This Week in Engineering

Industrial robots and their end effectors have demonstrated a remarkable dexterity, matching and often exceeding that of human hands. Combined with vision systems, many industrial robots can combine high-level dexterity with object recognition for pick and place applications, but most industrial systems, the things that robots manipulate are consistent in size and shape. The food processing indust...

Artificial intelligence is not only widely anticipated but is expected to dramatically change the manufacturing landscape worldwide, forever. The promise is huge, but to deliver on that promise, manufacturers need to develop coherent strategies for implementation, and more importantly, understand where the use cases exist for AI implementation. New research from AI software provider IFS suggests t...

For the 100 years or so of air transport, the form factor of airplanes has been essentially consistent: a fuselage, usually cylindrical, with attached wings and tail.  While relatively simple to build, with a good strength to weight ratio, aerodynamically, this form factor is not the most efficient. Eliminating the fuselage and building the aircraft as a flying wing has long been recognized a...

If successful, Anduril’s new facility may become the prototype for a paradigm shift in armaments design, development, manufacturing and procurement. Swarms of low cost, AI driven and fully autonomous drone weapon systems in the air, on the ground and into the sea, may replace the crewed, highly capable but costly armoured vehicles, aircraft and submarines. Part of conflict in Ukraine may have show...

Boeing has reacquired their former subsidiary, Spirit AeroSystems, in any $8.3 billion debt plus equity deal. Spirit, maker of 737 fuselage assemblies for the 737 Max program, has been implicated in the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout incidents that caused an emergency depressurization at altitude. The repurchase of some 737 manufacturing assets brings the major part of that program’s supply cha...

Additive manufacturing has been the hottest topic in part making for years, offering unprecedented design flexibility for engineers. Hollow parts, parts with complex internal support structures, and three-dimensional compound curvature that would be impossible to machine are all available with 3D printing, and the aerospace industry is all in with this technology. But what about the tough applicat...

Sales growth in electric vehicles, led by Tesla and BYD has long suggested the end of gasoline and diesel fuel in the transportation sector. While fuel cells are a viable clean option, lower costs in battery production have made pure electric vehicles the sales leader in green transportation. But can the momentum of early adopters be maintained? Market surveys suggest that EV sales growth is flatt...

There are significant changes in how quality control is conducted, especially in the automotive sector. Traditional touch-probing methods have evolved into the use of handheld scanners, which allow for faster, more accurate and more efficient measurement of complex geometries directly on the shop floor.  * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering  is available...

In a shocking and wide-ranging scandal, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha have been implicated in the falsification of crashworthiness data and engine power testing by the Japanese government. * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering  is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as End of the Line, Designing the Future, Manufactu...

Boeing’s entry into NASA’s commercial crew program for the International Space Station, has suffered multiple technical delays, but has launched with two astronauts soon. The test flight is critical both for Boeing and for NASA, who need a backup system to guarantee crew access to orbit with two redundant systems. The fourth system besides NASA, Boeing and SpaceX, is the Sierra Space Dream Chaser...

Volvo Autonomous Solutions has unveiled Volvo’s first-ever production ready autonomous truck at the recent ACT Expo in Las Vegas. The Volvo VNL Autonomous combines Volvo’s commercial vehicle expertise with autonomous driving technology from Aurora to create a purpose-designed and purpose-built autonomous truck that will be able to operate on line haul routes across the United States. * * * Want to...

Bugatti, the maker of ultra high-performance cars is making what may be the last hypercar internal combustion engine: a monstrous V16 that is expected to generate over thousand horsepower. The car it will power may challenge the current hypercar speed record, which is over 300 mph. * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering  is available on engineering.com TV along...

AI may finally replace pilots in combat aircraft. * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering  is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as End of the Line, Designing the Future, Manufacturing the Future, and the Engineering Roundtable.

Argonne National Laboratory has a plan for big data teamed with artificial intelligence. * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering  is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as End of the Line, Designing the Future, Manufacturing the Future, and the Engineering Roundtable.

Longview Fusion Energy Systems Inc., has signed a memorandum of understanding with civil engineering giant Fluor to build a commercial pilot plant for grid electricity generation, using Longview’s solid-state laser driven, inertial confinement technology. * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering  is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows...

Venerable diesel engine builder Cummins has introduced a fuel agnostic heavy truck engine that uses an interesting modular design to create a single internal combustion powerplant capable of operating on diesel fuel, biodiesel, and gaseous fuels such as hydrogen, biogas or natural gas. Nonetheless, the fuel infrastructure will be dominated by kerosene type liquid fuels for the foreseeable future....

Reducing the carbon footprint of the chemical industry requires a two-pronged strategy: reduction of fossil fuel use as an energy input, and capture and reuse of carbon dioxide generated by chemical processes themselves. * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering  is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as End of the Line, Designing...

Mojave, California-based Stratolaunch has announced the successful test of an air-launched, hypersonic uncrewed test vehicle, the Talon TA-1. As a private company, Stratolaunch can be contracted to gather specific data in hypersonic flight in support of customer-specific aircraft and missile programs. This proprietary data can form an important and valuable source of intellectual property for air...

Ocean shipping under sail may be making a comeback. Cargill, a very large global producer of bulk agricultural commodities, has partnered with BAR Technologies and MC shipping to retrofit a large cargo vessel with vertical airfoils to augment propeller propulsion. The ship, Pyxis Ocean, has been retrofitted with what BAR Technologies calls WindWings, and has been under test at sea since August 202...

With over 150 countries signing a Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030, tracking will be essential worldwide. A purpose-built satellite, MethaneSAT, has been launched to do just that, with the satellite a project of the Environmental Defense Fund. Data will be available, to everyone, worldwide. * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering  ...

According to Kelly Blue Book, 2023 was a record year for U.S. electric vehicle sales, with 1.2 million vehicles delivered, resulting in a 7.6% total U.S. market share, up from 5.9% in 2022. Fourth-quarter EV sales were up year-over-year by 40% — big numbers, but lower than the 49% year-over-year gain in the third quarter.  Cox automotive predicts that 2024 will see EV market share in the U.S....

Two major developments in the Chinese aerospace industry were revealed at the recent Singapore airshow. United Aircraft Group announced a tilt rotor UAV in the six-ton class, capable of carrying cargo and passengers for both civilian and military applications, and the COMAC C919 airliner received another order for 40 aircraft for Tibet Airlines, in a special high-altitude configuration. The C919 i...

Carbon capture technology company Spiritus used a novel adsorbent-based direct air capture technology for CO2 in a unique way: to offset the carbon footprint of Taylor Swift’s recent transpacific jet flight from Tokyo to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. Can it be scaled to keep the internal combustion engine relevant? * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering  is avai...

A joint program by the U.S. Air Force and Xwing Corporation has demonstrated fixed wing cargo carrying capability in a point-to-point flight between two airbases using a specially modified Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering  is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as End of the Line, Designing the...

Beijing-based Betavolt New Energy Technology Company has developed an atomic energy source, miniaturized into a form factor approximately ½ inch square and less than ¼ inch thick. The first production batteries, called BV 100, are expected to have a lifetime of 50 years, delivering 1/10 of a milliwatt of power at 3 Volts. * * * Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering  ...