Uncrewed Vehicle Orders Will Help Keep Rosyth Shipyard Afloat
UK orders for uncrewed maritime vehicles (UMVs) are expected to sustain work at Babcock’s Rosyth shipyard as the Type 31 frigate programme winds down in the early 2030s. The Ministry of Defence’s Strategic Defence Review calls for a hybrid fleet of crewed and autonomous platforms, and Babcock is positioning its ARMOR concept to turn the Type 31 into a UMV mothership. GlobalData projects the military UMV market to grow 8.9% CAGR to 2034, reaching $1.8 bn this year, driven by recent combat use in Ukraine. Babcock has also launched a National Marine Autonomy Accelerator with Tech South West and the University of Plymouth to nurture the supply chain.
Automation in Manufacturing Will More than Double by 2030: PwC
PwC’s latest outlook finds manufacturers will more than double automation, AI and advanced‑technology use by 2030, with the median adoption rate climbing from 26% to 68% of operations. Adoption in production and product design is already high, while business support...
The Future of ADAS: Could Antennas Be the Key?
HUBER+SUHNER is developing a 3D waveguide radar antenna for ADAS and autonomous driving. The antenna reduces signal loss, improves resolution and works in adverse weather. Operating at 77 GHz, the technology offers larger apertures, higher channel counts and better EMC integration...
Elektrobit’s Safety-Certified Linux OS Integrated Into Mobileye Drive
Elektrobit’s safety‑certified EB corbos Linux for Safety Applications has been integrated into Mobileye Drive, the company’s Level 4 autonomous‑driving platform. The Linux OS received TÜV Nord’s technical assessment for ASIL B and SIL2 compliance, meeting ISO 26262 and IEC 61508 safety standards. Mobileye plans to use...
Robotic Wing Inspired by Nature Delivers Leap in Underwater Stability
Researchers at the University of Southampton have created a soft‑robotic wing with a liquid‑metal e‑skin that senses water flow and reshapes itself automatically. In lab tests the wing cut unwanted uplift impulse by 87% versus rigid AUV wings, responded up...
Soft Bicycle 360 Approved by Euro NCAP for Realistic and Durable ADAS Testing
AB Dynamics’ Soft Bicycle 360 has received Euro NCAP approval as a certified test target for advanced driver‑assistance system (ADAS) evaluations. The lightweight, single‑piece design replicates cyclist radar signatures while minimizing vehicle damage during impact. Weighing 30% less than competing targets, it features...
Teledyne and M Subs Announce Strategic Collaboration
Teledyne Marine and UK‑based M Subs have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a strategic collaboration focused on Royal Navy and other international naval programs. The partnership will fuse Teledyne’s unmanned vehicle platforms, autonomy software, sonars, acoustic communications, cameras, lighting...
Tensor and Arm Collaborate on Agentic Robocar
Tensor and Arm announced a multiyear partnership to supply the compute architecture for Tensor’s Level 4 agentic AI robocar. Each vehicle will house 433 Arm‑based cores across Neoverse AE, Cortex‑X, Cortex‑A, Cortex‑R and Cortex‑M, complemented by Nvidia accelerators. The robocar features...
Starlink Will Provide Connectivity to Archer’s Midnight Air Taxis
Archer Aviation announced a partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink to equip its Midnight electric air taxis with low‑Earth‑orbit satellite internet. The integration will provide high‑speed, low‑latency connectivity for passenger Wi‑Fi and real‑time data links between aircraft, pilots and ground teams. Testing...
The Exodus From L3 Autonomy Is Far From Universal
SAE Level 3 autonomy, once seen as the middle step toward fully driverless cars, is encountering uneven adoption across the industry. While several manufacturers have paused or cancelled their Level 3 programs due to regulatory uncertainty and driver‑attention concerns, others continue to...
The Talent Paradox
High‑tech mining has embraced automation, AI‑driven haulage and remote operation centres, yet firms struggle to recruit young engineers. Despite the sector’s digital transformation, a perception gap and limited exposure in STEM pipelines keep talent scarce. Universities lag in offering curricula...
10 Million Calls: The Drone System Changing Policing
Skydio’s Drone‑as‑First‑Responder (DFR) Command platform has processed over 10 million service calls, demonstrating that autonomous drones are now embedded in U.S. public‑safety workflows. The system pulls live 911, CAD, and sensor data directly into its Flight Deck, allowing operators to dispatch...
