Numbers are critical to the smooth functioning of the international aerospace industry. Regulatory authorities such as the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the US Department of Defense (DoD) mandate that aero components be permanently marked to ensure authenticity and traceability throughout the supply chain and into service.

Technology that increases production rates and part quality, while reducing setup times and costs, is seeing a surge in demand within the aerospace sector as the commercial aircraft backlog continues to grow.

Finding ways to overcome physical limitations so that humans can dive deeper and stay underwater longer has been an ongoing quest. Back in the 15th century, Leonardo Da Vinci drew sketches of a submarine and a robot. Had he thought to combine the two concepts, he would have created a prototype of an unmanned underwater vehicle, or underwater drone. Instead, the world had to wait another five hundred years.

Drones (i.e. quadrotors) are a popular and increasingly widespread product used by consumers as well as in a diversity of industrial, military and other applications. Historically under the control of human operators on the ground, they’re becoming increasingly autonomous as the cameras built into them find use not only for capturing footage of the world around them but also in understanding and responding to their surroundings. Combining imaging with other sensing modalities can further bolster the robustness of this autonomy.

It’s a crisp November day in Michigan, and a convoy of British and American resupply vehicles are rumbling along at a comfortable 25 miles per hour. In the lead is a British Army Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) HX-60 truck, trailed closely by two U.S. Army Oshkosh Light Medium Tactical Vehicles (LMTVs). In total, there are zero humans operating this convoy.

The US Army’s Futures Command is the most important administrative reorganization of the modern Army. Responding to the world’s changing priorities— especially the “near peer” threat of ascendant Russia and China—the Army is no longer modernizing, but re-inventing its ground vehicle fleet against new realities. Just like the U.S. Air Force stopped inventing better jets and pilot aids and moved to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for “dull, dirty and dangerous” missions, the Army envisions multiple autonomous vehicle concepts. Instead of a heavier Abrams main battle tank, or a replacement to the aging M113 APC, autonomous “wingman” vehicles may replace some of the human-heavy tasks on the future battlefield.

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) is bringing this year's XPONENTIAL 2019 to McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. The event, which runs from April 29 – May 2, will feature more than 150 technical sessions focused on all aspects of the unmanned vehicle and robotics market. Over 700 exhibitors representing more than 20 different industries will be showcasing their latest technology to an estimated 8,500 attendees from all over the world.

Military vehicles play a vital role in protecting our society — and inevitably encounter many extreme conditions across their lifespan. From the varying weight, to the rough terrain, there is a lot that can go wrong. Military steering systems must therefore be engineered to take on such extremes. This begins at the design stage and ends with analysis through testing. It's here the parts are tested to their limits and validated against the original specification and real-life requirements.

Seastema SpA, a company owned by Fincantieri (Genova, Italy), designs, develops, and supplies integrated automation systems for different areas of the marine industry. The company established an Innovation Division in Rome to verify the feasibility of an unconventional radar system by means of a demonstrator built as much as possible with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) devices.

When it comes to modern military operations, robotic technology provides a tremendous tactical advantage. Drones, ground robots and autonomous vehicles are routinely used for missions such as intelligence-gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), allowing military personnel to conduct operations from a safe distance. And yet, despite these technological advances, the vast majority of vehicles in use by the military — whether in the air or on land — still require a human operator.