The Innovation Report
Autonomous Helicopter Completes First Flight
The UK's first autonomous full-size helicopter Proteus has completed its maiden flight. The Royal Navy said the helicopter was designed and built by Leonardo in Yeovil under a £60m programme for the Royal Navy and would "unlock the potential of uncrewed aerial...
How Is Artificial Intelligence Changing Materials R&D?
Materials research relies on intuition-driven exploration, where chemists and engineers tweak tiny elements in compositions or processes and then wait to see the result. This approach is powerful - but slow. Add to this the millions of variables and...
UBTech’s Humanoid Robots Step Into Airbus Factories In Global Manufacturing Push
Chinese robotics company UBTech is taking one of its biggest steps yet toward globalising humanoid robots, partnering with European aviation giant Airbus to deploy its Walker S2 robots in aircraft manufacturing. The deal puts UBTech’s Walker S2 robots into one...
Fedex’s CEO Explains Why Regular Humanoid Robots Can’t Get The Job Done In Its Warehouses
Raj Subramaniam, chief executive of the global e-commerce and transportation company, spoke in an interview with The New York Times, published on Sunday, about his approach to technology. Speaking about automating certain parts of the delivery process, Subramaniam...
Orbital Robotics Reaches Out With A Plan To Build Robotic Arms That Use AI
A space startup founded by veterans of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is recruiting partners in its quest to build robotic arms powered by artificial intelligence. Founded in late 2024, Puyallup, Wash.-based Orbital Robotics is still in its infancy — but it has...
Report Shows Present Extent, Future Impact Of Data Centers In Great Lakes Region, Including 77 Planned Centers In Ohio
The University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service has released a multi-year report on data centers in the Great Lakes region, examining the economic and energy implications of data centers across the region - including in Ohio and Michigan. ...
Smart Mobility Today: 17 January 2026
As a Detroit kid with an engineer father who worked for GM alternating his time between the (GM) Tech Center (as I knew it) and the iconic Plant 21, I was acutely aware of cars and how they ended up in the nation's driveways. Trips to my Grandma's house in Hamtramck...
The Best Hydrogen For Heavy-Duty Transport Is Locally Produced And Green, Say Researchers
If trucks ran on hydrogen instead of fossil fuels, carbon dioxide emissions from heavy-duty road transport could be significantly reduced. At the same time, a new study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden shows that differences in how the gas is produced,...
Thirteen Transit Projects Expected To Open In The US This Year
Cities are investing in less costly bus rapid transit over light rail systems, says Yonah Freemark of The Transport Politic. More than 160 miles of new rail, bus and other fixed-guideway transit lines opened in the U.S. in 2025, and about 94 miles more are...
California Moves To Fill EV Incentive Gap After Federal Tax Credit Repeal
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced this month that he is seeking $200 million in state funding to provide electric vehicle (EV) tax rebates to offset the loss of the federal EV tax credit, which was recently eliminated under legislation supported by President...
