MacRobert prize finalists announced

The shortlisted innovations include a flexible cement-impregnated fabric, software that allows computer screens to be controlled remotely, and a highly sensitive detector that allows scientists to characterise the elemental composition of meteoroid samples. The Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award aims to celebrate outstanding pieces of engineering for their innovation, commercial success and societal benefit. The winner will be announced on 17 July at the academy's awards dinner and receive a gold medal, plus a £50,000 cash prize. First up hoping to take the crown is Cardiff-based firm Concrete Canvas. The company's cement-impregnated fabric (pictured) is layered with cement powder and turns into industrial strength concrete when water is applied. It is being used by a number of companies worldwide to fix, build and strengthen things quicker and more easily. Also hoping to impress the judges is Oxford Instruments, whose X-Max large area detector lets scientists analyse chemicals in samples as thing as a human hair. The device works by creating a colour-coded map of exactly where each chemical is, in minutes instead of hours and to a greater level of detail than was previously possible. The last entry of the shortlisted innovations comes from Cambridge-based firm RealVNC. The company's innovative software allows a computer or smarpthone screen to be remotely accessed and controlled from any other device, anywhere in the world. The platform uses clever algorithms to only send data about the parts of the screen that are changing (instead of the whole screen), which the company says makes it quicker and sharper than competing solutions.