Tunnel Boring!

 Machines that make tunnel under the Ground?

Ninety years ago these same machines were created for up to sixteen men to work within the rolling drum digging out the soil, rock, sand by hand and many were killed, either falling forward or back!

But today these boring machines are much bigger and longer, being automated, still crewed by with more safety at hand and they can with lasers work more accurately to also lay the framework of these tunnels with reinforced sections?

Eventually it is expected with A.I. that all types of machines with be robotic and serviced when out of operations, while all controls will come from a control room than the need for human intervention!

Currently the largest borers are building a underwater canal across China and other transport links, with motorways through mountain tunnels and bridges cutting time on land distant travel on winding roads and rail?

Vulnerability at Sea?

 Oil and gas tankers, hijacked and hit by Missiles!

With the current situation developing now between Iran and the U,S, revenge for the overnight attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities is putting the Hormuz strait and others in danger of being blocked and shipping lost, but revenge may come in the loss of aircraft and British interest as much in the region, if not in our own lands?

Shipping is large and hard to protect, this has been seen in the Red and Arabian seas already with the Houthis and earlier by Somali pirates, but now Iran has long range tentacles and they will use them to cause economic disaster on the world markets, if they want too with loss of life and limb!

Security guards will not be able to deal with missile attacks, they can prevent hijacking and maybe take down a few drones, arming ships with anti-aircraft weapons would make them military vessels and not civilian?

Iranian Missiles!

 Not a powerful as claimed?

But despite the foiled attack on Israel, Iran has been able to launch its own satellite with a ICBM system and it will be their preferred platform for a nuclear weapon, other wise they have an arsenal of smaller missiles for home defense and gifts to their proxies in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and the Hamas in the Gaza strip, when they can smuggle them in from Egypt!

The range of these missiles has gradually increased since the 1980's to ranges that can hit targets in Israel from Iraq and the Yemen, but they like the shorter ones based in S-Lebanon are not accurate and mostly miss their intended targets, but with time and technology this will change for the worse for Israel and the U.S. in the region?

With the changing scenery in the region, tact may change with more precise targeting of shipping, U.S. bases and Tel-Aviv, if not other in Europe, instead of what we already have seen and apart from International terrorism this will be the cause of havoc, destruction and the loss of a lot of life in the name of 'Allah!

Happy New Year 2024.

 Automobiles and Ships doing well?

These are the fields of advanced electronic engine conversion and strides, with rail and aviation following more so with existing power and bio fuels, but the car is now in main and extensive production and the demand is getting higher despite not much change in the lithium battery out put?

Where as shipping it is more profitable and easy to implement and with new designs quicker application, the only thing that is slowing down everything in this area is the Red and Arabian sea crises over commercial shipping being attacked by Houthi rebels in support of Gaza.

The ferry industry and offshore oil rig support are the first to benefit from the electric engine and now with Hydrogen as a mid standby between fossil fuels and electric many more nations will be abandoning and going for the new power sources to become more green and cheaper than the existing?

The only set back is overheating of the lithium batteries and several incidents have been reported recently, perhaps this is because of pushing the power too far and not staying within the required limits?

Yemen Houthi, Somalia and Iran?

 Attacking International Shipping in the Red and Arabia Seas!

We are entering a phase of difficult times ahead, were what we order on Amazon and other may not get to us on time and the blessing we have had may become worse?

Now that shipping is being targeted on three or more sides over the conflict in the Gaza strip, we are possibly going to war in the region unless nations can get together and stop the drones, missile and rockets that are hitting commercial vessels, tankers and other and in time we will see the sinking of shipping!

We enter 2024 with a developing major crises that will spread to the Malay-Singapore channel and also to the Gibraltar straits with militants active in Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and other place once more.

Prices for fuel will rise and we thought we had it bad with the Russian-Ukraine war?

Hydrogen Power has Arrived.

 India for a Scooter and Spain for a new type of Ship.

