Page 8 - Spring Summer 2026

Industry News
INTRODUCING THE
HENRY ROYCE INSTITUTE
At TCT 3Sixty one of the notable exhibitors was the
Henry Royce Institute based at the University of
Manchester with a network that spans 11 leading
institutions across the country, including the
University of Cambridge, University of Liverpool,
University of Leeds, University of Oxford, Imperial
College London, Cranfield University, Strathclyde
University, the UK National Nuclear Laboratory and
the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
With a team of over 700 researchers, technical
experts and support staff, the Henry Royce Institute
delivers national programmes in materials science
that extend beyond the capabilities of any one
institution.
Four pillars support both industry and academia,
namely:
• Enabling national materials research,
collaboration and strategy
• Providing access to world-leading facilities and
research expertise
• Catalysing industrial collaboration and
accelerating translation
• Fostering materials science skills development,
innovation training and outreach
Key facilities include:
• Equipment for fabrication of new battery
structures, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,
X-ray tomography and electrochemical
characterisation.
• An Ambient Processing Cluster Tool consisting of a
series of twelve custom-built ‘gloveboxes’ allowing
for the design and fabrication of battery, PV, LED
and other customised materials and devices at
the Maxwell Centre in Cambridge.
8 4. Arkwright alumni in 1st / 2nd year of an
• Production and characterisation of thin films and
devices with 140 square metre clean room.
• An interdisciplinary laboratory space enabling
the discovery, creation, characterisation, and
exploitation of materials engineered at the atomic
level at the Bragg Centre for Materials in Leeds,
who were also exhibiting, and which houses the
Royce Deposition System - a multi-chamber,
multi-technique thin film deposition tool that
allows a range of different materials and growth
techniques to be combined.
• The Materials Innovation Factory in Liverpool, which
has one of the largest concentrations of materials
science robotics in the world.
The Centre for Energy Materials Research, Oxford,
specialising in research into air-sensitive energy
storage materials, and with facilities to provide an
enhanced ability to synthesise, test and characterise
air-sensitive materials for batteries.
Research areas include:
• Maintaining the UK’s pioneering role in two-
dimensional materials and nanomaterials
composites and enabling new architectures
and fabrication methods for electronic and
optoelectronic devices.
• Atoms to Devices enabling the design of new
devices and new technological solutions through
the deposition of precisely controlled thin films, the
engineering of interfaces and the ability to control
doping on the nanoscale.
• Pioneering methods in computer-aided design,
machine learning and robotics for materials
discovery and characterisation.
• Materials systems for demanding environments.
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OMNIFACTORY DEFINES FUTURE
OF AGILE MANUFACTURING
In The Manufacturer, Vol. 29, Issue 2 (Q2 2026),
Daniel Symes, Head of Business and Knowledge
Exchange at the University of Nottingham,
introduces the Omnifactory, a £3.8 million national
testbed designed to assist manufacturers with the
navigation of uncertainty through reconfigurable,
AI-driven automation.
Officially opened in 2023 at the University of
Nottingham, the Omnifactory serves as a national
demonstrator for smart robotic manufacturing.
At its core is a bespoke reconfigurable production
environment that integrates advanced robotics,
autonomous material handling, machine vision, AI
and digital connectivity across plant, system and
device levels. Unlike traditional fixed automation, it
enables robotic cells and processes to be dynamically
reconfigured as product requirements change.
Robots are no longer locked into single tasks or static
layouts. Instead intelligent sensing, real-time data
and AI-driven controls allow systems to adapt to
variable geometries, mixed-model production and
late-stage design changes that ordinarily would
halt or severely disrupt a traditional automated line.
The result is a factory that is capable of ‘plug-and-
produce’ automation, allowing for maximisation of
asset utilisation, reduction of changeover times and a
lowering of risk in automation investment in uncertain
markets.
The emphasis is on sectors where robotics and
automation are business-critical, such as aerospace,
automotive, defence, construction, nuclear, medical,
food manufacturing and the space sector.
The author illustrates the versatility of Omnifactory
by referencing the Flexible Nacelle Manufacturing
Assembly project (FLEXELLE) led by BAE Systems. This
reimagined large-scale aerostructure assembly
through the use of robotic systems combined with
measurement-assisted determinate assembly, or
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Industry News
MADA. By replacing fixed jigs with robotic, sensor-rich
assembly processes jig-less flexible automation was
found to be highly effective.
