Cold spray is an advanced manufacturing process that builds or repairs metal components by accelerating fine metal powders at very high speeds onto a surface. Unlike traditional methods, the material does not melt during deposition. This avoids heat damage and preserves the original properties of the material.

Experts from the Faculty of Engineering with support from an international Japanese technical team at PlasmaGiken have designed and installed the High-Pressure Cold Spray system that allows higher particle impact speeds, stronger bonding between deposited material and substrate and the processing of harder and more demanding materials.

This technology enables the repair and remanufacture of high-value components in aerospace, fusion energy, nuclear and defence sectors, lowering costs and improving sustainability through reduced material waste compared to conventional manufacturing.

Housed in the Centre of Excellence in Coating and Surface Engineering (CE-CSE) the facility will be a national hub for collaboration with industry and research partners, supporting the UK’s ambitions in advanced manufacturing and clean energy technologies.

Tanvir Hussain, Professor of Coatings and Surface Engineering at the University of Nottingham has led the project, he said: “After three years of proposal development and industrial collaboration, we are proud to commission the UK’s highest-pressure cold-spray additive manufacturing facility. This is not simply a new piece of equipment added to the UK cold spray landscape, but it represents a national capability that will support advanced manufacturing research and industrial innovation for years to come for the UK for all engineers and technologists.

“The Cold Spray facility combined with the expertise of academics in Nottingham, alongside industry partners will allow this National Facility to drive innovation at pace and allow exploration and testing of new techniques and applications.”

The project has been funded through Research and Innovation and the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham, PlasmaGiken Co., Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Engineers at the University of Nottingham are already leading innovation in spray technology and  recently developed a new high-performance tungsten-copper metallic coating in one step using plasma spray, for future high heat flux (HHF) plasma facing components (PFC), specifically in the divertor target plate.

www.nottingham.ac.uk

AI is already changing how economies work, public services operate and countries protect their interests. As more of the economy and public services comes to rely on AI, it matters more than ever that Britain has the ability to develop key technologies securely here at home. Ready access to compute is critical to these ambitions: giving AI innovators the digital horsepower they need, to get to work in Britain.

The new AI Hardware Plan sets out how the government will back British companies developing the chips and semiconductor technologies behind AI, while also investing in the scientists, engineers and technicians needed to turn new ideas into products and good jobs in the UK.

It comes just over a month after she announced in her speech at RUSI that the government would bring forward plans to boost Britain’s sovereign AI capabilities.

The global AI chips market is expected to reach one trillion dollars in the early 2030s. If Britain could secure just 5% of this market it would bring fifty billion dollars in revenue to the UK with tens of thousands of highly paid jobs in tech. 

British companies – from Arm, whose chip designs are used in everything from smartphones to AI data centres, to startups like Fractile and Olix, which have raised more than £320 ($440) million between them – are already leading the next generation of AI hardware. This plan backs them, and the startups coming up behind them, to become the "British AI titans of the future".  

As the market shifts from general-purpose chips to bespoke hardware, that plays directly to the UK’s strengths, creating an opportunity for British firms to lead in the AI infrastructure of the future.  

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said:  "AI is the defining currency of economic and hard power in today’s world and the countries that control the hardware behind it will hold the keys to the future.  

"The UK is already a global leader in chip design, and I believe this is a race Britain can win. To do that, we must back more British AI – and that means investing in the chips, computing power and skilled people behind it.   

"That is exactly what this plan does, backing the British firms developing the next generation of AI hardware, so we get more jobs, more growth, and more control over the technologies our future depends on."

