Technology in the news – Articles from 2010

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Design news articles

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www.tvnz.co.nz, 5 January
Dubai is set to open the world's tallest building amid tight security on Monday, celebrating the tower as a bold feat on the world stage despite the city state's shaky financial footing.
But the final height of the Burj Dubai – Arabic for Dubai Tower – remained a closely guarded secret on the eve of its opening. At more than 2,625 feet (800 metres), it long ago vanquished its nearest rival, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan.
www.tvnz.co.nz, 5 January
Dubai opened the world's tallest structure in a glitzy ceremony meant to put a brave face on crushing debt woes, leading some to wonder whether the tower is the emirate's crowning glory or its last hurrah.
The $US1.5-billion tower reaches 828 metres, 200 storeys into the sky, exceeding the next highest structure by some 300 metres.
www.stuff.co.nz, 19 January
A firm of Taranaki joiners has transformed an architectural idea into reality inside the country's new Supreme Court.
Opened yesterday by Prince William, the Supreme Court in Wellington has an intricate interior designed to resemble a kauri cone.
New Plymouth joiners Jones and Sandford were responsible for the work, with more than 2400 diagonal timber panels winding up in an elliptical orb towards a glass ceiling.
www.nzherald.co.nz, 30 January
This is the story of a glass that bounced. The Duralex is the favourite glass of American Yuppies but also of Afghan tribesmen.
It has been described as the "ultimate drinking vessel created by man". Its elegant, conical shape has long been recognised as a design classic which screams "France" just as much as the Eiffel Tower or a waiter in a long, white apron.
www.tvnz.co.nz, 5 February
Shatter-proof pints are set to be trialled before being introduced to British pubs in a bid to cut down on "glassing" injuries.
Two prototype pint glasses unveiled in London on Thursday are designed to prevent injuries caused by nearly 87,000 glass attacks each year.
www.nzherald.co.nz, 7 February
These could be future Bentleys if their young designers have their way. They are penned by two of the four shortlisted designers in the Bentleys of the Future competition. Two entrants will win a six-month secondment at the Bentley design studio, working alongside Raul Pires - designer of the Continental GT and Mulsanne.
www.3news.co.nz, 10 February
Keith Alexander, an Associate Professor of Engineering at the University of Canterbury, has done what all inventors dream of, designed something new that is being used by millions around the world. His spring free trampoline now has global sales of over $30 million a year and has just been voted the top children's product in the United States.
Discussion starters:
• Outcome development and evaluation – testing and trialing of design ideas
• International commercialization
www.3news.co.nz video, 2 March
A Nelson inventor has created a flying hovercraft from scratch – a machine which isn't classed as a plane so doesn't require a pilot's licence and which he believes could be commercially viable for transport around farms.
Discussion starters:
• Creative design
• Regulatory requirements
Massey University <em>Online News</em>, 11 March
A driverless, electric-powered light rail system designed to whisk commuters more efficiently around central Auckland and across the harbour bridge could appeal to people who snub existing public transport, says its creator, Industrial designer Oliver Neuland, from the Massey University's Auckland School of Design.
Discussion starters:
• Innovation in transportation technology
• Socio-cultural influences on design
<em>The Shed</em> magazine, April issue
This article on building a dirtsurfer is to inform parents about what is happening in secondary schools with students studying the relatively recent subject of Technology.
www.nzherald.co.nz, 20 April
US Transportation Department imposes NZ$22.4 million fine on Toyota car company for putting “consumers at risk" by failing to promptly notify the government about potentially defective accelerator pedals on 2.3 million vehicles.
Discussion starters:
• Characteristics of Technological Outcomes – catastrophic failure
• Technological Modeling – prototype testing
www.stuff.co.nz/, 26 April
The humble Kiwi bach, powered only by the sun, is on its way to Washington to compete against the world's best solar homes.
The 60-square-metre house, designed by a group of architecture students – one from Taranaki – has been selected amongst 19 other teams from around the world for the United States government-run competition next year.
TV3 News video, 27 April
Crews raced to protect the Gulf of Mexico coastline as a remote sub tried to shut off an underwater oil well that is gushing 42,000 gallons a day from the site of a wrecked drilling platform.
If crews cannot stop the leak quickly, they might need to drill another well to redirect the oil, a laborious process that could take about two months while oil washes up along a broad stretch of shore, from the white-sand beaches of Florida's Panhandle to the swamps of Louisiana.
Discussion starters:
• Characteristics of Technological Outcomes: Catastrophic failure
TV3 News, 8 May
A BP-chartered vessel lowered a 100-ton concrete-and-steel vault onto the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico - an important step in a delicate and unprecedented attempt to stop most of the gushing crude fouling the sea.
Discussion starters:
• Testing design ideas
TV3 News, 13 May
Bad wiring and a leak in what's supposed to be a "blowout preventer". Sealing problems that may have allowed a methane eruption. Even a dead battery, of all things.
New disclosures Wednesday revealed a complex cascade of deep-sea equipment failures and procedural problems in the oil rig explosion and massive spill that is still fouling the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and threatening industries and wildlife near the coast and on shore.
Discussion starters:
• system malfunction: reliability; redundancy; fail-safe

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