ANN ARBOR–New Eagle LLC, the provider of electronic systems and control software development, announced the program for its annual Raptor Innovation Summit 2026, to be held Sept. 30-Oct. 1 at Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave. in Detroit.
Under the theme “Engineering for What Comes Next,” the summit brings together leaders from engineering firms, automakers, and technology partners to examine the rapid growth of autonomy, electrification and intelligent vehicle systems, and the engineering strategies required to move these technologies from concept to production.
Platinum and gold sponsors include John Deere Electronics, ETAS, and Hyperpilot^.
New Eagle officials say autonomy, electrification and connectivity are rapidly increasing the complexity of modern vehicle and machine architectures. Engineering teams must integrate these technologies while meeting demanding requirements for reliability, safety, scalability and long product lifecycles across commercial, off-highway, defense and performance applications.
“Autonomy and electrification are fundamentally changing what vehicle engineering teams are being asked to deliver,” said Kevin Alley, chief commercial officer at New Eagle. “The Raptor Innovation Summit brings together the technologies, engineering expertise and ecosystem needed to turn those challenges into practical, production-ready systems.”
The 2026 Raptor Innovation Summit is structured around two distinct themes.
* Day 1: The Big Picture will examine where the mobility industry is headed, the technologies driving change and the engineering ecosystem evolving alongside them. Discussions will examine the technologies reshaping intelligent vehicles and machines, with a particular focus on the accelerating adoption of autonomous systems and the controls, compute, connectivity and integration required to deploy them at scale.
* Day 2: The Build Plan shifts the focus to execution, featuring production-ready tools, OpenECU™ and Raptor® control strategies, and hands-on technical sessions designed to accelerate the path from concept to deployment.
The summit will showcase how New Eagle, Helix, Xtrac, and Zoerkler are combining complementary engineering capabilities to address increasingly complex vehicle and machine development requirements. The event will also highlight New Eagle’s expanded technology portfolio following the integration of Pi Innovo and the continued convergence of the OpenECU and Raptor® ecosystems.
As autonomous systems move from development programs toward real-world deployment, engineering teams face growing challenges across control, safety, connectivity, compute and system integration. The Raptor Innovation Summit provides a forum for customers, partners and industry experts to explore the technical and commercial forces accelerating autonomous development and the engineering challenges that must be addressed to bring these systems into real-world operation.
The event will feature perspectives from industry leaders, including a keynote address by Peter Schihl, PhD, senior research scientist, Ground Vehicle Propulsion and Mobility, U.S. Army DEVCOM. Andrew Lambert, chief product & supply chain officer with Czinger will also deliver a keynote address sharing his past experience in rocket development and production while at SpaceX to his current role in transforming how cars are manufactured through the use of 3-D printing.
Panel discussions will explore the evolving landscape of autonomy and adjacent markets. The summit will also feature a presentation on high-voltage inverter innovations that are enabling electric motor applications in the space market.
The Raptor Innovation Summit 2026 will take place Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in Detroit. Registration is free and space is limited. Register at https://www.accelevents.com/e/u/checkout/raptor-innovation-summit-2026/tickets/order.
New Eagle serves the automotive, transportation, industrial, military, aerospace, and off-highway markets with mechatronic controls and controls software. More at www.neweagle.net.