PLYMOUTH, England—This year marks the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower, the ship that transported more than 100 brave souls across the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Cod, MA. To celebrate the historic event, an autonomous research vessel will retrace the voyage in the spring.

DARMSTADT, Germany—Engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability have developed a lightweight battery pack made out of carbon-fiber composites that weighs 40 percent less than traditional aluminum enclosures.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—Wisk, an urban air mobility company, is teaming up with NASA engineers to focus on the safe integration of autonomous aircraft systems into national air traffic patterns.