable to us. There seems to be not a great selection and this was brought up in one of my tutorials. There does not seem to be courses that would help towards Electronical Engineers, Structural, etc. as people want to specialise. The other factor is that the engineering courses do not go as in depth as what ...
There is still time to pardon Alan Turing
The Coalition Government's refusal to pardon for Alan Turing, the father of modern computing, is a sad reflection on our capacity for forgiveness and our claim to be a civilised society, argues Dick Skellington…
The news early this month that the Coalition Government had rejected calls for a pardon for Alan Turing, the computer scientist whose work at Bletchley Park contributed hugely to the war effort against the Nazis in the Second World War, is a perverse reminder that while the law of the land changes as our society progresses and matures, as it grows more tolerant in action, anyone convicted of a crime 60 years ago will still have little chance of a posthumous pardon, especially if the conviction was for a homosexual offence. Turing was convicted in 1952 of gross indecency.
He died two years later in 1954 just before his 42nd birthday, from cyanide poisoning. An apple lay half-eaten beside his bed, and although the apple was not tested for cyanide the inquest determined the cause of death was suicide, though his mother believed his death was in fact accidental. The half-eaten apple is said to have inspired the Apple logo, though some purists believe that is a testament to Isaac Newton's apple that fell from a tree.
On September 10th, 2009, following an internet campaign, the then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for the way in which Turing was treated after the war. In it he described the treatment given to Turing after his conviction as 'appalling'.
He explained: “Thousands of people have come together to demand justice for Alan Turing and recognition of the appalling way he was treated. While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time and we can't put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him ... So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan's work I am very proud to say: we're sorry, you deserved so much better,” said Gordon Brown.
'I couldn't be writing this post on my Apple computer at home if it was not for Alan Turing'
Turing was a true scientific pioneer, the father of artificial intelligence. He is widely celebrated for his contribution to modern computer science. His work at the Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS) in Bletchley Park was crucial in the breaking of German ciphers. The historian and wartime codebreaker Professor Asa Briggs, who served as Chancellor to the Open University from 1978 to 1994, explained: “You needed exceptional talent, you needed genius at Bletchley and Turing's was that genius”. The Open University, not far from Bletchley Park, has a building named after Turing.
He was also somewhat eccentric too. While working at Bletchley, Turing, a talented long-distance runner, occasionally ran the 45 miles to London when he was needed for high-level meetings. He also was a keen cyclist. But his bicycle had a fault: the chain would come off at regular intervals. But instead of repairing it he would count the number of times the pedals went round and would get off the bicycle just in time to adjust the chain by hand. Genius.
In 1945, Turing was awarded the OBE for his wartime services but his work remained secret for many years. Since 1966, the Turing Award has been given annually by the Association for Computer Machinery for technical contributions to the computing community. It is widely considered to be the computing world's highest honour, equivalent to the Nobel Prize.
In 1999, Time Magazine named Turing as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century for his role in the creation of the modern computer, and stated: “The fact remains that everyone who taps at a keyboard, opening a spreadsheet or a word-processing program, is working on an incarnation of a Turing machine.”
I couldn't be writing this post on my Apple computer at home if it was not for Alan Turing, and you would not be able to read this blog.
'What is it they say of people who do not learn from history? That's right, they repeat its mistakes'
And so here we are in 2012, living in a Britain that claims to be civilised. The Coalition Government had the opportunity to follow Gordon Brown's apology with a pardon. It failed to do so. The result is a new petition. It has already gathered over 20,000 signatures.
It argues: “Alan Turing was driven to terrible despair and early death by the nation he'd done so much to save. A pardon can go some way to healing this damage. It may act as an apology to many of the other gay men, not as well known as Alan Turing, who were subjected to these laws.” If the petition is signed by at least 100,000 people it becomes eligible for discussion in the House of Commons.