Republic of Korea Commits to Vertiports, UAM Infrastructure by 2028
South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport unveiled a roadmap to accelerate urban air mobility, pledging commercial public‑service UAM operations by 2028 and private‑sector services by 2030. The plan includes establishing safety frameworks, aircraft certification, and cybersecurity by 2027,...
Weekly Newsletter 26 February 2026
Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced its first major partnership in over a decade, teaming up with a leading AI‑driven drug discovery firm to co‑develop next‑generation therapies. The deal includes a $500 million upfront payment and shared milestones tied to clinical milestones. Simultaneously, the...
Utah Becomes Tenth Candidate State for the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program
Utah has filed a proposal to join the FAA’s Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) Integration Pilot Program, aligning with Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Oklahoma. The state’s coalition partners include industry leaders Lockheed Martin, Joby Aviation and BETA Technologies to...
Abu Dhabi Launches First Autonomous Truck Pilot in MENA Logistics Sector
Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Transport Centre has launched the Middle East and North Africa’s first autonomous‑truck pilot, partnering with Autotech and AD Ports Group within the Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (KEZAD). The AI‑driven trucks are being tested on dedicated routes...
Aviation Training and Operations Readiness Lead
Wing, Alphabet’s drone‑delivery arm, is hiring a remote Aviation Training & Operations Readiness Lead to steer its rapidly expanding flight‑operations program. The role will oversee training, operational evaluations, and the transition to Part 108‑compliant, highly automated deliveries across two continents. Reporting...
CHC Navigation & MOVA Unveil Satellite-Based Positioning for Robotic Mowers
CHC Navigation and MOVA unveiled the NAVAX 5000 AWD robotic mower at CES 2026, featuring CHCNAV’s satellite‑ground RTK service and an integrated high‑precision positioning chip that delivers centimeter‑level accuracy without a local base station or cellular data. The mower combines...
MostaTech to Showcase Inertial Sensors at Oceanology 2026
MostaTech will exhibit its full suite of inertial sensors at Oceanology International 2026 in London, showcasing fiber‑optic gyroscope (FOG) based IMUs, multi‑axis G‑Series gyros, and single‑axis solutions. The U‑Series IMUs (U123D and U121D) combine FOGs with MEMS accelerometers to meet...
ISS Aerospace & Anduril UK Partner to Integrate WASP Launched Effect Into Lattice Platform
ISS Aerospace and Anduril UK announced a partnership to embed the ISSOS WASP launched effect into Anduril’s sovereign Lattice command‑and‑control platform. The integration, completed in a single day, was validated with a flight test at ISS Aerospace’s Oxford facility. WASP...
Alpha Unmanned Systems Strengthens Its European Presence Through Strategic Partnership
Alpha Unmanned Systems and Turkish defence firm HAVELSAN have signed a strategic partnership to bring HAVELSAN’s advanced unmanned aerial platforms to Spain. Alpha will act as the exclusive distributor and lifecycle‑support provider for Spanish government and security customers, delivering training,...
Nio and Bosch Sign Strategic Cooperation Agreement
Nio and Bosch signed a strategic cooperation agreement during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit to China, linking Nio’s three brands—Nio, Onvo and firefly—with Bosch’s automotive expertise. The pact covers drive‑by‑wire chassis, battery‑management systems and key components such as braking, steering, powertrain,...
MDS and DFRS Cooperate to Drive Vision Zero
Germany’s Mobility Data Space (MDS) and the pan‑European Data for Road Safety (DFRS) consortium have signed an agreement to exchange safety‑related traffic data from connected vehicles across the EU. The partnership enables near‑real‑time sharing of sensor‑derived incident information, supporting the...
Snake-Like Robot Unveiled for Fukushima Debris Removal
TEPCO unveiled a 22‑metre, 4.6‑tonne snake‑like robot arm designed to retrieve radioactive debris from Fukushima Daiichi. The device can crawl through narrow tunnels, capture visual data, and is slated for a third trial removal later this year. Fukushima still houses...
Fundamentals of Position Feedback
Automation has shifted from simple limit switches to dynamic position‑feedback devices such as encoders and LVDTs, delivering continuous data across varying speeds. Encoders dominate motion‑to‑electrical conversion, with absolute models preserving position after power loss and incremental models tracking relative movement....
