It's Monday morning, December 15, 2036. An autonomous vehicle drops off two engineers in front of a gear manufacturing facility in Metro Detroit. They punch in for work on their wristwatches and pay Uber for the ride on a smartphone. One of the engineers begins walking the shop floor, monitoring a series of collaborative robots using a tablet the size of a paperback novel. These robots interact right on the floor with the minimal staff scheduled to oversee manufacturing operations. Another engineer wears an interactive headset and begins training a group of new engineers (in real time) from China using some form of augmented reality.

The 5th WZL Gear Conference USA took place October 22-23 at the Gleason Works facility in Rochester, NY. More than 130 gear technologists participated

When they’re not solving the latest mechanical engineering puzzle, the seven members of the group sINGer are busy engineering their voices to create the perfect sound. Yes, you read that correctly. Mechanical engineers do have hobbies outside of gears.

Aachen has long been the center of European gear research.