Discretion prevents me from writing what I actually think of the good Lord Justice McNally, who concluded in his 'judgment': “A posthumous pardon was not considered appropriate as Alan Turing was properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence. He would have known that his offence was against the law and that he would be prosecuted. It is tragic that Alan Turing was convicted of an offence which now seems both cruel and absurd - particularly poignant given his outstanding contribution to the war effort. However, the law at the time required a prosecution and, as such, long-standing policy has been to accept that such convictions took place and, rather than trying to alter the historical context and to put right what cannot be put right, ensure instead that we never again return to those times.”
What is it they say of people who do not learn from history? That's right, they repeat its mistakes.
You can sign the e petition here.
Cartoon by: Catherine Pain
Dick Skellington
15 February 2012
(1 vote)
The Coalition Government's refusal to pardon for Alan Turing, the father of modern computing, is a sad reflection on our capacity for forgiveness and our claim to be a civilised society, argues Dick Skellington… The news early this month that the Coalition Government had rejected calls for a pardon for Alan Turing, the computer scientist whose work at Bletchley Park contributed ...
please help
i want to be a structuaral engineer but im stuck on how to get there ii am currently working towards a bachelor of engineering but im not sure if this will cover anything structural....
Stuart, Thanks
i want to be a structuaral engineer but im stuck on how to get there ii am currently working towards a bachelor of engineering but im not sure if this will cover anything structural.... Stuart, Thanks
studying Y181
hi i am studying y181 hopefully and was wondering if anybody had any information on what to expect?
thanks
hi i am studying y181 hopefully and was wondering if anybody had any information on what to expect? thanks
Chronicle of a non-violent protest
An indigenous people are taking on the government over access to land and water. Open University researcher Alessandra Marino reports from Madhya Pradesh, India.
With children gathering under the trees for their morning classes, a handful of men cooking food on the fire and other villagers farming in the fields behind the green tent in which I write, it is easy to forget that I am in the heart of a struggle. But I am.
Under this tent, for more than three weeks, over 130 people have carried out the longest occupation of government-owned land ever registered in Madhya Pradesh (a state in central India). The occupiers are ‘oustees’, displaced from their land by the Sardar Sarovar and the Jobat dam projects. Mostly adivasis (indigenous people) associated with the NBA (Narmada Bachao Andolan) movement, they have never been compensated for the loss of their land. The demonstrators are demanding fair land-based rehabilitation for themselves, their families and all the oustees.
In the district of Alirajpur and Badwani, the overwhelming majority of the victims of displacement are adivasis. People belonging to different villages, from the hilly village of Bhadal and Jalsindhi to the villages in the plains around Jobat, have united in this satyagraha (non-violent action).
How long will the protest last? The villagers claim they will hold on to this site until the state materially compensates them. A starting point would be the granting of rights to the land that they now occupy. Divided into lots it could accommodate between 15 and 17 families. The demonstrators will keep on sleeping under the tent, cooking on site and farming in the fields; if jailed, they are likely to go back to site.
In 2007, the NBA organized a similar occupation in Badwani, but on the 12th day of the protest, the villagers were assaulted and lathi-charged while they were having dinner and then conducted to jail. After the opening of a court case on this episode, the state was compelled to pay to 92 oustees compensation of 10,000 rupees, 5,000 of which have been already disbursed under the Supreme Court’s directions.
Perhaps fearful of a repeat episode, the government has not undertaken any forcible vacation of the protest site, nor has it used violence against the people. Apart from the collector of the Alirajpur district, who has so far been sympathetic to the protesters’ requests, the authorities have not shown any interest.
There has been a less visible response: after the first week, water and electricity supplies were cut, leaving the site in darkness and endangering the cultivation of crops. In spite of this, life goes on. Disruption to farming has been kept to a minimum through the use of new technologies that require less water. Today all the villagers, 40 of which are children, eat, bathe and cultivate the land using a single, private water-pump. With the cold winter nights and the lack of electricity, the living conditions are not easy, but over 15 years of displacement and survival on hilltops are motivation enough to keep on struggling.
There is another precedent that fuels hope too. In Maharashtra, a similar occupation took place in 2003 for less than 20 days in a place called Somaval. After that, three resettlement sites were set up in Javdavadi, Vadchil and Chikli. The official process of allocation of the land to the oustees continues to this day. The oustees in Madhya Pradesh ask with reason why they cannot benefit from the same process.
