
The ARM Institute is in search of mature applied sciences to enhance submarine building. Supply: Adobe Inventory
The Superior Robotics for Manufacturing, or ARM, Institute has issued a brand new Tech Challenge Name centered on strengthening the marine industrial base, or MIB. The decision facilities on demonstrating mature applied sciences that reply to the particular wants of the MIB and goals to speed up the manufacturing of submarines.
Full proposals for this venture name are due on Nov. 21 at 5:00 p.m. ET. They should be submitted through the ARM member group. Whereas the venture name is publicly out there, you should be an ARM member to submit a proposal.
The MIB is dealing with many challenges throughout a broad spectrum of industries and capabilities round U.S. capacity to satisfy the demand for a “1+2” requirement for creating one Columbia-class and two Virginia-class submarines. These challenges embody, however aren’t restricted to:
- Present and increasing workforce shortfalls
- Lack of master-level data
- An overburdened and unstable provide chain
- Technical challenges that may be mitigated by automated techniques and synthetic intelligence
The ARM Institute stated its venture calls are meant to catalyze collaboration amongst trade, authorities, and academia to develop robotics and AI to strengthen U.S. manufacturing and safe the natural and protection industrial bases.
The institute added that the calls present a key platform for collaboration and innovation. They purpose to foster a consortium that works collectively to launch techniques which will have in any other case suffered from an absence of funding or technical roadblocks.
MIB venture seeks mature applied sciences prepared for manufacturing
This venture name from the ARM Institute and companion the BlueForge Alliance seeks tasks to establish present applied sciences to advance into manufacturing environments. The proposed options ought to align with a minimum of one of many three capabilities of curiosity:
- Welding automation and monitoring
- Metrology and in-process inspection
- Casting course of automation
The submitted applied sciences should be mature, with a Know-how Readiness Degree (TRL) 7+, and be prepared or practically prepared for manufacturing environments. Key differentiators in aggressive options could embody fast scalability, commercially out there merchandise, or strong plans for integration and upkeep.
The ARM Institute stated it expects the applied sciences to display their capabilities in actual, shipyard-representative environments by the tip of the tasks. Respondents should specify their present applied sciences’ relevance to the required functionality of curiosity, in addition to the diploma to which they meet the broader wants and calls for of the MIB for submarine growth.
The ARM Institute will host a public webinar on Oct. 23 at midday ET to provide the general public the chance to ask questions and study extra in regards to the venture name.
Extra in regards to the ARM Institute
This venture name is a part of a full schedule of requires tasks that the ARM Institute is releasing this fall. The group’s members at the moment have entry to 2 different venture calls in draft format. The ARM Institute stated it’ll launch these venture calls to the general public following the members-only entry interval.
In complete, the ARM Institute expects to difficulty round 5 Challenge Calls between October 2025 and January 2026. Within the spring of 2025 alone, it issued three venture calls. These led to ARM members incomes roughly $4.5 million in funding for a complete funding of about $8.8 million throughout the tasks.
The Pittsburgh-based ARM Institute is a consortium of greater than 450 members and companions throughout trade, academia, and authorities. In Could, it appointed trade veteran Jorgen Pedersen as its CEO.
Its said objective is “to make robotics, autonomy, and synthetic intelligence extra accessible to U.S. producers massive and small, practice and empower the manufacturing workforce, strengthen our financial system and international competitiveness, and elevate nationwide safety and resilience.”