How do decibels (dBs) work?
In How Environmental Noise is Measured we discussed how noise is largely characterised by measuring the Sound Pressure Level (SPL) and reporting this in decibels (dB). Using decibels as our …
Course: Engineering the Future: Creating the Amazing
How Does a Pregnancy Test Work?
One of the most commonly used medical diagnostics tests is the pregnancy test. Despite looking quite simple, the pregnancy test is actually extensively engineered. Everything from the outer plastic casing …
How to separate complex biological samples
The object of this exercise is to enable you to think about how complex biological samples are. A drop of blood or saliva may not look like much to us, …
Biomarkers in clinical samples
The word ‘Biomarkers’ is a combination of ‘biological’ and ‘markers’ and refers to the various indicators that we can use to detect the processes happening inside a person. These processes …
Sensors used in medicine now
Medicine is the science concerned with the study, prevention, diagnosis and management of disease. As the popular saying goes: ‘what can be measured can be managed’. We’re expanding that saying …
Sound in VR/AR
The activities this week are all designed to help us consider the key role that future technology such as robots and virtual reality will play in all our lives. We’ve …
How your ear changes sound
The diagram below shows a basic drawing of the ear. Image Copyright: Duncan Williams 2013 The ear is basically split into three sections; the outer, middle and inner ear. The …
VR for diagnostic rehabilitation
For a number of years the technology that allows us to immerse ourselves in artificial environments has been getting better and better. A key requirement for better immersion is better …
New initiatives for dealing with hazards
Space is an extreme environment. Robots, rovers and probes face a whole range of hazards during space missions: from extreme temperatures, to cosmic radiation, to corrosion caused by gases in …
Missions in space and hazards
Since 1950, there have been over 320 human-crewed missions into space. There have also been on average 100 launches into and beyond the Earth’s orbit each year. These are mostly …
Working with communities to develop water monitoring technology
Given the importance of water to our health, it is clearly important that we regularly drink water and keep our bodies hydrated. Around 70% of the global population use a …
Bacterial contamination: do-it-yourself water testing
Bacterial contamination of water can come from many different sources; waste or faecal matter are two possible sources, as are insects that land in stagnant water. But how do you …
