Noted horror writer Clive Barker once claimed that nothing ever truly begins or ends; rather, current things are just continuations of past things, and future things are continuations of present ones. Although interesting, this notion doesn't work well in the world of manufacturing.

The automotive industry experienced a record number of vehicle recalls in 2018, and this year's tally isn't far behind. Many of those issues have been caused by electronics or software glitches.

The automotive industry is at the threshold of a disruption not seen since the Brass Era of the 1900s. Electric vehicles, connectivity, mobility-as-a-service, and autonomous vehicles promise to change the future of transportation in the same way that the "horseless carriage" did a century ago.

CAMBRIDGE, MA—Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed an army of tiny robots that can assemble large lattice structures, such as aircraft fuselages or wings.

The lives of manufacturers would be so much easier if all their automation processes were homogeneous. Unfortunately, there are many that require customization to satisfy the unique requirements of an automated work-holding or material-handling application.

There's nothing quite like a multistation automated assembly system. Watching robots, actuators and indexers go about their carefully choreographed routines with little or no human intervention can seem nothing short of miraculous.

Refrigerators are one of the only appliances found in nearly every type of home, whether it's an apartment in suburban Atlanta, a high-rise condominium in downtown Chicago, a beach house in Hawaii or a trailer in Texas. The humble refrigerator is also the hardest working household appliance. Day and night, it's constantly running to keep all types of food and beverages cool, fresh or frozen.

FRANKFURT,Germany—The latest World Robotics report presented by the International Federation of Robotics shows an annual global sales value of $16.5 billion dollars in 2018, a new record.

Often, hands-on experience is the best way to prepare college students for life in the real world. That's the goal of the Omron Senior Design and Robotics Laboratory at the University of Houston.

Automated assembly is becoming increasingly common, even for small manufacturing companies. Robotic assemblers improve productivity and boost output while ensuring that results are more consistent.