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May 15, 2012—When Xplor, a Mexican adventure park located in Riviera Maya, was under construction four years ago, the park’s photo manager, Felipe Lorenzo, faced a challenge: how to design a system that could snap dozens or hundreds of photographs of each of the parks’ visitors in action, without making them stop and provide their names. The site includes two circuits of zip lines, two circuits for amphibious vehicles, an underground river for swimming beneath stalactites, and two other subterranean rivers for paddling in rafts. Lorenzo wanted to develop automated technology with which a guest could simply be recognized, photographed and offered pictures that he or she could then purchase onsite at the end of the day, or online upon returning home.

Lorenzo’s team, led by Quetzal Chilian, the park’s new-projects chief, developed a solution that includes passive radio frequency identification tags embedded in visitors’ safety helmets, as well as optical sensors and readers installed near automated cameras, and a software system that identifies the optimal time to trigger a photograph and then stores that picture, along with the proper individual’s records. Xplor’s IT department supplied the software and handled its integration.

The team realized that the park’s fast-paced environment, in which visitors would be in motion more than stationary, would not always be conducive to photography. The cameras would need to capture pictures at the point at which zip-line participants take a leap off a tower, or as rafters negotiate passage through a cave. It was deemed too impractical for Xplor’s staff to try to capture snapshots at the right moment, and to then try to manually connect each picture with the correct guest. However, because participants would be issued helmets to protect their heads, the team saw an opportunity to use the headgear to track each visitor as he or she moved throughout the park.

Xplor has 1,800 safety helmets, of which up to 1,000 are typically in use on any given day. Three Alien Technology Squiggle EPC Gen 2 passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags were embedded under the padding inside each helmet, and remain invisible to users.

Peter Hain has stepped down from the shadow cabinet to use his political influence to help turn the perennial idea of a Severn barrage into a reality.

Mr Hain, Welsh secretary in the last Labour government, said the project could make an enormous difference to Britain’s energy generation.

It could produce more than 5 per cent of the country’s electricity, the equivalent to three nuclear power plants, he said.

The MP for Neath hopes to pilot a private bill through parliament, a process which could take years if previous examples are any guide.

A private bill for Crossrail – the east-west rail link for London – was submitted in 2005 but did not become an act until 2008; that scheme will not be completed until after 2017.

Corlan Hafren, the consortium hoping to build the barrage, is chaired by Lord Deben, formerly known as the one-time Tory minister John Gummer.

Mr Hain said the consortium was waiting for the government to “give them the nod” before it could firm up promises of investment from potential partners.

The MP said that Corlan Hafren was not seeking any public subsidy for the project, unlike previous attempts to get the barrage off the ground.

The barrage, from Weston-super-Mare to south Wales, would be controversial with environmentalists for its impact on bird life further up the estuary.

The head of EDF Energy has rejected predictions that François Hollande, France’s new president, could force it to ditch its big investment in new nuclear reactors in the UK.

“Our plans in the UK are not going to be impacted by the change in France,” said Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy, the UK subsidiary of the French utility Electricite de France, in an interview. “There’s nothing in what Mr Hollande said in his campaign to suggest that they will.”

EDF’s nuclear plans are pivotal to UK efforts to move the country away from fossil fuels towards low carbon alternatives such as nuclear and offshore wind.

With its partner Centrica, the owner of British Gas, EDF intends to build two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset by 2019. It will decide whether to go ahead with the plan by the end of the year.

During his election campaign, Mr Hollande, who was sworn in as France’s new president on Tuesday, proposed reducing the country’s dependence on nuclear power from 75 per cent to 50 per cent and shutting 24 of France’s 58 reactors by 2025.

Any EDF pullback would be disastrous for the UK, which has already seen Eon and RWE of Germany scrap plans to build new reactors. Centrica has also threatened to withdraw because of doubts over levels of state support for developers.

Mr de Rivaz said he was confident Mr Hollande would back EDF’s plans. “This project is a formidable opportunity for French and British industry,” he said.

But he added that 2012 would be a “defining year” for British nuclear power, and it was crucial to keep up reforms of Britain’s electricity market to make it more attractive for renewables and nuclear investments. “A lot remains to be done,” he said.

The UK government included a new energy bill in last week’s Queen’s Speech that provides incentives for low carbon generation. The bill would create “contracts for difference” – top-up payments to nuclear and renewables operators if wholesale power prices fall below an agreed strike price.

Mr de Rivaz said a key issue was making sure the strike price was high enough to provide an adequate return for investors, but not so high that it would hurt energy users. “It’s an opportunity to reconcile investors’ requirements and consumers’ expectations,” he said.

But there are other elements EDF needs to fall into place before it can take a final decision on Hinkley Point. The company is still waiting for a certificate from the UK nuclear safety authority approving the design of the proposed reactor. It is also yet to receive planning consent for the site, with the Planning Inspectorate still examining its application – a process that will take six months.

“I’m not saying it’s easy, but we are on track with everything,” Mr de Rivaz said.