In recent years we have been crazy on everything electric, now in light of the rise in fuel prices at £2+ pounds per litre if no higher, but now the long awaited hydro powered 'real McCoy' has arrived and this will be the future for all transport!

The development of the electric battery will continue to improve in light of the European heatwave and many vehicle fires if not deaths?

With these new alternative fuel options the reliance of fossil fuels will diminish with time and thus we will have many new machines to use, but one cannot be complacent since heavy industries will still need the old fuels to making the newer things!

The Electric Engine?

A revolution in machine Technology!

Many countries have now committed themselves to the development of a carbon free source of power and in this century we will see great changes, as much as in past with the steam and petrol engines!

Getting rid of carbon emissions will certainly help the environment and despite as yet unknown side-effects this is perhaps one of the best developments for humanity truly since the wheel?

Many nations claim to already have the ability to produce cars and land vehicles, but the challenge comes with flight and with shipping? We will have to wait a few more years to see what happens and how it will effect and replace what is now conventional! 

The other area that will determine its future is that of keeping down the costs in production and what will be used to produce the electricity, hopefully not the continued burning of more fossil fuels?

New Technology! Part-Two.

Visual Space and Computing!

Many advances are being made daily in 3D imaging and visualisation, while computing is getting faster? A revolution has began with cameras in mobile phones and computing through one spectacles or sunglasses was tried, but has not as yet been abandoned!

The world of medicine will be the main beneficiary of such technology, cancelling out the needs for screens and monitors and many other equipment being controlled over a distance! Airports and traffic control already use 3D visualisation!

Most aircraft, trains and shipping take full advantage of computer systems, but like many no driver trams and metro the days are approaching for many other areas of these applications! The Netherlands is trial of an automated container depot, with a limited use of humans! This again is a step up from the existing automated warehousing and luggage and postal sorting?

Vehicle Carriers.

Vehicle Movers.

These are but some of the strangest ships on the worlds seas today, moving mostly cars and jeep types from country to country. 

Between 5-7000 vehicles may be carried and stabilisation of their loads are crucial in case of slippage, Many also carry mechanical excavation equipment and farm machinery.

This allows for choice of different types to be available across the world. some may be also carrying military vehicles under the guise of civil and other tracked type heavy vehicles. 

Civilian shipping covers a host of military exports and imports and this is seen across the board in commercial merchant shipping. Those thousands of containers, may contain more than meets the expected eye?

Underwater Transport.

1960's Concepts.

Since these ideas of using civilian submarines in the 1960's no progress has at yet been made to bring anything outside the tourism industry to fruition. Australia and Israel are perhaps only two countries in the world to see the value of using submarines to view coral reefs and low level sea plains.

It is either the financial viability, costs and safety that has blocked the serious alternative to surface shipping. It would seem that the Submarine is to remain for some time yet the preserve of the military and Navies of the globe.

The advantages of not having to cope with rough seas and the probability of better speed to deliver goods has it would seem been placed on the sidelines of conventuality. 

But perhaps with the need to cut down of fossil fuels and carbon emissions the day of submersed travel might in this century be not far away?

High Speed Trains. Part-Two.

The Future for Every Nation?

It would seem to be the most popular idea today that every nation should have their own version of the well known and established high speed trains, but is this really possible? 

Larger countries have the space and the need for this type of travel, because their remain many people with a fear of flying that demand ground speed and comforts.

But some countries do not have the ability or the present need for such systems and perhaps never will have either? The Channel Tunnel between Great Britain has demanded that the European network be extended into HS2, thus connection Scotland and Wales with European cities. Similar projects have worked for Denmark and Sweden, but at this time both Turkey and Ireland, Iceland and Finland are exempt from being connected.

Many nations have done their own things and are perhaps behind in speed, rather than length of track age and perhaps see no need for anything further at the moment. 

Freight perhaps will benefit from high speed, over the vast inland areas of Africa, Asia, Australia and the American continents, but they will not be replacing cargo shipping.

Road Trains. Part-One.

