U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) joins NCMS radio to discuss a wide range of Manufacturing issues.

Topics include robotics, innovation, alternative energy, the smart grid, jobs, and strategies to promote manufacturing growth in the new millennium.

NCMS Radio- “Manufacturing in the New Millenium ”- U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) (16:13)



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The second annual member meeting of the Robotics Technology Consortium (RTC) is being held today in Sterling Heights, MI in coordination with the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research and Development Engineering Center (TARDEC). The meeting will include notable speakers such as Dr. Grace Bochenek, Director of TARDEC and Dr. Jim Overholt, Director of the Joint Center for Robotics at TARDEC as well as a tour of their impressive facility in Warren, MI.

Formed in 2008 to speed the creation and deployment of ground robotics technology, the RTC has doubled its membership from 88 to 178 members in the first year.  Working closely with the Department of Defense, the RTC helps to match technology concepts with military priorities and then informs and engages industry to develop those technologies, all in record time from RPP to award.  Using this successful formula, the RTC has funded 17 technology proposals since 2008.

The RTC and the NCMS take pride in the rapid growth and progress of the consortium and its distinguished membership which includes companies such as iRobot, Carnegie Mellon University, Boeing and Lockheed Martin as well as its ability to engage smaller companies with big ideas, those of which make up over 70% of the current membership.  This unique membership base enables partnerships and problem solving between government and industry, in ways which further the technology of ground robotics at an unprecedented rate.

“NCMS has put their extensive resources behind the RTC,” said Helen Greiner, RTC President.  “They are an excellent interface for private industry to government and have established a communication forum for the industry, in addition to helping establish the RTC brand identity.”

Located in Ann Arbor, MI, The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) is the administrative agent and government interface to the RTC. “The NCMS worked directly with the robotics industry to form the RTC in 2008,” said Rick Jarman, NCMS President & CEO and Chairman of the RTC. “We used our experience of over 23 years in collaborations to help drive the success of this consortium to its impressive status today.”

Membership in the RTC is open to U.S. companies, academia and non-profits operating within the robotics industry.  Information and an application for membership can be found on the RTC website at www.roboticstechc.org or by calling (734) 995-3098.

About RTC

The Robotics Technology Consortium (RTC) is a non-profit, industry organization formed in 2008 to speed the creation and deployment of ground robotics technology for the Defense Department and other Government organizations. Administered by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS), the consortium was established to meet a need identified by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise (OSD/JGRE) and currently has a membership of over 178 large and small commercial companies, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations. The RTC seeks to solicit and engage companies and organizations that may not have historically performed work for the Defense Department and other Government organizations in addition to traditional defense contractors.For more information, visit http://www.roboticstechc.org/

About NCMS

The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) is the largest cross-industry collaborative research and development consortium in North America, and is the only consortial effort in the U.S. devoted exclusively to manufacturing technologies, processes and practices. NCMS is the administrative agent for the Robotics Technology Consortium (RTC) and has over 23 years of experience in the formation and management of complex, multi-partner collaborative R&D programs, and is backed by corporate members representing virtually every manufacturing sector.For more information, visit http://www.ncms.org

Universities, Research Labs, and Companies Create Ground Vehicle Technologies

Ann Arbor, MI., September 2, 2009 – The Robotics Technology Consortium, Inc. (RTC) today announced that the Government has awarded nine winners of its second round of projects totaling $3.62 million.  These teams will undertake the research required to further develop innovative technologies that add capabilities to the currently deployed unmanned ground vehicle and enable future unmanned ground systems.

The winning team leads and projects are:

• Jet Propulsion Laboratory -  “Autonomous Stair Climbing for Portable  Unmanned Ground Vehicles”
• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - “Fast 3D Reconstruction and Visualization for Explosive Ordnance Disposal for Unmanned Ground Vehicles (EOD for UGVs)”
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) -  “Rapid 3D Object Visualization for Mobile Robots”
• Photon-X -  “Miniature 3D Spatial Phase Sensors”
• Vecna Corporation - “Automated Tool Change”
• AnthroTronix, Inc. - “Instrumented Glove-Based System (iGlove-3) for Controlling High-DOF Manipulators”
• General Dynamics Robotic Systems - “Untitled Proposal”
• TORC Technologies - “Autonomous Remote Control HMMWV (ARCH)”
• iRobot Corporation - “Autonomous: Supervisory Control with Enhanced Situational Awareness”

In May 2008, the RTC entered into a $170M Other Transactions Agreement (OTA) with the Department of Defense to better enable non-traditional defense contractors to undertake technical projects on behalf of the Government.  Since then, the Government has awarded a total of 16 projects, worth $8,371,882.00 involving 35 member companies (15 non-traditional), universities, and non-profit organizations.

