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MacRobert Award
Award Winners 1969−2012
 2012 -Jaguar Land Rover - Range Rover Evoque: World Class British Design and Innovation
The Range Rover Evoque from Land Rover has
carved out an entirely new market segment with
its striking concept-car design which still
retains the ground clearance necessary for true
all-terrain capability. In order to maintain the
original concept's low profile design, Jaguar
Land Rover's engineers packaged the under-floor
components, the all new front and rear
suspension systems, new chassis frame and 70L
fuel tank with millimetre accuracy.
2011 – Microsoft Research, Cambridge - human motion capture in Kinect for Xbox 360
Five
engineers from Microsoft Research won the award for
their machine learning work on the human motion
capture in Kinect for Xbox 360, allowing
controller-free gaming and opening up a whole new
future for human interaction with computers. In the
two months after its launch in November 2010, Kinect
sold 8 million devices, making it the fastest
selling consumer electronics device in history.
2010 – Inmarsat - Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN)
 The
award was made for Inmarsat's groundbreaking
Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service, which
provides internet data connectivity anywhere on
earth and is widely used for remote connectivity for
business, government, broadcasters, aid and relief
agencies, and emergency services. The service brings
TV reports into our homes from even the most remote
parts of the world and is used by many major
broadcasters.
2009 − Arup – The Water Cube
 The
Award was given for Arup's visionary Beijing Aquatic
Centre, known as the Water Cube, and the setting for
so many phenomenal swimming events at the 2008
summer's Olympic Games The project team made
revolutionary use of virtual prototyping, which is
changing the way both Arup and the building industry
approach new projects.
2008 − Touch Bionics − i-LIMB Hand
 The
key innovation behind Touch Bionics' i-LIMB Hand is
the multi-articulating finger technology, which has
underpinned the product's resounding commercial
success since its launch. The i-LIMB Hand is
developed using leading-edge electronic and
mechanical engineering techniques and is
manufactured using high-strength plastics. The
result is a next-generation prosthetic device that
is lightweight, robust and highly appealing to both
patients and healthcare professionals.
2007 − Process Systems Enterprise Ltd − gPROMS advanced mathematical modelling software
 This
company’s gPROMS advanced mathematical modelling
software allows engineers to build and solve
extremely complex models simply by describing the
physical and chemical phenomena that are taking
place, without worrying about the details of the
mathematical solution.
2006 − Optos plc − Panoramic200 - Optos' scanning laser ophthalmoscope
 Optos
plc, the company that has revolutionised eye care
and the early detection of retinal defects with its
ultra-wide retinal imagers, has won the UK's most
prestigious engineering innovation accolade - The
Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award,
securing a gold medal for the company and a £50,000
cash prize for the three team members.
2005 − CSR plc − single chip BlueCore™ family
 CSR
plc, the Cambridge-based wireless silicon company,
has won this year's Royal Academy of Engineering
MacRobert Award for its single chip BlueCore™
family, the revolutionary devices which have fuelled
the inexorable rise of Bluetooth wireless products,
from mobile phones to medical devices.
2004 − IBM − WebSphere MQ
 British
engineers at global IT giant IBM have won the Royal
Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award for an
innovation that most people have never come across.
WebSphere MQ software has helped businesses save
billions of dollars by providing a failsafe means of
exchanging business-critical information between
computer systems, irrespective of their location and
regardless of whatever hardware, programming
language, operating system or communication protocol
they use.
2003 − Randox Laboratories Ltd − Evidence®
 Randox
Laboratories Ltd of Northern Ireland has developed a fully automated diagnostic
analyser (Evidence®) using protein biochip array technology. The finalist team
is made up of Dr Peter Fitzgerald, managing director, John Lamont, R&D
manager, and Ivan McConnell, divisional R&D manager of biochip research,
manufacture and instrument design. The Randox vision is to
'develop a complete
diagnostic system that will provide more accurate patient diagnosis and enable
selection of the most appropriate therapeutic treatment on an individual patient
basis.'
2002 − CDT − Light-emitting polymers
 In 1989, researchers at Cambridge University found that passing an electric current through certain polymers made them emit light. Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) was formed in 1992 to commercialise the technology that evolved from this discovery. CDT owns the fundamental intellectual property and expertise in light-emitting polymers (LEPs), a form of Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED). The team of Dr. David Fyfe, Professor Richard Friend, Dr. Jeremy Burroughes, Dr. Karl Heeks and Dr. Carl Towns are responsible for the development of this technology.