The AI Hardware Plan includes:  

• New £750 million for a national AI supercomputer: One of the most advanced in the world when deployed in 2030, it will bring together proven and next-generation processors and cutting-edge chips to run complex tasks more efficiently than traditional supercomputers. This is known as a heterogeneous mixed chip system. We want to see British-designed chips form a crucial part of the system, which will join Isambard-AI and Zenith (alongside DAWN) as part of the UK’s AI Research Resource, giving researchers, start-ups and public services the computing power they need to develop and run AI securely in Britain.
• Supporting UK start-ups by creating demand for powerful new chips in Britain: Of the £750 million, £400 million will go towards equipping the UK’s AI supercomputer with next-generation chips - a significant increase on previous plans. £150 million of this will be used to buy next-generation inference chips - which power the day-to-day use of AI tools - this summer, creating an immediate opportunity for British firms, who are well placed to compete. The government is acting as an early customer to help bring new technologies to market. A further £250 million will support the purchase of more specialised chips as the most promising technologies mature - helping the strongest designs reach market and compete at scale.
• Backing British companies to develop new technology: £120 million will fund a new AI Hardware Innovation Programme. Developing new chips can take years and cost millions before companies know if they will work, this programme gives British companies the funding to design, develop and test innovative novel chips, so the best ideas can move forward. It is how the UK makes sure the next generation of world-leading chip companies are grown here in Britain. 
• Helping firms prove their chip technology: At least £20 million of the programme will expand the Scaling Inference Lab, delivered by ARIA and CommonAI, to help companies prove their technology, attract investment and secure partnerships with global tech firms. The Lab is already delivering results. British AI company Oriole Networks, working with AMD through the Lab, will deploy the world’s first large-scale AI system that uses light rather than electrical signals to move data between chips, boosting the performance of UK data centres.  
• Boosting skills needed by the AI hardware sector: £45 million in new support for skills – backing doctoral training and undergraduate bursaries to train more engineers, chip designers and technicians, and open up clear pathways into the sector from university and on-the-job training to build the pipeline of British talent the sector needs. This means that government is now making £80 million available to support the industry’s skills needs.  

Building on the UK’s strength in cutting-edge tech, a new fund led by Silicon Valley investors Playground Global – whose partners include Pat Gelsinger, former CEO of Intel – and backed by up to £150m from the British Business Bank, will invest in UK-based AI hardware companies, giving British innovators the long-term backing they need to grow and stay in the UK, subject to completion of due diligence and legal negotiations. 

It is the single largest fund investment the British Business bank has ever made, a signal of the scale of the government’s commitment to backing British AI hardware. The fund, developed by DSIT, and announced by the Chancellor at London Tech Week, will help them crowd in more private investment, and develop the technologies our future depends on, ensuring Britain can compete with the biggest players on the world stage. Playground Global will also open its first office outside the US in the UK, underlining Britain’s position as a leading place to develop the next generation of AI hardware.   

www.gov.uk

Image credit: Dorset Council

Ragwort is a poisonous weed that threatens livestock health, damages grazing land and creates major challenges for farmers and landowners. Usually it is pulled by hand, which is labour intensive, costly and can pose risks to people and the environment. Ragwort also plays an important role in supporting wildlife, including pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Control is therefore targeted, with plants removed in areas where there is a risk to grazing animals.

Raggy has been developed by South West firm Robotriks in partnership with Dorset Council and long-time collaborators Telint and Neutral Networks using funding from Qualcomm Incorporated, through its Qualcomm for Good Initiative, which aims to enrich lives through programmes that strengthen economic and social development.

Ben Timmons, senior director, business development of Qualcomm Technologies International. said: “Through Qualcomm for Good, we are proud to support Dorset Council and Robotriks in harnessing edge AI capabilities to modernise agriculture and solve real-world challenges for farmers and the environment. Raggy is a powerful demonstration of what’s possible with intelligent connected technologies.”

Jake Shaw-Sutton, director of Robotriks said: “Our Robotic Traction Unit (RTU) is fully electric and built for real-life farm conditions. It is a modular platform, designed as a flexible farm multi-tool which can perform a range of tasks across agriculture and, potentially, other sectors.