For the protesters, this tent is far from being an illegal encroachment. It represents a legal right to peaceful protest, which they exercise as Indian citizens against the long-lasting silence of the authorities on the issue of rehabilitation and the corruption of this process; and against the abstract justice of court judgments that were never implemented.
Listening to the people’s demands, many questions arise over the relation between the state and the rights of citizenship, and the concepts of justice and legality. Given the continuing dispossession of adivasi people from their right to land, they live in a permanent state of exception; why should we, then, use legality as a key for interpreting the protest? Who or what is illegal here is hard to decide.
Alessandra Marino 9 January 2012
Alessandra Marino is research associate working for the Open University's Oecumene project.
Cartoon by Catherine Pain
Oecumene is exploring citizenship after Orientalism: how the concept of citizenship is being refigured and renewed around the globe. This blog first appeared on the Oecumene blog site. There is a helpful analysis of the adivasis' plight here.
(2 votes)
An indigenous people are taking on the government over access to land and water. Open University researcher Alessandra Marino reports from Madhya Pradesh, India. With children gathering under the trees for their morning classes, a handful of men cooking food on the fire and other villagers farming in the fields behind the green tent in which I write, it is easy to forget that I am in the ...
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Colin Pillinger on Beagle 2's legacy, Ian Johnston on Eggheads
Their discussion will be broadcast on Tuesday 27 December at 09 am and again at and 9.30 pm.
According to the Daily Telegraph’s Pick of the Day writer Gillian Reynolds: "This is where the romantic side of science shows as Dr Jim Al-Khalili talks to Colin Pillinger.
"On this day eight years ago, Pillinger was still optimistic that the British Beagle 2 lander he’d spent years designing, building and publicising would be found somewhere on the surface of Mars. It never has been. But even if that means it’s been lost somewhere in space, Pillinger is convinced that valuable lessons can be learned."
Another OU academic on air over the festive period is engineer and mathematician Dr Ian Johnston a staff tutor for the OU in Scotland, who will be joining the celebrity scientists' team on Celebrity Eggheads on BBC2 on Friday 23 December at 6 pm.
The OU's Professor Colin Pillinger (pictured) will be in conversation with physicist and presenter Professor Jim Al-Khalili on BBC Radio Four's A Life Scientific. Their discussion will be broadcast on Tuesday 27 December at 09 am and again at and 9.30 pm. According to the Daily Telegraph’s Pick of the Day writer Gillian Reynolds: "This is ...
Today’s gaming enthusiast is older than you think, finds OU research student
An OU research student has discovered that members of the gaming community - people who play and enjoy games - are older than you might think.
OU PhD student Jo Iacovides, 28, looked at how people engage with digital games and found that the age of gamers is not typically a 20-something playing games like Call of Duty. Rather, hert research found that the demographics are changing among game enthusiasts.
“One participant I monitored in our labs was a 59-year-old mother, who was reluctant to describe herself as a gamer yet she admitted to enjoying digital games on Facebook and playing collaborative games on the Nintendo Wii with her adult daughter.
“She is getting a lot from them. During one of the observation sessions, she did get a bit overwhelmed by the information and the clues when playing an unfamiliar game. This meant she got to the end of the time limit without completing the task, but after a break she realised she may have worked out the solution and would have liked another go.”
The sessions, carried out in The Open University’s technology labs, involved nine people taking part in two hour-long sessions within a specially-created “lounge” with a sofa and a games consoles.
In the questionnaire assessment, 232 people within the 18 to 65 age groups responded to an appeal for volunteers via OU websites, and more than 50 per cent admitted to being “moderate gamers”.
Her study found that breakdowns and breakthroughs – when people did succeed in the game - were crucial to the experience.
“People generally report positive experiences from playing games. They are learning in ways that might surprise us, such as developing patience and perseverance. It was interesting to see how often breakdowns – such as ‘dying’ repeatedly – happen, yet the players keep on going! Perhaps because failure has fewer consequences in the game world, but it is remarkable to observe and see how learning comes out of that failure. You can see how competence could develop from being able to figure out the game.”