2001 − Sensaura Ltd − for Sensaura 3D Positional Audio (S-3DPA)
 For Sensaura 3D Positional Audio (S-3DPA), a new three-dimensional audio technology, capable of reproducing sounds all around the listener
– even above and below – using only two conventional stereo loudspeakers or a pair of ordinary headphones. The technology is based on over 11 years of research and development including recording sessions at Abbey Road Studios. It has been shipped on over 40 million PCs and soundcards worldwide and has now been selected as the 3D audio technology for
Microsoft's Xbox™ video game system.
2000 − Johnson Matthey
 For
the Continuously Regenerating Trap (CRT™), an emission control device for trucks and buses, that simultaneously controls particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions from diesel exhaust.
1999 − Buro Happold
 Awarded for the roof structure of the Millennium Dome, the largest tented structure in the world using straight tensioned cables and flat fabric. The structure weighs less than the air it contains and the technology developed has the potential to be used in the building of covered cities within extreme climate zones.
1998− Norton Healthcare Ltd
 For the Easi-Breathe inhaler, a novel breath-activated inhaler for the treatment of asthma. It automatically releases a measured dose of the asthma drug at exactly the right time for it to reach the lungs most effectively.
1997 − Whipp & Bourne − a division of FKI plc
 For the compact, maintenance-free Gas-Filled Vacuum Recloser. This device will increase the reliability of the power supply networks in remote areas, greatly reducing the frequency of power cuts, while at the same time being easier to install and less environmentally obtrusive.
1996 − Rolls-Royce plc
for the Trent aero-engine
Through innovative engineering and continued involvement in the development and exploitation of current and emerging technologies, Rolls-Royce has created a world leading aero-engine.
1995
− British Gas and Gill Electronic R&D
for the ultrasonic domestic gas meter
 This outstanding engineering achievement was the result of a bold, forward-looking project with the objective of creating a solid-state meter with no moving parts.
The technology has further applications outside the field of domestic gas metering.
1994
− Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) of Newcastle upon Tyne
for the development of subsea cable and pipeline ploughs
SMD has become a world leader in its field through the innovative application of soil mechanics to underwater soil, the development of new control systems and the effective integration of many engineering disciplines.
 1993
− ICI Klea
for the process and production technology for manufacturing the ozone-benign refrigerant KLEA 134a
1992
− BP International
for advancing the application of hydraulic fracturing technology used in the exploitation of oil and gas reserves
1991
− Joint winners:
Rover Group
for the new Rover Metro car and the
Defence Research Agency and GEC Sensors
for the Nightbird night vision system
 1990
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The Science and Engineering Research Council
for the design, construction and commissioning of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope
1989 − British Gas
for the 'intelligent pig', allowing internal inspection of operational pipelines.
1988
− Quantel Limited
for the Paintbox television graphics system and the Harry video editing system
1987
− Renishaw Metrology Limited
for the development of a range of accurate industrial measurement probes
 1986
− Oxford Instruments Group
for superconducting magnet systems used in medical diagnostic applications
1985
− Joint winners:
The National Institute of Agricultural Engineering
for forage conditioning machinery and
Rolls-Royce
for techniques for high energy X-ray examination of gas turbines during testing
− Rolls-Royce plc
1984 − Netlon Limited
for the development of high-strength polymer grids used in the civil engineering and construction industries
 1983
− Ruston Gas Turbines
for the Tornado and other industrial gas turbines
1982 − Kaldair Limited
for the Indair/Mardair waste gas flare systems used on offshore platforms
1981
− Lucas CAV Limited
for the Microjector, a miniaturised fuel injector for car diesel engines
1980 − Johnson Matthey Group
for the development of catalytic systems for motor vehicle exhausts
1979
− Post Office Telecommunications
for the Prestel viewdata software system
1978
− Pilkington Brothers Limited
for the Triplex Ten-Twenty laminated windscreen for cars and aircraft
1977
− Royal Signals Research Establishment and Malvern Instruments Limited
for the Malvern Correlator which measures the movement of particles or molecules
1976 − No Award was made
 1975
− Joint winners:
Westland Helicopters
for the semi-rigid rotor system and conformal gearing of the Lynx
helicopter and
British Railways Board
for developments in railway vehicle suspensions
1974 − The agricultural division of ICI Limited
for the development and manufacture of high-activity catalysts used in methanol production
1973
− Dunlop
for the Denovo tyre and wheel system
1972
− EMI Limited
for the application of X-ray techniques for diagnosing brain disease
1971
− The Gas Council
for a range of gas manufacturing processes
1970
− British Petroleum
for techniques enabling accurate surveying through permafrost in Alaska
 1969
− Joint winners:
Freeman, Fox and Partners
for the superstructure of the Severn Bridge and
Rolls-Royce
for the Pegasus engine used in the Harrier aircraft
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