Why the fastest engineering now happens before anything is built
The future of manufacturing competitiveness may depend less on building faster prototypes and more on building better virtual ones. As digital engineering reshapes product development across industry, technologies once associated primarily with elite motorsport are increasingly becoming central to how manufacturers design, test and optimise products long before physical production begins. That trend is reflected […]
Why manufacturers must finally connect design with reality
For years manufacturers have invested heavily in digital transformation programmes designed to connect factories, automate production and improve operational visibility. Yet one of the industry’s most persistent challenges remains largely unresolved: the disconnect between how products and production systems are designed and how they actually perform once they enter the real world. That gap sits […]
Honeywell bets that focused automation is the next phase of industrial transformation
Industrial manufacturers are entering a new phase of digital transformation in which the challenge is no longer simply connecting assets or collecting operational data, but turning industrial automation into increasingly autonomous operations. Against that backdrop, Honeywell has completed one of the most significant corporate restructurings in its history, creating a standalone automation business designed to […]
Engineering and manufacturing are being reshaped by AI
The role of AI in industry is shifting from optimisation to authorship, moving beyond analysing systems to actively designing them. As simulation, data and autonomous agents converge, engineering is becoming a continuous, machine-driven process where physical outcomes are defined long before anything is built. The application of artificial intelligence is extending beyond automation and analytics […]
The factory is no longer built in steel it is proven in simulation first
Industrial transformation is no longer constrained by physical iteration but by the ability to model, simulate and validate complexity before it exists. The convergence of AI, simulation and real-time data is redefining how factories are designed, operated and continuously optimised. The language of digital transformation in manufacturing has long been dominated by incremental gains, better […]
Belgium’s transmission breakthrough is going global
As electricity demand accelerates and renewable generation reshapes power flows, transmission operators are under pressure to unlock capacity without waiting decades for new infrastructure. Belgium’s early adoption of dynamic line rating shows how smarter use of existing assets is becoming one of the most powerful tools in modern grid strategy. As the first to deploy […]
Auto manufacturing returns to uncertainty once again
The automotive industry is entering another period of structural upheaval, driven by shifting regulation, tightening margins and recalibrated expectations around electrification and autonomy. As past certainties unravel, flexibility, digital continuity and cost discipline are emerging as the real fault lines that will determine which manufacturers endure. The automotive industry has a habit of believing it […]
Leading through uncertainty transforming operations in an era of volatility
At Rockwell Automation Fair 2025 in Chicago, Tessa Myers delivered one of the most grounded and strategically important messages of the week. Her focus was not on technology for its own sake but on the behaviours, investment logic and scaling discipline that separate genuine transformation from well-intentioned stagnation. The contrast with the previous days at […]
Factories that learn shaping the next era of industrial autonomy
At Rockwell Automation Fair 2025 in Chicago, Cyril Perducat set out a vision for industrial operations built on adaptive intelligence rather than fixed instruction. The convergence of software defined automation, embedded AI and robotics is becoming the foundation of modern production, reshaping architectures, workflows and expectations across global industry. The setting helped underscore the moment. […]
The factory that tries to rethink the future of industrial operations
The next chapter of advanced manufacturing is no longer about isolated pilots or incremental upgrades. The planned construction of Rockwell Automation’s new Wisconsin plant signals a shift toward fully integrated industrial systems shaped by software, data fluency, and adaptive automation. The announcement at Automation Fair 2025 in Chicago landed with a clarity that is rare […]
The software-defined revolution is reshaping industrial automation
A new generation of software-defined automation is quietly changing the character of modern manufacturing. By decoupling control from hardware, it is turning rigid systems into fluid networks of intelligence, making operations more adaptable, efficient, and ready for the age of AI. The history of industrial automation is a series of redefinitions of control. The 1970s […]
The connected future of life sciences manufacturing
Precision, connectivity, and intelligence are reshaping the foundations of modern production. In life sciences, the next generation of manufacturing is no longer defined only by mechanical sophistication but by how seamlessly data, digital models, and human ingenuity converge to accelerate innovation without compromising trust. In an era of shrinking design cycles and rising regulatory pressure, […]
Digital cognition is closing the gap between human judgment and machine control
Executives across manufacturing are rethinking how decisions are made, moving beyond steady-state control to confront the messy, probabilistic choices that govern yield, safety, and uptime. Digital cognition in industrial automation offers a practical way to encode expertise, reduce variance, and improve performance without removing people from the loop. Plant automation has excelled at holding a […]
The road to embodied intelligence in robotics
The next decade will mark the transition from automated to autonomous robotics. By 2035, advances in AI, sensing, and digital infrastructure will create machines capable not only of executing programmed tasks but of understanding their environments, adapting in real time, and learning from experience. This evolution will redefine how manufacturing, logistics, and energy systems are […]
MES must become the factory’s nervous system, not its filing cabinet
Manufacturing execution systems are evolving from passive record-keeping to active, real-time decision support that shapes outcomes at the speed of operations. Senior leaders who still view MES as a historical ledger are missing the strategic pivot that modern manufacturing execution systems now demand. The term MES emerged in the early 1990s, and for a long […]
Robotics will decide whether industry thrives or fractures by 2035
The fusion of robotics and artificial intelligence is accelerating, but its trajectory remains uncertain. Whether autonomy becomes a scaffold for human potential or a hollow substitute will depend on choices made in the coming decade. Industrial revolutions rarely appear fully formed. The steam engine did not immediately replace muscle and wood; it lurked first in […]
Balancing precision and capacity with simulation-powered digital twins
Discrete event simulation is reshaping process design in manufacturing, replacing guesswork with data-driven certainty and unlocking significant untapped capacity. By creating accurate, dynamic models of complex processes, manufacturers can optimise throughput, reduce costs and enhance operational agility before a single piece of equipment is installed. Scaling up from a successful bench synthesis to a fully […]
Most digital twins in manufacturing are just digital theatre
Digital twins and AI are converging to transform industrial operations, but success demands deep data discipline, strategic humility, and an uncomfortable rethink of control. Real change starts with the unspectacular. For all the headlines about AI remaking industry, few narratives grapple with the unglamorous reality at its foundation: if your data is poor, your AI […]
How intelligent agents are transforming maintenance from routine to strategic
Manufacturers are no longer relying on static schedules and human memory to manage complex assets. Embedded AI agents are changing the game by proactively detecting inefficiencies, optimising inspections, and capturing expertise before it disappears. The traditional view of enterprise asset management as a reactive, records-based system is quietly collapsing. In its place, a new model […]
No code on the shop floor is not just for hobbyists anymore
Low-code and no-code platforms are quietly transforming decision-making in industrial environments. These tools are transforming frontline workers into system designers and simulation engineers without requiring them to write a single line of code. The industrial shop floor has always been the domain of pragmatism. Machines must work, systems must align, and processes must produce tangible […]
Data infrastructure is the unsung battleground for industrial AI success
Executives may be eager to scale AI across manufacturing, but without a robust data infrastructure, pilot projects will fail to take flight. Understanding how to treat data as infrastructure, rather than an afterthought, is now critical to achieving fundamental transformation. The AI hype curve is merciless. One moment, an industrial proof-of-concept attracts board-level excitement; the […]
