INNOVATION UK19 1 Great British Inventions 1935 - CAT'S EYES Anyone who's a driver knows how valuable Cat's Eyes are when driving at night. This device was invented by the Englishman Percy Shaw, born in Yorkshire in 1890. He invented it after he had been driving on a dark, winding road on a foggy night. He was saved from going off the side of the hill by a cat, whose eyes reflected his car's lights. Percy Shaw set about inventing something similar to cat's eyes by inventing a small device with two marbles placed close together in a rubber casing. This would then be set in the road at intervals between the lanes of traffic. The device formed a small hump and would reflect the oncoming car headlights to show the way ahead. Percy was not a man to forget a detail and he realised that his new invention would quickly get dirty and stop reflecting the light, so he put a small depression where the marbles were which would fill with water every time it rained. Any car wheel passing over the device would press the marbles into the depression, forcing the water out and cleaning the marbles. In 1935 he formed his own company and named his invention after the inspiration that gave him the idea, Catseye ® . For his invention, Shaw was awarded the OBE in 1965 and died in September 1976. 1960 - VERTICAL TAKE- OFF AIRCRAFT Sidney Camm, Ralph Hooper, and Stanley Hooker invented a vertical take- off aircraft that can soar straight up into the sky. Rather than using rotors or a direct jet thrust, they built an innovative vectored- thrust turbofan engine. Their invention allows aircraft to take off from sites without runways. Harriers were used effec-tively in the Falklands War, and can be used for rescues in dangerous emergencies. During the mid- 1950s, the idea of vertical take- off fixed-wing aircraft had begun to be investigated, principally in Germany and the US. In Britain, Rolls- Royce had been working on lift engine concepts which used up to eight engines to enable an aircraft to take- off vertically. Pro-totypes were ordered by the British government, and both Avro and Shorts were given contracts to prove the theory. Meanwhile, in France, aircraft designer Michel Wibault was designing a V/ STOL aircraft that he envi-sioned would use four centrifugal blowers placed around the aircraft's centre of gravity. During 1955 and 1956, Wibault approached both the French and US Govern-ments with his ideas, but neither showed any interest. The Bristol Engine Company came to hear about Wibault's ideas and following a meeting with Bristol's Technical Director, Stanley Hooker, Bristol's decided to begin a serious study into the concept. Hooker soon became con-vinced that the idea had potential and the engine could be developed. In early 1957, Hawker Aircraft began working on its P. 1121 project for a single- seat fighter- bomber aircraft, but in April of that year, Duncan Sandys, the British Minister of Defence, announced that most future fighter and bomber aircraft development would be cancelled in favour of guided missiles. This wasn't a popular decision for the British aviation industry, and Hawker in particu-lar. However, undeterred, Sir Sydney Camm and Ralph Hooper began working with Stanley Hooker on a new V/ STOL design using Bristol's revolutionary new engine, the Pegasus. The new aircraft was known as the P. 1127, and work began on building two prototypes at King-ston in 1959. The completed airframes were then moved to Hawker's test facility at Dunsfold, where they were prepared for flight testing. Following the successes of the development programme a further four P. 1127s were ordered in late 1960. Development continued both at Hawker's and at Bristol. On 16 January 1963, Britain, Germany and the US placed a contract for nine development P. 1127s with costs being divided equally. The nine aircraft were delivered between March 1964 and March 1965 and formed the Tripartite squadron at RAF West Raynham in Norfolk. In Novem-ber 1964, Hawker renamed the P. 1127, the Kestrel FGA Mk. 1. A production order was received from the Royal Air Force in 1966 and the Kestrel became the Harrier. The first production Harrier flew for the first time on 28 December 1967 and entered squadron service on 1 April 1969. Great British Inventions Great British inventions

20INNOVATION UK British Innovation useful addresses DEFENCE Centre for Defence Enterprise T: 012 3543 8445 E: science- enterprise@ mod. uk W: www. science. mod. uk/ enterprise GEOVATION Ordnance Survey W: www. challenge. geovation. org. uk HEALTH NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement W: www. institute. nhs. uk Help and suport Department for Business, Innovation & Skills T: 020 7215 5000 W: www. dius. gov. uk Intellectual Property Office T: 0845 950 0505 W: www. ipo. gov. uk National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts T: 020 7438 2500 E: information@ nesta. org. uk W: www. nesta. org. uk Technology Strategy Board T: 01793 442700 E: enquiries@ tsb. gov. uk W: www. innovateuk. org UK Trade & Investment T: 020 7215 8000 W: www. uktradeinvest. gov. uk Knowledge Transfer Networks Aerospace and Defence T: 020 7091 1125 E: aeroktn@ sbac. co. uk W: www. aeroktn. co. uk Chemistry Innovation T: 01928 513513 E: enquiries@ ciktn. co. uk W: www. chemistryinnovation. co. uk Creative Industries W: www. creativeindustriesktn. org Digital Business E: ian. osborne@ intellectuk. org Digital Communications T: 020 7331 2056 E: info@ dcktn. org. uk W: www. dcktn. org. uk Electronics T: 020 8144 0880 E: info@ electronics- ktn. com W: www. electronics- ktn. com Energy Generation and Supply W: www. innovateuk. org/ energyktn Environmental Sustainability Tel: 01865 610500 W: www. environmental- ktn. com Healthtech and Medicines T: 020 7565 7143 E: bioprocessuk@ bioindustry. org W: www. bioprocessuk. org Industrial Mathematics T: 01483 579108 E: enquiries@ industrialmaths. net W: www. industrialmaths. net Intelligent Transport Systems T: 01865 338412 E: info@ innovits. com W: www. its- ktn. org. uk Low Carbon T: 01455 292455 E: contact@ lowcarbonktn. org. uk W: www. lowcarbonktn. org. uk Materials T: 020 7451 7404 W: www. materialsktn. net Modern Built Environment T: 01923 664357 E: pullend@ bre. co. uk W: www. mbektn. co. uk Nanotechnology E: enquiries@ nanoktn. com W: www. nanoktn. com Photonics and Plastic Electronics W: www. ppektn. org Sensors and Instrumentation T: 020 8943 8772 E: sensors@ sensorsktn. com W: www. sensorsktn. com Nanotechnology NanoCentral T: 01642 442464 W: www. nanocentral. eu Research Councils Arts and Humanities T: 0117 9876500 W: www. ahrc. ac. uk Biotechnology and Biological Sciences T: 01793 413200 W: www. bbsrc. ac. uk Engineering and Physical Sciences T: 01793 444000 W: www. epsrc. ac. uk Economic and Social T: 01793 413000 W: www. esrcocietytoday. ac. uk Medical T: 020 7636 5422 W: www. mrc. ac. uk Natural Environment T: 01793 411500 W: www. nerc. ac. uk Science and Technology Facilities T: 01793 442000 W: www. scitech. ac. uk UK Science & inovation parks UK Science Parks Association E: paul. wright@ ukspa. org. uk W: www. ukspa. org. uk Useful addresses