Aerospace & Defense
Robot Talk Episode 145 – Robotics and automation in manufacturing, with Agata Suwala
Claire chatted to Agata Suwala from the Manufacturing Technology Centre about leveraging robotics to make manufacturing systems more sustainable. Agata Suwala is a Technology Manager at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, where she leads cutting-edge work in automation and robotics. With over a decade of experience in R&D, Agata specialises in developing and implementing advanced manufacturing systems--particularly for the aerospace sector--transforming complex, skill-intensive processes through automation. Her recent focus is on enabling the transition to a circular economy by leveraging automation and robotics to create sustainable, scalable technologies. Robot Talk is a weekly podcast that explores the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines.
China's drone exports to Russia use a new route through Thailand
On the 30th floor of the Chartered Square building in downtown Bangkok, the low-key office of Skyhub Technologies serves as a nexus for a burgeoning and contentious trade. The space, rented out by a serviced office provider, is visited only rarely by the company's sole director and occasionally by Chinese nationals, according to building staff who asked not to be identified speaking about clients. No contact number is listed on its online registration documents. No one was available during a visit in late January. Despite the appearance of inactivity, this is a busy conduit for advanced drones. Trade documents show that Skyhub Technologies is Thailand's second-biggest importer of unmanned aerial vehicles from China.
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'Pew Pew': The Chinese Companies Marketing Anti-Drone Weapons on TikTok
On TikTok, Chinese manufacturers are advertising signal-blocking weapons with the breezy cadence of consumer lifestyle advertising. "Pew, pew, pew!" a woman wearing sneakers and high-waisted pink trousers says cheerfully in a video uploaded to TikTok. She is standing on what appears to be an industrial rooftop while demonstrating how to use a black device resembling an oversized laser tag gun. "Jamming gun, good," she adds, flashing a thumbs up. These days, nearly any product imaginable is available for purchase on TikTok straight from Chinese factories, ranging from industrial chemicals to mystical crystals and custom pilates reformers.
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Orbital AI data centers could work, but they might ruin Earth in the process
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 is Feb. 25 A single collision could cause a cascading effect in orbit. Elon Musk's plan to launch millions of AI satellites could be disastrous for the planet. At the start of the month, Elon Musk announced that two of his companies -- SpaceX and xAI -- were merging, and would jointly launch a constellation of 1 million satellites to operate as orbital data centers. Musk's reputation might suggest otherwise, but according to experts, such a plan isn't a complete fantasy. However, if executed at the scale suggested, some of them believe it would have devastating effects on the environment and the sustainability of low Earth Earth orbit.
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SpaceX rocket fireball linked to plume of polluting lithium
When a SpaceX rocket failure set the skies aflame over western Europe last February, no-one was sure if the debris was also polluting our atmosphere. Now scientists are directly linking the uncontrolled rocket re-entry to a plume of lithium measured less than 100km above Earth. It is the first time researchers have drawn a direct link between a known piece of space debris crashing to Earth and pollution levels. They warn that as SpaceX chief Elon Musk pledges to launch one million satellites in the coming years, this contamination could be the tip of the iceberg. The scientists were already investigating the problem of pollution from space debris when they realised a SpaceX Falcon 9 had failed in flight.
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Atmospheric pollution caused by space junk could be a huge problem
After a Falcon 9 rocket stage burned up in the atmosphere, vaporised lithium and other metals drifted over Europe. A SpaceX rocket that burned up after re-entering the atmosphere unleashed a plume of vaporised metals over Europe, a type of pollution that is expected to increase as spacecraft and satellites multiply. The upper stage of a Falcon 9, which is designed to splash down in the Pacific Ocean for possible re-use, lost control due to engine failure and fell from orbit over the north Atlantic in February 2025. We're finally solving the puzzle of how clouds will affect our climate People across Europe saw fiery debris streaking through the sky, some of which crashed behind a warehouse in Poland. Seeing the news, Robin Wing at the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Germany and his colleagues turned on their lidar, an instrument for atmospheric sensing.
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