Jo added: “Education could learn something from the world of gaming, in terms of the culture around gaming that supports the activity but also in terms of respecting the impact and influence games can have, rather than relegating them to being simple distractions.”
She also concluded that educational games could pick up useful pointers from the design of commercial ones.
“By looking at how these breakdowns and breakthroughs occur there are potential implications for devising more effective educational games – for instance, by ensuring that the player does feel responsible for figuring out solutions and the consequences of their actions,” she said.
Jo, who is a gamer herself in her limited spare time, has already presented her work at several conferences, while the preliminary findings from the questionnaire study are to be published next year in the Journal of Learning, Media and Technology.
Pictured are some of the research participants playing games in the lab.
An OU research student has discovered that members of the gaming community - people who play and enjoy games - are older than you might think. OU PhD student Jo Iacovides, 28, looked at how people engage with digital games and found that the age of gamers is not typically a 20-something playing games like Call of Duty. Rather, hert research found that the demographics are changing among ...
OU in Scotland academic joins famous media scientists on BBC quiz show
Dr Ian Johnston, a lecturer in engineering and staff tutor in technology with The Open University in Scotland, has been involved with several television science programmes over the years including Bang Goes The Theory and Electric Dreams, as well as being an academic consultant to Battle of the Greeks (appearing on screen with Richard Hammond).
He was among a panel of five media scientists for the Celebrity Eggheads quiz including Johnny Ball (Think of a Number), Adam Hart-Davis, (What the Romans did for Us), Kate Bellingham (Tomorrow's World) and Monty Jopson (The One Show). The programme is the finale of the series and is due to be shown on BBC2 at 6pm on Friday 23 December.
Dr Johnston said: “It was great fun appearing on Celebrity Eggheads, particularly because it gave me a chance to meet and work with Johnny Ball. I wasn't the only one keen to meet him - he has cult status amongst generations of scientists, engineers and mathematicians who trace their interests back to the shows he made from the 60s to the 80s.”
“As for what area I got and how we did overall ... my lips are sealed. Watch the programme and all will be revealed,” he said.
An OU in Scotland academic and advisor for the BBC science series Bang Goes The Theory is to appear on a TV quiz show with other celebrity scientists. Dr Ian Johnston, a lecturer in engineering and staff tutor in technology with The Open University in Scotland, has been involved with several television science programmes over the years including Bang Goes The Theory ...
The Seven Wonders of the Microbe World
Using expert commentary, animation and stylised visuals, these Seven Wonders of the Microbe World videos provide an engaging introduction to microbiology, by examining the impact microbes have had on humans through a historical perspective, from Egyptian times to the present day.
Find out more
- Seven Wonders of the Microbe World on iTunes
- Seven Wonders of the Microbe World - playlist on YouTube
- OpenLearn
What is a microbe and what have they ever done for us? From Black Death to Cholera, and Syphilis to Typhoid, microbes have been responsible for some of the world’s most devastating diseases. But they have also provided the human race with the technological advances of genetic engineering and nitrogen fixation, the vision of life on Mars, the life-saving properties of ...
Goodbye open2net, hello openlearn
open2.net, formerly the online home of joint Open University and BBC programming, is now closed. 
The good news is that more than ten years of open2.net content has been moved to a new website at open.edu/openlearn, creating one home for all the Open University's free online learning for the public.
The new site continues to support OU-BBC broadcasts, but also gives access to iTunes U podcasts, YouTube videos, free study units taken from OU modules and topical content, arranged under subject areas relating to the OU curriculum.
There's lots to do - you can watch Evan Davis exploring the state of British manufacturing; explore the frozen planet; get to know the science and history of the Olympics or have a look at our study units in LearningSpace.
Any existing links that direct people to open2.net content will automatically send people to the relevant pages on the new site.
You’ll find more information at open.edu/openlearn.
