Keynote speakers at this year's conference include Rolls Royce CTO Paul Stein - who will be talking about the disruptive technologies that are shaping the aerospace sector; Mclaren Applied Technology CTO Dr Caroline Hargrove - who will explain how the lessons learned in motorsport are being applied to fields as diverse as healthcare, manufacturing and energy; and GKN Driveline CEO Phil Swash, who will be talking about the irresistible rise of automotive electrification.
Running across three-days in two-theatres, the conference features 36 different sessions touching on topics including innovation strategy, manufacturing and supply chain management; digitalisation, driverless cars, robotics, augmented reality, Blockchain, and 3D printing.
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A key theme of this year’s conference is cross-sector collaboration and technology transfer, and delegates will be able to gain valuable insight on how to tap into innovations from other sectors, and how to effectively collaborate with specialists from different disciplines.
Alongside Mclaren's Dr Caroline Hargrove, we'll also be hearing how Mclaren rival Williams achieves the same trick, with a presentation from Williams Advanced Engineering's technical director Paul McNamara, whilst BAE Systems’ Dr Henry White will explain to delegates how technology from the defence sector is being applied to the world of sport.
Other programme highlights include cybernetics specialist Nadine Stech senior designer of Linx, the world’s most intelligent prosthetic limb, celebrated UK supercar developer Neill Briggs, and Fujitsu UK CTO Graeme Wright, who will treat visitors to an explanation of Blockchain and how it can be applied to the engineering supply chain. Visitors will also be able to hear about the latest developments in driverless cars from Jaguar Land Rover’s head of autonomous projects Mark Cund, and from Microsoft director Leila Martine on industrial applications of the company's HoloLens mixed reality technology.
On the manufacturing side, the conference programme will cover everything from the practicalities of implementing Industry 4.0 technology to the latest developments in 3D printing, composite materials, and advanced metrology technologies.
Highlights here include Xaar’s, Professor Neil Hopkinson, one of the pioneers of 3D printing in the UK, who will explore how manufacturers can use 3D printing for part production; AMRC’s head of digital Prof Rab Scott, who will explain how SMEs can tap into the opportunities afforded by Industry 4.0; Prof Dame Jane Jiang – who heads up the EPSRC’s Future Metrology hub; and Cranfield University's Director of Manufacturing Prof Raj Roy, who will examine the cybersecurity challenges presented by the connected factory of the future.
The Engineer Conference runs alongside The Engineer Expo and Subcon 2018 from 5 – 7th June at the NEC, Birmingham.
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