TOP COMPANIES : Uber Freight | Waymo , Volvo Autonomous Solutions

TOP COMPANIES : GE | Renishaw | Xerox

Additive manufacturing – better known as 3D printing – has come a long way since the early 1980 , when it produced only plastic prototypes . Now , it can produce a wide range of finished goods from materials including metal , concrete , plastics , resins and even food .

Businesses looking to shorten supply chains and minimise risk see 3D printing as a way of increasing speed to market and reducing global impact by limiting the shipping of goods around the globe .

3D printing technology allows organisations to create prototypes and products on demand , reducing lead times and costs

Autonomous vehicles , such as drones and self-driving trucks , can reduce costs and improve delivery times by reducing human error and optimising route . Uber Freight recently deployed Volvo ’ s autonomous transport solution on selected routes , starting in Texas .

Through the integration of vehicle-to-vehicle comms and radar-based collision avoidance systems , ‘ platoons ’ of trucks can be managed by cloud-based networks that connect trucks through mobile comms and Wi-Fi .

26 January 2024