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Technology Project Call: Shipbuilding Industrial Base
The ARM Institute is soliciting submissions that address specific needs of the US Navy shipbuilding industrial base. The projects will focus on improving first-time quality, reducing rework, increasing manufacturing throughput, and accelerating qualification for two critical processes: thick-section naval welding and wire directed energy deposition (DED).
- The first project will develop, demonstrate, and validate an adaptive welding system that uses edge-compute artificial intelligence (AI) to support multi-bead, multi-layer welding of thick-section joints. The system will compensate for common variations in joint fit-up, helping ensure consistent weld quality, reduce costly rework, and improve the resilience and efficiency of naval manufacturing.
- The second project will develop robust, commercial-grade in-process volumetric inspection technology for wire DED components. The system must operate during dwell times between layers, withstand high heat and rough surfaces, and provide reliable defect detection while the part is still being built. Its purpose is to reduce late-stage defect discovery, support real-time feedback and rework, lower final NDE costs, and shorten manufacturing lead times.
Together, these projects will advance deployable technologies for operational shipyard environments and support the adoption of wire DED for safety-critical applications. This project call seeks targeted advancements aligned with the two Technical Objectives described in the Project Call document, which were developed directly from feedback provided by Navy sponsors.
While our Project Call is publicly available, you must be an ARM Member to submit a proposal.
DOWNLOAD OUR PROJECT CALL
Public Webinar Recording
Watch our webinar recording to learn more about this Project Call.
Timeline
- Draft Project Call Released to ARM Members: October 15, 2026
- FINAL Project Call Released: October 20, 2026
- Supporting Documents Released; Website Open: October 20, 2026
- Black-Out Period Begins: October 20, 2026
- After this date, the ARM Institute can only answer process questions. ARM Members with questions about content should attend our webinar or contact us at [email protected].
- Project Call Webinar & Q&A: October 21, 2026 at 11 AM ET
- Submission Deadline for Proposals: November 23, 2026
- Submission Deadline for Supporting Docs: December 2, 2026
- Final Selections Released; Subaward Negotiations Begin: On or About December 9, 2026
- Subaward Execution Deadline; Awards Expire: January 15, 2027
- Target Project Start Date: On or Before January 31, 2027
- Project Team Subcontract Execution Deadline: On or Before March 1, 2027
- Project Period of Performance End Date: January 31, 2029
Learn More About the ARM Institute: 10th Annual Member Meeting
Interested in collaborating with the ARM Institute and our member consortium on robotics and physical AI projects to strengthen US manufacturing? Join our consortium by the beginning of November 2026 to be eligible to attend our 10th Annual Member Meeting taking place Nov. 17-19 in Pittsburgh, PA.
The ARM Institute Annual Member Meeting is our largest event of the year and your best opportunity to take full advantage of your membership. This event convenes representatives from across industry, government, and academia for 2.5 days of networking, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing.
Email us at [email protected] with questions.
