Each year, Design World editors reflect back on the content you read the most. Supply chains, AI-enabled automation, electrification, and motors were top of mind for many readers this round. Here’s a list of 10 of the most-read articles in 2025, in the order they were published.
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1. Sensor technologies transforming supply chains
Factory Automation with AGV and robotic arm in transportation to increase transport more with safety. 3D rendering
Supply chains have significantly transformed in the last decade with the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital-transformation (DX) initiatives. Beyond tracking a package or product, the ability to monitor specific details has become key to today’s warehouses and distribution centers.
2. Technical thinking: Finally, proof that the Andy Letter was right
The experiment is brilliant. Researchers came up with a way to compare the intelligence of ants to humans. It didn’t go so well for us. Some of us perform worse at a cognitive test than an ant. Disturbing as that is, the study also shows that when we cooperate in a group, it doesn’t get better.
3. What sensors are needed to fly hypersonic missiles?
Maneuverability and guidance systems, not just raw speed, are key differentiators for hypersonic missiles. That requires aerodynamic pressure sensors, optical sensors, inertial sensors, space-based tracking, infrared sensors, and more. All are combined into a single guidance system using sensor fusion. This article reviews the sensor types for hypersonic guidance, navigation, and target acquisition systems.
4. Automation solution goes hard in the paint
Figure 1: Architected with valve, instrumentation, controllers, and other products from the company’s expansive portfolio, this Emerson paint automation solution accelerates OEM efforts to bring high-performance and data-rich painting robots to market.
This plug-and-play paint automation solution incorporates industrial-grade intelligent devices and industry-standard communication technologies to streamline OEM development of advanced painting and coating robotics systems.
5. Why off-highway is the sweet spot for AC electrification technology
Electrification is the hottest segment of engineering in the transportation sector right now. And it’s impossible to talk about the automotive industry without discussing electric cars. But there are many in industry who feel that commercial and off the highway applications are the real sweet spot for electrification.
6. Stepper motors provide precision for aircraft electronic expansion valves
An aircraft’s ECS typically relies on stepper motor technology to regulate pressure and temperature in the cabin. Image: Portescap
Precise, repeatable valve control within an aircraft’s environmental control system is critical for regulating cabin temperature. Here’s why engineers typically select stepper motors for the job.
7. Autonomous microfactories may revolutionize precision manufacturing
This rendering shows Watch Out’s vision for integrating multiple autonomous workcells in a manufacturing facility requiring minimal human intervention. Image: Watch Out
Watch Out, a Montreal-based company with operations in Switzerland, France, and Canada, develops container-sized manufacturing cells that operate with minimal human intervention, addressing critical labor shortages while enabling domestic production.
8. New motor could spur new applications
It often happens that new technologies enable new forms of automation — or make them more practical. One new electric-motor design recognized by this year’s R&D 100 Awards could prove one such technology.
9. Supply Chains, AI, and the human factor: Insights from a supply chain geek
In the business landscape we’re navigating today, few components impact the bottom line quite like supply chain management. Perhaps more importantly, few elements of a business affect the overall experience for human end-users like a supply chain operating at maximum efficiency.
10. Steam boiler safety and the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history
Image via Wikipedia, original from Harper’s Weekly.
On April 27, 1865, just weeks after the end of the American Civil War, the steamship Sultana exploded and sank in the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee. It remains the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history, with estimates ranging from 1,500 to over 1,800 dead.
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Filed Under: NEWS • PROFILES • EDITORIALS
