To get an idea of the importance of sensors to the factory of the future, head to upstate New York to General Electric’s sprawling assembly plant in Schenectady, NY, where the company makes sodium-nickel batteries for cell-phone towers and other applications.

The Automate Show was held June 6-9 in Detroit. More than 550 robotics and automation vendors exhibited. Here are five new products on display at the event.

A slightly crooked painting gets most people’s attention, whereas very few people will notice a car door that is askew by less than a millimeter. Catching that imperfection is often reserved for trained personnel on an automobile assembly line.

Recently, I hired professionals to cut down some large, dead trees near my house. I then used a chainsaw to cut the trees into smaller, moveable pieces that I could chop for firewood. 

Automotive OEMs love to show off their automated body-in-white assembly lines. Commercials invariably feature dozens of six-axis robots producing showers of sparks in choreographed routines. 

What is the origin of life on Earth? Is there life on other planets? These age-old questions may finally be answered when NASA’s Europa Clipper conducts 44 flybys of Europa, Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, beginning in April 2030.

DETROIT— UVeye, a provider of advanced vehicle diagnostic systems, has received an investment from the capital venture arm of General Motors, GM Ventures, to help fund the development and commercialization of the company’s vehicle inspection technology. 

Some of the largest machinery in the world depends on the smooth operation of tiny ball and roller bearings. Knowing this, manufacturers do all they can to make sure that the bearings they purchase for their equipment are completely free of defects.

Supply chain delays continue to plague manufacturing, leaving companies with limited options to overcome the problem. The two most common approaches are to either diversify into multiple markets or improve one’s product quality and service.