In the past, white goods were offered by the manufacturer and the customers, generally, had no design input. However, as the demand for customization increased and the competitive market expanded, manufacturing was under pressure to produce a smarter, more reliable and more attractive product.

When the HVAC industry converges on Atlanta for AHR Expo 2019, attendees can expect to see manufacturers showcase products aiming to be both smarter and more efficient—automation and connectivity will continue to drive home and commercial innovation, and components throughout the trade floor will aim to keep pace with federal regulations.

In the early days of air transport, pilots relied on a nationwide network of beacons for night time navigation. A hundred years later, the first generation of autonomous vehicles may also rely on light beams to navigate safely.

DEARBORN, MI—Engineers at Ford Motor Co. are developing car parts made out of graphene, a two-dimensional nanomaterial. Graphene is 200 times stronger than steel and one of the most conductive materials in the world.

DULLES, VA—Airbus and Northrop Grumman Corp are partnering to develop next-generation composite manufacturing technology. The three-year Wing of Tomorrow program will explore complex composite wing stiffener forming automation and out-of-autoclave material systems.

ZUFFENHAUSEN, Germany—Engineers at Porsche are setting up a new type of assembly line at its factory here to build a new type of sports car. The all-electric Taycan will be assembled in a “factory within a factory” as part of the Porsche Production 4.0 initiative.

Engineers at Gordon Murray Design in the U.K. have developed a new production technique that cuts vehicle weight in half.