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Mate-XT GO Exoskeleton reduces effort up to 50%

Comau's MATE-XT GO exoskeleton supports arms and shoulders during repetitive or overhead work, reducing muscle and perceived effort by up to 50% to improve comfort, endurance, and posture. Weighing under 3 kg, it dons in 30 seconds and removes in 10. Made in Italy, Category II PPE for industry, logistics, construction, agriculture, and trades.
Learn more.

New low-noise gearheads for high-torque mini motors

FAULHABER expands its GPT family with the quiet 22GPT LN and 32GPT LN gearheads, engineered for noise-sensitive laboratory, optical, medical, testing, and measurement systems. They pair high torque with compact, reliable design, delivering up to 2.2 Nm (22GPT LN) and 8 Nm (32GPT LN) in intermittent operation, and can handle occasional peak loads of 4 Nm and 12 Nm, respectively.
Learn more.

Linear voice coil motor tolerates tilting and misalignment

Moticont's new LVCM-051-032-06 linear voice coil motor features an enlarged radial air gap to accommodate tilt and misalignment when clamping out-of-parallel objects or moving off-center loads. It delivers 40.8-N peak and 12.9-N continuous force, with low-inertia, zero-cogging performance suited for sorting, packaging, sampling, machining, and medical automation.
Learn more and find the right VC motor for your application.

Crossed roller bearings dramatically lower weight and size for low- to medium-precision designs

IKO International's LCRB Series crossed roller bearings use press-formed, heat-treated steel rings and high-contact rollers to deliver up to 60% less mass than comparable designs. Their bolt-on flanges, compact profile, and fast response suit rotary positioning, seating, warehouse systems, and lightweight aerospace needs. Two models are available: LCRB 50 and LCRB 70.
Read the full article.

Slash robotic machining deployment times

RoboDK has introduced a CAM platform that cuts machining-automation deployment time by removing manual programming. It automatically generates robot code from CAD models and simulations, supporting milling, drilling, deburring, cutting, and additive processes. Users can create advanced toolpaths, run full-process simulations, detect collisions, and scale from 3-axis to 5-axis machining in one environment. NASA Langley is among its users.
Learn more.

Compact open-frame servo drives: New CLC series

Nanotec's CLC series compact open-frame servo drives support stepper and BLDC motors with 3-, 6-, or 15-A ratings. They offer CANopen, EtherCAT, Modbus RTU, FOC control, and a built-in programming environment. SSI, incremental, and Hall feedback with dual-loop control, plus flexible I/Os, suit lab automation, medical, packaging, and compact robotics.
Learn more.

What is Sensorless Closed Loop? Precise motor control without an encoder

Matt Sherman, eMobility Sales and Application Engineer at KEB America, runs through different options to drive an AC motor, including one called "Sensorless Closed Loop" that does not require additional hardware such as encoder, resolver, or cables on the motor.
Read the blog, which includes an informative video.

NEW! Programmable angle sensors

Vert-X 13E sensors from Novotechnik U.S. deliver wear-free, maintenance-free rotary measurement thanks to a touchless magnetic design and hermetic IP69 sealing that shrugs off water, oil, and dust. They provide precise 0 to 360° feedback with 14-bit resolution, SPI/PWM outputs, and 50-year MTTF -- all in a compact 13-mm package that retains absolute position through power loss. Applications include servodrives, insetting machines, robots, and medical.
Learn more.

What's a high-helix (high-lead) screw and what can it do for you?

"High-helix (high-lead) screws are a crucial component in many motion control systems, offering increased efficiency and faster linear motion," says Christopher Nook, CEO and founder of Helix Linear Technologies. "Unlike standard lead screws, these specialized screws feature a steeper helix angle, allowing for greater lead per revolution." Learn their mechanics, advantages, and many applications.
Read the Helix Linear Technologies blog.

Streamline servo linear actuator selection: New Drive Integration Tool

Tolomatic's online Drive Integration Tool simplifies the selection process to seamlessly match a drive system to a servo linear actuator. This tool combines the motor, drive, feedback, and connection info across a wide range of industry-leading manufacturers with Tolomatic's own servo linear actuator specs so you can ensure compatibility and streamline commissioning.
Learn more.

Magnet-free electric motor tech is award winner

BorgWarner won an R&D 100 Award in partnership with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Lab for their work on new motor technology. The project powers an electromagnet-based rotor, eliminating the need for rare earth magnets, and does away with some other traditional components too.
Read the full article.

Key factors for ball screw applications

Learn the six key factors that should be considered when specifying ball screw assemblies in motion control applications. PCB Linear gathered a panel of experts in the field of linear motion to concentrate on this important topic -- particularly when it comes to the company's miniature ball screw product line. Learn about precision and accuracy, orientation, speed and acceleration, duty cycle, linear motion travel, and load capacity. Podcast available too.
Read the PCB Linear blog.

