DEVELOP3D - Technology for the product lifecycle

When I was looking at all the events taking place during the London Design Festival I was very pleased to see that The Royal Academy of Engineering, based just round the corner form Pall Mall and Trafalgar Square, is getting in on the action too.

As Ian Bowbrick, Head of Professional Formation, told me the Academy were invited by Sir John Sorrell, Chairman of the London Design Festival, to take part. “Design and engineering are fundamentally linked and to date the London Design Festi val has embraced other aspects of design but engineering hasn’t really had a platform. So, our inclusion is to give engineering its first involvement in the Festival,” says Bowbrick.

The Academy then put together a programme focussed on a very topical theme: Designing a Low Carbon Infrastructure for London. All the exhibitions, events, debates and activities taking place from 20 to 23 September 2010 will tackle this issue on how to make low carbon living for Londoners a reality in the future. “Rather than put together a group of disparate activities we decided to have a central theme around the area of low carbon and carbon management,” explains Bowbrick. “I think the issue for everybody involved in this area is that the technology is very clearly defined but the most important stage we are faced with now is getting the general public to actually understand and take up the technology. What we are doing by holding this programme is to create a platform for people in the transport, innovation and buildings areas to try and make that link with the general public.”

The first day of the programme is focussed on transport and examines the challenges currently being faced by London and Londoners in the daily battle of getting from A to B, and presents an insight into some of the latest technology and planning possibilities that could make the capital a greener city and ease congestion. During the day the Switch EV (below), an electric car project that has won funding through the Technology Strategy Board’s Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Programme, will be on display in the forecourt of the Academy for those attending the events on that day to have a nose around and actually sit inside. The designers of the vehicle will also be on hand to answer any questions visitors may have. “With electric cars we are used to seeing small boxy vehicles that aren’t very attractive. But the technology and designs have moved on significantly and a lot of people haven’t seen these. In addition, some people have never sat in an electric vehicle so they don’t know how the controls are different, what the pedal configuration is and how they know when it needs recharging,” says Bowbrick.

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