"Winners in this second round of funding includes universities, research labs, and companies,” said Ellen Purdy, Enterprise Director, OSD/Joint Ground Robotics. “It is great to see the entire community working together to advance the field and get technology into the hands of our warfighters.”

“It took only 107 days from the request for project proposals posting on our web pages to having the entire set of winners under contract”, said Helen Greiner the elected President of the RTC, “and we are very proud of our ability to support small research efforts rapidly and cost-effectively.”

Membership to the Robotics Technology Consortium is open to U.S. based companies, non-profits, and universities.

For more information please contact:

Phil Callihan, philc@ncms.org, (734)995-2046.

About Robotics Technology Consortium

The Robotics Technology Consortium (RTC) is a non-profit, industry organization created in 2008 to speed the creation and deployment of ground robotics technology for the Defense Department and other Government organizations. The consortium was established to meet a need identified by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise (OSD/JGRE).  The RTC currently has a membership of over 160 large and small commercial companies, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations. The RTC seeks to solicit and engage companies and organizations that may not have historically performed work for the Defense Department and other Government organizations in addition to traditional defense contractors.

For more information, visit http://www.roboticstechc.org/.

About NCMS

The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) in Ann Arbor Michigan is the largest cross-industry collaborative R&D consortium in North America. NCMS has a 23-year track record in the management of complex, collaborative programs which deliver innovative manufacturing technology to market faster than traditional methods.  The RTC was formed as a non-profit, supporting organization of NCMS, who also serves as the RTC administrative agent.

For more information, visit http://www.ncms.org.

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Seven Teams Will Develop New Technologies for Unmanned Ground Vehicles

The Robotics Technology Consortium, Inc. (RTC) today announced the winners of its first seven projects. These teams will undertake the research to develop innovative technologies that will add capabilities to the currently deployed unmanned ground vehicles and will enable future unmanned ground systems.

The winning team leads and projects are:

• Silvus Technologies, Inc., “MIMO-Enabled Communication Links for NLOS Robotic Tele-operation Missions”
• Chatten Associates, “Improved Depth Perception to Aid Tele-Operation”
• Sarnoff Corporation, “Modular Software Architecture for Rapid Multi-robot Coordination, Mapping and Structure Characterization”
• iRobot Corporation, “Sniper/Hostile Fire Defeat”
• iRobot Corporation, “RTK-Remote Touch Kit”
• RE2, Inc., “Force and Tactile Sensing Based Manipulation”
• Sarnoff Corporation, “Mapping in Complex Terrains”

The RTC has entered into a $175M Other Transactions Agreement (OTA) with the Department of Defense to better enable nontraditional defense contractors to undertake technical projects on behalf of the government. These first projects fall under this agreement and have an aggregate dollar value of $4,871,250. “The evaluators were very impressed by the high quality and the number of the proposals submitted by RTC members,” said Ellen Purdy, Enterprise Director, Joint Ground Robotics.“The selected proposals stood out for their innovation and relevance to the needs of our deployed troops. In addition, a significant portion of the work is expected to be performed by nontraditional government contractors.”

“On behalf of the RTC, I would like to congratulate the winners of this round”, said Helen Greiner the elected President of the RTC, “and remind members and others having an interest in robotic technology development that the next round of proposals are currently being evaluated by the government and one more round of Request for Project Proposals (RPPs) is expected to be out this year”.

Membership to the Robotics Technology Consortium is open.

The RTC was formed as a non-profit, supporting organization of NCMS, who also serves as the RTC administrative agent.