“Raggy uses advanced machine vision and connected technology, powered by the Qualcomm Dragonwing platform, to identify and remove ragwort mechanically at the root. This approach reduces the need for harmful chemicals, supports healthier soils and protects animals and habitat.”

Dave Happy, CEO of Telint said: “This is yet another practical example of Dorset embracing innovative tech solutions to improve the quality of life for livestock and humans alike.

“Dorset’s unique advantages, in particular in relation to access to spectrum, make it the ideal place to test and develop this kind if innovative solution.”

Cllr Nick Ireland, Leader of Dorset Council, said: “The team of Rangers, who do a great job managing and maintaining Dorset’s fantastic Country Parks, nature reserves and open spaces, spend many hours each year removing ragwort by hand. We are delighted this autonomous and environmentally sensitive solution is being tested, evaluated and developed on our land here in Dorset.”

Between field trials, Raggy will be maintained and stored at BattleLab, the heart of an innovation ecosystem that sets challenges to a wide range of large and small company developers and leading academic researchers working on dual-use technologies including uncrewed systems and digital device security.

BattleLab and Dorset Innovation Park are key elements of a South West “Global Autonomy Cluster” recently awarded up to £20 million of Government funding to enhance the region’s reputation as one of the world's best places to develop, test and deploy autonomous technologies.

The park, Dorset’s only Enterprise Zone, has an ambitious plan to create between 300 to 500 new high-value jobs on site by 2031, with the future skilled workforce coming from a research and education centre being co-created with leading university and college partners.

www.robotriks.co.uk

Building on Sanyo Denki’s reputation for precision engineering, the new DB31 Series Stepper Motors are fully integrated motor-and-driver assemblies that deliver exceptional performance in a compact 56mm square form factor. 

The latest addition to Sanyo Denki’s Sanmotion family of motion control solutions, the new DB31 Series systems feature a highperformance stepper motor and driver that ensures precise, repeatable movement within the rated torque range, regardless of load! The motors are vibrationtested between 10–2000Hz across all axes and feature protective functions such as maincircuit voltage monitoring, fuse protection, and CPU fault detection.

The driver integrated with the stepper motor supports a range of standard operation commands including, positioning, continuous rotation and homing. Users can quickly configure key parameters such as position, speed, acceleration, and command selection, enabling fast commissioning and easy optimisation. 

To reduce mechanical shock and improve motion smoothness, DB31 Series stepper motors offer two types of Scurve acceleration/deceleration profiles: A gradual peak acceleration between 25–75% of the cycle that delivers up to 1.25× the acceleration of linear ramps, or an acceleration peak at the 50% midpoint that delivers up to 1.9× the acceleration of conventional linear profiles. The choice of two advanced acceleration modes helps to minimise vibration and stresses during speed transitions.

According to Robert Davies, marketing manager with EAO, integrating the stepper motor with the driver in a single unit both reduces system complexity and enhances reliability: "As DB31 Series Stepper Motors allow direct connection of limit sensors and homing signals enabling control of power and communication to be achieved with as few as five connections, reducing internal wiring and simplifying equipment design."

www.motorsandfans.co.uk/news

THE GLOBAL industrial robot market started to recover in 2025, growing 5.1% in shipments and 0.8% in revenue, driven primarily by Asian markets. Over the next five years, the market is projected to grow steadily as robots are adopted across more manufacturing processes and emerging industries, and as AI-related applications generate new sources of demand. In this insight, we will discuss how the rapid development of AI is impacting the outlook for industrial and collaborative robots, and how robot manufacturers are positioning themselves to capture new opportunities.

AI is driving robot demand in two directions

We see AI influencing robot demand along two distinct axes. First, the growth of AI supply chain industries is generating direct demand for robots in manufacturing. Second, AI-powered software is enhancing robot capabilities and ease of use, enabling robots to perform tasks they previously couldn’t, thereby creating demand in markets that were difficult to penetrate.

