Background
Funding for this project was provided by U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) through the American Rescue Act Grant – an effort to fund high-impact projects for research, development, and testbeds for pandemic response. Learn more.
Objectives & Technical Approach
- Demonstrate a mitigation framework for critical bottlenecks of the nation’s COVID-19 SCs through integration of robotics and automation.
- Develop novel digital simulation testbeds of manufacturing facilities at the micro-level, and SC networks at the macro-level, to demonstrate through scalable pilot projects improvements with specific key performance indicators.
- Increase the capabilities of small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) that often lack the capital, know-how, and scale to embed themselves effectively into critical SCs by articulating the value proposition for SMMs.
- Disseminate tools for accelerating industry adoption through the ARM Institute, SAI, and NIST MEP networks.
Impact
This project seeks to address needs uncovered and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Outputs from this project will better prepare the U.S. to respond to future pandemics and similar unexpected crises.