Coco Robotics Launches New Autonomous Robots for Urban Deliveries
Coco Robotics unveiled Coco 2, its next‑generation autonomous delivery robot that moves beyond sidewalks into bike lanes and permitted roadways. The new platform halves delivery times and triples uptime, thanks to upgraded edge‑computing hardware and a dataset of millions of...
Army Orders $186 Million in Switchblade Kamikaze Drones, Tank Killers
The U.S. Army has placed a $186 million delivery order with AeroVironment for its Switchblade loitering‑munition family, covering the 600 Block 2 and 300 Block 2 variants. The Switchblade 600 Block 2, co‑developed with SOCOM, features AI‑driven target detection and can operate from sea‑based platforms....
NODA AI Raises $25M Series A for Defense AI
Defense AI startup NODA AI announced a $25 million Series A round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners and joined by Booz Allen Ventures, Draper Associates, Bloomberg Beta and Alumni Ventures. The Austin‑based company builds AI software that orchestrates mixed fleets of autonomous...
7 Haulage and Logistics Startups Reshaping Freight in 2026
Global logistics generated over $11 trillion in 2023 but remains largely manual, prompting a surge of tech‑driven startups. Seven firms—Aurora Innovation, Flexport, Gatik, Sennder, HydroHaul, Faramove, and project44—are scaling autonomous trucks, AI routing, hydrogen fuel, and real‑time visibility platforms. Collectively they...
DJI’s Most Capable Drones Are Still Finding Their Way to US Third Party Retailers
DJI’s flagship drones remain unavailable through official U.S. channels after the FCC’s recent ban on new DJI products. Despite the restriction, a handful of third‑party retailers have begun importing these high‑performance models, creating a fragmented supply chain. The gray‑market influx...
E-Con Systems to Showcase Next-Gen Edge AI and Multi-Camera Vision Solutions at NVIDIA GTC 2026 and Embedded World 2026
e-con Systems will unveil its next‑generation edge AI and multi‑camera vision solutions at NVIDIA GTC 2026 in San Jose and Embedded World 2026 in Nuremberg. The company will demo Darsi Pro, a production‑ready platform built on NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX that handles eight HDR GMSL...
FEATURE*: Augustin Friedel on How OEMs Can Succeed in SDV/AV Transformation
Augustin Friedel, a software‑defined vehicle specialist at MHP, outlines how legacy OEMs can overcome cultural inertia and restructure around product‑based P&L ownership to accelerate SDV and autonomous‑vehicle development. He argues that consolidating hardware into versatile compute domains and leveraging software...
Tesla Cybercab Program Manager Exits Ahead of Launch
Victor Nechita, the vehicle program manager who shepherded Tesla's purpose‑built Cybercab from concept to the first production unit at Giga Texas, has left the company. His departure follows a wave of senior program‑manager exits that have hit the Model 3, Model Y,...
I Developed an App that Uses Drone Footage to Track Plastic Litter on Beaches
University of Limerick researchers have created a drone‑based system that uses computer‑vision AI to locate plastic litter on beaches and feeds the data into a free mobile app. The platform can identify objects as small as 1 cm from 30 m altitude...
Boca Bearings Has Expanded Its Automation Bearing Inventory, Adding New Options for Linear Motion, Industrial Automation, and Robotics Applications
Boca Bearings has broadened its automation bearing portfolio, adding linear bearings in chrome, ceramic‑hybrid and full‑ceramic ZrO₂, plus expanded cam yoke, cam follower, 9900, 7500 DLG and 7600 DLG series. The off‑the‑shelf inventory is designed for quick access and same‑day...
Changingtek Robotics Launches the World's First Adaptive "X2" Left-Right Dexterous Hand
Changingtek Robotics unveiled the X2, the world’s first adaptive left‑right dexterous hand, featuring a tendon‑driven system that can reconfigure between left and right orientations autonomously. The hand offers five independently controlled fingers, delivering up to 50 N grip force per hand...
Why Humanoid Robots May Be the Wrong Bet for Industrial Automation
Humanoid robots captivate investors but inherit the human body’s stability, agility and durability limits. Their ~200 degrees of freedom create mechanical complexity that reduces uptime compared with 6‑DoF industrial arms. Safety assessments under ISO 13849‑1 show that preventing falls requires high...
Textron System’ Damocles™ Loitering Munition Selected For U.S. Army Low Altitude Stalking & Strike Ordnance (LASSO) Contract
Textron Systems won a U.S. Army prototype contract to field its Damocles™ loitering munition under the Low Altitude Stalking & Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program. The system integrates a vertical take‑off and landing (VTOL) uncrewed aircraft with a GEN2 Explosively Formed...