The growth of AI-adjacent manufacturing is opening up sales opportunities across several segments:

- Semiconductor manufacturing: AI-driven chip demand is accelerating automation in semiconductor production. We predict robot sales to the semiconductor industry to grow at an average annual growth rate of 7.8% through 2030, outpacing most other sectors. Light-payload articulated and SCARA robots are the primary beneficiaries, while mobile collaborative robots (mobile cobots) used for wafer handling are also rapidly gaining traction. Demand for these emerging mobile cobots is concentrated in Asia, particularly Taiwan, mainland China, and South Korea, and key suppliers in this segment include Universal Robots, Fanuc, Techman, and Jaka.

- Data centre equipment manufacturing: The manufacture of AI data center equipment, from server cabinets to printed circuit boards, is driving robot demand across the supply chain. In addition to traditional industrial robots, collaborative robots are increasingly used for inspection and component handling, valued for their flexibility and ability to work alongside people.

- Humanoid robots as a cobot customer segment: Cobot vendors are supplying robot arms to humanoid robot manufacturers, particularly in China, where some emerging companies prefer to focus on software development and source hardware off the shelf. Cobot vendors serving this market include Rokae, Jaka, and Fairino.

AI enhancing robot capabilities

In the meantime, AI is making robots more capable and easier to use – an important development, as difficulties relating to programming and integration complexity are among the barriers to robot adoption most often cited. In our recent Voice of Market research, integration complexity emerged as the top obstacle to automating material transport in factories, surpassing even upfront cost concerns.

Specifically, we notice four key areas where AI is applied in robotics: (1) AI-powered machine vision for robot guidance (2) AI-enabled robot instruction and programming (3) AI-driven path optimization and multi-robot coordination, and (4) emerging applications in remote robot monitoring and maintenance.

AI allows robots to understand and respond to human language and supports low-code or no-code programming, making robots easier to use. It also empowers robots to handle complex tasks in flexible environments. For example, Fanuc demonstrated AI-powered dual control of two cobot arms sorting cables, which is a task traditionally difficult for robots, and showcased AI-powered robots tracking moving parts for precision tasks such as screw tightening, highlighting the potential of AI to improve robot adaptability.

That said, AI-driven robotics is still in its early stages and faces challenges, such as cybersecurity risks in remote monitoring, limitations of low-code programming for complex tasks, and high R&D costs for AI-enhanced software. Broad commercialization will take time and depend on further innovation, as well as demonstrated value across a range of industrial applications.

How robot vendors are responding

Industry leaders are actively capitalizing on the opportunities created by advances in AI. On the one hand, robot manufacturers are launching new solutions tailored to the electronics and semiconductor industries. For example, ABB introduced its Lite+ small robot series in 2025, with electronics identified as one of its key target sectors, while STEP recently launched dedicated wafer handling robots.

On the other hand, robot vendors are increasingly integrating AI capabilities into their products to improve performance, flexibility, and ease of use, helping them remain competitive. For instance, both Universal Robots and Fanuc have announced collaborations with NVIDIA to develop AI-powered robot programming and simulation tools.

These developments reflect manufacturers’ efforts to address key barriers to robot adoption, particularly the challenges associated with robot integration and programming.

Final thoughts

AI is proving to be both a demand driver and a capability multiplier for the robotics industry. The expansion of semiconductor and data center manufacturing provides a robust new customer base, while AI-powered software is steadily lowering the integration barriers that have historically limited robot deployment beyond highly-structured environments. To capture these opportunities, robot manufacturers are actively investing in tailored solutions for AI-related industries, while embedding AI into their existing products. Through our ongoing discussions with industry participants, we will continue to watch the commercial adoption of AI-powered robots and assess how AI shapes the broader growth story of the robotics market.

