AI Risk 

A new report ‘The Default Setting: Women, AI and the Future of Work in UK Manufacturing’, reveals an estimated 41.1% of women’s manufacturing employment in the UK is in occupations exposed to generative AI, compared with 23.6% of men’s. The research, commissioned by home appliance manufacturer Beko, also sets out how these concerns can be mitigated with responsible AI adoption policies. The findings have already helped inform and strengthen Beko’s existing responsible AI and people policies, while contributing to the development of additional guidance in key areas. ​ 

More information www.bekoplc.com  

New £9.8m Robotics Programme to Boost GSW

Businesses across the Greater South West will receive dedicated support to explore and adopt robotics and automation through a new £9.8m regional programme. The NCC will lead the one-to-one business advisory service within the Greater South West Robotics Adoption Hub, providing practical support to help businesses explore robotics and automation opportunities and navigate the route to adoption and return on investment. The hub is led by Bristol Robotics Laboratory through the University of Bristol, in partnership with UWE Bristol and NCC.  

More information www.southwestrobotics.org.uk 

Mapping The Route To UK Floating Wind Facility

Gabriel Engineering Group has drawn up plans for a new UK manufacturing facility that could create up to 40 skilled jobs and help supply the fast-growing floating offshore wind sector in the Celtic Sea. The company partnered with the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) to explore how specialist anchoring and mooring systems could be manufactured competitively and at scale in the UK. Gabriel Engineering also worked with Bardex Corp to explore how its BarLatch and BarMoor technologies could be produced through a modular manufacturing approach.  

More information www.nmis.scot 

Record-Breaking 250+ mph Remote-Controlled Car 

A mechanical engineer from Rugby has used nearly 25 years of experience working with PTC technology to help him design and develop the world’s fastest remote-controlled car. 

Stephen Wallis, who honed his engineering skills at companies including Royal Enfield, Triumph Motorcycles and Greenjets, took just eight months to create, build, test and run ‘Mach Reaper’. 

Designed using PTC’s cloud-based Onshape solution, the car clocked 250.67 mph through the timing traps at a ROSSA (Radio Operated Scale Speed Association) speed event in North Wales. The achievement broke the previous Guinness World Record and makes Wallis the first person in history to push a remote-controlled car to those speeds. Just a few weeks later he broke his own record, reaching 256.47mph at an unofficial speed event. 

More information www.ptc.com  

Queen’s University Belfast Opens AMIC

Queen’s University Belfast has officially opened the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC), a circa £100m investment through the Belfast Region City Deal that supports innovation, growth and the future of manufacturing in Northern Ireland. The facility is expected to create up to 1500 jobs across Northern Ireland, contribute £1.3bn to the economy and support the training of 300 apprentices by 2050. 

Located at Global Point in Newtownabbey, AMIC is designed for industry and in response to the needs of the burgeoning advanced manufacturing sector in Northern Ireland, with businesses and industry partners helping to shape its capabilities. The 10,500 m2 facility comprises a large engineering hall, labs, metrology suite, cleanroom, offices, meeting rooms, collaboration spaces, VR suite, an auditorium and cafe. 

More information www.we-are-amic.com