Brushed DC motors for higher temps

Traditionally, operating temperatures up to 200 C were exclusively the domain of brushless motors. maxon has changed this with the new DCX22S HT brushed DC motor, which uses a high-temp-grade Neodymium magnet, a customized winding, and a newly designed cover made of a high-temp-capable material. Works with the GPX22 and GPX26 gearbox ranges.
Learn more.

Structural beam-type linear motion guide

THK's LM Guide JR is a structural beam-type linear motion guide designed to serve as both a linear guide and a machine structural component. With its high rigidity rail design and four-way equal load capacity, LM Guide JR supports stable, precise motion while helping simplify machine structures and reduce overall system complexity. Since the LM rail's cross-section center is slightly thinner, it can absorb parallelism errors between two rails by bending inward or outward. Its cross-sectional shape provides high flexural rigidity, though, allowing it to serve as a structural component.
Learn more.

Machine shops: Automation provides more for less

Siemens is pushing machine-tool automation forward with a new partnership that pairs a digital twin of its SINUMERIK 828 CNC with a KUKA robot. The system, with the robot arm integrated into the CNC, streamlines part-handling tasks and simplifies both operation and programming, giving small and mid-sized shops a practical, high-impact automation upgrade. Lots of new capabilities here.
Read the full article.

Air Force partners with Stanford researchers to test AI copilots

[Credit: Video screenshot courtesy of Stanford University]

 

 

By Cassidy Beach, Stanford School of Engineering, Stanford University

Stanford engineers recently partnered with the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (TPS) and the DAF-Stanford AI Studio to evaluate how an AI "copilot" could support pilots during the most demanding moments of flight. The system was designed to help pilots diagnose problems, reduce workload, and respond faster during emergencies where every second matters.

The collaboration originated in the Stanford Intelligent Systems Laboratory, led by Mykel Kochenderfer, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics, which focuses on developing decision-making systems for safety-critical environments. As a third-generation pilot, he emphasized the stakes: "Pilots train intensely for emergencies, but accident databases show that many mishaps stem from human error. If we can get the right information to the pilot as quickly as possible, we can significantly improve safety."

The researcher developed and tested the system using a simulator -- and it also made it to the cockpit of a Learjet 25 as part of a Test Management Project, a capstone in which TPS students design flight-test and safety-plan programs.

Cool under pressure
Running on an iPad, the system relies on retrieval-augmented generation, a system similar to a highly advanced "Ctrl + F," allowing it to instantly search documents for relevant information.

PhD candidate Marc Schlichting said the system could assist pilots across a wide range of emergency scenarios. "When a pilot spots an anomaly like a warning light, time is always the limiting factor," he said. "Normally, they'd flip through checklists and manuals to diagnose the issue, but the assistant can scan those and return guidance within seconds. It may not sound like much, but in an emergency, those seconds matter."

Knowing AI's capacity for making up or twisting information, the team worked extensively to reduce the risk of AI "hallucinations," so pilots can trust the assistant's recommendations under pressure, explained Kochenderfer.

VIDEO: Stanford researchers and Air Force test pilots team up to study AI copilots. [Credit: Stanford University]

To test their work in controlled but demanding conditions, the team used a full-motion research simulator in the Stanford Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The six-degrees-of-freedom platform features an immersive curved display and controls that provide realistic vibration and resistance, allowing researchers to stage rare, complex, or cascading failures that are too dangerous to attempt in flight. Schlichting described the simulated scenarios as "a pilot's nightmare in a controlled setting."

In-flight tests
To test the system in a more realistic setting, 24 TPS pilots flew a Learjet 25 through two custom scenarios: once without the AI assistant and once with it. The goal was to measure how the system affected workload, decision-making, and pilots' ability to diagnose hard-to-interpret system failures.

Major John "Heater" Alora, director of operations at the DAF-Stanford AI Studio, said the collaboration was a "natural fit" because "Stanford is advancing the frontier of AI and autonomy while TPS is the nation's leading institution for testing new flight-system technologies."

Captain Jorge "FAIR" Cervantes, a TPS student in Class 25A and member of the test team, said the flights helped him better understand "how pilots chose to interact with the assistant, what information they trusted, and what follow-up questions they asked under pressure."

Understanding these behaviors is important when considering how this technology could scale for future use. Alora said AI copilots could benefit many areas of aviation. "What's really exciting about this technology is that it has applications for both long-duration military missions and enhancing safety and workload management in commercial aviation."

The results of this work are still being analyzed, and the researchers plan to detail them in an upcoming paper. They are already using the valuable feedback they got from the flight tests to improve the system and have a new version of the assistant that talks to pilots and has vision capabilities. "Each phase of testing were baby steps toward building the confidence required to deploy AI assistants responsibly and reliably in safety-critical environments, and ultimately, to make flying safer for everyone," said Kochenderfer.

Published February 2026

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