Samantha Mou is a senior analyst at Interact Analysis

interactanalysis.com

MANUFACTURERS ACROSS the UK are investing heavily in AI, automation, and digital systems. The budgets are committed, the vendors are engaged, and the roadmaps are signed off. Yet results consistently fall short of expectations. According to leadership development specialists Kiki Clements and Jane Atkinson of Activate Business School, the explanation is both simple and uncomfortable. "This is not a technology issue," said Clements. "This is a leadership challenge."

The scale of underperformance is striking, with an estimated 80% of AI projects failing to deliver the value they were implemented for. The statistic points not to flawed technology, but to flawed implementation. "These projects are not failing because the technology is fundamentally flawed," asserted Clements. "They're actually failing because of how they're implemented, how they're led, and how they're adopted within the entire organisation."

Compounding the problem is that AI is not infallible. It produces convincing outputs that are not always accurate, can lack contextual understanding, and introduces risks that go undetected without sufficient human oversight. For manufacturers operating in regulated, safety-critical, or high-precision environments, that oversight gap carries serious consequences.

Root causes 

Clements and Atkinson identified three interconnected drivers behind digital transformation failures:

- The first is culture. Transformation creates uncertainty about employee roles, skills, and the future. The response from the shop floor is rarely outright resistance, but rather something quieter and harder to address. "What we consistently see is not necessarily open resistance, but quiet disengagement," said Clements. "People become cautious, they hold back, they wait to see what happens." When leaders lack confidence in digital topics themselves, they stay at a high level and delegate technical conversations rather than engaging with them. The result is a workforce that feels change is happening *to* them rather than *with* them.

- The second is process. A persistent misconception in digital transformation programmes is that technology will resolve existing inefficiencies. It will not. "If processes are unclear, inconsistent, or poorly understood, automation does not solve that – it accelerates the issues," warned Atkinson.

- The third, and most significant, is the leadership capability gap. Leaders are making strategic decisions while their teams are navigating operational realities, but without a shared language around data, systems, and AI, those two perspectives fail to align. "This makes it really difficult to prioritise effectively, build trust in new initiatives, and sustain momentum in transformational programmes," said Atkinson.

Targeted development

Organisations successfully navigating Industry 5.0 are not necessarily the most technologically advanced, but hey are the ones whose leaders can guide technology confidently through the organisation. Programmes such as the Level Four Manufacturing Leadership Programme and the Level Four AI and Automation Practitioner Programme are designed to build exactly that capability, not at a deep technical level, but at the level required for informed decision-making and effective leadership.

"Leaders learn how to assess whether automation adds value, how to question data rather than simply accept it, and how to manage risk when working with AI systems," explained Clements. Crucially, the learning is applied directly to participants' own processes and transformation challenges, generating measurable improvements in productivity, project implementation speed, and cross-functional collaboration.

The barrier most commonly cited is cost, but with many programmes now accessible through the Growth and Skills Levy at little or no direct cost to employers, that barrier is largely surmountable. The harder question is whether organisations can afford not to act.

"When you consider the cost of failed projects, delayed transformation, and underutilised technology," said Atkinson, "the real risk is not investing in your leadership capability. The real risk is continuing without it."

www.activatelearning.ac.uk

Energy now accounts for 23% of operating costs for businesses surveyed. More than half (54%) say rising energy prices pose a moderate or major threat to profitability, a figure that has grown with each successive EEM survey since they began in 2022. In sectors with the highest energy intensity, the exposure is considerably more acute. For these businesses, coping with a permanent energy crisis, managing energy use and managing financial performance have become the same task.

The response across industry has been decisive in intent. Nearly all organisations surveyed (98%) are already investing or actively planning to invest — up from 93% in 2024. Half are targeting Net Zero within five years. But financial discipline is shaping what gets funded and what gets deferred: 83% require a return on energy efficiency investment within five years, and 40% within two years. Nearly a third (31%) lack the specialist resource to implement projects. A further 29% report a digital skills gap, and almost a quarter (23%) say they do not have sufficient data to justify investment internally. The infrastructure for action is being built; the capacity to act on it is lagging behind.