For more information, visit http://www.roboticstechc.org/

Wired for War - What happens when science fiction becomes battlefield reality?" - Peter Warren Singer, Senior Fellow and Director, 21st Century Defense Initiative, Brookings Institution.

 The widespread military use of robots has broad implication for manufacturers.

Peter Warren Singer is Senior Fellow and Director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institution. He is the youngest scholar named Senior Fellow in Brookings' 90-year history. In 2005, CNN named him to their "New Guard" List of the Next Generation of Newsmakers. Singer has also been recognized by the Financial Times as "Guru of the Week" for the thinker that most influenced the world that week and by Slate Magazine for "Quote of the Day." In his personal capacity, Singer served as coordinator of the Obama-08 campaigns’ defense policy task force.

Dr. Singer is considered one of the world's leading experts on changes in 21st Century warfare. He has written for the full range of major media and journals, including the Boston Globe, L.A. Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Current History, Survival, International Security, Parameters, Weltpolitik, and the World Policy Journal. He has been quoted in every major U.S. newspaper and news magazine and delivered talks at venues ranging from the U.S. Congress to over 40 universities around the world. He has provided commentary on military affairs for nearly every major TV and radio outlet, including ABC-Nightline, Al Jazeera, BBC, CBS-60 Minutes, CNN, FOX, NPR, and the NBC Today Show.

NCMS Radio: P.W. Singer "Wired for War" (35:47)

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NCMS has been recognized with a Deal of the Year award presented by the Ann Arbor Business Review.  NCMS was selected for its role in managing the MEDC 21st Century Jobs Fund Business Plan Competition and being chosen by the Department of Defense (DOD) to form and administer the Robotics Technology Consortium (RTC).

The 21st Century Jobs Fund Competition resulted in over $30 million being distributed to Michigan companies to create over 1500 jobs in various hi-tech sectors.  The RTC is a $170 million program which will help speed the deployment of ground robotics technology from the lab to the front lines.  

M Live Full Article

The Robotics Technology Consortium (RTC) recently exhibited at the 2008 Annual Robotics Vehicle Life Cycle Conference held in Troy, Michigan.  Many RTC members had their technolgy on display as representatives from the DoD and industy met to discuss the state of ground robotics vehicle technology.

 The RTC is a non-profit, industry organization recently created to speed the creation and deployment of ground robotics technology for the Defense Department and other Government organizations.  The RTC is a subsidiary of NCMS.

ANN ARBOR, MI – July 8, 2008. The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) has formed a not-for-profit subsidiary to speed the development and deployment of innovative defense ground robotics technology.  The Robotics Technology Consortium (RTC) was created to meet a need identified by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise (OSD/JGRE) to speed innovation from the lab to operational deployment. 

“NCMS has been successfully commercializing innovative technology for over twenty years,” said Rick Jarman, President and CEO of NCMS, and the interim Chairman of the RTC.  “We have a proven history of getting technology to market faster and are pleased to have the seventy-seven members of the Robotics Technology Consortium join us as we drive innovations from the lab to the front lines where it is desperately needed.”

NCMS has a proven track record of rapid technology commercialization and experience in forming cross-industry R&D projects which will help RTC expand its membership to organizations of all sizes including non-traditional defense contractors. 

"Ground robots are proven life savers for our Service members and industry has offered a first class response to our need for advancing robotics with the establishment of this consortium,” said Ellen Purdy, Enterprise Director, Joint Ground Robotics.  “The Department looks forward to partnering with the RTC as it enables us to work with the best and brightest in industry and academia."

The RTC will support top-tier research within the robotic technology community to speed the deployment of technology from the lab to operational deployment.  To meet this goal the RTC is open to traditional and non-traditional government contractors, small and large businesses, for-profit and not-for-profit entities, and academic organizations.  Members will perform R&D and provide input on strategies for government agencies executing ground robotics programs.
 

About NCMS

The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) is the largest cross-industry collaborative research and development consortium in North America, and is the only consortial effort in the U.S. devoted exclusively to manufacturing technologies, processes and practices. NCMS has over 20 years of experience in the formation and management of complex, multi-partner collaborative R&D programs, and is backed by corporate members representing virtually every manufacturing sector.

For more information, visit http://www.ncms.org

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