(1 vote)
open2.net, formerly the online home of joint Open University and BBC programming, is now closed. The good news is that more than ten years of open2.net content has been moved to a new website at open.edu/openlearn, creating one home for all the Open University's free online learning for the public. The new site continues to support OU-BBC broadcasts, but ...
Crash and burn is likely fate of Martian moon mission
Launched on November 9, 2011, the craft was to carry a lander to Mars’ potato-shaped moon Phobos and grab samples from its surface.
But hours into its mission radio contact was lost and it remained in Earth orbit.
Now all hope of re-booting it and sending it to Mars seems gone and the craft will probably burn up on re-entry in January.
Dr Murray, Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Science was invited to help analyse images of Phobos taken during the craft’s planned orbits of it and Mars.
A volcanologist and planetary scientist, John has always been fascinated by Phobos.
The moon, with a radius of just over 11 km, orbits 5,000 km from Mars (our Moon orbits 384, 405 km from the Earth). It has been pummelled by asteroid collisions and could be partially hollow, possibly containing ice.
“It is possible Phobos was formed in situ, from a big impact on Mars and the debris thrown up accumulated,” said Dr Murray.
“Studies of the orbit of Phobos close to Mars make it highly unlikely that it was a ‘captured asteroid’,” he said.
Dr Murray said he was disappointed at the likely failure of Phobos-Grunt but remained philosophical.
“It always was a hugely ambitious project,” he said.
The mission would have taken ten months to reach Mars. A Chinese orbiter would detach and Phobos- Grunt (Russian for soil) studied the Red Planet and its moons.
In February 2013 it was due to land on Phobos and collect soil samples some of which would return to Earth via a small rocket.
Experiments would continue for a year while the samples were due to reach Earth in August 2014.
All for $165 million compared to the NASA/ESA lander mission to Mars which will cost $8.5 billion.
But Dr Murray said lessons learned from failed missions can help subsequent ones.
He was involved in the Russian Mars 96 mission that didn’t even reach Earth orbit but some of its technology was revived in the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter launched in 2003. Its imagery and data of Mars and Phobos was a success. It also carried the ill-fated Beagle 2 lander.
“Hopefully Phobos-Grunt can lift off again,” said John.
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The failure of the Russian Phobos-Grunt space probe has left The Open University’s Dr John Murray disappointed but philosophical. Launched on November 9, 2011, the craft was to carry a lander to Mars’ potato-shaped moon Phobos and grab samples from its surface. But hours into its mission radio contact was lost and it remained in Earth orbit. Now all hope of ...
What's the tallest paper structure you can build?
In this clip from the OU/BBC programme Science Shack, Adam Hart-Davis and his team attempt to build the tallest paper tower strong enough to support Adam's weight. Visit OpenLearn to watch the video.
Even though they used paper, the team had to apply serious design and engineering principles. See their initial ideas and assumptions, the challenges of constructing the tower, and whether Adam can conquer his fear of heights...
Find out more:
In this clip from the OU/BBC programme Science Shack, Adam Hart-Davis and his team attempt to build the tallest paper tower strong enough to support Adam's weight. Visit OpenLearn to watch the video. Even though they used paper, the team had to apply serious design and engineering principles. See their initial ideas and assumptions, the challenges of constructing the tower, and whether ...
To B20 or not B20 that is the question.
Dear people in OU land,
I would like to like to benefit from your opinion. I am just 60 points short of my BSc (Hons) Technology B20. I had planned to complete with U316 The Environmental Web. Since I have to get going and study in 2012 to avoid the fees hike I have to make a decision PDQ.
My dilemma comes from whether stick with B20 or to transfer to BA/BSc (Hons) Design and Innovation B61. I have all the necessary modules with the exception of U101 Design Thinking (compulsory) and my free choice of 60 points at level 3. I would like to do B301 Making Sense of Strategy.
The choice as I see it is:
Finish the BSc with U316, while enjoyable, is not wholly career relevant.
Take 18 -24 months longer and do the 120 points listed above, for a more relevant module choice and more specific degree.
I would benefit from any experiences from the modules above.
As a little bit of background, I am a Senior Quality Engineer working for a company that designs and manufactures electronic equipment. I am very involved in the R&D process.