"The cost of inaction is now harder to justify than the cost of investment, and businesses know it," said Mike Umiker, managing director of the Energy Efficiency Movement. "The share of organisations citing upfront cost as their primary barrier has fallen from 53% in 2024 to 43% today. That ten-point drop tells us something important: the financial argument for energy efficiency is landing. But progress is not accelerating to match. The barriers that remain are structural; a shortage of skills, a lack of specialist expertise, and in too many cases, insufficient data to make the internal business case. Those are not problems you can solve with a cheque."

The report also points to a significant broadening of where businesses are directing investment. The share of organisations prioritising transportation and logistics has risen from 37% in 2024 to 49% in 2026, reflecting a move away from individual asset upgrades toward a system-wide view of energy use. More than 60% have invested in energy audits and cloud data management to build the foundation for that wider approach.

"Energy efficiency is no longer a sustainability topic in isolation, it has become a test of industrial competitiveness and resilience," Umiker added. "81% of organisations say better financing or government incentives would increase their investment, and more than half say they need external support across four or more areas. The tools and the technologies exist. What is needed now is a stable framework across policy, finance, and industry to deploy them at the pace this moment demands."

The findings land at the centre of a growing global debate on industrial energy security. The IEA's Global Conference on Energy Efficiency convenes on 29-30 June, in Montreal, bringing together government ministers, industry leaders, and financial institutions to address exactly these challenges. EEM will utilise the report findings for the conference, connecting the voice of 2,000 senior business decision-makers directly to the policy and investment conversations underway.

The full report – Energy Efficiency Investment Report 2026: Rising energy costs are outpacing the efficiency response – covers major energy-intensive sectors across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Survey respondents were senior decision-makers at small, medium and large organisations.

Download the full report here

Now, engineers at Princeton University have designed and built soft-rigid hybrid robots that move and shift without the need for motors or external pneumatic controls. To do this, the team combined a printable polymer, called a liquid crystal elastomer, with flexible electronics and folding techniques based on the art of origami. In an article published March 21 in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, a research team led by professors Emily Davidson and Glaucio Paulino reported that they used a 3D printer to create a reconfigurable soft robot that was able to repeatedly move without noticeable degradation.

As a demonstration, the researchers built a soft robot in the shape of a crane, a classic origami figure, that flaps its wings when powered with electricity. The crane moves without a motor. Instead, the robot’s motion relies on targeted heating in the polymer to control the wing flapping. The experiment also demonstrated that the Princeton soft robot can precisely and repeatedly move and return to its original shape without wear or distortion with real-time programmable sequences, a key feature for future applications.

Construction begins with a 3D printer and a special polymer

The system starts with a molten polymer printed into patterned zones using Davidson’s customised 3D printer. Despite its flexible nature, the polymer the researchers use is a liquid crystal elastomer, which means its internal molecules have an ordered structure. Davidson’s group are experts in controlling the structure of liquid crystal elastomers through molecular design, and controlling the nanostructure (in this case, the orientation) of polymers through printing, both of which were crucial to this project. The researchers programmed the printer to vary the internal orientation of the molecular structure of the polymer as it prints. Each of the patterned zones in the printed material features consistent molecular alignment. By stacking these zones and joining them in different ways, the researchers were able to create hinges in the material that bend in pre-programmed ways when the material is heated.

As part of the printing, the researchers also added flexible electronics into the hinges in the material. The printed circuit boards’ flexible structure allowed the researchers to embed them directly in the printing material rather than apply the circuits in a separate step. This simplifies fabrication and allows for greater consistency and functional integration of the circuit into the robot.

Davidson noted that a critical advance in the current work was the integration of 3D printed liquid crystal elastomers with printed circuit boards that could be commercially manufactured. The ability to co-design the liquid crystal elastomer hinges and the flexible printed circuit boards to drive actuation made the fabrication and control of these soft-rigid robots feasible.

