2 November 2026

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Technology

Science and technology

24 stories
Technology · 2 min

University of Wrenhaven's first satellite reaches orbit to watch coastal erosion

The shoebox-sized satellite, built by students and staff over four years, sent its first signal to the ground station on the university roof shortly after launch.

Text: Samuel Adeyemi
Technology · 11 photos Tech showcase: devices from the desk to the stage From laptops to smartwatches, mixing desks to drones, the technology of everyday life. Ana Sousa · 1 min Technology · 11 photos Solar farms: rows of panels across the fields From hillsides to plains, from sheep grazing beneath the panels to the view from the air. Owen Pryce · 1 min Technology Search-and-rescue robot tackles a stepped obstacle course A tracked robot used its cameras and lights to pick its way across a field of uneven wooden blocks. Chloé Martin · 1 min

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Technology · 2 min Tidal turbine prototype starts generating in the channel off Fenwick Point The 500-kilowatt machine sits on the seabed and turns with the incoming and outgoing tides, and engineers will spend two years testing how it copes with strong currents. Rafael Ortega · Technology · 1 min A 3D model of a Mars rover, seen from every angle The animation shows the six-wheeled rover’s robotic arm, cameras and chassis in detail. Isabel Duarte · Technology · 1 min Night launch: a sounding rocket climbs through the clouds Fired from a pad ringed by trees, the rocket left a trail of flame before vanishing into cloud. Owen Pryce · Technology · 2 min University switches on new supercomputer for local weather forecasts The machine can model the weather over the Wrenhaven coast in squares just 500 metres across, which forecasters say should improve warnings of flash floods and coastal gales. Aisha Rahman · Technology · 3 min Eastmoor data centre waste heat to warm 2,000 homes in district heating pilot Heat pumped from the cooling systems of the data centre on the Eastmoor industrial estate will be piped to nearby homes and a school, in a pilot the council hopes could later cover much of the east of the city. Aisha Rahman · Technology · 3 min University spin-out designs a tiny low-power chip to run coastal flood sensors for years A start-up founded by researchers at the University of Wrenhaven says its new sensor chip can run for a decade on one small battery, making dense networks of flood gauges far cheaper to maintain. Jonah Becker · Technology · 2 min Wrenhaven-made app predicts queues at public car chargers across the region Built on open data from charge-point operators and the council, the free app tells drivers how long they are likely to wait at each charger and has grown to about 19,000 regular users. Mei Lin Tan · Technology · 2 min Solar panels raised above crops: first results from an Asher Valley trial A two-hectare trial near Bramley Cross that grows vegetables and soft fruit beneath raised solar panels has produced its first full season of data, with some crops doing better in partial shade. Samuel Adeyemi · Technology · 3 min Robots for rent: small bakeries and food makers lease automation by the month A Wrenhaven firm is renting out robot arms to small food producers on monthly contracts, letting bakeries and kitchens automate heavy, repetitive jobs without paying tens of thousands of euros upfront. Aisha Rahman · Technology · 2 min Eastmoor plant to recover lithium and cobalt from used batteries The facility will shred and process up to 8,000 tonnes of spent batteries a year, recovering metals that can be sold back to battery makers. Jonah Becker · Technology · 2 min Drones begin carrying blood samples from Tarnmere to Wrenhaven General A six-month trial cuts the journey for test samples from the village health centre to the hospital laboratory from over an hour by road to about 18 minutes. Lucas Moreau · Technology · 2 min Libraries lend laptops and run digital skills classes for older residents Residents can now borrow a laptop for up to three weeks and join small weekly classes on everything from video calls to spotting online scams. Freya Collins · Technology · 2 min Volunteer-built app maps step-free routes for wheelchair users More than 300 volunteers have surveyed kerbs, ramps and slopes across central Wrenhaven, and the free app now plans routes that avoid steps and steep hills. Hannah Okoye · Technology · 2 min Smart street lights that dim on empty streets cut council energy bill Motion-sensing LED lamps fitted in Netherby and Bramley Cross use 70 per cent less electricity, and residents in the trial streets say they barely noticed the change. Elena Sokolova · Technology · 2 min Free Wi-Fi and phone charging arrive on every Wrenhaven tram All 46 trams now have onboard internet and charging points at every seat bay, and the operator says the same network will feed live crowding information to passengers. Isabel Duarte · Technology · 3 min Solar-and-battery phone masts keep marsh and island villages connected in storms New masts with their own solar panels and batteries kept mobile coverage running in the Saltings during last winter's longest power cut, and more are now being installed around Greyling Bay. Jonah Becker ·