Latest Mechanical Stories
Drones to the rescue and how one Irish firm is helping to save livesMay 20, 2019
We must see drones as another team member or another item of equipment. It will purely strengthen agencies' capabilities if used correctly, but will not solve all of the issues surrounding difficult aerial searches, writes Oisin McGrath
Planes, bridges and automobiles – is it time to distrust our infrastructure?May 7, 2019
Recent airplane, automobile, and bridge catastrophes have called into question the safety of modern design
Key tax considerations arising from the sale of a businessApril 23, 2019
Bryan Farrell explains a number of important tax issues arising from the disposal of a business, and gives an overview of the reliefs available to the owners of a firm including on retirement
Robots that can sort recyclingApril 23, 2019
CSAIL’s 'RoCycle' system uses in-hand sensors to detect if an object is paper, metal or plastic
Revealed: New insights that can change Paralympic and world championship podiumsApril 9, 2019
Researchers from NUIG, Eindhoven University of Technology and KU Leuven have used advanced technologies such as engineering simulation and wind tunnel facilities to better understand and improve the complex aerodynamics of elite Paracycling tandem and handcycling disciplines
‘Particle robot’ works as a cluster of simple unitsApril 9, 2019
Loosely connected disc-shaped 'particles' can push and pull one another, moving en masse to transport objects
Boeing 737 MAX: After two fatal crashes, an expert explains the issuesMarch 26, 2019
After the two recent tragedies, all 737 MAX pilots should receive new MCAS training before they fly the plane again, and this will hopefully also lead to a broader debate about the level of training provided to airline pilots, writes Guy Gratton
Formula One motor firms are becoming textbook cases in how to successfully branch into other sectorsMarch 26, 2019
Behind the scenes of Formula One, a transformation is taking place: In both the UK Motorsport Valley and the Italian Motor Valley – the two regions where the main players are clustered – companies have been reinventing themselves for the digital era and selling their tech know-how to other sectors
How one engineer has tackled poverty, one person at a timeMarch 12, 2019
MIT senior and Rhodes scholar Sarah Tress aims to combine her mechanical engineering background and MPhil in development studies that she is pursuing at Oxford University to help gain a deeper understanding of how poverty arises and to reduce hardships in developing countries
Mini cheetah is the first four-legged robot to do a backflipMarch 12, 2019
Robot’s lightweight, high-power design is the perfect platform to share and play, developers say
Robots track moving objects with unprecedented precisionFebruary 26, 2019
System uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to home in on targets - and this could benefit robotic manufacturing, collaborative drones, and other applications
Mechanical engineers develop process to 3-D print piezoelectric materialsFebruary 12, 2019
New printing technique and materials could be used to develop intelligent materials and self-adaptive infrastructures and transducers
‘Metallic wood’ has the strength of titanium and the density of waterFebruary 12, 2019
Researchers have built a sheet of nickel with nanoscale pores that make it as strong as titanium but four to five times lighter
Technique identifies electricity-producing bacteriaJanuary 29, 2019
Microbes screened with a new microfluidic process might be used in power generation or environmental cleanup
Tiny satellites could be ‘guide stars’ for huge next-generation telescopesJanuary 29, 2019
Researchers design CubeSats with lasers to provide steady reference light for telescopes investigating distant planets
How Galway’s Ellen Roche blends medicine and mechanical engineeringJanuary 15, 2019
Assistant professor Ellen Roche, originally from Co Galway, develops revolutionary medical devices through research at the crossroads of medical science and engineering
Revealed: Smart car tech saves US drivers $6.2bn in fuel costs each yearDecember 11, 2018
In the first study to assess the energy impact of smart technology in cars, researchers have put a number on the potential fuel-cost savings alone: $6.2bn
Using electricity and water, a new kind of motor can slide microrobots into motionNovember 27, 2018
Microhydraulic actuators, thinner than one-third the width of human hair, are proving to be the most powerful and efficient motors at the microscale
Fleets of drones could aid searches for lost hikersNovember 13, 2018
System allows drones to co-operatively explore terrain under thick forest canopies where GPS signals are unreliable
Human fallibility and automation: Lessons of the Virgin Galactic crashOctober 30, 2018
Sean Brady explores how the lessons of the 2014 Virgin Galactic crash are pertinent to all design engineers, irrespective of discipline