OSAKA, Japan—Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Yanmar Power Technology Co. Ltd., and the Japan Engine Corp. have formed a consortium to pursue joint development of hydrogen fueled marine engines for ocean-going and coastal vessels.

Autonomous cars and trucks are still in development and years away from real-world deployment. However, many types of off-road vehicles are already emerging for daily use in agriculture, construction, mining, port logistics and other applications.

RANJANGOAN, India—Access-hardware manufacturer Southco Inc. recently opened its greatly expanded manufacturing facility here.

MOLINE, IL—Deere & Co. is using artificial intelligence and machine vision to detect and fix porosity defects in welds on its tractors.

LA VERGNE, TN—Tooling Tech Group has completed construction of a new 72,000 square-foot facility here to consolidate its automation division, which had been housed in two buildings in Murfreesboro, TN.