ENGtechnica

The new program lets Onshape users test AI-driven rendering, drawing checks, and robotics workflows before they roll out to everyone. BOSTON, MA, July 15, 2026 – PTC has launched Onshape Labs, an early-access program that gives customers a first look at new features like emerging AI tools, inside its Onshape cloud-native CAD/PDM platform. The features are built into the product development workflow, rather than added as separate tools.

BEND, OR, July 15, 2026 – Synera’s Advanced AI module now uses Tech Soft 3D’s HOOPS AI to search and compare CAD parts, helping engineering teams find similar designs without relying only on file names, tags or file size. The release was developed with Tech Soft 3D and comes alongside HOOPS AI 1.1. The AI module brings CAD-aware shape intelligence into its engineering workflow automation platform.

CAD gives you a precise shape. Engineers love that. When will AI learn to create precise, repeatable shapes from a prompt? From the amount of money pouring into startups, we think CAD will be reinvented sooner rather than later. We are a generation that has witnessed one technology revolution after another. There was the personal computer revolution, followed by the Internet revolution. Now we find ourselves in the midst of the AI revolution. The AI revolution may be the most consequential ever.

Engineers at MIT have developed a bird-inspired robot capable of both flying through the air and swimming underwater, demonstrating a new approach to multimodal robotics. Inspired by diving seabirds such as puffins and murres, the lightweight robot uses the same flapping wings to propel itself in both environments. The design eliminates the need for separate propulsion systems, reducing weight and mechanical complexity while expanding the robot’s range of movement.

At AIA26, Trimble presented a vision for SketchUp that extends far beyond its traditional role as a conceptual modeling tool. While SketchUp remains widely used during the early stages of architectural design, it has also become deeply embedded in construction workflows, where major contractors use it for visualization, coordination, and 4D and 5D virtual design and construction.

Hinen has signed a distribution deal with GVOLT to bring its residential energy storage systems to homeowners across Poland. Hinen has signed a distribution agreement with GVOLT that puts Hinen’s residential energy storage systems on shelves across Poland, marking the company’s latest push into the European market. GVOLT will serve as the authorized distributor of Hinen-branded energy storage system (ESS) products, handling sales through its existing local network.

Rising demand for artificial intelligence is transforming data centers into one of the world’s most critical and controversial pieces of digital infrastructure. For decades, data centers quietly powered the internet behind the scenes, supporting websites, email, online banking, and cloud applications. Today, they have become one of the fastest-growing forms of infrastructure because of the explosive demand for artificial intelligence.

ANDOVER, MA, July 14, 2026 – Aras is extending its Innovator PLM platform into semiconductor manufacturing, adding preconfigured templates for stage-gate program governance, IP management and reuse, and manufacturing process planning. Aras built the templates for semiconductor design and manufacturing organizations managing product data across design, production, and the broader lifecycle.

Researchers have developed an ultrathin transparent solar cell that can generate electricity from both direct sunlight and indoor illumination while remaining nearly invisible. The advance could allow ordinary windows to serve as power sources without sacrificing transparency, opening new possibilities for energy-generating buildings, vehicles, and consumer electronics.

Platform printed ceramic and polymer materials from 2g to microgravity during Zero G aircraft tests Photocentric has launched CosmicMaker to develop LCD-based 3D printing systems for space manufacturing. CosmicMaker builds on Photocentric’s additive manufacturing work since its founding in 2002. Photocentric commercialized the first LCD 3D printer in 2014 and patented an LCD 3D printing process for space use in 2020.