The Air Force Research Laboratory is working with the ARM Institute on technologies such as human-robot teaming. Source: Adobe Stock
The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing or ARM Institute has announced a new five-year cooperative agreement with the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL. The agreement has a total ceiling of a combined $87.66 million of government funding and ARM Institute cost share.
Under this agreement, the institute will perform research, development, testing, and evaluation to advance dual-use robotics and automation technologies of interest to the U.S. Air Force.
“This new cooperative agreement is a significant milestone and signifies a high level of confidence by the AFRL in the ARM Institute, our collaborations, and the robotics projects whose outcomes are driving real industry impact, especially for the defense industry and its supply chain,” stated Jorgen Pedersen, ARM Institute CEO.
The Pittsburgh-based ARM Institute is a consortium of more than 450 members and partners across industry, academia, and government. In May, it appointed industry veteran Pedersen as CEO.
The organization’s stated goal is “to make robotics, autonomy, and artificial intelligence more accessible to U.S. manufacturers large and small; train and empower the manufacturing workforce; strengthen our economy and global competitiveness; and elevate national security and resilience.”
AFRL will work with ARM Institute members
Under the agreement, the U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF) plans to work with the growing consortium through ARM Institute-led project calls. The institute said it will foster collaboration among DAF organizations, the defense industrial base (DIB) and organic industrial base (OIB), technology developers, academia, robot and automation equipment OEMs, systems integrators, technology solution providers, and other government agencies.
For this proposed work, the ARM Institute and its consortium will work within the following DAF-specified technology areas:
- Agility
- Robotic mobility
- Multi-robot/multi-human teaming
- Process modeling
- Monitoring
- Control
- Advanced visualization
- Scalability and rapid commissioning
- DAF-specific environments
- Manufacturing process informatics
Consortium helps Air Force develop dual-use tech
The ARM Institute is no stranger to working with the U.S. Department of War. The department provides the organization with guidance on its working groups to ensure that they create dual-use systems. In addition, the ARM Institute typically brings on non-traditional suppliers to take on defense challenges.
The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the DAF. AFRL said it plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for the U.S. air, space, and cyberspace force.
With a workforce across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development.
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