The article summarises the results of two projects undertaken within the framework of the European Union Brite‐Euram programme. Describes the problem of automating railway carriage production. Explains the solutions that have been developed for the welding and cutting processes that are...

This paper details the design and operation of the BarrettHand BH8‐250, an intelligent, highly flexible eight‐axis gripper that reconfigures itself in real time to conform securely to a wide variety of part shapes without tool‐change interruptions. The grasper brings enormous value to...

A demonstrator cell has been developed at Airbus UK for building large aircraft wing box assemblies by a partnership of six companies partly funded under the UK government’s civil aviation research and demonstration (CARAD) programme. The cell has shown the feasibility of assembling the three...

Reports from the Hanover Fair on new developments in robotic automation, outlines the latest robot hardware and software innovations to be launched on the market, and describes new applications being taken up by industry.