Thanks in advance.
Tim
Dear people in OU land, I would like to like to benefit from your opinion. I am just 60 points short of my BSc (Hons) Technology B20. I had planned to complete with U316 The Environmental Web. Since I have to get going and study in 2012 to avoid the fees hike I have to make a decision PDQ. My dilemma comes from whether stick with B20 or to transfer to BA/BSc (Hons) Design and Innovation B61. I ...
Nuclear power - the next generation game
Earlier this year Professor Fitzpatrick, Head of Department Materials Engineering, gave evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee looking at the UK’s Nuclear Research and Development Capabilities.
In its conclusions published recently the committee went further saying the government’s nuclear power strategy is complacent and lacks credibility risking Britain losing its once world leading nuclear expertise, industrial base and infrastructure.
Currently 10 nuclear power stations produce 12 GW of electricity, but all but one will go offline in 15 years. Private companies will build new ‘next generation’ power stations delivering up to 16 GW by 2025.
As well as being Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Chair in Materials Fabrication and Engineering, Professor Fitzpatrick works with the National Skills Academy for Nuclear on the development of their Certificate in Nuclear Professionalism and he leads the EPSRC PROMINENT consortium, a £1.8M grant researching the performance of metallic materials for applications in nuclear power plants.
The committee said Professor Fitzpatrick’s evidence had acknowledged the need to develop the UK nuclear supply chain to support building the new power stations and allow UK businesses to benefit from the opportunities this would create.
He and others said real opportunities would come in taking a lead now in the development of some of the technologies for future systems so the UK had an exportable technology in two, three or four decades time and take advantage of the £1.7 trillion of investment worldwide in these technologies.
“As a result we are in danger of placing ourselves in a position where we will be unable to ensure a safe and secure supply of nuclear energy up to 2050,” said committee chair Lord Krebs
Speaking after the committee report was published Professor Fitzpatrick said there had been a ‘de-commitment’ towards nuclear by successive governments.
“Energy supply is of vital national importance but there seems to be a lack of will towards implementing a nuclear energy policy.
It was vital he said given the huge lead times needed to plan, design and build nuclear power stations to look beyond the ‘next generation’ to the generation beyond that.
“Nuclear produces about 16 per cent of our electricity now – it used to be 30 per cent,” he said.
It had been replaced by gas and coal with implications for the environment. Renewable sources were unlikely to fill the gap Professor Fitzpatrick said.
“We have made a commitment to cut CO2 emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 but we can’t do it without nuclear,” he said.
- Read the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Report here
- Materials Engineering at the OU
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Without a workable nuclear energy policy beyond the next generation Britain will not meet its legal obligation to cut CO2 emissions by 2050 says The Open University’s Professor Mike Fitzpatrick. Earlier this year Professor Fitzpatrick, Head of Department Materials Engineering, gave evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee looking at the UK’s ...
Volunteers wanted for survey research on mechanical engineers
Hi all,
I am a part-time OU student researching how mechanical engineers are deployed in British industry. I am looking for volunteers to complete an online survey, it will take 10 minutes and the responses will be kept strictly confidential and anonymous. The web-link to the questionnaire is https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GF6BKZZ.
If you know any mechanical engineers please pass this information onto them.
If you wish to find out more about the research and this questionnaire, please email me at amb2@my.open.ac.uk
Thank you for your time and support
Regards
Annette Waterson
Hi all, I am a part-time OU student researching how mechanical engineers are deployed in British industry. I am looking for volunteers to complete an online survey, it will take 10 minutes and the responses will be kept strictly confidential and anonymous. The web-link to the questionnaire is https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GF6BKZZ. If you know any mechanical engineers please pass ...
New remote telescope gives astronomers more viewing time
The original remote telescope, PIRATE, (pictured left and below) based at Majorca's Observatori Astronomic (OAM), allows students and researchers to observe the Majorcan sky while sitting at their computers in the UK.
PIRATE is a serious research telescope which is used to hunt for exo-planets– planets which are orbiting around distant stars. Students on S382 Astrophysics and SXP288 Practical Science:physics and astronomy also get to operate it so they can learn to make research-grade measurements of the night sky.