Printed circuit boards control the heating that drives motion

Once embedded, these circuit boards allow the researchers to heat extremely specific areas of the polymer structure and perform closed-loop control using embedded temperature sensors. This heating takes advantage of the carefully structured polymer, causing the material to contract in ways that the engineers program into the polymer printing. These contractions trigger folding along hinges. To ensure the material folds only at the hinges, the researchers added light fiberglass panels to the flexible printed circuit boards in between the polymer hinges.

The researchers used mathematics derived from origami patterns to control the robots’ motion based on systems of folding and unfolding. Paulino’s research team has pioneered the use of origami to design medical implants, construction components and robotics. Recent projects include segmented soft robots that use origami systems to navigate complex paths, robots that can transform their shapes and adaptively reconfigure in a magnetic field, and programmable systems that can encrypt information and function as mechanical computers.

Paulino said an important feature of the design is that the software used to control the robot uses embedded temperature sensors in the origami to compensate for small errors that creep into the system as the robot repeatedly changes shape. Paulino said that the ability to correct these errors is key to soft robots’ durability.

The work began as an undergraduate thesis project

The development of the new robotic system began as David Bershadsky’s undergraduate thesis project at Princeton. Bershadsky, now in graduate school at the University of Texas-Austin, received his degree in electrical engineering in 2024 from Princeton.

Bershadsky said he has been interested in robotics since he pursued a project in high school developing swarm robotics that deployed individual robotic units that changed size. When he arrived at Princeton, he was interested in advancing the work.

“I was looking for a way to easily and repeatedly create unit cells that could transform based on volume,” he said.

Bershadsky thought that liquid crystal elastomers could serve as a vehicle to create that type of robotic system and approached Professor Davidson, an expert in the material, for advice. Davidson thought it was an intriguing idea.

“She said, ‘You should probably take Paulino’s origami engineering class to get a more formal background,’” Bershadsky said. One of the TAs in the class was Tuo Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher in Paulino’s lab who helped develop the research and is one of paper’s co-authors.

Researchers designed technology for manufacture

Bershadsky said the work is primarily an “integration of material science with robotics with a focus on manufacturability.”

“I think the big contribution is we showed integration of a complex system where we have local heating control,” he said. “We can control activation depending on where we heat.”

Besides demonstrating the viability of the robotic system, Bershadsky created a software tool that designers can use to create their own robots. The tool is available on the lab’s github and included with the paper’s dataset.

The most challenging part of the work?

“Honestly, people talk about system integration being the hard part,” Bershadsky said. “This entire project was the integration of a bunch of different technologies.”

engineering.princeton.edu

Honeywell's current brand value is estimated at $18 billion and has been synonymous with delivering innovation to customers for 140 years. Both new brands will draw on Honeywell's history while reflecting each company's focused strategy and long-term growth trajectory:

The automation business will be known as Honeywell Technologies and will continue to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker "HON." The company will be a global leader of the industrial world's transition from automation to autonomy, with a comprehensive portfolio of mission-critical, outcome-based technologies, solutions and software to drive customers' productivity and growth.

The aerospace business will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker "HONA" and will be known as Honeywell Aerospace. The company will be one of the largest publicly traded, pure-play aerospace suppliers, with leading positions in technology and systems that will continue delivering the future of aviation through increasing electrification and autonomous flight.

"Today marks another defining moment in our transformation into two independent, focused companies," said Vimal Kapur, chairman and CEO of Honeywell. "Drawing on Honeywell's century-long legacy, these new brand identities honor our history while reflecting the bold vision and strategic focus that will define Honeywell Technologies and Honeywell Aerospace as standalone companies. This is the start of an exciting new era for both businesses."

