University of Bath

This Ginetta G20 will be reworked into a proper hydrogen-fueled land speed record car

Automotive

Hydrogen combustion engine fires up on road to land speed record run

The latest hydrogen ICE to rumble to life was born with a special mission: claim a land speed record or two for the emerging hydrogen-combustion space. A University of Bath team has successfully gotten its hydrogen-burning prototype working.

There may be a lot of water at some disaster sites – such as where tsunamis have struck – but it's all undrinkable

Technology

Low-power desalination tech may provide drinking water at disaster sites

At disaster sites, it's not uncommon for both the water supply and electrical grid to be out of commission. That's where a new system may someday come in, as it utilizes just a small amount of electricity to desalinate seawater for drinking.

Prof. Christopher Pudney with some of the prototypes

Good Thinking

Handheld device could soon keep dangerous drugs from going to prison

In order to smuggle illegal drugs into prisons, people are now soaking materials like paper and fabric in such drugs, letting the materials dry, then passing them along to inmates. A new portable device, however, sees through that ruse.

Materials

World’s lightest sound insulator could radically reduce jet engine noise

This graphene-based aerogel is the lightest sound insulation material ever manufactured, say researchers at the University of Bath, who have demonstrated its ability to damp down noise by up to 16 dB despite weighing just 2.1 kg per cubic meter.

The researchers developed their new motion capture tech by first training it on a range of dogs wearing motion capture suits

Computing

Motion capture tech digitizes dogs, with no suit and a single camera

Scientists at the University of Bath have come up with a simpler method of motion capture, developing a computer model that can digitize dogs without the need for a motion capture suit and a suite of surrounding cameras.

Workers remove Sargassum seaweed from the beach in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Good Thinking

Inexpensive process converts seaweed into biofuel, fertilizer and more

Sargassum seaweed is growing out of control in many regions – it washes up on beaches in huge amounts. Utilizing a new technique, that rotting organic matter could soon be converted into biofuels and other products.

Just touch and play, with new sensor inks that can be sprayed onto almost any surface

Technology

Sprayable sensors make any surface interactive

Imagine touching the armrest of your sofa to change the channel on your television, or pressing against a lightbulb stencil on the wall to turn on your smart light – these functions and many more like them are now possible thanks to new research.

Dr. Mirella Di Lorenzo with her urine-powered microbial fuel cell

Energy

Urine-powered battery offers cheap energy source

Researchers at the University of Bath have created a battery that runs on"pee power," and could bring energy to parts of the world that might not otherwise have access to it.

Marine

Students set sights on human-powered submarine speed record

Students at the University of Warwick have announced their intention to build a human-powered submarine to compete at that highlight of the human-powered submarine events calendar, the European International Submarine Races in 2014.