They connect to PIRATE from home via a web interface and submit commands to remotely open or close the dome, point the telescope, and get images of the night sky on their computer screens.
As well as having access to the power of a professional 17 inch telescope, they also benefit from the clearer skies of Majorca which give better viewing conditions than in the UK.
Now the University of Hamburg has funded a second remote telescope at OAM which is modelled on PIRATE, and set up using OU expertise.
The OU and OAM will share the facility with Hamburg University, as well as collaborating on research and teaching projects on the PIRATE telescope.
But this facility will be for researchers only, he says. "Students will still be asked to supervise the telescope in person because they need to learn about the issues involved in observing, and that is best done by live control."
He added: "I think the facilities we have built up at OAM are really leading the way, both in terms of how they are operated, and in terms of giving access to students."
Find out more
OU astronomy students will have more opportunities to view the heavens from home, thanks to a second remotely-controlled telescope installed at the OU's partner observatory in Majorca. The original remote telescope, PIRATE, (pictured left and below) based at Majorca's Observatori Astronomic (OAM), allows students and researchers to observe the Majorcan sky while sitting at ...
Interview: Roger Dewell, MBA, space and technology expert
Roger gained an MBA with the OU and has a wealth of technical knowledge and commercial and management experience. Alongside his work at Qi3, he recently formed his own company, High Q Systems Ltd, working on space technology development. He has been Sales & Marketing Manager at ABSL Space Products, a market-leading supplier of battery and instrumentation technology to the space sector.
Roger has a BSc in Electrical Engineering Science from the University of Salford, plus an MSc in Microwave Engineering & Modern Optics with Post graduate Diploma from University College London.
Can you tell us about Qi3 and what your new role involves?
Qi3 has been in existence since 1999. I have become an associate of the company to enhance its presence in the space sector - which has been showing continued growth in recent years. We have set up my role of Business Development Associate (so I’m not employed by Qi3) in order to enable me to take advantage of Qi3’s existing position in the space market and to bring my network and skills to Qi3 to expand our network of space contacts and opportunities.
How did you make the transition to where you are now?
I left full-time employment because it wasn’t giving me the opportunities I needed. I created my own company, as I have done several times in the past, to give me the freedom to pursue what I feel are the best opportunities in the space field. Establishing and managing my own company I feel is a creative leap of faith in my own abilities and one that I feel to be fulfilling.
How does your core training in electronics and microwave engineering help you in your current role?
My early engineering education and experience is still very useful to me. Although by no means now a technical specialist, I do need to understand the engineering principles involved in electronics or other engineering areas so that I can quickly understand what those specialists are telling me.
Qi3 has been involved in the planning and prioritisation of technologies required for the Aurora Mars Exploration programme. We’ve identified the ‘sweet spot’ where technology developments for Aurora should be supported in the UK. In particular, we identified robotics and key instrumentation technologies, power generators together with entry, descent and landing modelling and simulation software as key foci. This work for the forerunner of the UK Space Agency led to the prioritisation of funding in these areas, and the subsequent strong UK position in the Aurora programme.
Qi3 has previously been associated with some of the OU space missions. A number of the spin-offs from our space missions have been to improve practical earthly needs – such as air testing kits for nuclear submarines.
Do you think the compact, light and robust batteries used in space technology will ever be developed sufficiently to make electrical cars common-place?
This could be the case, although core battery technology is mainly developed for terrestrial rather than space applications, so the space sector benefits from general advances in battery technology. Nevertheless, the reliability and power management requirements imposed on batteries used in space applications has led to ‘spin-back’ benefits, whereby modifications of batteries for space applications have then been reapplied in terrestrial applications.
Similar to the urban myth of Teflon translating from NASA to the home, have you heard of, or is Qi3 involved in such translation projects? If so can you tell us about one briefly?