Benefits included improved precision, reduced
inspection and rework, automated validation of large
structures in multiple orientations, and the ability
to produce different variants on the same robotic
equipment. There were also potential reductions of
over 50 per cent in non-recurring costs associated
with introducing new products.
National
National
NATIONAL
Electronics
Electronics
Competition
Competition
ELECTRONICS
COMPETITION
Entries Entries National Electronics
National Electronics
Competition
Competition
The benefits to you: The benefits to you:
An exclusive competition for students of
• Learn how to write a technical paper
• Have your project promoted in an An exclusive competition for students
• Learn how to write a technical paper
An exclusive competition for students
Arkwright affiliated Schools.
of Arkwright affiliated Schools.
Institution publication • Have your project promoted in an of Arkwright affiliated Schools.
Institution publication
• Be in with a chance of winning The Institution of Electronics was founded in 1930.
The Institution of Electronics was founded in 1930.
• Be in with a chance of winning
a category award This competition will give the Institution the
After a period of relative inactivity the Institution is partnering the
After a period of relative inactivity the Institution is partnering the
a category award
• Join the Institution of Electronics Arkwright Scholarships Trust to rejuvenate its membership with the
Arkwright Scholarships Trust to rejuvenate its membership with the
• Join the Institution of Electronics
’brightest and best’ future leaders of UK electronics and to provide
’brightest and best’ future leaders of UK electronics and to provide
and help guide its future development
and help guide its future development benefit to the UK’s electronics education and industry.
chance to champion the cause of young
benefit to the UK’s electronics education and industry.
This competition will give the Institution the chance to champion the
Entry requirements: Entry requirements: This competition will give the Institution the chance to champion the
people pursuing electronics projects within the
cause of young people pursuing electronics projects within the
cause of young people pursuing electronics projects within the
• Applicants must attend an Arkwright-affiliated school, curriculum, extra-curricular and at home.
• Applicants must attend an Arkwright-affiliated school,
curriculum, extra-curricular and at home.
but applicants do not have to be Arkwright Engineering Applicants become student members of the Institution and will
but applicants do not have to be Arkwright Engineering
curriculum, extra-curricular and at home.
Scholars
Applicants become student members of the Institution and will
Scholars
• Applicants must complete a project where electronics be invited to join the task-force that will plan the next phase of the
be invited to join the task-force that will plan the next phase of the
are integral to its successful function Institut Institution’s development as an incubator for future leaders of
• Applicants must complete a project where electronics ion’s development as an incubator for future leaders of
are integral to its successful function
the electronics industry.
Applicants become student members of the
• Application is free to students holding student the electronics industry.
• Application is free to students holding student
membership of the Institution of Electronics
membership of the Institution of Electronics
Institution and will be invited to join the task-force
• Applicants must report on their project using a
• Applicants must report on their project using a What to do next?
What to do next?
simplified ‘Technical Paper’ format and a two-minute
simplified ‘Technical Paper’ format and a two-minute
video
video that will plan the next phase of the Institution’s
• Read the application guidelines on the next page
• Read the application guidelines on the next page
Entry categories: development as an incubator for future leaders
Entry categories:
• Read the example technical paper
• Read the example technical paper
1. Any student -Year 11 (England & Wales), • Complete your electronics project
1. Any student -Year 11 (England & Wales),
• Complete your electronics project
of the electronics industry. • Complete your technical paper and video
S4 (Scotland), Year 12 (Northern Ireland)
S4 (Scotland), Year 12 (Northern Ireland)
• Complete your technical paper and video
2. Any student -Year 12 & 13 (England & Wales), • Post the video to YouTube
2. Any student -Year 12 & 13 (England & Wales),
• Post the video to YouTube
S5 & S6 (Scotland), Year 13 & 14 (Northern Ireland) • Submit your application to the Institution by email
S5 & S6 (Scotland), Year 13 & 14 (Northern Ireland)
• Submit your application to the Institution by email
3. Arkwright Scholars • Ensure you hold current membership of the Institution of Electronics
3. Arkwright Scholars • Ensure you hold current membership of the Institution of Electronics
9
4. Arkwright alumni in 1st / 2nd year of an
undergraduate degree
undergraduate degree
Registered Charity No. 1091988 - Registered in England & Wales No. 4401993
Registered Charity No. 1091988 - Registered in England & Wales No. 4401993