ANN ARBOR, MI—Industrial robot orders in 2018 grew 24 percent over the previous year in the life sciences, food and consumer goods, plastics and rubber and electronics industries, according to the Robotics Industries Association. The main reasons are lower robot prices, and robot systems that are easier to install, integrate and program.

NORTHBROOK, IL—Last week, Underwriters Laboratories Inc. announced that it now offers open-access online views of its entire library of UL Safety Standards for any interested individual or organization.

PITTSBURGH—Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Argonne National Laboratory have identified how and when gas pockets form during 3D printing with the help of x-rays—a discovery that could dramatically improve the 3D printing process.

INDIANAPOLIS—Rolls-Royce Corp. announced Monday that it is kicking off a year-long campaign in pursuit of a contract to build hundreds of engines for U.S. Air Force bombers worth an estimated $1 billion that would bring 150 high-tech jobs here.

BRONX, NY—The Medical Device Innovation, Safety and Security Consortium has announced it is developing a set of recommended practices and profiles for securing medical systems based on the normative requirements in the widely used ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards for industrial automation and control systems cybersecurity.

WASHINGTON—U.S. industrial production fell 0.6 percent in January, stemming in large part from an 8.8 percent plunge in the making of motor vehicles and auto parts.

RENO, NV—Boeing is to provide engineering, manufacturing and flight test resources to supersonic-aircraft developer Aerion to help the startup bring its business AS2 jet to market by 2023.

GREENBELT, MD—Technologist Mahmooda Sultana and her team at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center here have received a $2 million development award to spend the next two years advancing a nanomaterial-based detector platform. This platform measures only 2 by 3 inches, yet is capable of sensing minute concentrations of gases,vapor, atmospheric pressure and temperature, and then transmitting the data via a wireless antenna.

ANN ARBOR, MI—Engineers at the University of Michigan have developed a new light-based additive manufacturing process that is up to 100 times faster than conventional 3D printing techniques.

PARMA, Italy—A team of engineers here have harnessed new photonics technology to develop the world's first fluid-repellent, antibacterial, metal surface.