Investigates the planning, negotiation and setting up of a joint venture company (JVC) in Indonesia between a British multinational corporation, an Indonesian state‐owned company and an Indonesian private company. It explores the influence of cultural diversity on this process, the role of...

Describes an installation at Aerospace Composite Technologies in Luton to apply ice protection heating elements to the leading edge portion of the main rotor blade fitted to the Westland EH101 military helicopter. The elements comprising a layer of porous conductive metal are plasma sprayed...

Eureka project E! 1784 Eurolaser Publics is creating a fully automated solution for the 2D and 3D laser cutting of metals up to 20 mm thick. The European consortium made up of Italian, French and Danish companies has developed a closed loop system incorporating innovative sensors and control...

New haptic robot arms with powerful force feedback could help product design engineers check out complex assembly problems in a virtual reality environment. Companies in the automotive and aerospace industries are likely to be the first to take advantage of the technology. They could be applying...

Robonaut is a humanoid robot designed by the Robotic Systems Technology Branch at NASA's Johnson Space Center in a collaborative effort with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. This paper describes the implementation of haptic feedback into Robonaut and Robosim, the computer simulation of...

Graham Engineering, a UK company specialising in the manufacture of large complex components for high‐tech industries has pioneered the application of 3D laser trimming and welding of stainless steel and other difficult‐to‐process pressings and fabrications. It uses a Prima Optima 3D laser...

Purpose – Describes the application of standard industrial robots to the assembly and riveting of aerostructure sub‐assemblies. Design/methodology/approach – Describes the design and operation of special purpose end‐effectors for assembly and solid riveting and their integration in an...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose two simple tools for the kinematic characterization of hexapods. The paper also aims to share the experience of converting a popular commercial motion base (Stewart‐Gough platform, hexapod) to an industrial robot for use in heavy duty...

The past five years have seen a significant improvement in the reliability and the acceptance of two‐dimensional abrasive waterjet (AWJ) cutting systems. Across all of the major industrial countries in Europe, one can now find any number of job shops or custom cutting centres offering AWJ cut...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current research and development status and future directions of context‐aware systems (CAS) in the aerospace industry. Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies a layered framework to analyse the current status of research and...