Irish Startup Manna Becomes the Engine for Uber’s European Aerial Ambitions
Uber Technologies has teamed up with Irish drone startup Manna to launch Europe’s first aerial food‑delivery pilot in Ireland, integrating Manna’s autonomous quadcopter system with the Uber Eats platform. The drones can transport up to 4 kg, travel 50 mph and deliver...
Korean Air and Skyports Sign MoU to Advance Air Mobility Tech Integration
Korean Air and Skyports Infrastructure have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a unified technology platform for eVTOL operations. The partnership will merge Skyports' Vertiport Automation System with Korean Air's Air Control & Routing Orchestrated Skyway System, creating an...
INTERTRAFFIC: Blickfeld to Demo Lidar Traffic Management Solutions
Munich‑based Blickfeld will showcase its 3D lidar sensors and traffic perception software at Intertraffic Amsterdam in March 2026. The technology creates detailed, privacy‑safe maps of vehicle positions, speeds and classifications, enabling operators to monitor flows and spot incidents such as...
SkyGrid, TAMU-CC to Research Cooperative Separation of AAM Traffic in FAA Programme
SkyGrid has been awarded Task Order One under the FAA’s Center for Advanced Aviation Technologies, partnering with Texas A&M‑Corpus Christi to evaluate cooperative separation for advanced air mobility. The multi‑year effort, running through February 2027, will develop and validate a...
Where to Buy Process Automation Services for Manufacturing
Manufacturers are accelerating digital transformation, but internal expertise often lags, driving demand for third‑party process automation services. The article highlights five leading providers—Malisko, Emerson, ABB Group, ATS Automation, and Yokogawa—each offering distinct strengths from IoT integration to turnkey solutions. These...
Fleet Space Delivers for Lundin Gold
Fleet Space Technologies supplied a satellite‑based IoT network to Lundin Gold’s Fruta del Norte mine in Ecuador, enabling the company to map previously undetectable, or “blind,” mineral systems. The real‑time data stream allowed more precise drilling, cutting exploration costs by...
1,020 Pyro Drones Just Rewrote Daytime Fireworks History
Last weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Pyrotecnico deployed 1,020 pyro‑drones to set a Guinness World Record for the Largest Daytime Fireworks Display. Each drone carried two smoke canisters, creating 2,024 vibrant plumes visible in broad daylight. The show combined...
Vertiq Expands DroneCAN & IQUART Capabilities in New Servo Firmware Release
Vertiq has launched servo firmware version 0.1.1, extending DroneCAN and IQUART functionality across its G2 and G1 servo modules. The update adds ArrayCommand support, ActuatorStatus telemetry, and dynamic node‑ID features while introducing unitless control types and linear displacement mapping for...
Predictive Maintenance Robotics: How AI and Automation Are Redefining Industrial Asset Reliability
Predictive maintenance robotics leverages AI and machine‑learning to shift industrial upkeep from fixed‑schedule preventive care to condition‑based, data‑driven actions. Continuous sensor streams—vibration, acoustic, thermal, electrical—are analyzed in real time to spot anomalies and forecast component failures. The approach integrates with...
Software Development AI Robotics: Engineering Intelligent Machines for the Real World
Software development is now the backbone of AI robotics, enabling machines to perceive, decide, and act in real‑world environments. Frameworks such as the Robot Operating System (ROS) and edge‑AI hardware like Nvidia Jetson streamline sensor fusion, simulation, and real‑time control....
Aerobits Launches TR-10 Transponder Pre-Sale & Enhances Drone Visibility for Controlled Airspace
Aerobits has opened a pre‑sale for its TR‑10 transponder, a 10‑W low‑power Mode A/C/S unit with optional ADS‑B extended squitter designed for small drones operating in Transponder Mandatory Zones. The 75‑gram, 53.5 × 43.5 × 18 mm device delivers +40 dBm output, a dynamic range of...
Nio Chip Subsidiary Secures CN¥2.26bn Investment
Nio’s intelligent‑driving chip subsidiary, GeniTech (Shenji), has signed definitive agreements to secure a CN¥2.26 billion investment from a consortium of Chinese investors. The investors will purchase newly issued shares, giving them a collective 27.3% stake while Nio retains a 62.7% controlling...