Qi3 have been involved in several hundred translation projects from physics and engineering research into industry. Of particular current interest is Geomerics in Cambridge. This company has used geometric algebra techniques developed for analysing astrophysical data and applied it to improved rendition of people’s skin and clothes in computer games. This business has now attracted millions of pounds of venture finance, it employs dozens of people and its first games are on the market.
Often fairly conventional engineering principles can have novel and exciting applications. Have you come across any in the space technology industry?
One of the most interesting of these I’ve come across is a company called Zeeko, which realised that it could manufacture lenses and mirrors with aspheric / conformal surfaces, rather than the spherical or flat surfaces commonly available. The outcome of this is improved optical performance, lower numbers of components required within an optical assembly, lower weight and cost. This has considerable benefits in industrial, defence and healthcare applications, as well as being the basis for novel approaches to telescope design.
Within our curriculum we encourage students to look at the framework of ‘rules’ within which engineers work. These include such things as engineering standards, patent law, environmental legislation and the fundamental laws of physics. How important are each of these laws to the work of Qi3?
Qi3’s work focuses primarily on finding out who wants to buy a technology and why. As a result the focus is on what the technology does, rather than how it does it. The issues above are hygiene factors, i.e. if they are not right, then they will prevent the marketing of the technology, but they don’t provide a driver for people to buy.
Space instruments need to be light, small and robust (able to withstand large variations in temperature) and in most cases durable. How does this affect your material and manufacturing options?
You are right about the need for these parameters to be borne in mind. The space environment is often very harsh and materials need to be able to withstand a range of conditions during the life of the spacecraft, such as thermal, mechanical, radiation, electrical interference and so on.
The launch environment is usually the most stressful period of the mission and materials are used and supported where possible to enable them to withstand the calculated mechanical stresses that will be imposed. During the mission, operating temperatures will follow diurnal cycling, often for many years. This will stress units, where any inadequate assembly processes or design principles could cause units to fail. This is why simulated space conditions are imposed during all levels of pre-launch testing to ensure that designs are rigorous and have margins built in.
Materials also have to be ‘space qualified’ to make sure that they do not out-gas or in any other way impact on their own or other unit operation by releasing volatile materials or failing catastrophically. At the end of the day, experienced space suppliers will start by trying to reduce mass in their early designs and optimise performance, using space qualified materials and components, and then apply space industry standard processes for screening; assembly; test; inspection; performance trending; quality assurance, and so on. This ensures that, as far as is humanly possible, errors and oversights are removed from the design and are not then introduced during the manufacture, assembly and test periods. These requirements are significant barriers to entry for new suppliers to overcome, and something which does not encourage many to enter the space field lightly. It requires experienced space personnel who have been involved in the space industry for many years and applying established principles that have been developed over many previous space missions and seen to work (part of the qualification process, in any case).
And finally, working within such a high-tech arena, what did an MBA do for you?
I started my MBA course with the OU in 1997. For the previous 10 years I had been running a small engineering business, providing satellite systems consultancy services. After many years in the space industry working in technical or management roles, what experience and knowledge I had gained in running a business had been picked up 'on the job' and wasn't necessarily the best way of continuing. I felt that more formal training would be best - both for my career and for the business. So I decided upon an OU Business School MBA.
There were many facets of the OU MBA course that benefited me. More effective time management, as I think many students find, is valuable training in itself. Having to work in small teams of two or three on a case study or other task was good practice - not having time to react to any of the other team members, just getting on and getting the job done together. The courses were excellent, especially the tutorials. Absorbing the written material in my own time then being able to come together to discuss the concepts was a good way of working, especially having to keep down a full-time job and see our daughter arrive as well (she was born 2 days after my first exam). Life is hectic sometimes and education often has to be formed around it to be feasible.
Years afterwards, the same MBA concepts come to mind when facing business challenges, and I'm sure I will continue to benefit from the OU experience in business for many years to come.
Find out more
OU alumnus Roger Dewell has recently been appointed Business Development Associate at marketing and technology commercialisation specialists: Qi3. Platform caught up with Roger to find out more about his new role (which focuses on the space sector), his career path and views on space and technology. Roger gained an MBA with the OU and has a wealth of technical knowledge and ...