Haulage.
Generally most trucking in Europe is a combination of one vehicle plus a trailer, but in Australia, Canada and the United States along with Russia and China there are more possibilities to have a number of trailers forming a train.

What limits haulage is other alternatives such as shipping and railways, because in the long term they are much cheaper on fuel costings.

The movement of livestock is perhaps one of the best usages for this type of haulage in the outback of Australia, were the alternatives are limited.

ROBOT's Part-Two.

The Revolution.

We have now entered the age of relying upon electronic computer systems to control many aspects of our daily lives. Travel, communications, pleasure, mapping and medicine.

People today are no longer able to cope without their mobile phone, aircraft are flying on remote control, injured people and animals are monitored by various machines, cars and vehicles are built by robots.

Robots can do many good things, but I expect that in time we may have a revolution to turning it all off just like the American TV series by the same name?

Air Freighters. Part-One.

Cargo and Freight.

Through human history on this planet we have always had to move goods and this was either done by boat, ships or waggon's of one type or another. With the advent of the steam age from the 19th Century, it was the invention of the railways that revolutionised movements across vast areas of our land masses and then seventy years later the aeroplane was invented.

Initially aircraft were for breaking speed records and then World War-I (1914-18) saw the military side of this new machine. It was not really until the 1920's that aircraft were big enough to both carry mail and passengers. Every year a new world record of distant flying was being broken and the need to carry goods started to be demanded.

Airships and rigid Durables were also in competition with the aircraft, despite being slow and vulnerable they were able to carry heavier loads than aircraft could.

Ships. Part-One.

A Essential Need.

The first ship ever built, was perhaps Noah's Ark? What we know of this vessel is to be found in the Bile, Tanakh and the Koran. We believe it to be made of Gopher wood, but since we do not know what Gopher is, it may not have been wood/

Ever since humans have had water, they have built all types of boats from hollowed out trees to reed rafts, boats and coracles. The boat was a vehicle to move from A to B/Z, to carry one or two persons across a lake or a river and eventually the sea's and Oceans.

Goods, weapons and other loads, boats for warfare and for fishing were perhaps the first essentials. Today ships come in all sizes and shapes, some are used to carry general cargo, others are much larger such as the bulk carriers and carry coal, ores and even the largest tankers are for gas and crude oil.

They all work on the same design and principles and are mostly of the same shape, apart from specialist ships. Humans have increased size and development in the warship from sailed cannon carriers to nuclear powered aircraft carriers such as the Nimitz class.

We also live in the age of underwater travel and their are a whole host of passenger ferry ships from river craft to super luxury liners. 

But what is the future of shipping?

Maritime Recconaissance.

Reconnaissance aircraft.

With the retirement of the the British Nimrod Mk3/4 MR. The U.K. is still without a suitable replacement. Many nations who have access to a coastline have to have some form of aircraft large or small dedicated to patrol the seas and oceans, even large inland seas and lakes.

Today there are a plethora of civil types which can be adapted for various roles from the big jobs, right down to fishery protection. Aircraft of yester year such as the P-3 Orion, Tu-16 Badger, F-27 and the Atlantique may no loner be as effective as they one were in the Cold War years.

Today's threats come from drug/narcotic smuggling, asylum seekers in overcrowded ageing ships and ship dumping fuel to clean their tanks.

Trucks....

They come in all shapes and sizes and we can't really do without them?


The truck, Juggernaut, lorry is truly a most invaluable machine for the movement of all types of goods, from small loads in a local vicinity to big loads across vast distances. No matter where in the world you go, you will find them at work. 


Monster carriers are used in modern quarrying and in similar heavy construction sites. In Australia cattle, sheep are moved across distances in road trains. But it is probably ore that is one of the commonest uses found for trucks. 


Shipping and trains also play their part for the very vast distances, but otherwise it will be a truck of some description in the local area. With the development of newer types, new engines and better cab design, trucks have come a long way. 


But the future for them will be the development of improved fuel, re-performance and new sources of power, instead of diesel, petrol?