Honeywell Technologies

Honeywell Technologies' new brand demonstrates the company's clear focus and bold ambition. High-energy and kinetic, it retains the iconic Honeywell red as its anchor, alongside an expanded, more vibrant color palette and a modern "HT" monogram. The visual system, built around the concept of "intersections," reflects where the company's expertise meets technology to unlock precision, reliability and efficiency for its customers.

"Our new brand highlights the powerful intersections of our technology and expertise – from controls to intelligence to safety – that will redefine how industries operate, accelerating the shift toward a more autonomous future while unlocking new levels of growth and long-term value," added Kapur. "As Honeywell Technologies, this bold new chapter strengthens our foundation for the future and reflects our ability to continuously evolve our capabilities to deliver outcomes for our customers."

Honeywell Aerospace

The dynamic Honeywell Aerospace brand centers on a new, evolved logo – a stylised "H" and "A," with swooping negative space that suggests the line of the horizon. Its signature color is a distinctive sunrise orange, evoking the shades of the horizon as a pilot sees it at dawn, with silver accents that reflect the materiality of aircraft. This color palette gives Honeywell Aerospace its own distinct identity while still reflecting the trust that Honeywell has built over years.

"Our new Honeywell Aerospace brand reflects the precision, confidence and forward momentum that has defined the past century of innovation and trusted performance we have delivered for our customers and partners," said Jim Currier, president and CEO of Honeywell Aerospace. "As an independent company, we will be uniquely positioned to innovate faster, move with greater agility and shape the next era of aviation."

https://www.honeywell.com/gb/en

The investment arrives as global industrial operators face an urgent dual challenge: the need for productivity gains amid rising safety risks on factory and warehouse floors. Despite significant investment in automation, many facilities remain digitally dark regarding their manual fleets. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, between 35,000 and 62,000 forklift-related injuries occur each year in the United States, resulting in an average of two fatalities every week. This safety risk exists alongside significant inefficiency, with forklifts productive for less than half of their total operating time. Despite heavy technology investment, most sites still lack real-time visibility into vehicle location and performance.

Slamcore has built the solution. Using a stereo camera and proprietary visual AI, Slamcore's technology continuously tracks the position and behavior of any vehicle in a facility without GPS, beacons, floor markers or any other infrastructure. Slamcore Aware gives operations managers facility-wide visibility of every vehicle, enabling smarter utilization, faster investigations and meaningful reductions in idle time. Slamcore Alert monitors driver behavior and proximity to pedestrians and structures, catching the near misses before they become incidents.

"Operations managers in factories and warehouses have largely been flying blind when it comes to their manual fleets. Slamcore Aware and Slamcore Alert change that from day one, without disruption to existing operations," said Owen Nicholson, CEO, Slamcore. "ROKStar Ventures' investment tells us that the industry's most sophisticated players see this as a foundational infrastructure, not just another point solution. As our footprint grows, so does a body of real-world operational data that does not exist anywhere else and that will become the backbone for the next generation of physical AI."

"Delivering visual AI that performs reliably at the scale and complexity of a real factory or distribution center is a genuinely hard problem," said Ryan Gariepy, vice president of Robotics at Rockwell Automation. "Most approaches either require significant infrastructure investment or fail to hold up in the dynamic, unpredictable conditions of an active facility. The potential for the same technology platform to work on every class of autonomous and human-operated industrial vehicle is key. We're also incredibly excited about their ability to scale without requiring complex and time-consuming vehicle or facility redesigns."

Jim Adler, founder and general partner at Toyota Ventures and a Slamcore board member since the company's earliest days, sees the long-term data opportunity as equally significant as the products themselves, stating: "At Toyota Ventures, we believe safety and efficiency go hand-in-hand. Slamcore Aware and Alert have proven this today, but their long-term potential is even more compelling. Each Slamcore deployment generates real-world operational data, which will train the next generation of physical AI models."

Operations teams looking to improve fleet visibility and reduce forklift incidents can learn more at:

slamcore.com