IEN Radio

The future of warfare is autonomous. To compete with China, particularly in the Taiwan Straight, the U.S. Department of Defense has been ramping up development of autonomous boats, but, according to an exclusive Reuters report , things could be better.  The U.S. Navy recently conducted a test of autonomous drone boats off the California coast—it was meant to promote the Pentagon's prowess.  ...

On Friday, GM unveiled a pair of futuristic Corvette concepts, the CX and the CX.R Vision Gran Turismo, and they have a canopy that opens like a fighter jet. 

A nearly century-old golf course in western Michigan could be turned into an industrial, commercial and residential complex under a proposal from its potential new owner. Residents living near Riverside Golf Club & Banquet Center in Battle Creek were invited to an informational meeting Wednesday about the project, WWMT-TV reports. Interstate Capital Investments, which has a tentative agreement...

T1 Energy and Corning today announced a new partnership to boost the U.S. solar supply chain. T1 will source hyper-pure polysilicon and solar wafers made by Corning at its plant in Michigan. Starting later next year, Corning wafers will be delivered to T1's G2_Austin solar cell facility, which is currently under development. The cells will then be used to make solar modules at T1's opera...

The Trump Administration’s moving-target import tariffs have had significant impacts on the U.S. supply chain and manufacturing industry. While the full impact is still unfolding, it’s beginning to look like the trade deal tactics could do the unthinkable: raise the price of AriZona Iced Tea. AriZona Iced Tea has been a shining beacon in the cooler sections of gas stations and grocery stores acros...

A “massive and unpredictable” swarm of jellyfish has caused one of the largest nuclear power plants in France to completely shut down. According to the Guardian , the jellyfish swam into water intake systems at the Gravelines facility in Northern France. The resulting clog in the filters caused four of the plant's six pumping stations to cease operation. The other two were already shut down f...

Last August, Sana Biotechnology opened a new 80,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in an old AT&T call center in Bothell, Washington. The Seattle-based startup, which manufactures engineered cells used as medicines for cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune disease patients, had been working on the project for more than a year. The facility was expected to create hundreds of new jobs and bring manu...

Tesla’s Cybertruck has sparked some interesting debates around aesthetics and utility versus novelty, but the U.S. military just wants a few of them to blow up. The Air Force Test Center submitted a procurement request for 33 towable target vehicles to be used as targets for live missile fire testing. The request mostly focuses on sedans of various colors, trucks, SUVs and “Bongos,” which appears...

The NHL’s newest team announced a lawsuit against a bag manufacturer over a trademark dispute. The controversy involves the Utah Mammoth hockey team and a hockey equipment bag maker named Mammoth Hockey, the Salt Lake Tribune reported .

Cosmic Building, a construction technology company, uses AI-driven end-to-end software to run mobile robotic microfactories. At the heart of its newest microfactory in Pacific Palisades are ABB’s IRB 6710 robots and RobotStudio digital twin software. Both of which are integrated into Cosmic’s Workstation Cell and AI-driven Building Information Model (BIM).  #ai   #california  #wildfire  #losangele...

When it comes to global logistics, it seems no news is good news. If a transoceanic journey of goods goes without a hitch, you never hear about it. But when things go wrong, they can go very wrong – and we’ve seen that play out in several dramatic fires in the past few years that have resulted in high profile tales of doomed cargo ships. Most recently, an incident involving the cargo carrier Morni...

Tesla's brand loyalty has suffered some notable setbacks. According to an exclusive Reuters report , Tesla did more repeat business with U.S. autobuyers than any other major car brand. But then, CEO Elon Musk backed Donald Trump’s reelection efforts and customer loyalty suffered as a result. S&P Global Mobility reports that Tesla customer loyalty reached an all-time high in June 2024, whe...

The Oregon plant dates back more than 70 years.

About a week ago, a team of engineers and fishing enthusiasts debuted a new product on Kickstarter with modest expectations. It's understandable; a little more than 40% of projects launched on the crowdfunding platform reach their funding goals, and about 15% fail to raise a single dollar. 

In January of 2022, Intel unveiled plans to invest $28 billion in building two new chip factories in Licking County, Ohio, to boost production of its advanced semiconductors to serve both Intel projects and other end customers. A lot has happened since – and for Intel, the past few years have brought sluggish sales, layoffs, and a new CEO. With that, the last several updates on Intel’s Ohio projec...

Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing , a podcast that asks young people about their journeys in manufacturing, how they intend to influence the industry and what they are looking for from an employer. For this episode, I welcome Maggie Blaney, a 26-year-old solutions engineer at Epicor . In this episode, Blaney discusses: Why her early interest in manufacturing didn’t immediately t...

Hertha Metals, a clean steel production startup, says it has successfully demonstrated its single-step process for turning low-grade iron ore into molten steel or high-purity iron. The company built a pilot plant in Texas and it’s been churning out one ton of steel per day for months now. Next year, the company plans to build a new facility capable of 9,000 tons per year and soon after, it anticip...

According to Reuters , toy makers are looking for ways to further cut costs to cushion the blow from a 30% blanket tariff on Chinese goods, and it has translated to product and packaging redesigns. The first to go, which may rile the "back in my day" members of the crowd, are batteries.

In 2024, IBM identified the manufacturing sector as the industry most attacked by cyber criminals for the third straight year – which is why we see even the biggest brands being impacted by the work of hackers. Bleach maker Clorox is coming clean about the details surrounding a recent ransomware attack but the fingerpointing extends past the gang of perpetrators and all the way to the company’s IT...

Big 3 pillar Stellantis issued a rather shocking warning this week when it reported preliminary financial figures that estimate a $2.7 billion first half loss. And as the auto company gets focused on the poor financials – impacted largely by tariff costs and related production losses – it’s also unveiled some strategic changes relating to R&D. Stellantis said it will suspend its   development...

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and multiple vendors announced a recall of nearly 5 million swimming pools that the agency believes are linked to nine child drownings.  According to the CPSC, the 48-inch and taller above-ground pools were manufactured in China and have been sold by Bestway, Intex and Polygroup since 2002. Retail locations that sold the recalled pools include Wal...

In celebration of Disneyland Resort’s 70th anniversary, the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’ has unveiled a new attraction; “Walt Disney - A Magical Life.” Debuting at the Main Street Opera House, a cinematic presentation takes you through Walt Disney’s journey, featuring a pre-show tribute video, as well as a visit to a rendition of his office.

The family of a man who died in a crash involving a Tesla Cybertruck filed a lawsuit against the automaker, alleging a defective design and other claims.  The lawsuit, filed in Harris County district court in Texas, stated that in August 2024, 47-year-old Michael Sheehan’s Cybertruck veered off the road, hit a culvert and caught fire, trapping Sheehan inside a blaze that allegedly reached 5,000 de...

Italian Designer Andrea Marazzi recently chopped up a 1993 Fiat Panda to create the world's narrowest EV, a historic feat that yielded a fully-drivable car that's only 50 cm (less than 20 inches) wide.  Marazzi started with the chassis of an old Fiat Panda, cutting it vertically, and sandwiching the parts together to make a single seat EV from recycled components. Marazzi used his family...

Reports from Forbes and Bloomberg suggest that one of Tesla’s executive officers has left the company.  Forbes reported Thursday morning that CEO Elon Musk fired Omead Afshar, the head of operations in Europe and North America. Bloomberg rep orted later that day that Afshar “left the company.”