August Hardware Roundup

Welcome to another edition of hardware roundup! This month, we have stories on LEGO, Cobots, 1970’s hardware innovation, and more!

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Industry News

• In automotive news, Dyson unveiled plans for a vehicle-testing site and expects to have a vehicle on the road by 2021. LEGO built a functioning replica of a Bugatti using almost only Lego Technic pieces.
  + LEGO plans to wean itself off ABS and build its toys entirely from plant-based recycled materials by 2030.
• While 3D printing hasn’t lived up to consumer expectations, its impact is increasingly being felt in industrial applications. Dubai mandated that 25% of new buildings should to be 3D printed within the next seven years, and BMW was recognized for the producing the first 3D printed metal in automotive mass production.
• A report found that over 90% of food processing and packaging companies rely on collaborative robots ,or “Cobots,” to decrease operation costs, meet global demand, and combat skilled labor shortages. ISO standards, certifications, and technology trends for cobots .
  + The head of Misty Robotics on the challenges of developing personal/social robots.
• An article in Logic Magazine examines the resilience of supply chains and the lack of transparency that comes with that reliability. Also, CB Insights’ list of 125 startups that are disrupting the supply chain and logistics industry is out now.
  + Maersk tests wind power on ships to reduce fueling costs.

Hardware Knowledge

• My new favorite Instagram account, @how_shits_made, capturesmanufacturing processes in China, such as blanking, looming, drawing, stamping, coating, and much more.
  + Shipping from China.
• A little tech history: A look inside the 1970’s calculator race between TI, Sharp, HP, and Casio. Plus, the pivotal role Sears played in introducing the public to computers and video games.
  + Only 40 percent of women’s front pockets can completely fit a leading smartphone brand.
• Hackers at this year’s DefCon turned an Amazon Echo into a surveillance device, manipulated voting machines, and live-streamed a police body camera.
  + How computing power, miniaturization, generative design is fueling computational design and changing the future of collaboration.
• Frequent and longer droughts are changing the approach to water infrastructure, leading to more solutions like rainwater catchment, desalination, and potable reuse.
  + Turning Hoover Dam into a giant battery.

Events + Community

• Jobs: Samsara and Molekule are hiring across the board; Athelas is looking for fluidics and embedded engineers, and Amprius is looking for a battery engineer.
• Events: The Formlabs Roadshow heads to Chicago this month, and IMTS kicks off on Sept 10.
  + We will be at the Silicon Valley Hardware Symposium on September 20.

For the Love of Engineering

An 18-minute video of Audi’s electric motor production facility in Hungary.

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Until next month!

Fin, Hardware Evangelist at Fictiv