"Don't fight back, fight forward."
– Ola Obisanya, "Ted Lasso"
1. Like the Wind... of Change
Red Bull Racing (RBR) has been absolutely destroying the Formula One competition for the last couple years. Ian Handscombe, head of quality engineering at RBR, highlights the crucial role of 3D printing in F1's success, emphasizing partnerships, including with Hexagon, for technology integration. Red Bull stands at the crossroads of tradition and innovation in the evolving F1 landscape, which just so happens to be on the podium's top spot.
2. From Trash to Treasure
No more crying over spilled milk! ETH Zurich has developed an eco-friendly method to extract gold from e-waste using an aerogel made from old milk. The researchers utilized whey protein to create a low-density aerogel, demonstrating its ability to absorb 93% of gold from a solution containing other metals. How amazing is this news? Think about it! We’ll soon have another gold rush to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to pull all the gold from the e-waste!
3. OMG, It's OML
Optimal machine learning (OML) is a superior approach to supply chain management. OML, as demonstrated in successful implementations, replaces flawed, forecast-driven planning with a one-step decision-support engine using historical data. The method enhances inventory management, requires organizational changes, and promises more flexible and resilient supply chains. Supply chain news is such a snoozefest, but hey, #youpeople keep clicking on it, so you’ll keep getting it.
4. Autonomous Progress
Movie time! This video stars Eve, a humanoid robot from OpenAI-backed manufacturer 1X. The Eve robots are trained through imitation learning via video and teleoperation (not to be confused with teleportation), with a base model equipped for specific tasks. 1X plans to scale up the technology, hiring AI researchers to enhance general-purpose mobile manipulation. 1X is still in the investment stages, so we’ll have to see how hot the humanoid bot market is when Amazon concludes its evaluation of Agility’s Digit.
5. Robot Orders Drop 30%
North American robot orders plunged 30% in 2023 to 31,159 from 2022’s total of 44,196. The decline, noted since the second quarter of 2023, reflects broader economic challenges like the chip shortage. Automotive manufacturing robots dropped 34%, and non-automotive robots fell by 25%. Challenges include economic factors and the evolution of the robotics-as-a-service model.
To get the latest tech developments delivered directly to your inbox, subscribe to the weekly Tech Report here.
To access Tech Trends, log in to or register for an MTInsight account at https://www.mtinsight.org/
