On this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Laura Davis rounds up four new products worth a closer look: a passive exoskeleton that eases shoulder strain during overhead work, an AI-powered device that keeps forklift-based inventory tracking accurate in real time, a connected ultrasound platform built for multisite reliability programs, and a new inline coding system designed for the packaging industry's shift to GS1 2D codes.

Below is an excerpt from the podcast:

Welcome back to Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. I'm Laura Davis, and today I've got four products from our latest coverage that I think are worth your time, spanning wearable ergonomics, warehouse inventory tracking, predictive maintenance, and packaging code compliance.

Before we get into it, if you're new here, subscribe on your favorite podcast app. New episodes every week.

Alright, let's go.

These four picks don't share a single application the way some of our past lineups have, but they do have something in common: each one is aimed at a problem that quietly drains time, accuracy, or worker health on the floor — and each one solves it without asking teams to overhaul how they already work.

We'll start with worker health.

Overhead and repetitive arm tasks add up over a shift. They contribute to fatigue, reduced precision, and long-term wear on the shoulders and joints. Comau's MATE-XT GO is a passive wearable exoskeleton built to support workers' arms and shoulders during exactly those tasks — overhead assembly, installation, repetitive material handling, and finishing work. It reduces shoulder muscle activity and perceived effort by up to 50 percent, and it does that without restricting natural movement.

Here's what stands out: it weighs less than six point six pounds, or three kilograms, and it can be put on in 30 seconds and taken off in 10. That matters if you're integrating it into a shift where workers rotate tasks and can't afford downtime just to gear up. It's fully passive, so there's no power source to manage, no batteries to charge, and lower maintenance demands than a powered exoskeleton would carry.

The MATE-XT GO offers eight adjustable assistance levels for both arms, each one calibrated to follow the natural movement of the shoulder joint. And it's certified as Category Two personal protective equipment, so it's cleared for regulated environments. It's built for manufacturing, construction, logistics, and agriculture — basically anywhere overhead work is a daily reality and fatigue is cutting into output quality. It's manufactured in Italy and sold through Comau LLC.

From worker ergonomics, let's move to something that affects almost every warehouse: inventory accuracy.

Missed or inconsistent barcode scans cause inventory records to drift from what's actually on the floor, and that drift turns into chargebacks, shipment errors, and write-offs down the line. Corvus Trident is an AI-powered device that mounts directly to forklifts, reach trucks, and other material handling equipment, and it captures pallet movement automatically as part of normal operations — inbound, putaway, replenishment, picking, and outbound.

The device uses onboard AI and industrial-grade scanning to read multiple barcodes at once, tracking pallet and equipment movement in real time. Operators don't have to stop and manually scan — the system builds a continuous movement record in the background. It can read pallets stacked up to three high, and it tracks movement without relying on the Global Positioning System, or GPS, beacons, or floor markers. Operators get real-time visual and audio feedback, which supports safer handling as well as more accurate records.

Corvus Trident integrates with existing warehouse management systems, or WMS, through standard application programming interfaces, or APIs — or it can run independently. It also feeds into AIMS, a software platform that turns that facility data into insight for labor planning, slot optimization, vendor accountability, and supply chain decisions. If chargebacks or shipment disputes are a recurring headache, this is worth a look.

About the Podcast
Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast offers news and information for the people who make, store and move things and those who manage and maintain the facilities where that work gets done. Manufacturers from chemical producers to automakers to machine shops can listen for critical insights into the technologies, economic conditions and best practices that can influence how to best run facilities to reach operational excellence.

Listen to another episode and subscribe on your favorite podcast app