Innovation round-up: Westcott Space Cluster | plants wellbeing boost | Isle of Wight dinosaur

Westcott Space Cluster will see a surge in drone development, attractive plants make us feel better according to the University of Reading and the remains of one of the largest ever dinosaurs has been identified.

Skyports to land European headquarters at Westcott Space Cluster

Drone specialist Skyports is to base its European headquarters and centre of excellence at the Westcott Space Cluster.
The firm plan to operate its its Beyond Visual Line Sight (BVLOS) drone flights from the Westcott base in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, and will develop the location as its global command and control centre for delivery, survey and surveillance drone missions.

Attractive plants give wellbeing boost finds University of Reading

Rounded, leafy and healthy plants give the biggest boost to well-being in homes and offices, while neglected plants can be worse that none at all, new research by the University of Reading and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has found.

The study looked at people’s perceptions of well-being and the indoor environment as affected by viewing different houseplants. People scored plants on how beautiful, interesting, uplifting and relaxing they found them, with preferred plants found to give the greatest benefit to people’s well-being. Healthy plants with a dense canopy resulted in the most positive effects on the way people felt about their indoor environment.

Europe’s largest land predator identified

Research led by palaeontologists at the University of Southampton has identified the remains of one of Europe’s largest ever land-based hunters: a dinosaur that measured over 10m long and lived around 125 million years ago.

Several prehistoric bones, uncovered on the Isle of Wight, on the south coast of England, and housed at Dinosaur Isle Museum in Sandown, belonged to a type of two-legged, crocodile-faced predatory dinosaur known as spinosaurids. Dubbed the 'White Rock spinosaurid' - after the geological layer in which it was found - it was a predator of impressive proportions.

Planning permission sought for 75 acre Solar Farm at Grazeley near Reading

A planning application to construct a solar farm on Grazeley Green has been submitted by West Berkshire Council.
Covering 75 acres the farm, if planning is secured, will be located on Council land, four miles from Reading. It is expected to cost £10million to construct and Council's Procurement Board have agreed to fund the project.

Portsmouth showcase demonstrates potential of alternative fuels for cruise ships

Innovate UK funded research consortium has created two fuel flexible solution they say will reduce carbon emissions at sea, one by up to 47% the second by 37% when compared to conventional fuels.
The Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) recently held a showcase in Portsmouth to demonstrate the developments. The event marked the end of phase one of trials.

Drone disaster search and rescue test operation launched in Portsmouth

The University of Portsmouth has helped organise the UK’s first post-disaster search and rescue experiment for drone applications, as part of its ongoing collaboration with the UN World Food Programme.

Using search-drones in emergency situations such as floods, droughts, storms or earthquakes, enables helicopters and planes to be re-deployed for rescuing people and delivering essential aid. Drones also have low operating costs and can be deployed quickly, even in difficult weather conditions, but little is known about the most effective ways to use them over large areas.