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Many academic papers were presented at the Symposium in Tokyo, but there was evidence of solid progress in welding and in one or two other areas. John Hartley reports.

The role of robots in automatic assembly as viewed by industry in Japan, including some of the major robot makers, is reported by John Hartley.

A clutch of new robots has emerged from Japanese firms. They are aimed at assembly, loading and unloading machine tools and arc welding. John Hartley reports.

Philosophers and political theorists have long warned of the “perils of dogmatism” for public discourse and identified intellectual humility as a necessary corrective. Sufficient intellectual humility encompasses at least four elements: openness to error, recognition of bias, recognition of intellectual parity in interlocutors, and avoidance of recourse to authority. Religions seem to present obstacles on all four fronts, particularly when actors embody more conservative renderings of a given religion’s repertoire. As such, a case involving different groups of religious exclusivists engaging one another on topics that directly interact their deepest faith commitments and political visions presents a useful test case for our theories of intellectual humility. This chapter considers conservative protestants engaging in public discourse with Muslims about whether or not Muslim and Christian understandings of “loving God” and “loving neighbor” have sufficient overlap to support political cooperation. The results of the dialogue effort were a mixture of controversy and cooperation. For evangelicals, the engagement produced sharp conflict and yet helped to shift the community’s plausibility structures, opening further the possibility of fruitful public discourse and strategic action in cooperation with Muslims. The analysis suggests a conceptualization of practical intellectual humility that emphasizes recognition of the other.

With labour rates in Spain now approaching levels in the UK, Ford is gradually increasing the level of automation at its Spanish plant. John Hartley reports.

Conventional parts feeders replaced by strip and tape feeders in new Japanese system. John Hartley reports.

After assembly lines with rows of robots, the cell approach, with one robot carrying out several operations, is coming into favour in Japan. John Hartley reports.

NEC, one of the world's largest electronics companies, is moving slowly but surely towards gaining from its investment in robotics. John Hartley reports.

Force feedback system to allow for variations in the amount of metal to be removed. John Hartley reports.