ASTM International Receives ARM Institute Funding to Develop Robotics Technology Roadmap

ASTM International this week said that the Advanced Manufacturing Robotics, or ARM, Institute has awarded it funding to develop a roadmap for guidance and adoption of advanced robotics technologies. In partnership with the institute, ASTM also plans to host its 4th Specialty Workshop on Discovery & Market Analysis for Robotics in Manufacturing of Space and Hypersonic Components.

The workshop will be on Oct. 4 and 5, 2023, at ASTM headquarters in West Conshohocken, Pa. Interested parties are required to register their interest in attendance.

The main goals of the workshop, which the ARM Institute funded in a recent project call, are to ascertain the current state of the art of the industry and help guide future technology road-mapping sessions and investment strategies.

ARM Institute to map robotics developments

“Our selections in this latest project call address diverse areas of need in manufacturing – from identifying and road-mapping needed robotics developments to directly creating solutions for the problems that manufacturers are facing today,” stated Chuck Brandt, chief technology officer of the ARM Institute.

Chuck Brandt, ARM Institute CTO

“These projects epitomize the strength of ARM Institute members and the impact of collaboration between different stakeholders in manufacturing,” he added.

The ARM Institute is a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and is part of the Manufacturing USA network.

The Pittsburgh-based consortium uses its ecosystem to make automation more accessible to U.S. manufacturers of all sizes, train and empower the workforce, and strengthen resilience and global competitiveness.

ASTM seeks experts

“By bringing manufacturing, automation, and robotics experts together, we can quickly understand the current processes in manufacturing these specialized components, and road map the vision we want to see built out in the future,” said Aaron Prather, director of ASTM’s robotics and autonomous systems programs and principal investigator for this award. “ASTM International is grateful for this award and the opportunity to develop this effort as we know the significant impact it will have within the robotics sector.”

Aaron Prather, ASTM International

Prather noted that priority would be given to participants from companies involved in manufacturing for space and hypersonic components.

However, the standards organization aims to invite public- and private-sector robotics experts to guide portions of the road map discussions. Those who feel that they have meaningful insight into this type of manufacturing, or the robotics and automation needed, are encouraged to apply.

ASTM said its team will take information gathered from the workshop, private interviews, and synthesized input from the community via its market research strategy to ultimately produce a final report that will be available for dissemination.